from the new yorker
A bit of humor for your Monday š
Month: September 2013
Sunday Reads – The Glyphosate Debate and "Agent Orange Corn"
Remember my last post that was defending genetic engineering when done right? Well, as you know I try to keep my blog as impartial as possible and look at things from multiple perspectives, which is why this post is all about the potential consequences of genetic engineering done wrong. In particular, I have two articles … Continue reading Sunday Reads – The Glyphosate Debate and "Agent Orange Corn"
When Genetic Engineering Marries Organic Farming…
… in the truest sense of the word. This Ensia article is about a married couple whose relationship is all about sustainable agriculture – one of them is a plant geneticist and the other a farmer that leads UC Davis’ student organic farm. Now they have written a book together on how their individual disciplines … Continue reading When Genetic Engineering Marries Organic Farming…
"The Most Heartless Bill"
Add a new chapter to the US Farm Bill debate – which seems to further complicate the prospect of ever coming to a conclusion. After the huge disagreements between the Republican-dominated House and Democrat-dominated Senate on the nutrition program versus subsidy expenditures and the consequent divorce of the two issues in legislation, the House has … Continue reading "The Most Heartless Bill"
What If Food Were A Common Good? – A Thought Experiment
Close your eyes for a moment and wipe every notion of “it’s this way because it has always been this way” from your mind. Now let’s try a thought experiment. What does a human needĀ to survive? The very basic needs? You’ll probably find three, just as Jose Luis Vivero Pol found in his paper “Food … Continue reading What If Food Were A Common Good? – A Thought Experiment
Recap: TEDxUppsala University (Theme: Resilience)
I’m just back from the most inspiring event and am desperate to recap before I forget anything important. I uploaded enough TED talks here that you should be familiar with the format, but for those of you who don’t know, TED conferences are dedicated to “ideas worth spreading” surrounding a particular topic. TEDx events are … Continue reading Recap: TEDxUppsala University (Theme: Resilience)
Wait, How Many Chickens?
For some reason the comparison really made apparent to me the immensity of the broiler industry – helped, undoubtedly, by the fact that chickens have much shorter growing cycles than other animals. Still, as this number will only get bigger if demand for meat increases in transition countries such as India and China, should … Continue reading Wait, How Many Chickens?
Returns with Responsibility – How Ethical Is Your Investment?
A couple of days ago I finally managed to finish up one of the last hurdles of settling somewhere new – getting a new Swedish bank account – and was so happy that I was able to circumvent the system (normally you need a Swedish residence number which we don’t have) that, frankly, I gave … Continue reading Returns with Responsibility – How Ethical Is Your Investment?
The Power of Single Choices…
via The Organic Center (http://www.organic-center.org/), which sounds like a pretty useful resource on organic facts and science in general.
What's the Value of Not Drilling? The Sad Truth from the Yasuni Experiment: Not Enough.
Before I even had this blog, I was writing about an awesome idea that could have redefined how we approach sustainability trade-offs. The story is about the Yasuni National Park in Ecuador, a vast space of virtually untouched rain forest under which large oil reserves had been found. The Ecuadorian government being the Ecuadorian government … Continue reading What's the Value of Not Drilling? The Sad Truth from the Yasuni Experiment: Not Enough.