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WEEKLY NEWS TOPIC:  Can GMO and organic agriculture peacefully co-exist?


Like a concerned parent with scrapping siblings, the United States Department of Agriculture is determined to get biotech and organic agricultures to just get along.
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The essential problem is keeping crops that contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs) from contaminating organic crops with their modified genes.  Organic crops are, by official government rules, not allowed to contain GMOs.  Thus if an organic crop is contaminated with GMOs, it can no longer be sold as organic.
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To determine how these disparate entities could best co-exist, USDA commissioned an advisory group, called AC21, consisting of stakeholders from both factions.  After considering the problem for some time, AC21 recommended, in essence, that all farmers should be free to grow whatever they want, and that all farmers should pay to self-insure themselves against transgenic contamination.
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In other words, AC21 recommends USDA and the biotech industry abdicate responsibility for GMO contaminations and that organic farmers insure themselves against such contaminations.   This recommendation leads one to ask…
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Can GMO and organic agricultures peacefully co-exist?

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Should Cities Encourage or Discourage Wild Animals?

WEEKLY NEWS TOPIC
Food Chain Radio Show #798 • November 17, 2012 • Sat 9AM Pacific
Michael Olson Features
James Sterba Author of Nature Wars


Which wildlife would you most like to evict from your city?

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“Look at the buck deer!”
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While walking the dog through an upscale neighborhood of Billings, Montana recently, my attention was called to a rather scruffy looking house that had obviously been abandoned some months previously.  Standing next to an open gate was the buck deer, happily eating the landscaping as if in full legal ownership of the house and its grounds.
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Having grown up in Billings on a diet rich in wild venison, the citified buck stopped me in my tracks.  We stared at each other for several long moments.  I then moved closer, expecting him to bound away.  But the buck was without fear, and did not flee.  I left him in possession of the house and all its delicious landscaping.
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Wild animals have discovered what people long ago discovered– the safety and security of living in cities.  As author James Sterba says, “It is very likely that in the eastern United States today more people live in closer proximity to more wildlife than anywhere on Earth at any time in history.”
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In fact, wildlife running wild through our communities cause an estimated $28 billion in damage every year in the United States, with $1.5 billion from deer-auto crashes alone!  This leads us ask…
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Why has so much wildlife moved into cities?
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Why are cities so welcoming of wildlife?
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Should cities encourage or discourage wild animals?   

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Can We Eat Our Way to Mental Health?

WEEKLY NEWS TOPIC
Food Chain Radio Show #797 • November 10, 2012 • Sat 9AM Pacific
Michael Olson Features
Nutritionist Pam Killeen Author of Addiction: The Hidden Epidemic
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Addiction, autism, dementia… Oh me!… Fatigue, sleep disorders, ADHD… Oh my!
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The National Institute of Health estimates that worldwide more than one in four now suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder, and that half of those with a mental disorder have two or more disorders.
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All is not bad about the mental disorders that now affect our thinking. In fact, the disorders now generate hundreds of billions of dollars worth of business every year for those who manufacture pills, and that’s enough money to float a good-sized country, or two.
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However, for those who do not manufacture pills, all is not so sweet. Those who suffer from mental disorders must suffer from them, and those who do not suffer from them must pay to help those who suffer by buying their pills, which as mentioned, cost enough to float a good-sized country, or two.
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All those pills we buy may be alleviating some symptoms of mental disorders, but they do not seem to be eliminating the disorders, which leads us to ask …
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Why do so many people now have so many mental disorders?
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Does what we eat affect the development of our brain and mind?
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Can we eat our way to mental health?