Pot Luck

Wrapping up China trip (4.00 / 3)

Would post a diary, but the internet connection I have is horrible.

I'm in Hong Kong right now, will return to Seattle Saturday.

A few days ago I was in Gui Lin and took a boat trip down the Li River. Wow! It is one of the most spectacularly scenic places in the world. Google it and look at some pictures if you don't believe me.

As we were on the way to the Airport to fly out to guanzhou, I asked the driver about all the corn fields I was seeing..."fields" is an exaggeration, they were very small plots scattered here and there amongst other crops or natural growth. I asked him if corn was a native crop, or if it was brought over from North America. He said that they found some seeds in a 2000 year old tomb. Don't know if that means the corn they grow is derived from native plants, or not.

Then he volunteered somthing interesting: he said they had started planting genetically engineered corn, and that a local university did a study. The results of the study was that 26 of 100 young men that were fed the corn became sterile!

I asked him for more details. He said that's about all he knew about it, and that it was an issue of no small controversy in the province. He said the study was done at GuangXi University, under the oversight of the Vice Governor of the Province - a guy by the name of Chen Zhang Liang.

He then said "everything we eat is 'contaminated' by pestisides". He said he asked a farmer to keep a small section of his rice crop organic for him, and he'd pay extra. The farmer said that wasn't possible, because the insects would invade that plot and eat the crop.

Just wanted to toss this out there in case any of you know about this GMO corn study in China, or if you want to look into it.

TTFN...

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by: sarge in seattle @ Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 12:31:13 PM UTC

rice contamination (4.00 / 2)

I wonder if pesticide residues in conventional white rice are lower than in conventional brown rice. Might be a reason to eat white rice.

The farmer said that wasn't possible, because the insects would invade that plot and eat the crop.

That kind of mental laziness is saddening, and inexcusable. How does he think his ancestors grew rice for thousands of years before pesticides? Ah, the power of propaganda.

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by: count @ Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 21:05:35 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

He's being "modern"... (4.00 / 1)

That's the same strain of thinking that leads us to build schools that look like medium security prisons and design all communities with the assumption that we all despise our neighbors and will drive everywhere for everything...

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

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by: JayinPortland @ Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 22:10:42 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

That's precisely what I asked him! (4.00 / 2)

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by: sarge in seattle @ Fri Aug 20, 2010 at 04:22:22 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

corn (4.00 / 1)

Recently, I heard that settled agriculture developed independently at the same time, 8,000-10,000 years ago, in four major centers and several smaller ones. The four major centers were Middle America, Peru, Middle East, and East Asia. Each of these centers developed grains. Asia apparently concentrated more on rice and wheat, but I'm not surprised to find that they developed corn also.

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by: count @ Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 21:27:37 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

sterility (4.00 / 1)

Genetically Modified Soy Linked to Sterility, Infant Mortality in Hamsters

By Jeffrey Smith
Huffington Post, April 20, 2010

After feeding hamsters for two years over three generations, those on the GM diet, and especially the group on the maximum GM soy diet, showed devastating results. By the third generation, most GM soy-fed hamsters lost the ability to have babies. They also suffered slower growth, and a high mortality rate among the pups.
...

The study, jointly conducted by Surov's Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the National Association for Gene Security, is expected to be published in three months (July 2010)-so the technical details will have to wait. But Surov sketched out the basic set up for me in an email.

Monsanto Tried to Block Austrian Government Funded Research Showing GE Corn Causes Infertility

December 2008

2. Summary of study: New Study Finds GM Maize Affects Reproduction Rates in Mice
Third World Network, 21 November 2008

A study commissioned by the Austrian Ministry of Health, Family and Youth Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management has found time related negative reproductive effects in mice fed GM maize.

In one study design where mice were continuously breeding, more mice fed on GM maize NK603 x MON810 had no litters or produced less offspring after the third or fourth litters, than those fed on conventional maize. The differences were statistically significant.

I suppose the most massive long term feeding study in the world is being done in North America, where so much GE corn and soy is fed to livestock. What has happened to hog and cattle fertility? Has this been studied?

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by: count @ Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 22:18:00 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

ADHD/Organophosphate link found (4.00 / 2)

ADHD Risk With Prenatal Exposure to Bug Sprays

Maternal exposure to organophosphate pesticides such as diazinon during pregnancy was correlated with ADHD symptoms in their children five years later, researchers said.

Led by Brenda Eskenazi, PhD, of the University of California in Berkeley, the researchers also identified genetic variants that may make children more susceptible to neurodevelopmental abnormalities from exposure to organophosphates.

The studies, published online in Environmental Health Perspectives, add to a growing body of evidence linking the chemicals to ADHD and other developmental problems.

"If God were to appear to starving people, he would not dare to appear in any other form than food." - Mahatma Gandhi

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by: Miep @ Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 17:58:28 PM UTC

Been asking myself the same (4.00 / 2)

QUESTION.  

{I posted it here because, well... it does involve an herb!}

"If a man is as wise as a serpent, he can afford to be as harmless as a dove" Cheyenne

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by: Maracatu @ Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 18:02:03 PM UTC

Anything... (4.00 / 2)

Anything goes in Pot Luck!

:)

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

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by: JayinPortland @ Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 22:12:30 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Urban Planning Success Stories (4.00 / 2)

From the Public Servant Blog

Top 20 Urban Planning Successes of All Time

Kaid at NRDC just blogged this on DK; thought you might find it of interest, Jay.


"If God were to appear to starving people, he would not dare to appear in any other form than food." - Mahatma Gandhi

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by: Miep @ Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 20:16:39 PM UTC

A tour... (4.00 / 2)

...of my neighborhood can be found here, in case anyone's interested.

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

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by: JayinPortland @ Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 22:23:12 PM UTC

Get rid of 'im! (4.00 / 1)

Warning: Blazers rant!  No need to read if you're not an NBA fan :)

Bye bye, Rudy.  Don't let the MAX door close on your ass...

MADRID, Spain -- Rudy Fernandez is not returning calls from Portland Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan, and was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Thursday for "public statements detrimental to the NBA."

With Team USA set to play Fernandez and the Spanish national team Sunday night, the latest developments regarding the disgruntled Fernandez and the trade speculation surrounding Carmelo Anthony added two more subplots to an NBA offseason that refuses to take a holiday.

You're like a number 8, man.  Barely.  And let's hope the Blazers aren't stupid enough (well, they fired Kevin Pritchard so they very well may be) to set a precedent for caving to spare parts.  And I mean, really... what's he think, he should get minutes over Brandon Roy?

"Last year, bringing in Andre Miller and having Steve Blake, we were starting with four guards. And he's playing behind an All-Star in Brandon Roy, and he's a 2 [shooting guard], and neither one of those guys is a 3 [small forward]. So the minutes were cut simply because we had a four-guard rotation," McMillan said.

And if he had any brains, he'd realize Steve Blake's gone so that can only mean more minutes for him by default.

'Melo leaves Denver, I've gotta think that makes Denver second-tier in the NW Division.  I'll pick Portland, OKC and Utah, in that order, all finishing within like two games of each other.  Might we have our first ever three-way tie for a Division title?

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

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by: JayinPortland @ Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 22:47:23 PM UTC

Coffee shop opens in former TriMet bus shelter... (4.00 / 1)

Now this is cool -

After more than three years of fits and starts -- a long time for a 100-square-foot construction project -- Portland's first downtown streetside coffee kiosk will open Tuesday on Southwest Fifth Avenue between Main and Salmon streets in a former TriMet bus stop shelter.

Although, ummmm... I guess they're not counting Spella in "kiosk", which has operated their coffee shop out of a food cart downtown at 10th & Alder since as long as I can remember?  And as a matter of fact has done it so well, they've expanded to a second brick-and-mortar location?

Heh, anyways...

McClelland, 37, who has been pulling shots of espresso since she started working at Torrefazione Italia when she was 16, was first approached by city employees in 2006 about exporting her operation outdoors to the abandoned bus shelter -- the last of its kind to survive from the 1970s.

I love the old Transit Mall bus shelters.  Much nicer than the new ones, imo.

The idea behind the project was to preserve some of the historical features of the original downtown transit mall after its recent renovation. McClelland attributes the delay from conception to reality to the city's wish to work around other downtown construction projects and avoid work during holiday and other high-traffic periods. Recent construction work has involved demolition and reconstruction of large swaths of the sidewalk area between the Congress Center and the kiosk. Regulars have been checking on the progress of the kiosk for months.

Decked out with new equipment and fancy granite trim -- but still sporting an old bus route map as a reminder of its past -- the new Caffe Viale kiosk will include savory hand pies and ice cream on its menu, with an emphasis on quick, easily transportable items. It won't be serving some of the plated options available in the lobby outlet. Both will sell Caffé Umbria coffee and pastries.

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

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by: JayinPortland @ Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 23:09:27 PM UTC

My niece... (4.00 / 1)

...(10, from NJ) texted me this morning.  She said she has to come back to Portland soon, mainly because she's out of books!

:)

Powell's was a revelation to her.

I have to direct her to Montclair Book Center (tiny, but very good and independent!), and a few other of my old favorites back in NJ.  And when she's a teenager and starts taking the train into the city in a few years, I'll remind her of Strand in Manhattan, where we went last time I visited her...

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

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by: JayinPortland @ Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 23:35:40 PM UTC

Elisabeth Hagen, at last! (4.00 / 2)

The President announced his intent to recess appoint the following nominees:

August 19, 2010

Four Appointees Have Waited an Average of 303 Days for Senate Confirmation

"At a time when our nation faces so many pressing challenges, I urge members of the Senate to stop playing politics with our highly qualified nominees, and fulfill their responsibilities of advice and consent," President Obama said. "Until they do, I reserve the right to act within my authority to do what is best for the American people."

Elisabeth Hagen, Nominee for Under Secretary for Food Safety, Department of Agriculture
Dr. Elisabeth Hagen is currently the USDA's Chief Medical Officer, serving as an advisor to USDA mission areas on a wide range of human health issues.  Prior to her current post, she was a senior executive in the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), where she played a key role in developing and executing the agency's scientific and public health agendas.  She has been instrumental in building relationships and fostering coordination with food safety and public health partners at the federal, state, and local level.  Before joining the federal government in 2006, Hagen taught and practiced medicine in both the private and academic sectors, most recently in Washington, DC.  She holds an M.D. from Harvard Medical School, and a B.S. from Saint Joseph's University.  Dr. Hagen completed her specialty medical training at the University of Texas Southwestern and the University of Pennsylvania, and is board certified in infectious disease.

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by: count @ Fri Aug 20, 2010 at 02:20:11 AM UTC

Whoo! (4.00 / 1)

Party at your place?

;)

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

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by: JayinPortland @ Fri Aug 20, 2010 at 02:42:01 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Board Certified in Infectious Diseases... (4.00 / 1)

Let's hope she's gotten her Washington shot, then!

;)

I know all too many who've succumbed to that one...

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

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by: JayinPortland @ Fri Aug 20, 2010 at 02:44:33 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Jill, about gardens (4.00 / 1)

Following up onan earlier comment from caseyOR:

When you visited large midwestern corn/soy farms and northeastern dairy farms last year, did you notice whether those farmers had kitchen gardens?

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by: count @ Fri Aug 20, 2010 at 12:29:38 PM UTC

I seem to recall... (4.00 / 1)

...that she said somewhere most did not?

I know in some of the related history books I've read over the past couple years, it was mentioned a few times that post WWII, as large supermarkets began spreading everywhere, many farmers stopped growing their own food at that time, since they didn't want the neighbors to think they 'couldn't afford' to buy food at the store like everyone else.

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

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by: JayinPortland @ Fri Aug 20, 2010 at 18:25:38 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Blanche Lincoln trails by... (4.00 / 1)

38 points!

Take off like 6 or 7 points since it's the Republican-leaning Rasmussen, but wow... has any two-term incumbent US Senator ever lost by 20-plus points, anywhere?

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

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by: JayinPortland @ Fri Aug 20, 2010 at 20:01:29 PM UTC