Now on ScienceBlogs: HeartlandGate: Anti-Science Institute's Insider Reveals Secrets
On this web log I explore topics related to genetics, food and farming.
Pamela Ronald is Professor of Plant Pathology at the University of
California, Davis, where she studies the role that genes play in a
plant's response to its environment. Her laboratory has genetically
engineered rice for resistance to diseases and flooding,
both of which are serious problems of rice crops in Asia and Africa. Ronald is co-author with her husband, an organic farmer, of "Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetic and the Future of Food".
Ronald interviews, lectures and profiles
Article, The New Organic in The Boston Globe
Article, Making Rice Disease-Resistant in Scientific American
Ronald speaking schedule
Category: agricultual policy
Rather than focusing on how a seed variety was developed, we must ask what most enhances local food security and can provide safe, abundant and nutritious food. We must ask if rural communities can thrive and if farmers can make a profit. We must be sure that consumers can afford the food. And we must minimize environmental degradation.
Posted by Pamela Ronald at 4:05 PM • 19 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: agricultual policy
Virtually every food we eat has been genetically altered. Unless you eat wild Alaskan salmon, chanterelles gathered from your local forest, Sierra Nevada yampah and wild blueberries, your diet consists entirely of foods that have been modified by humans and domesticated in artificial, fabulous ecosystems--called farms.
Posted by Pamela Ronald at 3:17 PM • 24 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Wrold Science Festival 2010
Can the organic movement, so popular in urban centers like New York City or Los Angeles, replace intensive agriculture? The experts are leaning toward ... well, I'll let them tell you.
Posted by Pamela Ronald at 6:51 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Africa
Doing that also requires opponents to realize that by demonizing the technology, they've hindered applications of genetic engineering that could save lives and protect the environment.
Posted by Pamela Ronald at 4:34 PM • 38 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Genetically engineered crops
a potential breakthrough in the treatments for roundworms that could improve the health of millions of children
Posted by Pamela Ronald at 7:24 PM • 7 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: book review
anyone who reads this book will be convinced of the authors' sincerity and intelligence - even if, like me, you never try any of the cool-sounding recipes
Posted by Pamela Ronald at 12:55 PM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: agricultual policy
We need to build enhanced capacity in the US to address urgent agricultural challenges such as sustainable food production and nutrition, readiness for climate aberrations that will impact productivity and developing renewable options like biofuels and industrial and pharmaceutical materials.
Posted by Pamela Ronald at 7:14 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Genetically engineered crops
It is not that feeding the world, health of the consumers or care of the land are unimportant issues, it is just that the organic "brand" is now making a lot of money for all in the industry (Farmers, food processors, large corporate retailers such as Whole Foods, etc) and so there is zero incentive to change certification rules.
Posted by Pamela Ronald at 12:19 PM • 29 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Stewart Brand
Ronald and Adamchak are not alone in their call for a more nuanced understanding of GM crops. Their work has inspired books by a varied clutch of professionals: an environmentalist, a historian and a journalist. The books -- Stewart Brand's "Whole Earth Discipline," James McWilliams' "Just Food" and Michael Specter's "Denialism" -- take advocates and critics of genetic engineering to task for what has become a polarized and dumbed-down debate.
Posted by Pamela Ronald at 7:44 PM • 15 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: International Agricultural Development
An article in the Harvard International Review by Paul Collier paints a stark view of African peasantry. Collier presents a convincing argument that for African agriculture to become more productive, it needs modern agricultural technologies and new modes of organization...
Posted by Pamela Ronald at 7:07 PM • 10 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
