Tag Archives: Flavr Savr tomato

Gene Editing’s Extra DNA Problem: Déjà Vu All Over Again

UC Davis researcher Alison Van Eenennaam described the experience of learning that the “poster animals for the gene-editing revolution” do not, after all, comprise the “same outcome [that] could be achieved by breeding in the farmyard,” like she and her collaborators … Continue reading

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Food Evolution Film Neglects to Mention Important Facts…Like Glyphosate is a Probable Human Carcinogen

The film Food Evolution, despite being narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson, has been called “a slick piece of GMO propaganda” by Marion Nestle, a prominent nutrition scientist at NYU who was interviewed for it. In response to Nestle’s tweet on … Continue reading

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Monsanto, Henry Miller, and the FDA

I have been reading with interest various articles reporting on the trove of internal documents obtained from Monsanto during the discovery phase of a federal multidistrict litigation against that company that is currently pending in the United States. (The documents, … Continue reading

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Kudos to Campbell Soup for Supporting Mandatory Federal GMO Labeling

As announced in a company press release and reported by The New York Times on January 8, Campbell Soup Company is calling for mandatory federal labeling of foods “that may contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs)….“[Such foods/ingredients are also known as … Continue reading

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Exposure of Mammals, Birds, Reptiles and Land-Phase Amphibians to Dow Agrosciences’ Pesticide Cocktail?

I’ve already expressed my concern over the fact that U.S. government agencies recently unleashed a ticking bomb with regard to the genetically engineered (GE) “superweed” problem we’re already experiencing in the United States when the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) … Continue reading

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Hyper-propagandizing crop genetic engineering in The New Yorker?

I was very disappointed with Michael Specter’s recent piece in The New Yorker called “Seeds of Doubt: An activist’s controversial crusade against genetically modified crops.” For one thing, Specter didn’t seem to understand the basics of crop genetic engineering (GE) itself, … Continue reading

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Twenty Years Ago Today Biotech Food was Commercially Launched

Today is the 20th anniversary of the first sales of the world’s first genetically engineered (GE), commercially available, whole food: the Flavr Savr™ tomato. High-end Flavr Savrs, dubbed “MacGregor’s®” tomatoes, available that day at the State Market IGA in Davis, … Continue reading

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Science-Based Regulation of GE Crops Requires More Long-Term Rat Feeding Studies with NK603 Corn

Although May 2014 will mark the 20th anniversary of the U.S. FDA’s approval for and Calgene’s market launch of the world’s first commercially available genetically engineered (GE) whole food, the Flavr SavrTM tomato, it’s amazing how relevant that GE tomato … Continue reading

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Should Monsanto be the Target?

As I read about the protests held against Monsanto worldwide recently, I found myself wondering: is Monsanto the appropriate target for these protests? I know there are reasons people are unhappy with Monsanto. One is that during California’s most recent … Continue reading

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Crop Genetic Engineering, Warts and All

This is a paper I wrote that was published by PBGworks October 26, 2012: Crop genetic engineering is a powerful technology that is helping scientists reveal how genes and genomes function. It could also be used to solve important global … Continue reading

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