All Entries in the "Agriculture" Category
A Matter of Taste
by Einar Du Rietz
After being approved by the national governments in the EU, Thrombin has now found it’s way into the parliament, by way of the environmental committee, which – not surprisingly – found a majority for proposing a ban.
Thrombin is also, more popularly, known as “Meat Glue”, creating connotations that set off a lot of alarm [...]
I Didn’t Do It I Was Not Even There
by Einar Du Rietz
On March 21, incidentally my birthday, a friend from Iceland called me and said she had organized some fireworks for me. What a pity she could not set off the second eruption one week ago. With all airline traffic closed down in most of Europe, as today, the Climate conference in Bonn would have been more [...]
Monsanto, mon amour
In truth, there is no such thing as absolute safety; but this fundamental human need may explain the excessive search for certainty in particular as the world seems awash with a constant flow of disconcerting events.
It seems obvious then to assume that risk is the opposite of safety. But it isn’t: as inaction also entails [...]
The power of forecasting
by Jacob Arfwedson
In the 1930s, Franklin Roosevelt asked his administration to undertake a vast exploratory study of future technologies. A group of researchers eventually produced a voluminous report with fascinating insights. There was only one little glitch: the document did not foresee television, plastics, jet planes, organ transplants, laser technology, or even ballpoint pens.
As Ludwig [...]
The Solar Cycle, Climate, Carbon and Crop Yields: EIKE Berlin
On April 17th and 18th members of the European Institute for Climate and Energy (EIKE) gathered at Humboldt University in Berlin for their annual meeting and to discuss the latest developments in climate research and policy. Participants agreed that the current climate debate serves the interests of energy companies and the makers of solar panel [...]
Still Feeding the World
The great Norman Borlaug Died September 12, 2009
By PAUL DRIESSEN (Washington)
Norman Borlaug just turned 94 – and is still going strong
During the “Eat This” segment of their docu-comedy series BS, Penn Jillette beat Teller in a round of their “Greatest Person in History” card game. Penn needed just one card: Norman Borlaug.
This Iowa [...]
Germany Cancels Biofuel Plans
Fears repercussions from angry motorists
HOLGER J. THUSS (Jena)
“ production may go down as one of the biggest blunders in history. An unholy alliance of environmentalists, agribusiness, biofuel corporations and politicians has been touting ethanol as the cure to all our environmental ills, when in fact it may be doing more harm than good. An array [...]
The Truth About Organic Foods
CFACT is proud to offer its German translation of Alex A. Avery’s The Truth About Organic Foods
Two years ago, the the most talked about book on organic foods in over a decade was issued in English – now, with the support of CFACT Europe, it is available to the 100 Million or so German speaking consumers: Alex [...]
Potatoes to Diapers
Transgenic Potatoes Yield Sustainable Diapers
HOLGER THUSS (Jena)
A simple way to kill small talk (or exit a Christmas card list) is to declare that you’ll serve your guests genetically modified food and then explain your affection for biotechnologists work with transgenic plants.
Many have heard that “dangerous” “gm” crops will allow killer tomatoes to escape Frankenstein’s laboratory [...]
