GMOs
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An ode to scary mutant fruits
Awl editor Alex Balk found out that farmers have been tinkering with plant genetics to create cross-breeds like "pluerries," and it inspired him to heights of lyrical brilliance:
Please Don't Make The Fruits Do Sex To Each Other
The freakish fruits that Science spawns—
The pros we know, but not the cons
What laws of nature might we breach
By blending apricot and peach? -
Monsanto fail: GMO crops are losing their pest control powers
Monsanto crops bred to thwart western corn rootworms, which love eating corn roots, are no longer are doing their job. The rootworms developed a resistance to the natural pesticide the crops produced and are chowing down.
The alternatives for farmers: buy other genetically modified seeds (which will totally work forever!); spray nastier insecticides; abandon the economic model of monoculture and GMO crops. Guess which one's going to happen. Maybe which two out of three.
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ConAgra sued over 'natural' GMO cooking oils
The class-action lawsuit could have far-ranging implications for the multitude of GMO products creeping onto supermarket shelves while claiming to be "natural."
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Sorry, NY Times: GMOs still won't save the world
Nina Federoff touts GMOs in The New York Times. But after more than 15 years of commercialized GMOs, we know not to believe the promises any longer.
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In defense of organic
A "mythbusting" Scientific American blogger took on organic agriculture recently, but she got much of the story wrong. Grist sets her straight.
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Killing weeds may kill butterflies
Monarch butterflies lay their eggs on milkweed, and as young caterpillars, they eat the stuff. But humans like to have neat rows of corn and soybeans, and milkweed interferes with their field aesthetics. Which is more important? Doesn’t matter; humans have thumbs, agriculture, and industrial chemistry. Thus, 100 million acres of row crops are now milkweed-free; Monarch butterflies have fewer places to stash their young; and their population may be dwindling.
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Going rogue: USDA may have just opened the GMO floodgates
Did the USDA just open the floodgates to unlimited, unregulated planting of new genetically engineered crops? It sure looks that way.
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Salmon surprise: House opposes FDA Frankenfish approval
The FDA is currently deliberating on whether to green-light genetically modified salmon and is widely expected to do just that sometime this year.
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Genetically engineered salmon’s fishy promises
Cross-posted from Gilt Taste. For those who follow the theater of food politics, particularly the underwater portion of the drama, AquaBounty’s AquAdvantage genetically engineered salmon has played something of leading role for two decades, dating back to the 1990s when the fish was first conceived. The AquAdvantage salmon, in case you haven’t heard about it, […]