Author: Shawn Hogan (Page 2 of 2)

I know this sounds a bit weird, but required GMO labeling may cause more problems than it would solve. I’ve always felt less passionate about being anti-GMO than being anti-many other things because I honestly do think GMO’s do have their place if in the right hands (which they aren’t, but I’m talking theoretically). Because of my unsure feelings about GMO’s, I was attracted to the headline of this article “4 problems GMO labeling won’t solve.” The four problems are (1) too much technology in food, (2) pesticides, (3) corporate control, and (4) patents. Overall, the article highlights the problem that we can’t just fight with our purchases and we can’t expect corporate agribusiness to not adapt to something as simple as a label. Their adaptations will most likely make our food even more harmful and the article even points to radiation caused mutations that are being used now that GMO’s are getting negative attention. In many cases, the new kinds of methods for mutation are more harmful than genetic modification and will become more prevalent if companies see that having GMO’s in their products will reduce revenue.

What this comes down to is the fact that real solutions are complicated and an overly simple “solution” may exacerbate problems.

http://grist.org/food/here-are-4-problems-that-gmo-labeling-wont-solve/

http://grist.org/food/why-vermont-is-doing-maple-syrup-right/

This is yet another one of Grist’s United States of Sustainable Food highlights and it is on a Vermont maple syrup and dairy farm called Ledganear farm. This farm works with a forester to make sure that his grove maintains biodiversity and ecosystem health. They also uses harvested wood from the forest surrounding him to make fuel to process his maple syrup instead of oil. Lastly, they take advantage of the waste produced by their cows and make fertilizer.

It is great to see yet another farm that works with the culture of their area as well as the land that they use. More farmers should work with scientists and foresters to understand how they can conserve the land that they use to make their product.

http://grist.org/food/why-rhode-island-is-doing-oysters-right/

As one of the many great food articles in grist.org’s new series of states who do particular foods “right,” this article gives a quick blurb about an oyster farm in Rhode Island called Walrus and Carpenter Oysters. They harvest their oysters only by hand and only sell them to local areas and New York City. By doing this, they are allowing the oysters to replenish their habitats by having the time to do their natural process of filtering water before they are caught.

I especially like that Walrus and Carpenter have summer dinners at their oyster farm where community members can come, learn about their sustainable aquaculture, and enjoy one of the most culturally significant Rhode Island foods. As an oyster lover, myself, I am glad to know that there is a sustainable way to harvest oysters and people who are passionate enough to feed and educate their community.

As entertaining as this article is, it explores a phenomenon in a new light. Basically, this group of “bio-hackers” are attempting to create a non-vile vegan cheese using DNA codes from cows and humans that have been copied from a data base. To clarify, somewhere along the line, the people who made the database had to find DNA codes for a certain protein in both humans and cows, so a human/cow had to be bothered for some DNA at some point. However, the animal interaction stops there. These bio-hackers in their “community lab” are getting as close as they can to the molecular structure of cheese using their own engineering and are confident that they’ll be able to have something great in the market eventually.

The interesting part of this project is that it’s not quite genetic modification, but it is a whole lot of processing. On the flip side, the people who are creating it make a good case for its environmental friendliness. Since nothing comes from cows, they cut out the GHG emissions from them and the small amount of methane that is released through their process is contained responsibly. So, this vegan cheese is technically more environmentally friendly than regular cheese.

Their whole project will no doubt be a bit much to swallow for environmentalists, vegans, and organic-crazed consumers, but it does show that technology in food can be used responsibly. Although I know nothing about potential health implications of engineering the “cheese” in the way this group is, it does seem like they may have a promising idea.

http://munchies.vice.com/articles/bio-hackers-are-using-human-dna-to-make-vegan-cheese/