Considering both Schumacher's observations and the goals for ecological farming:

• Produce abundant, safe and nutritious food
• Reduce harmful environmental inputs
• Provide healthful conditions for farm workers
• Protect the genetic make-up of native species
• Enhance crop genetic diversity
• Foster soil fertility
• Improve the lives of the poor and malnourished
• Maintain the economic viability of farmers and rural communities

, it is apparent that GE will sometimes be appropriate for crop improvement and sometimes not. This is because GE is simply a tool that can be applied
to a multitude of uses, depending on the decisions of policy makers, farmers, and
consumers.

Consumer advocacy groups are a strange animal. It seems that for every influential lobbying group with a senator's ear, there are hundreds or thousands with only vague mission statements and no clear agenda for attaining their stated goals. I once spent a summer working for the latter type. A hallmark of this kind of crew is the use of the petition (bonus points if it's online and has been circulating for more than a year). Issue-specific petitions almost never work when directed at agencies; they are often unsophisticated (in a legal sense) and rife with ambiguous language and emotional rhetoric. If I were more cynical, I might point out the possibility that many people in charge of these groups are aware of their petitions' miniscule chances for success and instead use them to gin up controversy and interest in their cause, which is always a great way to get a few email addresses or financial contributions--some petitions even have a convenient donate button right next to where you "sign" your name!

A quick google search for "gm labeling petition" pulls up, well, more petitions than I really care to count. Most make seemingly modest demands about the "right to know," consumer education, and truth in advertising. Is that an accurate view of the debate: Consumer education versus corporate secrecy? Truth is, the legal reality is a little more complex than these petitions would seem to indicate. Below, I've written a short synopsis of the government's current stance on GMO labeling. It's written for people without any legal training, so it's only a sketch. I've also listed a few helpful resources at the bottom for anyone who wants to dig a little deeper. This is exclusively about U.S. law, but in future posts, I'll discuss recent developments in the biotech laws of Canada, the European Union, and Japan.

Ainsi, toujours poussés vers de nouveaux rivages,
dans la nuit éternelle emportés sans retour,
ne pourrons-nous jamais sur l'océan des âges
jeter l'ancre un seul jour?

The flood-tolerant rice varieties (called Sub1- rice) can help farmers, many who live on less than $1/day, dramatically increase yield during floods.

Unwrapping some of the mystery from how plants and bacteria communicate in this dance of immunity, hardworking scientists in my laboratory here at the University of California, Davis, have identified the bacterial molecule that matches up with a specific receptor in rice plants to ward off a devastating disease known as bacterial blight of rice.

The publication describing these results will appear tomorrow in the journal Science.

Ever since our ancestors adopted an agricultural lifestyle about 10,000 years ago, our own sustainability has been intimately tied with that of our food production systems. Those systems currently support 6.7 billion humans, or more correctly, adequately support about 5.9 billion with another 800 million or so suffering from food insecurity, malnutrition or hunger. Compare that with the 1960's when the world population was 3 billion, with 1 billion inadequately fed. Developments in agricultural technology have increased productivity sufficiently to feed an additional 3.9 billion people over the past 40 years while slightly decreasing the number in need and using less than 10% more land. However, food shortages, price increases and riots across the globe in 2008 were stark reminders that agriculture must be continuously successful or dire consequences quickly follow.

A new study in PNAS suggests that we cannot always anticipate the consequences.

The risk of serious side effects from the vaccine is virtually non-existent, whereas it is certain that many people that are not vaccinated will die.

Why the protest then? Certainly there are many who simply do not have good information and feed their fears with internet rumors. Sadly, though, the article suggests a for profit motive. "Vitamin vendors -- who in some cases operate blogs, with postings by people who claim to be doctors finding fault with vaccines -- are reporting an increase in sales related to swine flu."

And when it comes to denying scientific evidence, it is not only vaccines.

"The level of conspiracy theorizing reaches astronomical proportions at a moment's notice. Please keep voting, so they won't have the chance to use such falsehoods to attack us."

FYI: Biofortified is a completely independent venture started by two graduate students. It is independently run on a volunteer basis, and is not supported by any funding from any companies.

I work at a non-profit institution and the only thing I sell is my book (hey, maybe I will sell a couple more copies after all this!). Full disclosure: Fifteen years ago a few of my students were funded by industry grants for their graduate work. As for now, all my research is funded by non-profit institutions.

The only thing that Karl shills for are beeswax candles and honey that he gets from his bees.

Vote now, the competition ends in two days.

To demonstrate the power of genetics, I have posted a time-lapse video (4 months) showing the performance of a genetically improved rice in a flooded field plot at the International Rice Research Institute.

Biofortified is in the running to win the Ashoka Changemakers contest, GMO Risk or Rescue. But Karl Haro von Mogel needs your help, dear readers. The contest entries close on October 21, and the voting will continue to the 28th. The grand prize is a $1500 grant and a conversation with Michael Pollan. I look forward to hearing Karl and Michael discuss GE and the future of food.

If you read Biofortified and have enjoyed some of the stuff written there and want to see bigger and better things, please take a couple minutes to register for changemakers and enter your vote.

This is how you vote for Biofortified in the changemakers contest:

If you know anyone who could help Karl win this contest, please consider passing this along to them. The top entry has 33 votes and has not changed in weeks, while biofortified is currently at 11 votes.

Thanks!