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First encounter
Monoculture clash
The editor headlined it
Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review. I should talk a bit about the cover story since we haven’t done an investigative series in quite some time. Any questions about how this thing started or my motives for doing it can be found on fatalencounters.org. I started working on it a year and a half ago or so, sort of as a personal project, although, the lines separating Brian Burghart private citizen and Brian Burghart student and Brian Burghart dad and Brian Burghart editor/publisher of the Reno News & Review are non-existent. I know what psychologists say about dividing job from fun, but I just have one life, and I like to live it my way all the time. So, by way of disclosure, I designed the website, I did the spreadsheets, I created the forms, I did basically everything on the website with the exception of two databases, the list of the country’s state and local law enforcement agencies and the comparative database that Shelby DeNike of Sd3Labs did for me. News & Review knew I was doing the site for some purpose, but it wasn’t until publication of this first story that it became a joint effort. I can tell you my girlfriend, Kelly Scott, the executive editor over at the Reno GazetteJournal, has been disturbed many times when she wakes up at 4 a.m. and sees me working on the laptop. “What are you doing?” she’ll ask. “Washing the car.” But if you’re looking for transparency, that’s why I didn’t interview anyone currently working over at the Gazette, even though I mildly criticize them. Hopefully, I offset that with the lawyer and Frank Mullen interviews. Finally, with regard to motives, I only have one: I think the information about who gets killed by government representatives needs to be public. Having this information available to law enforcement on a detailed national level will allow police to create strategies by which they can react with better understanding to dangerous situations to better protect themselves and kill fewer people. This isn’t “gotcha” journalism, it’s public journalism.
Re “The organic food lie” (Feature story, Feb. 13): There are many reasons for supporting organic and sustainable farming. The main reason I am concerned about transgenic foods, and Monsanto’s monopolistic hold on our food production, is diversity. The value of diversity cannot be overstated. Diversity is our safety net for survival, without a variety of choices to cull from; we risk the chance that our monoculture farms can fail from one simple miscalculation or accident. A single insect, fungus, virus or significant weather pattern could wipe out an entire crop. Massive die-offs of plants and animals are becoming more common as we narrow our cultivation choices. Diversity in farming hedges our bets, and keeps our options at hand. A fantastic book by Elizabeth Kolbert, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, discusses how dangerous the massive loss of natural diversity truly is, and why we would be smarter to remain diversified. Diversity is worth more to the human race than the profits of any one industry, or particular company. Second, Dennis Myers falsely conflates the term “science” with transgenic food development. Not all science must be equally accepted and condoned. I can be against chemical warfare without being against “chemistry.” I can be against nuclear war without being against “physics,” and I can be against illegal organ trafficking without being against “medicine.” I can be against many of the ways in which scientific knowledge is used, without being against “science.” That is why I found the cover of the RN&R offensive last week. The concern about transgenic foods crosses political boundaries. There is no “Liberal War on Science”—just concerned consumers. No one has even asked for transgenic foods to be banned, just labeled. We aren’t crazy or stupid because we don’t trust Monsanto—yet that is exactly what Dennis Myers infers. Andrea Juillerat-Olvera Reno
Re “The organic food lie” (Feature story, Feb. 13): This article is an example of a journalist trying to push buttons. The word “Lie” is used here to incite. In addition, this journalist is attempting to present an issue as political that isn’t. Myers didn’t bother to explain genetically modified organisms (GMO) and the processes in which they are made, but instead chose to confuse the reader with an unfamiliar word like “transgenic” and stating that GMO and natural breeding are the same. Genetic engineering is completely different than natural breeding and entails different risks. The genetic engineering and associated tissue culture processes are imprecise and highly mutagenic, leading to unpredictable changes in DNA, proteins and biochemical composition that can lead to unexpected toxic or allergic effects and nutritional disturbances. The article goes on to say GMO food is safe, based on the idea that we all eat it, and nobody has died from it. Studies that claim safety for GMO crops are more likely to be industry-linked and therefore biased. In-depth journalism would reveal the many cases where people and animals have been harmed by GMO crops. He also marginalized the fact that organic food is lower in pesticides. Well, that’s the point of organic, to reduce pesticide exposure. People who watch what they eat want to know what’s in their food. Maybe the next article could be about this question: If Monsanto and the Grocers Association are so proud of GMO then why are they spending millions of dollars to avoid labeling it? Or maybe consider why 50 countries around the world have banned GMO food. Tom Stewart Reno
Our Mission To publish great newspapers that are successful and enduring. To create a quality work environment that encourages people to grow professionally while respecting personal welfare. To have a positive impact on our communities and make them better places to live.
Just label the stuff Re “The organic food lie” (Feature story, Feb. 13): I found this article extremely biased and confusing, rather than informative and representative of the whole issue. There are so many blatant falsities in this article, I can’t help but question
Editor/Publisher D. Brian Burghart News Editor Dennis Myers Arts Editor Brad Bynum Calendar Editor Kelley Lang Staff writer Sage Leehey Contributors Amy Alkon, Woody Barlettani, Laura Davis, Bob Grimm, Ashley Hennefer, Sheila Leslie, Dave Preston, Jessica Santina, Todd South, Brendan Trainor, Bruce Van Dyke, Allison Young
Creative Director Priscilla Garcia Art Director Hayley Doshay Junior Art Director Brian Breneman Design Vivian Liu, Serene Lusano, Marianne Mancina, Skyler Smith Advertising Consultants Meg Brown, Gina Odegard, Bev Savage Senior Classified Advertising Consultant Olla Ubay Office Manager/Ad Coordinator Karen Brooke Executive Assistant/Operations Coordinator Nanette Harker
—D. Brian Burghart
brian b@ n ewsreview . com
OPINION
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NEWS
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GREEN
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FEATURE STORY
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ARTS&CULTURE
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ART OF THE STATE
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FILM
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MUSICBEAT
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No integrity
the author’s motives in writing it. The large food corporations have spent a lot of time and money to keep the public from knowing the truth about GMO or “transgenic” foods. Companies like Monsanto have threatened the research and careers of those scientists whose research suggests that there may be health risks associated with GMO consumption. If genetically modified products were, in fact, not only safe but actually better for consumers than organically grown foods, why would there be so much resistance to labeling them? After all, many of those who advocate organics simply want foods containing genetically modified ingredients to be labeled so that everyone can make an informed decision about what they are consuming. I was disappointed to find this article published in the RN&R. Michelle Glenn Reno
Re “The organic food lie” (Feature story, Feb. 13): We are a nonpartisan, memberowned organization dedicated to meeting the needs of our membership by promoting our local food system. We were disappointed with the journalistic integrity of “The Organic Lie.” The article contains several fallacies, unchecked research, and broad sweeping generalizations. We would like to clarify that our local small organic and non-organic farmers are very different from any type of large industrial organic or conventional farming operation. We welcome anyone able and willing to come into our store and find educational materials and resources. We ask for transparency from food manufacturers and from ourselves so that our community can make informed decisions. We urge you to revisit the mission statement of the RN&R and realize what it means to “To have a positive impact on our communities and make them better places to live.” Please support our local food producers who bring nourishment to our plates, create more food security within our state and boost economic value throughout. Visit our website for resources, definitions, a list of high-risk crops, and more at www.greatbasinfood.coop. Nicole Sallaberry Great Basin Community Food Cooperative Reno
Anti-GMO is pro-science Re “The organic food lie” (Feature story, Feb. 13): My first thought on reading Dennis Myers’ article was a point-by-point refutation of each of his erroneous assertions. On second thought, why bother? The portrayal of those who reject the GMO experiment as somehow anti-science is patently false. Is it too much to ask that we question the responsibility of those who are manipulating the genes of our food? Should we as consumers take for granted the noble goals of the likes of biotechnology given their lineage as makers of poisons since the 1940s? The FDA requires no human testing of genetically modified organisms prior to them being made available to the marketplace. Folks who support biotech’s GMO efforts should take note of their ulterior motives for developing herbicide and pesticide resistant strains —selling herbicides and pesticides. If Myers and Professor Cramer are so keen on the fruits and vegetables from Monsanto, Bayer, Syngenta et al, then I wish them best of luck metabolizing the Roundup 2-4,d and Bt toxin that is part of the biotech food project. John Davidson Verdi Distribution Manager Valerie Mets Distribution Drivers Trevor Bexon, Sandra Chhina, Ron Large, Joe Medeiros, Andy Odegard, Jesse Pike, Martin Troye, Warren Tucker, Matthew Veach, Gary White, Joseph White General Manager/Publisher John D. Murphy President/CEO Jeff vonKaenel Chief Operations Officer Deborah Redmond Human Resource Manager Tanja Poley Business Manager Grant Ronsenquist
NIGHTCLUBS/CASINOS
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THIS WEEK
Ask a scientist Re “The organic food lie” (Feature story, Feb. 13): Dennis Myers’ article conflates the concept of organic foods grown without hormones, antibiotics and pesticides with the completely separate issue of genetically modified foods. The big issue I have with genetically modified plant foods is that Monsanto in particular has repeatedly used legal harassment to enforce a monoculture in areas contaminated by its products’ pollen. Peter Johnson Reno
Business Nicole Jackson, Tami Sandoval Systems Manager Jonathan Schultz Systems Support Specialist Joe Kakacek Web Developer/Support Specialist John Bisignano 708 North Center Street Reno, NV 89501 Phone (775) 324-4440 Fax (775) 324-4572 Classified Fax (916) 498-7940 Mail Classifieds & Talking Personals to N&R Classifieds, Reno Edition, 1015 20th Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 or email classifieds@ newsreview.com
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MISCELLANY
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Web site www.newsreview.com Printed by Paradise Post The RN&R is printed using recycled newsprint whenever available. Editorial Policies Opinions expressed in the RN&R are those of the authors and not of Chico Community Publishing, Inc. Contact the editor for permission to reprint articles, cartoons or other portions of the paper. The RN&R is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts. All letters received become the property of the publisher. We reserve the right to print letters in condensed form.
Cover design: Brian Breneman Cover illustration: Jonathan Buck
FEBRUARY 27, 2014
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