Science Facts & Fallacies Cameron English

A court in the Philippines has blocked the release of vitamin-A fortified Golden Rice in the country. What happens next? Could the weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy reshape America's eating habits? The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) misleads the public about cancer risk; let's correct some of the critical misconceptions the agency has encouraged in recent years.

Podcast:





Join hosts Dr. Liza Dunn and GLP contributor Cameron English on episode 264 of Science Facts and Fallacies as they break down these latest news stories:



* Rollout of Vitamin A enhanced GMO Golden Rice in the Philippines blocked by surprise court ruling







After roughly two decades of research and regulatory review, the Philippines finally approved genetically engineered Golden Rice for public consumption. An appeals court unexpectedly blocked the approval last week, however, finding that the government didn't appropriately assess the risk that Golden Rice posed to the environment. The government is expected to appeal the decision, and some experts anticipate that Golden Rice will eventually be approved. But for the time being, millions of children's afflicted by vitamin A deficiency will be denied access to a biofortified food that could save their lives.



* How Wegovy and Ozempic could transform our food systems



The blockbuster weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic may do much more than help Americans rapidly shed their unwanted fat. Because the medicines help regulate blood sugar and reduce appetite, it's possible that consumer demand for calorie-dense snack foods could decline in the US, incentivizing food companies to offer more nutritious options in grocery stores and restaurants. Have we finally developed effective treatments that can help us rein in the obesity epidemic?















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* How IARC and other ‘independent’ global cancer assessment agencies can distort the public’s understanding of the risks of cancer



The public is deeply confused about the cancer risk associated with many foods and consumer products. This is due in large part to the work of IARC and other public health agencies that issue confusing, and sometimes outright deceptive, hazard assessments that mislead people about generally harmless substances, including aloe vera and even coffee. Let's clear up the confusion and address some of the most common m...

RFK, Jr. has resurrected the long-debunked speculation that atrazine, a low-toxicity weedkiller, causes sexual dysphoria in frogs—and humans. The oft-reported GMO vs. organic agriculture debate is a marketing myth; one farmer says we should quit taking sides in this meaningless dispute. The Chinese scientist who illegally edited the DNA of human embryos in 2018 is out of jail and back in his lab. What sort of experiments is he up to?

Podcast:





Join hosts Dr. Liza Dunn and GLP contributor Cameron English on episode 261 of Science Facts and Fallacies as they break down these latest news stories:



* Video viewpoint: Humans as frogs? Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. claims that unsubstantiated but perceived rise in male sexual dysphoria is driven by atrazine in our water supply



More than 20 years ago, a one-off study roiled the world of agriculture by concluding that exposure to low doses of atrazine caused sexual abnormalities in frogs, and may have similar effects in humans. Follow-up research conducted by the EPA and independent experts over the next decade demonstrated that the hormone-disrupting effects of the weedkiller were non-existent, bringing the scandal to an unceremonious end. RFK, Jr. wasn't convinced, however. "If it’s doing that to frogs, there’s a lot of other evidence that it’s doing it to human beings as well," he claimed during an interview in late March. Has Kennedy uncovered new evidence, or has he been seduced by anti-chemical campaigners?



* Viewpoint: There’s enough common ground for organic, regenerative, and conventional agriculture to live in harmony



Reporters and environmental activists regularly portray organic and conventional agriculture as warring factions in a pitched battle for control of global food production. The truth is much less pugnacious. In reality, many farmers grow conventional and organic crops; there is also significant overlap between the practices employed in conventional and organic farming. For these reasons, at least one farmer says it's high time we abandon the adversarial framing that has polluted the public's understanding of food and farming for so long.

















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* Challenging bioethical taboos: Chinese scientist He Jiankui who modified the genes of human embryo...