01.01.70

Health experts are more vocal than ever in advising patients to consume fresh, whole foods and lessen their consumption of those treated with chemicals and preservatives. Donna Buono, who founded Morning Song Farm 12 years ago, is in line with that philosophy and provides locally grown, organic, seasonal, fresh vegetables, herbs, and fruits weekly for those keeping an eye on their health.

"This is my passion," said Buono.

In a time when appearance seems to be everything to some, it can be a downfall to consumers looking to purchase fresh vegetables and fruits.

"Americans have fallen into the practice of looking for beauty over safety and to get absolute perfection (in crops), you have to spray the heck out of them with fungicide, and then consumers pay the price from the poison" explained Buono. She also said food that is grown with genetically modified organisms (GMO) is particularly dangerous.

"In that process, they use a virus (tumor growth) to transmit DNA from one species to another," she said. "I think it has been an experiment that has failed; commercial growing should not be dangerous to consumers.

Source: Village News Network

by afarrant

Volunteers were out in full force around California in April, gathering signatures in front of grocery stores, at food co-ops and festivals petitioning against genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Anywhere consumers and potential voters would gather, they showed up clipboards, fliers and organic tomato seeds in hand. 

The Label GMO campaign began over a year ago in an effort to get a proposition on the ballot making it mandatory for all food companies to label foods that have been genetically modified. This ballot initiative is something they hope will help consumers make healthier decisions when purchasing foods. 

Genetically modified foods come from a scientific process of manipulating plants and other natural food products, combining genes from different organisms. The scientific term is “transgenics.” Often, pesticide-like chemicals are used on crops such as corn and soy to prevent them from being destroyed and help farmers produce more of the crop....

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by jasonmajor

Synthetic biology: our bipolar fears and aspirations By Jason Major TechNyou

It seems we don’t trust the establishment, industry or anyone of authority when it comes to synthetic biology. And in the hands of mad scientists, which is what they naturally are, we are doomed to become dehumanised Cybermen (and woman, if Cyberpeople have gender distinctions).

 

OK that is a bit of an exaggeration, but based on feedback from our recentpostcard this is an inkling of what we fear when it comes to this emerging science, though it isn’t all scary. Many still think synthetic biology will advance society and be of great benefit, others are more cautious and attach numerous caveats to their optimism.

 

Genome Jenga – the postcard

Mid last year we distributed a postcard to all those places you see those racks of free postcards. The art work, titled Genome Jenga, was on the topic of synthetic biology. People who got a card could post it back to us listing their fears and aspirations regarding this science and technology.

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