Strained economy makes genetically modified corn more palatable

Darkfrog submitted, created time 8 months 2 weeks (www.nytimes.com)

I've been saying it: Things affect each other in ways that we can't always predict. The global economy coupled with new interest in biofuels has made food prices skyrocket. The result? Soft drink companies in Asia are foregoing traditionally grown corn in favor of genetically modified corn.

Less pesticide, less herbicide, less expensive. Genetically modified corn deserves its shot!

2 comments | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: politics biofuels biofuel science and culture frankenfood agriculture food genetic engineering genetically modified organisms genetically modified crops genetically modified maize corn corn syrup herbicide pesticide economics

French uphold ban on genetically modified seed corn

Darkfrog submitted, created time 9 months 2 weeks (www.nytimes.com)

The top French court just upheld a ban on the use of genetically modified corn, a month after its inception. It had been challenged by farmers. This article does a good job of showing the clash between economic (and environmental) interests and organic and environmental interests. (Yes, I said "environmental" twice. One camp is pleased to use less pesticide and the other is worried about contamination.)

Genetically modified, or at least selectively bred, corn has been used in the U.S. for some time now

4 comments | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: politics genetically modified organisms GMOs crops agriculture corn maize science and culture economics genetically modified crops genetically modified organisms MON810 genetically modified maize

New York Times examines east-west divide over stem cells and God

Darkfrog submitted, created time 1 year 1 month (www.nytimes.com)

I know we've got a few folks from China on this board and I'd love to know what you think of this one:

Now that the White House is going "Ha ha, we were right" with regards to the great accomplishment that was published in Cell and Science yesterday, I found this rather contemplative piece. A lot of western scientists are moving to Singapore and Seoul because there are fewer restrictions. The TierneyLab took a look at the religious ideas that make westerners more skittish of cloning, stem cell research and genetically modified plants and animals than people in other places

2 comments | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: science and culture science and religion ethics bioethics stem cells history science and history stem cell research Asia human cultures genetically modified crops genetically modified maize genetically modified organisms stem cell research

Genetically Modified Maize Is Toxic -- Greenpeace

Paramecium submitted, created time 1 year 9 months (www.sciam.com)

It appears that a variety of genetically modified maize produced by Monsanto is toxic for the liver and kidneys. What's worse, Monsanto knew about it and tried to conceal the facts in its own publications. Greenpeace fought in court to obtain the data and had it analyzed by a team of experts. MON863, the variety of GM maze in question, has been authorized for markets in the US, EU, Australia, Canada, China, Japan, Mexico, and the Philippines. Here are Greenpeace's brief on the study and their account of how the story was unearthed (both PDFs).

Submit comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: Maize greenpeace genetically modified maize