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Glyphosate: The Murder of a Molecule

The war against agricultural biotechnology shifted in the last several years.  Carefully constructed steps by those opposed to technology have managed to malign a relatively innocuous compound– the herbicide glyphosate.  The compound is used in many applications, from GE crops to drying down some grains prior to harvest.  Armed with analytical chemistry, activist groups claim to detect glyphosate everywhere, of course in minuscule amounts.  But when those amounts are not zero, it provides a means to stoke fear and drive policy change.  It is amazing to watch what is happening around glyphosate, a compound with a long regulatory history and years of safe use. The way that activists attain their goals is by manipulating the media, organizations that are willing to tell any story that can raise fear. Children being poisoned by breakfast cereal is just the ticket.  But are they being honest? In this week’s 5th Anniversary podcast I dissect a recent CBS Television News story on the subject.  Do they get it right?

Jun 13, 2019 by Dr. Kevin Folta in Talking Biotech

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The war against agricultural biotechnology shifted in the last several years. Carefully constructed steps by those opposed to technology have managed to malign a relatively innocuous compound– the herbicide glyphosate. The compound is used in many applications, from GE crops to drying down some grains prior to harvest. Armed with analytical chemistry, activist groups claim to detect glyphosate everywhere, of course in minuscule amounts. But when those amounts are not zero, it provides a means to stoke fear and drive policy change. It is amazing to watch what is happening around glyphosate, a compound with a long regulatory history and years of safe use. The way that activists attain their goals is by manipulating the media, organizations that are willing to tell any story that can raise fear. Children being poisoned by breakfast cereal is just the ticket. But are they being honest? In this week’s 5th Anniversary podcast I dissect a recent CBS Television News story on the subject. Do they get it right? # COLABRA Talking Biotech is brought to you by Colabra – an R&D platform that brings your lab’s world-changing research together in one shared space. Learn more at https://www.colabra.app/ # TALKING BIOTECH Twitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotech Website: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahq The Talking Biotech podcast is distinct from Dr. Kevin Folta's teaching and research roles at the University of Florida. The views expressed on the show are those of Dr. Folta and his guests, and do not reflect the opinions of the university or Colabra.

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