Haiti: Bursting the American bubble

My wife and I recently returned from a trip to Haiti.  This was my first experience in a third world country and I wanted to share.   This was a mission trip through my church Hope Community Church located on Buck Jones Rd in Raleigh.  It is rare I talk about religion on this blog.  It is not my personality to force religion on anyone.   Belief in God is a decision you need to make for yourself, not a decision that can be forced on anyone.   So for some of you this is merely some pictures and info to learn more about Haiti and what a visit to the country looks like.   For those that do believe in God, you may get even more out of this post as you see the God side of things as well.  

So I'll start with a little background.  Hope Community Church and a church in Port-au-Prince called Agape partnered a few years back.  It was the vision of Agape church in Haiti to provide what we in America would call a "contemporaneity" service.   There are plenty of churches in Haiti, but Agape would offer a different kind atmosphere.  Of course a Sunday service is just the beginning.  Most importantly Agape also provides all kinds of support for the community and we were there to help out with a teen camp, which was basically a big vacation bible school.  These kids would dance, sing, and have fun while learning more about God.  They would also get a good meal, which for some of them was probably the best meal they had had in a while.

Saturday

We arrived in Port-Au-Prince as a team of 12.  Katherine and I were there in a semi support role. Kelsey was our leader and the others were in college.   Katherine and I quickly took on the name "mom" and dad", which were fun titles that stuck for the rest of the week. 

Once out of the airport and on the streets of Haiti you immediately realize just how different this country is.  The first thing we noticed is the trash.  It is everywhere.  Pictures do not really even do justice tot he amount of trash on the streets.  Haiti has no trash infrastructure.  There are no garbage trucks picking up trash.  There are no landfills.  So the trash accumulates everywhere.  Sometimes heaps of trash are put together and you will see random fires on the side of the streets every day as small amounts of trash are burned.

The next thing you realize is that traffic is CRAZY.  Port-au-Prince is a city of 3.2 million people.  We drove down a lot of streets.  I saw one stoplight the entire time.  I saw maybe 2 stop signs, none of which were heeded by the drivers.  Cars, trucks, and motorbikes are everywhere weaving around each other and blowing horns.  Almost all the vehicles are diesel and the smell of diesel with black smoke is always around.

Most of the places you travel will look similar.  There are people everywhere selling what they can to make a dollar.  It is apparent very quickly that life in Haiti is not easy.   Many times someone selling onions is beside 10 other people selling onions too.  These videos tell the story of what most of Port-au-Prince looks like as you drive down the streets.

I loved this picture.

Fruit is one thing that is abundant.  There are fruit tress everywhere and people also have small plots of vegetables that they harvest and bring to the market.

From the airport we went to the place we would stay for the week.  The minister of Agape has founded an orphanage and school in a small town called Kenscoff.  Kenscoff is about 30 minutes up a mountain right outside of Port-au-Prince.  This trek would become familiar.  Each day we would come down the mountain for camp and then go back up the mountain in the evening.  As we went up the mountain and out of Port-Au-Prince we exited the city and entered the country.  This country side was beautiful.  It was also cooler as well averaging a good 10-15 degrees lower than in the city which was always in the mid 90s while we were there.

As we arrived at the orphanage we had a gorgeous view for the rest of the week.  We were on a mountain and had another mountain right across from us.  

The orphanage was home to 27 boys.  The site was also home to a school for the 27 boys plus many more that would come from the surrounding countryside.

The orphanage and school had its own playground.  Notice the rebar sticking out everywhere.  I can just hear what Americans would say if our playgrounds looked like this.   The first scratch on a kid and a lawsuit would be filed.  These kids were so happy to have anything to play with and having some steel sticking out did not bother them at all.

Sunday

We woke up to go down the mountain and see the Agape church service on Sunday.   The upper class Haitians speak French, but most of the population speaks Haitian Creole.  I didn't really understand much, but started to pick up a few basic creole words while I was there.  

We spent the rest of the day back up the mountain at the orphanage.  The 27 kids at the orphanage range in age from 7 months to around 18.  Of course my wife was quick to get a hold of the baby anytime she could as were Blaine, Courtney, Bailey, Kelsey, and Peyton.  

Monday 

Monday was the first day of the kids camp as we took the daily trek down the mountain.  It was the daily practice for us to cram in our van ad for "mom" to take the daily selfie of the group.

The reason we came down to Haiti was to help with the camp.  It was basically a big vacation bible school.  The basic day consisted of some songs and dancing, followed by games that we helped lead.   The boys and girls would separate for the games.  There were a few staff that worked at Agape with wonderful English.  We would explain the games and they would translate.  We played games like mingle mingle, jump the river, over/under with a ball, blob tag, etc.  Here we were prepping for the games.  lots of balloons!!

After games there was a usually a small sermon.  After the sermon the boys would get in small groups and the girls would get in small groups with a volunteer or leader from Agape.  In the small groups the kids got to discuss what was was talked about during the day.  While the kids were in small groups, we started to prepare to feed all of the kids.  About 500 kids showed up each day.  That meant we filled over 500 cups with ice and poured some fruit champagne or lemonade (a huge treat for these kids) as well as setting up an assembly line for preparing food plates.  Food consisted of rice and then some type of meat like chicken.  Each day I saw 500 kids get fed and I saw 500 plates come back completely clean.  There was no wasted food.  The chicken bones came back completely clean.  It put things in perspective and was a story I will always remind my own kids of.  After lunch we would play with the kids for a while and then head back up the mountain. 

This stuff tasted just like a cream soda dumb-dumb sucker. 

Another observation  was the kids in Haiti loved games and they did not get tired of simple games.  They could play the same game for hours even if it was a simple slap game.

The kids loved to get on our shoulders.  Even the staff got in on the action.  :)

Remember that hand game called Miss Mary Mac.  They love that game.

One the way back to up the mountain we had a flat tire.  The roads are a mess in Haiti.  In the city the roads are paved, but potholes are everywhere.  As we go up the mountain the final road to the orphanage was a dirt road with large rocks for traction.  Those roads were terrible on the vehicles and took a toll on our tires.  The flat tire did provide a perfect overlook to take in the beauty of the Haitian land. 

Once we were back up the mountain to "home" we got to play with the boys at the orphanage.  There were two sports the boys loved to play.  One was "football" of course.   Some of them also loved basketball.  I played basketball all afternoon and was completely soaked when we finished. 

Tuesday

Tuesday was the second day at camp.  It was more of the usual routine with games, serving lunch, and just loving on the kids.  They kids loved the girls hair and would braid and play with it as much as they could.  They also loved our phones and wanted to take selfies and pictures anytime they could.

Another day of camp was done and it was back up the mountain.  Oh yeah guess what.  We had another flat tire. :)  Once again it was a good time for a few pics.  Another stunning view, however if you look down off the road you can get a glimpse at what the trash situation in Haiti looks like.

Tuesday was a chance to hang out with a couple of the boys that live near the orphanage.  Thomas and I  walked a short distance to Jerry's house.  As you walk and see the houses you can still some effects from the huge earthquake in 2010.  This was the earthquake that killed ~220,000 people and the effects are still seen in the city.  Before the earthquake building were just cinder blocks.  Now rebar is used and you can tell the new buildings since they don't cut the rebar.  It just protrudes from the top of structures.    Jerry's  house still had a very large crack from the roof to the ground.  You would also see these small tin boxes scattered throughout the countryside.  2-3 people would live in these small boxes while they rebuilt houses after the earthquake.

Here is an avocado tree.  All these tropical fruits are everywhere and so good.

Wednesday

Back down the mountain after breakfast.  I forgot to mention we were able to have Haitian coffee every morning.  That stuff is the bomb and I had to brind some back home!  On Wednesday after the games and singing and dancing, I was given the privilege of giving the sermon.  I would speak a few sentences and then my translator spoke for me.   It was a time when I wish I knew other languages.  The language barrier can be frustrating when you go to a country in which you do not speak or understand the native language.  Nonetheless, it was awesome to speak to 500 kids knowing that if even a few connected with your message it was worth it. 

Once back at the orphanage we decided to take a hike up the nearby mountain with the orphan boys and a few other boys from the surrounding countryside.  It was about a 2 hour hike up a very steep and rocky path.  However it was beautiful. 

A few things to note from the hike.  There are small terrace farms all over the mountain.  It is dangerous farming these since it is steep.  The families farm small plots to have food for their families.  I did not see any large farms anywhere except some banana plantations in the northern part of the country.  Most of the agriculture are small family plots.  I saw some many tomatoes and peppers that have a lot of disease in those small plots.  

The next thing you notice is that most people do not have electricity.  Those fortunate to have electricity in many cases use generators.  We had a generator for power but it only came on for a few hours in the morning and then again late evening with a shutoff at 10 PM.  The Haitian people are resourceful.  As you go up the mountain you see electric fence wire and even barb wire running everywhere held up by small sticks.  The Haitians have tapped into the few power supplies and run the electricity down the mountain to their homes with this wire.

The hike gives a preview of how beautiful the countryside is and how the small farms litter the mountain.

Families would make a trek from their terrace farms to the town at the top of the mountain or from the town down to their homes.  Carrying large loads on your head is a very common site.  It is actually unbelievable how much they are able to balance on their heads.

 Once at the top of the mountain we rode a Tap-Tap down.  A tap-tap is a truck with a top that is the taxi of Haiti.  Once in the back, you tap on the truck shelter to stop and get off.  These tap taps are everywhere and usually decorated in bright paint.

That night it was a little fun with the group playing "mafia" in our home.  Anders did some great narration.  I don't know if anyone has played mafia before, but Anders best narration of the night was when Kelsey told a lie so bad that her pants really did catch on fire and the mafia got her.  Well played Anders.



Thursday

It was the last day of camp and it was a day for sadness.  We had to say goodbye to the kids.  And we had to say goodbye to the Agape staff.  Even though we did not all speak the same language, there was nonetheless a common bond that had happened between our group and their group over the week.  Our belief in God had become our common language through song, dance, serving and fellowship.  And who thought that saying goodbye after only 4 days would be so hard.  I met some wonderful people at Agape.  They had big hearts and gave so much of themselves to feed and serve  the kids during the week and share with them a wonderful message.  I will always remember this staff and what they are doing to help Haiti.

This guy will always hold a special place in my heart:

One last football game was played as Peyton and McKenzie showed the boys that girls know how to score too.

Friday

Friday was our last full day in Haiti and a day to decompress.   Emotions were high in the group.  Saying goodbye was hard.  We were also just taking in the struggles the Haitian people have everyday.  So many of the boys had dreams to be an engineer or a doctor.  They were smart and could do it, but did not have the money to get into a university.  Making money is even harder because there are few jobs.  One boy told me he could collect rocks off the mountain and carry them one at a time for a mile or two.  A full dump truck load of the collected rocks would get him 2 US dollars.  These are tough stories to hear and as you grow attached to the people the stories become even harder to hear. 

To wade through those emotions we took a trip to northern Haiti to see a beach and swim in the Caribbean.  The trip there was the usual chaos of crazy driving!  It took about three hours to get there mostly because of the traffic.  Remember there are no stoplights and stop signs.  The end result was a beautiful beach called Wahoo Bay where they served bacon cheeseburgers!

On the way home we stopped by a restaurant that serves pizza.  Most businesses like this hire their own security.  As we ate at a very upscale restaurant in Haiti we were inside a "complex" with razor wire and a guard with a shotgun.  Just another reminder that we are in a very different place.

Riding down the streets we would frequently get hitchhikers on the back of the van.

Saturday we went to the airport and back to the states.  There is a saying in the US that we live in a bubble.  Of course many of us know that life is not always great in other countries.  However it is easy to forget just how great we have it here in the US.  Visiting Haiti was a great opportunity for me to become humbled again.  It is a beautiful country and the people have the same dreams as you and I.  However there dreams are much harder to become a reality because the country is just not as advanced.  Even though the people have a hard life, there is a simplicity to life in Haiti that I think people in the US can learn from.   People don't need phones and TV to still have fun.  They find joy just playing a slap game.  In the end 77 kids from the camp put their belief in God.  Whether you believe in God or not, the story of the Haitian people is one we can all learn from.  If you do believe in God, then they story is even more beautiful.  This is a story of a culture change as more people abandon the very real Voodoo found throughout Haiti and trust in God.

One other thing is very clear.   North Carolina is representing in Haiti.  Hope Community Church has had a strong outreach in Haiti for a few years as they partnered with Agape.  And that partnership is realized as you ride down the streets.  Port-au-Prince has a few million people and no matter where you go you will pick out Cary and Apex high school t-shirts, wolf pack t-shirts, UNC t-shirts, and Duke t-shirts.  It is crazy.  The church is supposed to help people, not just be a country club and you can actually see that effort through the clothes being worn on the streets. If any of you ever get a chance to visit Haiti I highly recommend it.  And of course if you ever want to check out Hope just holler.

Finally thanks to Peyton, Blaine, Anders,Thomas, Sam, McKenzie, Bailey, and Courtney for being great "kids".  Thanks to Kelsey for being a great leader.  And thanks to Melanie for being someone who really is changing the world through her faith.  Of course the best part was I got to experience Haiti with my wife, Katherine.

A Haitian artist that lived near the orphanage welcomed us into his studio one evening.  His canvas painted a picture I brought home to always remember this trip.  There is a path for all of us and even when it leads to some tough places God has a plan. The Haitian people are an example of walking a tough path and still trusting that the ultimate outcome is the right one.

The "State" of GMO labeling

 I don't believe the fears of very outspoken consumers should dictate policy when those concerns are not backed up by science.   When it comes to GMOs there is NO scientific evidence to show GMOs are unsafe and we are talking about thousands of studies!  However fear has had its way and Vermont's GMO labeling law just went into effect.   This law meant products with GM ingredients needed to be labeled in that state, with the label coming off more as a warning than valuable information.  Since it was a state law and not federal you can imagine the headaches that the food industry was facing.  Catering to one state is not an easy logistical exercise.

So what happened when that law went into effect?  Here is a blog post I found from someone in Vermont:  https://www.biofortified.org/2016/07/gmo-labeling-vermont/

There will be a price to pay for such a knee jerk law by consumers.    I understand that there is a fear among a small portion of our society about GM foods   Just putting some law out there that does not really address the issue is a band aid and in my opinion irresponsible of our lawmakers.  Our lawmakers should look at the science themselves.  They are supposed to be our leaders.  They need help educate their communities instead of blindly agreeing to institute laws due to unfounded fear.  The answer is to educate to not give into the fears.

The impact of the Vermont law has obviously sparked some debate at the federal level.  We are talking about disruptions in the food chain due to the Vermont law and that is concerning.  The Senate just passed a bill 63-30 that would mandate a federal standard of labeling.  The labeling would give companies various ways to label foods containing GM ingredients including using a QR code on each product.  Consumers would scan the code to learn more about what is in the food.

I have a couple of opinions.  Of course the bill still has to pass the House and if approved signed by the President.   On one hand the a federal bill was needed and I am glad the government got involved.  A federal bill will preempt Vermont's law and other states who are also thinking about such laws.  It would be a nightmare to have 50 states have individual labeling laws. On the other hand labeling GM food in my mind is only good if it is not used in a discriminatory way.  A label that singles out GMOs gives the perception that it is unsafe.  If we we want to give consumers a label then that label should be completely transparent:  How much aflatoxin is in our food?  How many insect parts are in our food?  And yes, those things are in your food at certain levels deemed acceptable.  How much heavy metal contamination is on your organic food?

We will see how the story plays out.  No matter what happens we all need to be aware that labels are intended to give information and I am not against labels.  Inherently they are not a bad thing.  However as consumers we need to know how to use those labels.  Labels can be used for malevolent purposes.  A prime example is in this picture below.  See that Non-GMO label on a bottle of salt and even on a bottle of water.  Yep, a bottle of salt and water, neither of which  have genes.  This label is purely a marketing gimmick and my concern is these GMO labeling laws could be used to perpetuate this kind of marketing if we are not careful.

https://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2015/08/24/non-gmo-salt-water-food-companies-exploit-gmo-free-labels-misleading-customers-promoting-misinformation/

Astrophotography: The Strawberry Moon

I had a friend ask me if I was going to take a picture of the Strawberry moon. The strawberry what?  I had never heard of a strawberry moon so did a quick search.  The strawberry moon does not refer to a red colored moon.  Instead the term strawberry moon refers to the rare event when the summer solstice and a full moon occur on the same day.

The old Farmer's Almanac references the strawberry moon.  It says, "The month of June’s Full Moon’s name is the Full Strawberry Moon. June’s Full Strawberry Moon got its name because the Algonquin tribes knew it as a signal to gather ripening fruit. It was often known as the Full Rose Moon in Europe and the Honey Moon."


The last time the summer solstice and a full moon were on the same day was 1967 and it won't happen again until 2062.  Luckily the skies were clear on June 20th and I had to get a couple pictures!  Enjoy the strawberry moon.  You won't see it again for awhile.

The million dollar question - How to see the "unseeable"

I remember when I was maybe 7 or 8, I got my first microscope..  My parents had gotten me a kids microscope kit and I spent hours upon hours with that little microscope over the next few years.  We had a pond on the farm and I still remember putting a sample of water from that pond on a slide.  It  was like looking into a different world.  Who knew that water had so much life that is invisible to our eyes.  In reality my life has not changed too much.  I still look into a microscope weekly at work and seeing something that you cannot see without that piece of equipment is still something that never gets old.  Maybe that is why I love my telescopes so much as well.   There is is just something about seeing the "unseeable" and exploring the unexplored that is just part of human nature.

I just attended a scientific conference called Society of In Vitro Biology.  This conference is held once a year and is always a great place to hear about some of the newest advances coming out of the in vitro (taking place in a test tube or petri plate) biology community.    As I was listening to the Keynote Speaker, I realized that there are explorers we all know and understand like Neil Armstrong or Christopher Columbus.   However there are also scientific explorers that are not everyday names (at least in the general public) that are exploring the unknown just as much as the Armstong's.  I had the privilege to hear one such explorer who is literally seeing the "unseeable" and brought me back to my childhood memories.

William E Moerner won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2014.  So for Dr Moerner, the literal million dollar question was how can we see the "unseeable" even better than we already do.  And from this point on, I have to admit my brain can only comprehend Dr. Moerner's work at a very basic level.   I understand his full body of work about as much as my 1 year old daughter understands my cell phone.  She doesn't really know everything it can do, but knows just enough to push buttons and pretend to talk on it.  So I will try to take the very basic concepts I heard and keep to the basics.

When I was that kid looking in my microscope, it had limits.  I could see those little Paramecium in the pond water, but I couldn't see everything with my basic microscope like bacterial cells.  My microscope couldn't resolve something that small.  In school we had microscopes that could actually see a bacterial cell after we stained it, which was call Gram staining.  Now we can even "stain" by "tagging"cells with a protein that fluoresces or glows under certain light.  Remember your black light in college?  This is basically the same concept.  Certain proteins glow under certain lights.   A common florescence protein comes from a jellyfish and is called GFP or green florescent protein.   The jellyfish has a protein that really does make it glow under certain wavelengths and we can get that protein to express in other organisms.   This type of tagging is used very commonly in science as a tool to see things under a microscope with the benefit that your organism is "stained" and can still be alive.  Things like Gram-staining kill the cells.

Here is an example of bacteria have been tagged with GFP and are photographed under a microscope in the presence of a certain type of light.  It is really cool to see this!

http://2013.igem.org/wiki/index.php?title=Team:Newcastle/Parts/HBsu-fp&oldid=349853

The problem wth optical microscopes is they have a limit and that limit is based on wavelength of light.  So anything under 250 nanometers in length is going to appear blurred under a microscope. This is the diffraction limit and is just physics in action. This is where our explorers step in.  They find ways to break limits.

They used those florescent tags and found ways to turn the florescence on and off.  Think of an late summer night and watching the fireflys blink on and off in your yard.  If a bacteria cell is tagged all of the place with these these florescent proteins and you can make the flourecence turn on and off you will have blinking.  The movie shows exactly what is happening.

Now you can take a picture of each of those of molecules as they blink.  You will have many pictures and can reconstruct and merge all the pictures.The results will be your object such as a bacterial cell that is up to 10 times more resolved than just a typical optical microscope image.  Below is a picture that shows a much more resolved bacterial cell using this technique.

http://web.stanford.edu/group/moerner/sms_smacm.html

There is a lot of science of science that went into this including how you make the florescent proteins turn on and off and how you reconstruct the images.  I kept this very basic mostly because I can really only comprehend the very basics of what Dr. Moerner and the other 2 scientists that won the Nobel prize in 2014 did.  There are all sorts of ramifications this research has and will have on scientific experimentation.  In the end, it was an amazing feat that shows what science is really about.  It is about explorers whose mission can be taken straight from science fiction:  "to boldly go where no one has gone before."   And of course splitting the million dollar Nobel prize for your contributions to science and humanity is also a nice perk of being a scientific explorer.

When a cotton harvest turns to worms - The importance of Integrated Pest Management

There is no doubt that farmers have their jobs cut out for them.  They can't control the weather for one.  Even when the weather cooperates there are other fast balls that get thrown at them such as pests or disease.

I recently listened to a presentation at work on the pink cotton bollworm.  This is a huge pest in the world of cotton.  The female lays its eggs in a cotton boll (the fruit that houses the cotton lint).  As the eggs hatch the larvae eat through the cotton lint to feed on the cotton seeds located in the boll.  The insects are doing damage to the lint and the seed both of which are used for cotton fabric and seed oil, receptively.  They also put wounds on the bolls that allow other insects and fungi to get in and cause additional damage.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_bollworm

The first generation of GM bollworm control came from Monsanto in 1996 and was called Bollgard I.  This was a single gene that controlled bollworms with a Bt protein.  This is the same protein that is approved and still used by many organic farmers.  Instead of applying the protein on the plants, the pants naturally produce this protein.  When a pest ingests the Bt protein, pores (or holes) form in the insect's gut, ultimately killing them while being completely harmless to humans.  This product was amazing and cotton farmers quickly adopted this new technology.

The problem is one gene can be overcome by a pest, bacteria, or virus.  I want to make a few things clear going forward.  In this story, a single gene was inserted into plants through a genetically modified approach.  Conventional breeding is used to do the same thing.   For instance there are many cultivars from various crops that have one gene bred to control something.   When I worked in tobacco, the "N" gene was conventionally bred into commercial lines to give tobacco mosaic virus resistance.  

This story is not a GM vs conventional breeding thing.  The real issue that these technologies compliment each other and both give farmers the tools to reduce the impacts from insects and disease.   We are facing a world wide problem today of bacteria developing antibiotic resistance.  The same thing can  happen with insects and crop diseases.  They are always working to find ways to overcome the defenses we put into plants.  The comparison of bacteria and antibiotics and vrops and disease/pests is so similar.  The reason we are developing antibiotic resistance so fast is because we are overusing antibiotics and even when we need them we don't always follow the instructions and take them till completion.  The same goes with these insect and disease resistance genes.  The tools work, but good practices must be followed to keep that tool working.

Bollgard I was an example where the bollworm overcame resistance.  Bollgard II followed  Bollgard 1 and this new product contained 2 genes that control bollworms instead of just one.  Multiple genes, or stacks are always preferred because it is much harder to overcome.  That still means the "prescription" needs to be followed to make the product last as long as possible.  The prescription in this case is insect resistance management  (IRM),   Integrated Pest Management (IPM)  is another popular term.  Even though the plants have a gene to control these worms, we want to do other things on the farm to protect the product and not give the worms a chance to develop resistance.   IPM to relies on multiple forms of control rather than just relying on couple genes no matter if  those genes come from a conventional method or GM approach.   Crop rotation, using beneficials, using correct cultivation methods, and using the right chemical at the right time are all other aspects of managing a pest.

Bollgard II is an incredible product.  However as Spiderman says, "with great power comes great responsibility."  This technology has great power, but there may be cracks forming in certain regions because that IPM "prescription" was not followed.  In Gujarat, India bollworms successfully became resistant to Bollgard I.  And now there are at least some rumors that boll worms have resistance to Bollgard II in Gujarat, India as well.   One source:  http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/wily-pink-bollworm-survives-monsantos-bollgardii/article7814810.ece

The US really pushes IPM and in some places are working towards eradication of pink bollworm.  In parts of India these practices are not being followed and we can see the results.  This video highlights what happens when when we have great technology, but we don't bring it all together.  A colleague shared this video which is mind is mind-blowing and sad.  The video is of a cotton harvest in Gujarat, India.  Look closely and you have wonder whether they are harvesting cotton or pink bollworms.

There are many tools at a farmers disposal to combat insects, disease, drought, and other challenges. All of these tools including,  biotech, conventional breeding, cultivation practices, insecticide and pesticide use, beneficials, and others are indispensable.  This story highlights what happens if only a couple of the tools are used and others are ignored.   All the work the research companies and the farmers are doing everyday are keeping yields sustainable and growing, but disease and insects are not sitting idle.

Parts of Arizona have shown what can be achieved if IPM is used correctly.  There some farmers don't even know what a pink bollworm looks like.   Hopefully all regions of the world will work to make this chart reality everywhere.

http://ipmwest.blogspot.com/2014/01/pest-loss-survey-in-cotton-quantifies.html

Resources:

More info on IPM:

The National Academy of Science breaks down GM crops in a HUGE report

The National Academies of Science just released a HUGE study with a large amount of information on GMOs.  I am still reading through it, but I really encourage everyone to take a good look at the info in the report.

The report can be found here: http://www.nap.edu/23395   It is a PDF that you can download for free.  You may need to put your email in at one point to get the download, but it is fairly straight forward to get a copy.

The Academy also put out a video that gives a short synopsis of each chapter of the report of which there are 9 chapters.  It comes in kinda long, but has a lot of information straight from the report summed up quite nicely.

https://vimeo.com/167020587

Here are just a few shots of the key points from the video.  Of course much more detailed information is in the report if any of these points below interest you.


Background information and reason for the study:

More evidence on GMOs is always welcome especially one that is as comprehensive as this one.  As the authors point out there still exists a very confusing landscape for the public on the GMO issue.  Even in the US states are having different opinions on GMO labeling emphasizing the lack of clarity on this topic. 

The Study

This study was one of the most comprehensive studies I have seen.   No only did they look at a LOT of previous studies, but they also reached out and went through comments from the public.

Differences in crop-improvement approaches:

One of the more interesting aspects of the study is that is getting harder and harder to determine the differences in our crops between GM and conventional breeding.  Both methods are changing the plant's genome in ways that is becoming harder and harder to differentiate.  That also means to make generalizations about just GM crops because conventional breeding and GM are so closely interlocked.  Due to the blurring lines of these approaches, we need to look at the safety of  conventional breeding just as much GM approaches.  

Safety:  

Of course safety did come up.  The study looked at many original studies and agreed with what has been found for years.  There is no evidence of adverse health affects.  They did put the cavet that we we can never scrutinize every variable and therefore we can never know everything there is to know.  However any effects we don't measure, both favorable or non-favorable could come from non-GM food just as much as from GM food.

Environmental effects:  

Again the message is no adverse environmental effects of gene flow from GM crops to the wild have been documented.  One interesting point from the study is that data from the USDA does not show GM crops have increased the RATE at which US crops yields are increasing.   I must admit this was an interesting finding and not one I expected.   However if we deep dive into just insect resistance GM crops, they do reduce yield losses from pests, and application of synthetic insecticides has gone down in Bt maize and cotton crops.  Further more insect diversity is actually higher in these populations of crops.   There are benefits.  The downside is insects can develop resistance to GM crops and thus insect resistant management  really needs to to followed by the farmers.  Don't forget insects can develop resistance to non-GM crops too.   In regards to herbicide resistance, we also know weeds develop resistance.  This is true for both GM and non-GM crops with resistance.  From the GM perspective Round-Up is an example where weeds can still grow even after application of the herbicide.  Yields can sometimes be better, but the real benefit is the flexibility farmers get from a logistics view on their farms.  

These slides are just some highlights.  There is lots of data and information in this report including all kinds of supplemental information.    It is great to see a study come out like this.   Once again there is no evidence of adverse safety concerns.  The study also points out that GM crops are not the only answer, but it is a technology we need to embrace just like every other technology that will allow our farmers to grow the food we need to feed the world.

Talc Powder and Cancer - Does the science support the Lawsuits?

 If you have younger siblings you probably remember helping your parents change diapers or at least watching and being grateful you didn't have to do it.  If there is one thing I remember very clearly it was every clean diaper got a good shake of baby powder.  That nice fresh smell of Johnson's baby powder really did the room good when my little sister decided to fill a diaper.

However times have changed and Johnson's baby power or talcum powder is not associated with clean and fresh anymore.  Instead it is associated with cancer.  There used to be a time when talcum powder included asbestos and that definitely had an association with cancer.  Asbestos was removed in the 70s, but there are still claims it is correlated with ovarian cancer.  I don't really have any answers today.  I was just reading and listening to some stories about talcum powder decided to dig a little deeper.

The first question is what does the science say?   Secondly, should juries be awarding large settlements to women who develop ovarian cancer they claim is from talcum powder?

Just do a Google search for Talcum powder and cancer and you will see this:

  

The next big thing to see is that settlements are being handed out, thus I guess the reason for the prevalence of these lawyer ads.

Here is one source talking about the settlements awarded so far:  http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/business/talcum-powder-cancer-johnson-johnson-1.3563809

A St. Louis jury awarded a family 72 million dollars in another case.

I don't want to take away from the deaths and sickness these families are going through.  I do want to look at the facts though.  Is talcum really causing cancer?  If so then of course these lawsuits have merit.  The entire reason I bring this topic up is that I have found conflicted evidence that seems inconclusive in some cases are more conclusive in others that talc powder causes cancer.

The first paper I found was published in 1999 from the Journal of the National Cancer Institute :  http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/92/3/249.full

Take a read, but here is the summary.

Of course this paper admits that they lacked information.

The American Cancer Society says:

http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/athome/talcum-powder-and-cancer

They bring up a point we need to consider which is recall bias.  If someone has cancer they may remember talc powder more than other factors simply because it has been in the news as a possible cause.

Another paper that just came out in May of 2016 thinks talc may be more of a factor in causing cancer.   http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4820665/

We have studies that say yes, there may be some correlation to ovarian cancer and genital talc use.  Many more studies are are much less clear.  Some have trends that show cancer correlations, but no statistical differences.  And most papers have a hard time controlling for recall basis.

Does talc powder cause ovarian cancer?   I would certainly be cautious after reading literature, but at this point the science is still trying to figure it out.  Is there enough scientific evidence to dish out 72 and 55 million dollar lawsuits?   There are over 1200 more lawsuits pending.  How should we handle cases where juries really need to dig into scientific evidence and not rely on emotion?   I do not feel like Johnson and Johnson was hiding evidence like the big tobacco companies may have in our past.    Even now the papers are divided, but how liable should Johnson and Johnson be? I also am trying to wade through these waters in my own mind.

Any other opinions?