Bob is reporting that Monsanto just pressured the University of California at Berkeley to dismiss a professor who published an article critical of genetic engineering of food crops. This goes to my constant complaint that research at public institutions should not be funded by private companies. (I know, I know - where will the money come from? Gee, I don't know, but we don't have any trouble funding sports arenas.) The first thing you see when you enter the new Life Sciences building at MU is a humongous sign on the wall behind the reception desk: M O N S A N T O A U D I T O R I U M. A couple million for research equipment was all it took. How many dollars in grant money for research they will be pouring through the institution, I couldn't say. But I feel quite certain it will make that look like pocket change. I wonder if they're going to be leaning on the research? Hmmmm? Whaddya think?
Sign the petition regarding the dismissal of Professor Chapela.
And by the way...
Glufosinate, widely used in the U.S. as a super herbicide for herbicide-resistant genetically modified crops, is like a "mock neurotransmitter" that has an aggressive effect on brains, he said.
If an embryo or a baby is exposed to the chemical, it can affect behavior, as it disturbs gene functions that regulate the developing brain, he said.
If an embryo or a baby is exposed to the chemical, it can affect behavior, as it disturbs gene functions that regulate the developing brain, he said.
[...]
A decade ago, the late Toshiko Fujii, a one-time professor of medicine at Teikyo University, conducted research in which she found that the main component of this GMO-compatible herbicide had adverse effects on the brains of baby rats.
[...]
"The chemical industry has not been considering this kind of risk on the developing human brain, which is a fragile, fine chemical machine," he said.
It's true. The tests are all about carcinogens and teratogens.
...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.
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