Norman Borlaug on Penn and Teller: BS
Posted on January 9th, 2010 by admin
Normal Borlaug is an agricultural scientist and the father of the Green Revolution, directly responsible for saving over a billion lives from starvation in the third world through the spread and advance of genetically modified crops and technology. He’s spent his life saving people and improving the world. This clip is from the Penn and Teller: Bullshit! episode Eat This! from Season 1, on diets and world hunger. He’s truly a great, great person, and I wanted to share the word, as far too few people know about Borlaug and his work.
Duration : 0:10:7
China only produces …
China only produces GE cotton on a large scale. Strains of GE corn and rice were just approved in Dec 2009, and are nowhere near planting, let alone large scale production and sales.
However, by eating …
However, by eating the right type of food in the first place, and not drinking alcohol, it would probably not have advanced to this stage and I would be able to live into my sixties. I’m only 22 right now.
Most people take life, and their health, for granted. As far as you know, this is the only time you’ll be here, better not waste it on being sick. It’s not worth it, trust me.
My point is, we …
My point is, we could have the best of both worlds.
Right now we might have a high life expectancy in the West, but morbidity is very high as well, as 1 in 2 are going to suffer from a serious illness in their lifetime.
I, for example, have chronic pancreatitis, a degenerative disease where the pancreas, our main digestive organ, basically eats itself over time. But by eating the right type of food I’ve been able to reduce the burden on the pancreas, allowing me to have a somewhat normal life.
Whats your point? ” …
Whats your point? “Hundreds of years ago” the vast majority of people on the planet were starving. Child mortality was around 50% and life expectancy was below 40 years.
Definately. It all …
Definately. It all comes down to freedom of choice really, people should have the right to choose, and to be able to choose they have to know what they’re buying.
Another option would be to lobby for labeling conventionally produced food and organic food, then the food that’s not labeled is probably GM food.
Hundreds of years …
Hundreds of years ago most deaths occured from high infant mortality and physical damage, such as falling and breaking a leg.
Diseases such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, AIDS and basically all the big killers that exist today, were uncommon, even rare. Especially in primitive cultures where no refined foods like table sugar, white flour and other simple carbohydrates, were used.
Most medicine can …
Most medicine can be bad for you if you use it daily and for the long-term, such as for a chronic illness. In my opinion, there should be a larger focus on proper diet, exercise, natural supplements and other similar things to treat chronic disease.
I used a past tense …
I used a past tense. It WAS used in China for around 4000 years until they switched to petrochemical farming about 60-70 years ago.
@lordoftheinternets …
@lordoftheinternets
Human life sure was better a few hundred years ago, right? Its natural to get infections from cuts, get gangrene and lose your life or limb.
We still need sometime to sort out this disinfection stuff.
@lordoftheinternets …
@lordoftheinternets
100-200 years? Unrealistic. They don’t even test medicine that long, which have a superbly more detrimental effect on the human body than GE grown food. Ever been to the hospital? Taken medicine? Pain killers? Cough syrup?
Please.
@lordoftheinternets …
@lordoftheinternets
This is a pretty ignorant comment. What crops are we talking about in China? You do know that a lot of crops in China are GE, right?
I look forward to …
I look forward to lordoftheinternet’s Great Leap Forward.
entirely new …
entirely new technology, assume safe and harmless until mountains of evidence reveal otherwise? hmmm….
what is your opinion on labelling GM food – should people be given information about what they are eating?
Wow, you’re reading …
Wow, you’re reading a medical journal. Congrats. Use Google and you’ll find what you’re not really looking for.
When has a tomato …
When has a tomato ever swapped genes with a fish? This has never happened naturally, in fact it can’t even happen. More research is required on long-term effects before it can be considered safe to eat in my opinion.
It’s very reckless to just rubber stamp something for mass consumption, that has never appeared in nature, and there’s no clue of how our bodies will react in the long-term.
@asubjectiveopinion …
@asubjectiveopinion : Nope, they don’t ‘claim’ to be libertarians, they are libertarians. They perform (and have been doing so for years) liberal skeptical comedy and basically every episode of their show champions freedom of choice and liberty. This show most certainly is not Top Gear without cars. There’s not even a comparison. No arguments are made in Top Gear, no opinions challenged, it’s just a jokey car-review/comedy show. It’s not right wing to believe in science over emotion.
And, for the record …
And, for the record, taking genetic material from one organism and placing it in another isn’t just automatically bad. If you want to -show- why taking genetic material from one organism and placing it in a compatible organism would produce health problems upon consumption then that’s fine, but just stating that it’s bad with a vague ‘You never know!’ style of proof isn’t good enough.
@lordoftheinternets …
@lordoftheinternets: You really don’t deserve that moniker. You make many statements regarding GM foods that just have no factual substance. I’ve been reading the British Medical Journal for years and I’ve never, ever seen a study claiming any link between GM food consumption and cancer or any severe disease of any kind. Where do you get that research from? Cite the researcher(s) and date(s) in standard scientific citation or you’re making it up (name et al (date), for whom it was carried out).
the hippies in this …
the hippies in this episode me off so much…
Of course GMO food …
Of course GMO food can be tested, given enough time. I’d say 100-200 years of research and observation would be sufficient to see what real effects it has on the human body on a cellular level, and the environment, on a longer timeline.
Well, if they …
Well, if they continue using conventional farming and GMO crops, they’ll use up all their arable top soil within a few decades. Then they will have to eat sand while having more health problems because of their consumption of GMO food.
There are methods such as biointensive farming, which produces 100% organic food and has higher yields than conventional farming, even with GMO crops. This method was used in China and it yielded 4-10 times bigger harvests than conventional farming in the US.
Sigh. Right, and I …
Sigh. Right, and I propose that during this time, while you “improve their economies” so that they can eat “healthy” foods, they’re gonna eat… sand?
“No, you can’t have this food, it conflicts with my ethics and could make you sick over time! You’ll be better off starving to death!”
Someone hasn’t thought his position all the way through.
Oh, and did you …
Oh, and did you actually watch the entire video? Right after the hippie said her piece an expert jumped in and said none of those experiments were for eating.
Idiot.
So just because we …
So just because we haven’t done it before, it shouldn’t be done. Wow. Glad the pioneers of flight didn’t consult you when they invented the airplane.
Seriously, GMO foods can be tested for short- and long-term effects just like ANY food.
It’s an honour to …
It’s an honour to actually watch Norman Borlaug speak.