In this space, I’ve frequently shown how GMO fear mongering plays out in the media. The latest frightful example aired Monday on CNN. It was a piece about the mysterious genetically modified (GM) wheat recently found in an Oregon farm field. First, some quick background: In the early to mid-2000s, Monsanto field tested GM wheat in…Continue Reading…
There are two kinds of people who write about genetically modified foods: Those who believe that GMOs are bad and those who don’t. In case you haven’t figured it out, I’m in the latter group. Unfortunately, the simplistic debate between these two camps has devolved into a Three Stooges slapfest: More specifically, one group shrieks…Continue Reading…
Oh, for the days: Remember when everyone used to be really, really worried about power lines? youtube.com/watch?feature=… — Ketan Joshi (@ArghJoshi) June 13, 2013 Those were worried Australians in the mid-2000s, so it wasn’t all that long ago. In the United States, people were really, really worried in the 1980s and 1990s about getting cancer from…Continue Reading…
Today is a good time to be alive when compared to any in human history, such as 100 years ago, when the average life span in industrial countries was about 50. As one recent science article noted, the key in driving up our collective age lies with the advent of medical technologies, improved nutrition, higher education, better housing…Continue Reading…
On the GMO front, I bring you the latest important news, articles and entertainment. First the serious stuff: An important study just published in PLOS One was summarized nicely by this Los Angeles Times headline: Genetically modified cotton helps farmers escape malnutrition Since when do people eat cotton, you ask?
A recent survey on conspiracy beliefs in the United States attracted a lot of media attention. The first question: Do you believe global warming is a hoax, or not? Do …………………………………………………………. 37% Do not ……………………………………………………. 51% Not sure …………………………………………………. 12% The political breakdown, according to the poll, found that “Republicans say global warming is a…Continue Reading…
I didn’t get into journalism to be a media watchdog, but it’s become one facet of my career since I started this blog in 2009. Curtis Brainard, the science editor at the Columbia Journalism Review, has taken note of my GMO-related posts and articles and written a nice appraisal. Here’s an excerpt:
When the crusade against evolution emerged, scientists and educators and the skeptic movement rose to the battle. When the crusade against vaccines was in full throttle, scientists and the skeptic movement confronted the fear-mongering campaign, (while the media fed it). When the crusade against climate science got ugly, scientists fought back and when political action on climate change stalled, greens…Continue Reading…
I’ve been arguing that the worst misinformation and myths about genetically modified foods has spread from the anti-GMO fringes to the mainstream. A jaw-dropping example of this is provided by Michael Moss, an investigative reporter for the New York Times, who was recently interviewed by Marcus Mabry, a NYT colleague about the Monsanto protests that took…Continue Reading…
I’m looking forward to seeing the video and transcript of Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s keynote speech at this year’s AutismOne/Generation Rescue conference. This is the annual confab of the anti-vaccine movement, where all the diehards gather to share their latest pseudoscience, quack therapies and conspiracy theories. Last year’s keynote address was given by actress Jenny McCarthy….Continue Reading…