Agroecology has become the new European colonialism in Africa
https://www.science20.com/hank_campbell/...ica-255551
INTRO: Are you a white person who believes you have a moral imperative to introduce your superior belief system to brown and black people in other countries who have not yet been converted? No, you're not a 19th century European missionary, you work at a modern European environmental NGO. That reads provocative, even inflammatory, but it may be happening. And agroecology academics want to stop it before it is too late... (MORE)
New York Times publishes solid GMO story, anti-biotech groups blow a gasket
https://www.acsh.org/news/2021/08/05/new...sket-15704
INTRO: For years, the New York Times attacked crop biotechnology on the grounds that it was a corporate ploy hatched by Monsanto to take over the food supply. GMOs, the argument went, were designed to hook farmers on Monsanto's patented seeds and pesticides while failing to deliver higher crop yields. In one memorable instance, Times reporter Eric Lipton accused high-profile scientists of helping Big Ag paint its products in a more positive light.
Things may be changing, though. The paper recently published an excellent essay, Learning to Love G.M.O.s, by University of California, Berkeley, journalism professor Jennifer Kahn. Kahn offered a balanced analysis of the years-long debate over genetically engineered crops, appropriately summarizing the science while considering the reasonable questions consumers had about these misunderstood plants.
For performing this excellent public service, Kahn was lambasted by the anti-GMO brain trust. Natural News, U.S. Right to Know and GM Watch all took shots at the Times for publishing the article. These critiques are clones of one another and based on long-refuted assertions. Still, they're worth responding to on the occasion of a major newspaper abandoning its previous commitment to bad biotechnology reporting. We'll work from Natural News' rebuttal. Their quotes in italics, followed by my replies... (MORE)
https://www.science20.com/hank_campbell/...ica-255551
INTRO: Are you a white person who believes you have a moral imperative to introduce your superior belief system to brown and black people in other countries who have not yet been converted? No, you're not a 19th century European missionary, you work at a modern European environmental NGO. That reads provocative, even inflammatory, but it may be happening. And agroecology academics want to stop it before it is too late... (MORE)
New York Times publishes solid GMO story, anti-biotech groups blow a gasket
https://www.acsh.org/news/2021/08/05/new...sket-15704
INTRO: For years, the New York Times attacked crop biotechnology on the grounds that it was a corporate ploy hatched by Monsanto to take over the food supply. GMOs, the argument went, were designed to hook farmers on Monsanto's patented seeds and pesticides while failing to deliver higher crop yields. In one memorable instance, Times reporter Eric Lipton accused high-profile scientists of helping Big Ag paint its products in a more positive light.
Things may be changing, though. The paper recently published an excellent essay, Learning to Love G.M.O.s, by University of California, Berkeley, journalism professor Jennifer Kahn. Kahn offered a balanced analysis of the years-long debate over genetically engineered crops, appropriately summarizing the science while considering the reasonable questions consumers had about these misunderstood plants.
For performing this excellent public service, Kahn was lambasted by the anti-GMO brain trust. Natural News, U.S. Right to Know and GM Watch all took shots at the Times for publishing the article. These critiques are clones of one another and based on long-refuted assertions. Still, they're worth responding to on the occasion of a major newspaper abandoning its previous commitment to bad biotechnology reporting. We'll work from Natural News' rebuttal. Their quotes in italics, followed by my replies... (MORE)