GM Foods in Europe, Organic Food Industry, Ancient Brown Shoe
This week: We’re talking about food and food crops in today’s show. You’ll hear about Germany’s schizophrenic attitude towards developing transgenic food crops. Then, journalist Michael Pollan talks about the growing need to regulate the organic food industry. Also, more about an ancient brown shoe discovered in Armenia. And a paleoecologist talks about her favorite music. 
GM Foods in Europe: You’ve heard us talk about the pros and cons of GM foods before. In today’s show we look into how the field of research on so-called transgenic crops is playing out in Europe. Many European governments have banned the commercial use of almost all genetically engineered crops. Even attempts to grow these crops experimentally are often stopped by public protests and civil disobedience. That’s especially true in Germany. Yet Germany remains home to some of the world’s leading scientists in the field.
Report by: David Hecht
Our Science Forum discussion with Lisa Weasel about whether transgenic food can feed the world’s hungry.
Recent articles about GM crops in Germany, from Spiegel: GM potatoes approved, then, Other GM potatoes rejected.
Regulating the Organic Food Market: The organic label means the food you’re buying is free of chemicals, and that it was grown with respect for the environment. But the label may not be a guarantee. The U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) just banned a leading American inspector of American foods in China. The Department said a Nebraska-based organization was using Chinese government employees to inspect government-controlled farms. Journalist and author Michael Pollan explains how the need for enforcement of organic food regulations has grown with the industry.
Guest: Michael Pollan
Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual
The U.S. Department of Agriculture National Organic Program
An essay on organic food and world hunger from Foreign Policy
Seed magazine’s “Food Fight” series
Ancient Brown Shoe: You may have heard about the discovery of the oldest known shoe in Armenia this past week. The shoe belonged to someone who lived almost 6,000 years ago, in the Copper age. In today’s show you’ll hear about the discovery and what scientists know about that time period.
Report by: David Levielle
Guest: Gregory Areshian
The study
New York Times coverage
A. Leather Shoe (Photo: PLoS Journal) B. Map of Location (Illustration: PLoS Journal)
Music in Science: Paleoecologist Jacquelyn Gill studies the interactions between mammoths, mastadons, and vegetation at the end of the last ice age ten thousand years ago. Her favorite lab music isn’t quite that old–but it’s still archaic compared to the state-of-the-art facility where she works at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Song: “Sing a New Song,” by Bennie Kreuger and his Orchestra
Jacquelyn Gill works in the Williams Lab at U.W.-Madison.
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