Kevin Hoover: Why the big fuss about GMOs but not mutation-bred food?
Science has scored some huge advances in recent months, in the sky and in the news media, if not with politicians. We found organic life-precursor molecules on Comet 67P, via Rosetta and Philae. Kepler found among the thousand-plus potentially habitable planets one that could be Earth’s larger twin. The New Horizons probe revealed Pluto, the…
March against Monsanto or against modification mythology this Saturday
Mad River Union EUREKA – They who oppose genetically modified food and those who support it will hold dueling demonstrations next Saturday at 3 p.m. in Eureka. Here are their respective press releases: March Against Monsanto On Saturday, May 23, 2015, hundreds of thousands of concerned individuals will gather across 38 countries and 428 cities…
Measure P & Z pass; Pereira, Wheetley and Pitino win Arcata Council
Union Staff Report HUMBOLDT – A measure that bans the growing of genetically modified organisms in Humboldt County was overwhelmingly approved Tuesday. Measure P passed by a landslide, with preliminary election totals of 17,029 yes votes, or 59.43 percent, compared to 11,624 no votes, or 40.57 percent. Measure Z, the county-wide half cent sales tax…
Recent GMO-related Letters to the Editor
What if we’re wrong on GMOs? Measure P has a lot of people asking: Is it possible that genetic engineering could have unintended consequences? One group of “experts” says, “Yes,” and those who stand to benefit from GMOs say, “No.” When there’s a profit motive to take a particular position, I tend to not trust…
Chad White: If wild anti-GMO claims were anything more than contrived hysteria, that would rock the world
“P” is for Pseudoscience, Poverty, Prejudice, and Prohibition Groups like March Against Monsanto continually share information that is not based on actual evidence, and it’s despicable how low they will stoop. Someone tested this idea, to find out just how low their low road goes. The results make Monsanto look like angels. Consider the ongoing…
Chad White: Anti-GMO tribal conformity and mythology, part 2
While many anti-GMO folk support the scientific consensus on climate change, they belittle these same science institutions by denying the consensus on genetic engineering (GE). The oil companies have not been able to overturn the consensus on climate change, so how could Monsanto have more power than they do? I don’t want readers to “believe”…
Arcata City Council ponders GMOs, waste
Benjamin Fordham Mad River Union ARCATA – The Arcata City Council tackled a bevy of topics during its Sept. 17 meeting, including solid waste collection services and the first in a series of presentations on Measure P, the ballot measure that would ban GMO crops in Humboldt County. GMO debate The council hosted two speakers…
Measure P’s fear, prejudice and ideology, part 1
Corporations, including Monsanto, are in it for the money. If we dictate public policy based on Humboldt County’s’ economic advantages, how would we be different? Promoting sustainability and decreasing human suffering is a more worthy goal than locking in economic advantages. Neil deGrasse Tyson said, “If you are against corporate power, then focus on that.”…
Recent Letters to the Editor regarding GMOs and Measure P
GMOs, nukes, fracking I have just finished reading the columns by Roland Richmond and Mark Wilson (Union, Sept. 10) supporting GMO production. I am struck by their statements that rejecting the entrance of GMO crops in Humboldt amounts to an anti-science tribal mentality. Really? Then it must be anti-science tribal mentality to reject the experimentation…