Terry Etherton Blog on Biotechnology

Rusty Bishop, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Dairy Research
Professor, Department of Food Science
University of Wisconsin – Madison

I. Executive Summary

Organic milk and dairy foods advocates have been very aggressive in their advertising, promotion and sales using statements and “facts” that lack scientific validity. Some of this information is true within a given context, while much is false and/or misleading. Science does not support the health, nutrition, or safety claims made by the organic industry. Actually, toxin levels have been shown to be higher in organic foods due to ineffective pesticide treatment of organic grain crops. In the one area where there exists a potential nutritional advantage of organic milk, such as increased levels of CLA, omega-3 fatty acids, and other antioxidants, access to fresh, high quality pasture is the key, not whether the production system is organic or conventional. Read the rest of this entry »

Jackie Avner
Colorado Voices writer from Highlands Ranch

The Denver Post
July 29, 2007 Sunday

I don’t like to buy organic food products, and avoid them at all cost. It is a principled decision reached through careful consideration of effects of organic production practices on animal welfare and the environment. I buy regular food, rather than organic, for the benefit of my family. Read the rest of this entry »

BBC News
Simon Cox
April 26, 2007

Sales of organic produce are booming on the back of alleged benefits to health and the environment, as well as claims of higher standards of animal welfare. But are we being misled by “feel good” claims that don’t stand up to scientific scrutiny? Read what Mr. Cox has to say about the situation in the United Kingdom in this most informative BBC Report.

Terry Etherton

The battle for public perception about “biotechnology in the barnyard” and animal agriculture is an interesting illustration of the use of “word play” or “verbal engineering” by anti-biotech activist groups. The intent? To misinform and scare consumers about biotechnology, science and our food production systems.

These “word sequences” are carefully engineered. The internet is awash in them!

Given the proliferation of junk science rhetoric on the internet, it seems like there is big business in scaring consumers. Read the rest of this entry »

The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) has conducted a review that comprehensively compares organic and conventional foods with respect to pesticide residues, nutritional components, naturally occurring toxins, and microbiological safety. A synopsis (copied with Permission) was published in the October issue (Volume 60:44, 2006) of Food Technology. The full-text of the peer-reviewed Science Status Summary was published in the Journal of Food Science (Volume 71:R117-R124, 2006). Read the rest of this entry »

The following was excerpted from the April 11, 2007 issue of The Biotech Advantage.

Dr. A. M. “Tony” Shelton, who is a Professor of Entomology at Cornell University and a visiting scientist at Lincoln University, recently wrote an opinion piece in The Press (Christchurch, New Zealand) that the debate on biotech crops is misleading New Zealand’s public.

This article is a great example of the ongoing misinformation campaigns run by opponents of biotech crops in New Zealand, and throughout the World. Read the rest of this entry »

By Cahal Milmo
The Independent
Published: 19 February 2007

Organic food may be no better for the environment than conventional produce and in some cases is contributing more to global warming than intensive agriculture, according to a government report. Read the full article at The Independent.