The Eyes of Nye - Genetically Modified Foods (2012)

Really, the term Genetically Modified Food or Organism is a bit of a misnomer. Ever since the dawn of agriculture (even as hunter-gathers, unconsciously) we've been artificially selecting for traits that we found desirable in our food. Since the 1920s, we've taken control even further, "engineering" particular desirable traits. The term would be more scientifically accurate as "Genetically Engineered Organism". I've found that, usually, the most fervent anti-GE believers are usually the ones that don't understand the underlying science around the issue.

I usually upload the audio from videos I post—for those hungry iPods—but I feel like this one should be watched for full effect, so have at it and share with your friends.

Michael Specter - Denialism (2009)

Denialism, Wikipedia defines it as human behavior where individuals choose to deny reality as a way to deal with an uncomfortable truth. Science is the ever-growing body of knowledge which seeks to test and measure reality in the—thus far conceived—best possible way, the scientific method. It operates with emotionless impunity, stripping away bias and unrepeatable findings, until the best possible theory to explain observed natural phenomenon is reached by peer-review and consensus. Sometimes science gets corrupted by bias, capitalism, or any number of factors, and we can point to certain instances in history or current events where this is so (take tobacco safety for instance). Even with error, the method razors through, who do you think discovered the harm tobacco actually does, in the end? It certainly wasn't the science denialists or the alt-med quacks. It was the persistence, in the face of substantial corporate pressure, of scientists studying the effects of cigarettes on health and loudly protesting the consensus until it changed.

In Michael Specter's book, Denialism, he takes on several strains of anti-science thinking. Fear of science and critical thinking, the anti-vaccination movement, organic food myths and anti-GMO activism, nutritional supplements and homeopathy cures, and genetics in regards to racial ethnicity. Each topic is well argued with plenty of entertaining interviews, quips, and Specter's personal insights. I could write a lengthy article in agreement with each of these topics, but Specter covers each point quite well already in his book, which I of course highly recommend. This is a strong first book for a writer who's future work I highly anticipate.

Portland is Epically Failing at Science

I have to hand it to Portland, its a nice place to live. It's arts and culture are a vibrant and welcome change of scenery compared to other large metropolitan areas. Its nearly a universal fact here that everyone either plays in a band, is an artist, or has a bohemian lifestyle. Progressive and intellectual thought is encouraged here in Woolandia, just don't go around challenging our tightly-held naturalistic beliefs or there will be hell to pay. We have one of the largest bookstores in the country (it takes up an entire city block for shit's sake) with small independent bookstores catering to all sub-genres and all tastes that can be found everywhere. So, why do we embrace so many anti-science and scientifically illiterate stances? It goes against all common sense. So lets go through all of the things this science class failing city embraces!

#1 - Anti-Fluoridation

Despite being the last of the U.S. top 30 most populated cities to not fluoridate its drinking water [1], Portland defeated (by a substantial margin) the recent measure to fluoridate this year and its been defeated here four times before (once voting in favor, then shortly after reversing the decision). Why would Portlanders defeat such a simple health measure when all of the scientific consensus is firmly in favor of fluoridation? Rampant "chemophobia" (or the irrational fear of chemicals), the appeal to nature (the logical fallacy that because something is natural it is inherently better), manipulative political campaigning combined with internet misinformation (Clean Water Portland, the anti-fluoride lobby here, has a name which contains a fallacious appeal), and—to beat a dead horse—a lack of scientific knowledge by the general public. In defiance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Dental Association universally hailing water fluoridation as one of the top 10 public health achievements of the 20th century [2], the 65 years of studies in which the overall scientific consensus is that community water fluoridation is as safe as can be measured [3], and its incredibly low cost to high benefit ratio [4], Portland remains fluoride-free (except, of course, the level that already naturally occurs) and has no sign of swaying in favor anytime soon.

I consider anti-fluoridation to be number one on this list because of its widespread acceptance. The last time we voted, the measure was struck down by a 20-point margin [5]. Selected articles for further reading on the topic: Why Portland Is Wrong About Water Fluoridation, Water fluoridation controversy, and The Sanest Arguments Against Fluoride... And Why They're Still Wrong

#2 - Anti-GMOs

If there's something else that can inspire a knee-jerk emotional reaction (MONSANTOOOO!) out of people here, just mention GMOs. Thanks to a rigorous campaign of misinformation and fear-mongering from grocery stores like Whole Foods [6] and New Seasons [7], if there's one thing people fear ingesting more than trace amounts of fluoride, its genetically modified organisms. Sure, who doesn't want to conserve the environment and eat good, healthy food? But how does organic food address these issues? Environmentally, growing organic food is a less efficient use of land (numbers are varied, but a fair estimate is that organic food is somewhere around 25% to 35% less productive [8])—food production takes up a substantial portion of the Earth's surface (with estimates as high as 40% [9]). Land use and its maximization is something that organic food will be unable to match with modern agriculture. The fact shatters the idea that organic farming is more environmentally friendly, especially since more and more arable land will be needed for food production due to an ever increasing human population. Are GMOs dangerous or have they caused a single illness or fatality? Are they less healthy than organic food? Its an unequivocal no on all counts, hippies. There is no evidence whatsoever that any GMOs are any more dangerous or unhealthy than organic food [10]. The scientific consensus is broad and clear on this [11].

Often the same companies that mass produce organic food also have products which are produced conventionally so the idea that buying organic is some sort of consumerist rebellion against large corporations and conventional agriculture is a myth. I consider myself to be an environmentalist and I'm strongly interested in preserving the Earth's extremely fragile and varied ecosystem. However, our current methods of organic food production are wasteful and costly to the environment. Its also important to note that I am not entirely arguing against organic food, rather the false modern science verses organic food ideological dichotomy. Obviously, using technology and engineering to splice genes together can have negative consequences and should be researched carefully, but its an option that needs to be explored if we're going to feed the planet and stop global warming. Every technology has risks, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't take them, especially when the stakes are so high.

Selected articles for further reading: What scares you about GE foods?, More bad science in the service of anti-GMO activism, and Fruitless Endeavors: The False Promises of Organic Agriculture

#3 - "Alternative" Medicine

Welcome to Woolandia, where you can't throw a rock into a crowd without hitting someone who's studying acupuncture, naturopathic medicine, or reflexology. Everyone here is so healthy and supplements their organic, non-GM food with delicious multivitamins, echinacea, and homeopathic wellness pills. Acupuncture doesn't work [12], naturopathic medicine is pseudoscience [13], reflexology is not an effective treatment for any medical condition [14], most people who eat a balanced diet don't need nutritional supplements (they're basically expensive urine coloring) [15], and homeopathy is outright unethical quackery (you're buying pills that have nothing in them) [16]. But never mind all of that science stuff. Evidence doesn't mean anything in Woolandia!

Further reading: ASA Smacks Down Homeopathy, Another Negative Study of Vitamins, and The difference between science-based medicine and CAM

#4 - Anti-Vaccinations

This one is another belief straight out of the appeal to nature file cabinet. There are people here that actually believe vaccines are harmful, cause autism, or whatever despite the mountain (and its a giant fucking mountain) [17] of evidence that points to the contrary. The logic employed to justify these beliefs is often so riddled with fallacies that it becomes incomprehensible to any thinking person. Here in Woolandia, logic means nothing! You think vaccines don't cause autism? Well I got vaccinated and my foot hurts. How about that? Huh?!

Mo' readin': Retracted autism study an 'elaborate fraud,' British journal finds

Why Does the Vaccine/Autism Controversy Live On?, Autism And Vaccines: Fears Persist Despite Overwhelming Evidence That The MMR Vaccine Is Safe, One Thing We Know About Autism: Vaccines Aren't to Blame, and The Crash and Burn of an Autism Guru

#5 - Scientology

Greetings Earthlings, it is I, the great lord Xenu, ruler of the Galactic Confederacy! 75 million years ago I brought billions of humans down to Earth in jetliner spacecraft. I stacked them around volcanoes filled with hydrogen bombs, which I detonated, which killed everyone's material bodies but their souls live on in you (they're called thetans) and they're the source of all human misery. You can only get rid of them through auditing (which is extremely expensive) but as you advance up in OT levels (also extremely expensive) you gain powers such as: immunity to disease, mentally increasing your body weight, healing by touch, ESP, telepathy and remote viewing, mentally project illusions into other people's minds, generate electricity with your body, and of course spiritual immortality.

Scientologists actually believe all of this.

Further reading: Supernatural abilities in Scientology doctrine, Scientology's Space Opera and Confidential Materials, and Scientology controversies

Sources:
[1] http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2013/05/portland_fluoride_vote_will_medical_science_trump_fear_and_doubt.html
[2] http://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/
[3] http://www.ada.org/fluoride.aspx
[4] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1459459/
[5] http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/22/fluoridation-fails-in-portland-by-20-point-margin/ 
[6] http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/mission-values/environmental-stewardship/genetically-engineered-foods
[7] http://www.newseasonsmarket.com/our-story/welcome#gmo-foods-and-you
[8] http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v485/n7397/full/nature11069.html
[9] http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-09-17/national/35495975_1_organic-food-organic-advocates-organic-agriculture
[10] http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8180.pdf
[11] http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2012/1025gm_statement.shtml
[12] http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/acupuncture-doesnt-work/
[13] http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/Naturopathy/naturopathy.html
[14] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19740047
[15] http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/truth-behind-top-10-dietary-supplements?page=2
[16] http://skepticalvegan.com/2011/02/05/homeopathy-unethical-quackery/
[17] http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/toxic-myths-about-vaccines/

Michael Specter - Authors@Google (2009)

This week has been a whirlwind of band tour and now I'm preparing to hike the Timberline trail around Mt. Hood tomorrow. Should take me a few days to complete the hike and the posts will start flowing again. Its nice to get off the internet for days at a time, I highly recommend it.

AUDIO ONLY (MP3)

Michael Specter - Denialism (2010)

I took a short break from reading heavy non-fiction, but I will be returning to the grind shortly with Michael Specter's Denialism. After watching this lecture, I can expect a grand take-down of leftist science denialism. He takes on anti-GMO, anti-vaccine, and generally anti-science left activists that have taken over progressivism. 

AUDIO ONLY (MP3)

Micheal Pollan - The Botany of Desire (2001)

Co-evolution is what has shaped modern agriculture, the mass cultivation of plants, animals, and fungus for human sustenance. Our domineering and self-important collective human psyche often puts us as the final arbiters, the Gods of the Garden, beholden only to our own whims. This book attempts to flip this paradigm on its head. We are not the Gods that possess complete domination over life, at least not yet. Nature ultimately is in control (though not an intentioned or conscious control), just as animals and plants in the wild are waging evolutionary warfare on each other - selecting for resistances to chemicals, building exoskeletons against predators, increasing running muscles in carnivorous predators, increasing eye-sight capabilities to see predators, continue ad infinitum - humans are in an unwitting war of desire on the plants we cultivate. We unconsciously and consciously select plants we find useful or desirable while the plants evolve the traits we want because the plants which cater to our needs are more successful, thus their genes are further propagated. The "Gods of the Garden" phrase gives way to the more accurate "Unwittingly Cooperative Caretakers of Plants" or perhaps something equally as awkward and verbose. Throughout the book, Pollan continually connects the assumed messianic paradigm with Greek polytheism, where Gods represented different facets of life. In a simple dichotomy, Pollan separates plants to appeal to Apollonian order or Dionysian frivolity.

Apples were introduced into North America by European colonists and part of what has made them so successful is their adaptability. Apples are examples of extreme "heterozygotes", rather than expressing the the DNA of their parents in a straightforward manner (with slight mutations), apples exhibit significantly different characteristics than their progenitors. Agriculturally, apples are grown exclusively through asexual grafting with sexual seed reproduction occurring only in wild apple trees. Currently, there are still a wide variety of cultivated apple breeds and this is due precisely to their extreme genetic variability. There are 7,500 different apple cultivars with around 25 varieties grown in commercial agriculture. Apple trees grown in a cloned orchard are more prone to disease than wild varieties due to their reduced genetic fitness.  Therefore, the work of staving off harmful fungus and other such maladies falls to us, the caretakers of our genetic creations. According to Pollan, our agricultural domestication of apples has gone too far. Reduced to a few handfuls of commercially cultivated cloned varieties, the natural genetic fitness of apples has been compromised. While our genetic clones are stuck in an evolutionary limbo--pests, fungus, bacteria, and insects are forever evolving and eventually, with the right combination of genes, they're going to win.

The tulip represents the ultimate quintessential flower. Simplicity, color, and beauty with an abstractness of emotions. Tulips are for kids, states Pollan, they are simple to draw and visually uncomplicated. They are the least Dionysian of flowers, their form being extremely ordered and perhaps their visual simplicity doesn't lead to overt passionate emotions. The "tulipomania" in Holland during the 1600s was a savage uprooting of the tulip's unemotional nature, people were willing to sell their homes for the mere promissory note of future tulips. As the market spiraled out of control, with tulips being sold for obscene prices, the most sought after prize was the "break"--tulips that had a streak of contrasting, passionate color across their uniformed simplicity. These broken tulips were rare and for unknown reasons at the time, created less progeny. In the 1920s, scientists discovered that broken tulips were caused by a virus which actually weakened the vitality of the plant. This throws natural selection against a brick wall, as humans were artificially selecting for a visual trait which actually made the plant sickly and diseased. From the point of view of the tulip, the human relationship was detrimental, but from the point of view of the aphids that spread the virus, this was pure evolutionary genius.

Marijuana represents the pure Dionysian plant. Visually ugly but contained within its flowers are powerful intoxicants. Human cultivators have morphed this highly adaptable weed into plants of pure delight, eliciting ever higher concentrations of THC content. With modern techniques, the marijuana plant can be forced to overproduce and does so quite willingly. Pollan describes his own misadventures with growing marijuana in his garden, from germinated seed to the eventual paranoid and frantic uprooting of his plants. Pollan then attempts to place an intoxicating plant in terms of evolution. How did THC first manifest? Pollan lays out his best theories (although since he is not an evolutionary botanist, his hypothesis seems perhaps half-baked) and tries to place the reasons for humans seeking out intoxication within an evolutionary context. Drugs can induce feelings of "transcendence" and Pollan begins to speculate (with some scientific backing) about the purpose of memory loss and normal functioning. Our brains are sensory input machines that are under constant assault from the outside and without a memory loss function, we would be quickly overwhelmed with our sensory memories. THC has been shown to effect short term memory quite substantially and endocannabinoids are produced naturally by the body which activate cannabinoid receptors in the brain. As far as what exactly that means, scientists are still unsure but cannabinoid receptors are similar in function to monoamine neurotransmitters (such as acetylcholine and dopamine) but vary in some respects.

The potato is, even more than the apple, proof of our strong influence over the evolution of plants. Wild potatoes are toxic, inedible, and without our evolutionary influence we would not be eating them. In the case of some potatoes, this control combined with modern technology enables us to force whatever evolutionary design we see fit in almost unimaginable ways. Pollan writes about his personal experiences with NewLeaf genetically modified potatoes by Monsanto. Engineered to be resistant to the Colorado beetle, Pollan's NewLeafs grew with fervor. He marveled at their perfection, their supreme triumph over nature. Removed from the market due to pressure from the anti-GMO lobby (mostly against McDonald's, one of the largest buyers of potatoes in the United States), Pollan expressed irrational fear against eating his modified potatoes. He left them sitting on his porch in a plastic bag, unable to be sliced for a conscious-free potato salad.

To provide my final thoughts, overall I felt like while being an entertaining read, this book is not a science book and it undoubtedly isn't intended to be. Though Pollan shows an understanding of evolution, he does a fair bit of simplification and speculation. I appreciate Pollan's ability to not blindly pander to the naturalistic fallacy. When he is critical of agricultural pesticides and GMOs he's not doing it in an unintelligent way--he provides evidence and counterpoints to his ideas. He seems like what a journalist should be, somehow in the middle of two opposing ideas: modern technological agriculture and pure organic agriculture, himself wrestling between the two (though he obviously leans towards pure organic). Our ideas of agriculture run between two diametrically opposed schools of thought. In my opinion, this is a false dichotomy. The way to solve our agricultural crisis lies somewhere in the middle of the two. I like to think that Pollan agrees with me.