Norm Benson

Can the poor eat now?

More noise from Michael Pollan found here (and I have written on here). He suggests that the poor could get a more varied diet and avoid the effects of a vitamin poor diet (such as vitamin A deficiency) by planting “greens in pots around their houses…” That way, we would not need to employ GoldenContinue reading “Can the poor eat now?”

Golden rice now, everything else is noise.

Please spare me the anti-biotech crowd’s Argumentum ad Monsantum (the “Appeal to Monsanto” argument) over Genetically Engineered (GE) foods. I’m speaking, of course, of the push back in the Lake County Record-Bee to my “Golden rice, golden opportunity” column. Golden Rice is a genetically engineered crop created by borrowing the carotene-making gene from corn andContinue reading “Golden rice now, everything else is noise.”

Golden Rice. Golden Opportunity.

You people in the developed world are certainly free to debate the merits of genetically modified foods, but can we please eat first?” – Dr. Florence Wambugu The blind girl lurched toward me across the parking lot at Tirta Empul temple, mewling. I guessed she was ten to thirteen years of age, and shorter thanContinue reading “Golden Rice. Golden Opportunity.”

The relationship between fire and drought in California 1987-2012

These graphs were posted without data points highlighted here last week in part because the governor of California called for additional fire staffing due to the state’s severe drought and I was curious if a correlation existed between low than average precipitation and fire: The Governor’s drought State of Emergency directed CAL FIRE to “hireContinue reading “The relationship between fire and drought in California 1987-2012”

Looking for a relationship…between Precipitation and Fire in California

With limited rainfall and moisture levels already resembling the state’s peak fire season, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) has hired 125 supplemental firefighters in Northern California and extended seasonal firefighting forces in Southern California due to dry winter conditions. The Governor’s drought State of Emergency directed CAL FIRE to “hireContinue reading “Looking for a relationship…between Precipitation and Fire in California”

A Drop in the Bucket: California’s Drought

We Californians have had a pleasant climate these past few months. During the clear spell here in Lake County where I live, temperatures had even been in the seventies—tee-shirt and shorts weather. So far, the winter weather has been, by any standard, stunningly spectacular. One of the most stunning things about this winter is itsContinue reading “A Drop in the Bucket: California’s Drought”

EFSA drafts acceptable exposure to BPA

The European Food and Safety Agency (EFSA) has just released a 500 page report on the risks of bisphenol A (BPA) and given its opinion to what is a safe level of daily ingestion. Risk Bites has distilled their report into a video of less than five minutes. (Here is a link to Risk BitesContinue reading “EFSA drafts acceptable exposure to BPA”

Today’s “agricultural system” is “unsustainable.”

Here is a redacted sentence from a recent, on the whole, thoughtful essay: We oppose X because we oppose the unsustainable agricultural system they serve. Please tell me how today’s “agricultural system” is “unsustainable.” And how is it less sustainable than the agriculture practiced 100 or 1000 or 10000 years ago? Related articles What IContinue reading “Today’s “agricultural system” is “unsustainable.””

Q & A with Maureen Ogle, Author of “In Meat We Trust”

I have the perfect gift for the foodie in your life: “In Meat We Trust: An Unexpected History of Carnivore America,” written by Maureen Ogle, it traces the origins of our food system and its meat-centric bias. “The moment European settlers arrived in North America,” Ogle says, “they began transforming the land into a meat-eater’sContinue reading “Q & A with Maureen Ogle, Author of “In Meat We Trust””

What is Comparative Advantage?

Had a good exchange in the comments section (and on Twitter) yesterday about David Ricardo’s Law of Comparative Advantage. My point in writing “Eat. Pray. Lovin’ It.” was to illustrate that people have always liked to pick up quickly prepared food. Workers willingly trade their money to save the expense (time and money and hassle)Continue reading “What is Comparative Advantage?”