Category Archives: agriculture

Why It’s So Hard to Talk About GMOs

Posted on September 7, 2015 by Thoughtscapism

Despite our best intentions, discussions about GMOs often quickly degenerate into shouting matches. If we really want to make a difference, we should consider the psychology of how and why our views are formed, and help others do the same. Instead of eagerly fighting with facts, the effect of kindness and curiosity on a debate could surprise you. Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, health, psychology, science communication | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Three Ways Science Could Improve the World through Rice

Posted on July 28, 2015 by Thoughtscapism

Little did I know that rice, that innocent bag of grains sitting in my pantry, is warming the planet, inadvertently contributing to millions of deaths of women and children worldwide, and slowly poisoning me with arsenic. But I don’t want to … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, biology, climate, environment, health | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Plants Don’t Have Problems

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Thoughtscapism

As a preteen I wished that all humans would disappear from the planet and the beauty of nature would be left to flourish unhindered. I imagined I would be offered a big red button and I could annihilate the human race with … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, climate, environment, meta, science | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Organic vs Conventional Food

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Thoughtscapism

This piece has also been published by the Genetic Literacy Project and the Fitness Reloaded blog. I spent over a decade of buying little else than organic food. During that whole time, I never justified my choice by claiming that non-organic vegetables were less nutritious … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, health, nutrition, organic | Tagged , | 7 Comments

GMOs and the Environment

Posted on March 22, 2015 by Thoughtscapism

Many people are worried about the impact GMOs could have on the environment. That’s a reasonable concern. Are GMOs increasing the profits of farmers and biotech companies at the expense of the environment? As I have learned more about biotechnology and … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, climate, environment | Tagged | 22 Comments

On Farming, Animals, and the Environment

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Thoughtscapism

The way I see it, being labeled organic really shouldn’t stand in the way of choosing environmentally friendlier methods. Looking at the evidence I can find, sadly at this time this seems to be the case. Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, environment, nutrition, science | Tagged , , , , | 32 Comments

Delving Deeper into the Roots of Organic

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Thoughtscapism

I would love to hear news of the organic agricultural movement getting ready to adopt a more evidence-based approach, no longer shunning methods solely on the claims of not being ‘natural’ enough.
And who knows, maybe it will happen? Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, environment, history | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Am I Biased? Are You?

Posted on February 23, 2015 by Thoughtscapism

Bias is a mental heuristic, and it can be as useful as it is dangerous. How can we know if we are blinded by bias? Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, biology, health, nutrition, organic | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Natural Assumptions

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Thoughtscapism

Iida writes of her attempt to defend organic, of the risks of repeating slogans, and of how pieces of worldview are built and change, sometimes as easily as with a comment or two. Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, biology, environment, health, science | Tagged , , , , | 28 Comments