The Lowdown on GMOs According to Science

About this book

Public distrust of GMOs has increased in recent years. The animosity is everywhere; from initiatives popping up left, right, and center to label'em, ban'em, or warn the public. The media overplays the reports and plays into the deft game of extrapolating far beyond what the science says as well as ignoring expert opinion on what the science actually implies.

The Lowdown on GMOs: According to Science is intended to counter the rampant fallacious thinking and destructive activism permeating the biotech discussion based on little more than anecdote and ideology. Featuring the writings of public scientists, plant pathologists, renowned authors, farmers, science writers, professors, and journalists, they answer the hard questions asked of GMOs with elegance, ease, and evidence.

This is a book for those who want to know what the science actually says, where the evidence actually leads and the potential implications radiating from our actions.

Features interviews with molecular biologist Kevin Folta, family farmer Brian Scott, and Neal Carter, CEO of biotech company Okanagan Specialty Fruits, and includes contributions from molecular biologist Karl Haro Von Mogel, molecular biologist Alan McHughen (author of A Consumer's Guide to GM Food: From Green Genes to Red Herrings and Pandora's Picnic Basket: The Potential and Hazards of Genetically Modified Foods), plant geneticist Anastasia Bodnar, former anti-GMO blogger Julee K, English professor and farmer Mike Bendzela, Uruguayan farmer Gabriel Carballal, biochemist Michael Simpson, plant pathologist Steve Savage, journalist Keith Kloor, social scientist Cami Ryan, author, journalist and environmentalist Mark Lynas (author of, amongst others Seeds of Science: Why We Got It So Wrong On GMOs), and computer scientist and author Ramez Naam.

Contents

Opening Minds Amidst the Myths
      Karl Haro Von Mogel

PART I. Introduction
Who’s Afraid of GMOs?
      Alan McHughen

PART II. 21 Questions
21 Questions
      Fourat Janabi

Neal Carter
Brian Scott
Kevin Folta

PART III, Who, What, When, Where, and Why
We’re All Wearing the Same Genes
      Anastasia Bodnar
Science is Laughing at Us
      Julee K
On What It’s Like Not To Know Squat About GMOs
      Mike Bendzela
Using Technology to Reduce Our Farming Footprint
      Gabriel Carballal
Do GMO Crops Have a Higher Yield? It Depends.
      Michael Simpson
Gorillas and the Future of Crop Biotechnology
      Steve Savage
GMO Opponents are the Climate Skeptics of the Left
      Keith Kloor
Why GMO Myths are so Appealing and Powerful
      Cami Ryan
Time to Call Out the Anti-GMO Conspiracy Theory
      Mark Lynas
Why Organic Advocates Should Love GMOs
      Ramez Naam
Random Thoughts on Biotech
      Fourat Janabi

Customer Reviews

Biography

Fourat Janabi is a photographer, blogger, and author of Random Rationality and S3: Science, Statistics and Skepticism. He lives for the moment in Italy where, unfortunately, GMOs are not approved for sale, and travels around the world to explore its myriad possibilities and limitless beauty. He claims no other title other than that of self-educated layman.

Previously an anti-GMO activist, Janabi started to rethink his views when he read Ray Kurzweil's The Singularity is Near, in which Kurzweil talks about "the dangers of not accepting technology". Further research into Golden Rice and writings by Kevin Folta, interim chairman the University of Florida’s horticulture program, further solidified the notion that GMOs are not dangerous for human health and are in fact beneficial.