My latest Green Chain column for the Record-Bee. Just after 7 p.m. on Sept 5, 2001, Mark Lynas, a writer and a member of the Green Party in Britain stepped into the Borders Bookshop in Oxford and “pied” former Greenpeace member Bjorn Lomborg with a sponge cake topped with whipped cream. Lomborg was at theContinue reading “Taking the Romance out of Environmentalism”
Tag Archives: Genetically modified food
Proposition 37 Doesn’t Go Far Enough
California’s Proposition 37, the awkwardly titled “California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act,” does not educate consumers enough about what is in their food.
Analysis by the Legislative Analyst of Proposition 37, the “California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act.”
This the text of the analysis done by the Legislative Analyst on the proposed Proposition 37, the “California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act.” (PDF file here) Genetically Engineered Foods. Mandatory Labeling. Initiative Statute. Background Genetically Engineered (GE) Foods. Genetic engineering is the process of changing the genetic material of a living organism toContinue reading “Analysis by the Legislative Analyst of Proposition 37, the “California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act.””
Genetically engineering microbes to work for us
Interesting video from the Open University. Genetically engineered (GE) E. coli bacteria produce much of today’s insulin supply. By using GE, we are turning microbes into “tiny factories” that happily churn out what they get re-programmed to do.
Fear and Loathing in Lake County
Last Tuesday, anti-GE (genetically engineered) forces in the county threw their hats in the air, shouted hallelujah, and did happy dances when the Lake County Board of Supervisors (BoS) passed a resolution supporting the mandatory labeling of genetically modified food by a 3-2 vote. Supervisors Anthony Farrington (District 4), Denise Rushing (District 3), and JeffContinue reading “Fear and Loathing in Lake County”
The Straight Poop on GMO Labeling
During June, two items hit the news involving unsavory (to some) food options. The first was a letter to the Record-Bee from a local organic grower taking me to task for my column, “Something Fishy This Way Comes.” The grower accused me of being against “choice.” She contended, if genetically modified (GM) food is notContinue reading “The Straight Poop on GMO Labeling”
California’s AB 88-something fishy this way comes
Humans have been messing with life-changing technology for millennia. For instance, fire allows humans to cook their food. Though our ancient ancestors didn’t know it, heating food changes the food’s molecular structure; cooking gelatinizes starch and denatures protein, making calories more accessible to the human body than raw food does. While no one would sayContinue reading “California’s AB 88-something fishy this way comes”
Mark Bittman asks, “What Do You Think About Genetically Engineered Food?”
Mark Bittman is asking, “What Do You Think About Genetically Engineered Food?” Specifically, he wants you to answer four questions for a non-scientific poll: 1. Does it bother you that there are genetically engineered ingredients in most of the foods sold in American supermarkets? 2. Do you want the products that contain genetically engineered ingredientsContinue reading “Mark Bittman asks, “What Do You Think About Genetically Engineered Food?””
Run for your lives! It’s lunchtime at Dr. Strangefood’s
One evening, during the drearily sodden summer of 1816, Lord Byron and his friends read Fantasmagoriana, (a French translation of a German book of ghost stories—they were intellectuals after all) in his Villa Diodati in Switzerland (they were rich intellectuals). Afterward, Byron suggested they all write a horror story. Everyone did except Mary, the wifeContinue reading “Run for your lives! It’s lunchtime at Dr. Strangefood’s”
Should the FDA require DHMO to be listed on food labels?
Dihydrogen monoxide (DHMO) is used in the production of genetically modified crops. It is also used as a food additive and preservative. Every year people die from accidents involving DHMO, including DHMO poisoning. Some have died from as little as one drop. Additionally, the burning of hydrocarbons (e.g., wood and fossil fuels) releases DHMOContinue reading “Should the FDA require DHMO to be listed on food labels?”
Nullius in Verba 