DNA Free Food Survey Results

The results of the previous DNA Free Food Survey are in. This is where we reveal the fact that the DNA Free Food Society was a joke. DNA free food is impossible - unless you confine your diet to certain foods such as sugar and vegetable oil.

Which is a shame because 19% of the 541 people who I surveyed on this site said they would pay 10 fold more for DNA free food.

38% said they would pay and additional 50% or more for DNA free food.

42% said they would pay nothing more for DNA free food.

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The Pope On Biotechnology

Some people claim the Pope has derided biotechnology in speechs made on November 11th and 12 2000. This seems to be in complete contradiction to earlier reports that the Catholic church does not feel that genetic engineering of plants is against God. Read On and make up your own mind about what the Catholic church has to say about Agricultural Biotechnology.

Miss-information from The Institute of Science in Society

The Institute of Science in Society (ISIS) is an organization run by a Dr Mae-Wan Ho, formerly from the Department of Biological Sciences Open University Milton Keynes UK. Dr Ho has organised the World Scientists Statement calling for a moratorium on GE technology. Dr Ho claims that this is an important document because it is signed by 310 Scientists who are qualified to understand the dangers outlined in the petition. However, if you take a detailed look at the petition you will see that that a substantial proportion of the signators are actually not scientists and can thus offer no opinion on the on the validity of the claims made in the petition.

This is in stark contrast to the petition supporting the controled and ethical use of GM technology which has 10 fold more names (signed by over 2900 people).

An analysis of the first 500 names on this petition shows that 79% of them are scientists in a a relevant field to have an opinion on the safety of GM crops. (Only 73% of the signators on the ISIS petition have any scientific background of any description.)

"Through judicious deployment, biotechnology can also address environmental degradation, hunger, and poverty in the developing world by providing improved agricultural productivity and greater nutritional security."

Read the petition from Scientists In Support Of Agricultural Biotechnology

ISIS Scientists and their credibility

Biologists may be interested in reading some of Dr Ho's other ideas about biology. It seems Dr Ho believes she has discovered a situation where the 2nd law of thermodynamics is broken. For example one of her documents can be found at: http://www.i-sis.org/negentr.shtml which includes the statement

"But as there need be no entropy generated in adiabatic processes - which occur frequently in living systems (see below) - the division into available and nonavailable energy cannot be absolute"

If you think this this is funny try reading this excerpt from Ho M.-W. (1997) Towards a theory of the organism. Integr Physiol Behav Sci 32:343-363.

Dr Ho claims to have 30 years research experience in Molecular Genetics. However, if you query databases to find her publications in this field you come up with only two papers in the field of molecular biology and these two describe the same piece of work - click here for details.