Better living through science

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Bill Glasheen
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Better living through science

Post by Bill Glasheen »

I dedicate this video to Ray (jorvik) and to a friend of George's :wink: .

..... Arctic® Apple 24 Hour Time-Lapse

Coming soon to a market near you. 8)

- Bill
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Re: Better living through science

Post by Bill Glasheen »

Wall Street Journal wrote:Inventing a GMO Apple That Won’t Brown
Arctic Apple, a Genetically Modified Breed, Seeks U.S. Approval

By TENNILLE TRACY
Updated Oct. 10, 2014 2:42 p.m. ET

Two sliced apples sit on either side of a clock as a time-lapse video compresses 24 hours into 30 seconds. By the end, the apple on the left has turned brown but the one on the right has stayed fresh and white.

The demonstration highlights the Arctic apple, as shown in a video made by its producer, Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc. More than a decade in the making, Okanagan’s new Arctic apple has been genetically modified to resist browning when cut open or sliced.

Federal regulators are weighing whether to approve the Arctic apple for sale in the U.S. If approved, the apple would be the first non-browning variety on the market, and could be among the country’s first products required to carry a genetically modified label.

Such a product would tests consumers’ appetite for genetically modified foods. Corn, soybean and other commodities that are genetically engineered are common U.S. food ingredients, but few forms of genetically modified raw produce are available on stores shelves.

Neal Carter, co-founder of the Canada-based Okanagan, hopes approval of his apple will “help soften consumer concerns of biotech crops in general.”

Some farmers have asked the Agriculture Department to ban the new apple from entering the U.S. market on concerns it could compromise the fruit’s reputation as a healthy, wholesome food. Several individuals commenting on the agency’s assessment of the fruit said Okanagan was “playing God” with the apple.

“The U.S. produces millions of bushels of apples,” said Douglas Rowley, general manager of Mountainland Apples Inc., a Utah-based company that packs and ships apples to retail customers. “Now all of a sudden, we want to throw in one that we just make up. I just don’t agree with it.”

Okanagan says the Arctic apple works by shutting off the enzyme that initiates browning on the apple’s flesh. Mr. Carter hopes the non-browning trait will reinvigorate the apple industry in the same way baby-cut carrots helped create a surge in carrot demand. Okanagan envisions a world where cooks can take their time slicing apples for pies and dinner guests linger over apple wedges on their salads.

The Agriculture Department and the Food and Drug Administration are both reviewing the Arctic apple but only the USDA’s approval is needed for it to be sold to U.S. consumers. That agency is looking at whether the Arctic apple poses a threat to other plants. It said in a 2013 draft assessment that the apple is unlikely to do so.

The FDA is examining the potential for human health problems. While its approval isn’t required, the FDA does have the authority to require Okanagan to label its food as genetically modified if it determines the apple is materially different from conventionally grown varieties.

The issue of whether food makers must label products that contain modified ingredients is bubbling up in November elections. Voters in Colorado and Oregon will vote on ballot measures that impose mandatory labeling. Vermont passed a similar law that goes into effect in 2016 although it’s being challenged in court.

The food industry is fighting the measures and has successfully defeated labeling proposals in California and Washington, the largest apple-producing state in the country.

A 2014 survey conducted by Consumer Reports found that 72% of consumers consider it important to avoid genetically engineered ingredients when buying food.

Sarah Dressel, retail manager for Dressel Farms in New York, said visitors to her family’s farmstand regularly ask whether the fruit offered for sale has been modified. “They have the idea that there’s genetically modified food everywhere and they have to check,” said Ms. Dressel, who believes the Arctic apple would be safe.

The U.S. Apple Association also believes the Arctic apple is safe but questions whether there is a need for a non-browning variety in the first place, spokeswoman Wendy Brannen said. “Everything with this particular apple is so new,” she said.

Lemon juice can help prevent apples from browning, as can store-bought solutions. Crunch Pak, a leading producer of sliced apples, discovered a mix of vitamin C and calcium that prevents apples from showing their age for 21 days.

The market for U.S. genetically modified products is dominated by corn, soybeans, cotton and sugarbeets—all of which have been modified to withstand pesticides and herbicides. These traits make life easier for the farmers and the crops, as a result, have been quickly adopted.

The Arctic apple offers no such benefit to farmers. If the apple is approved, Okanagan plans to start by rolling out modified varieties of Golden Delicious and Granny Smith apples, while other varieties could follow. It doesn’t currently sell its apples commercially in any country.

Jim Baird, operator of a 250-acre farm in Washington, is among those asking USDA to block the apple and questioned whether the non-browning apple is a solution in search of a problem. “Sure the apple goes brown on an hors d’oeuvre plate but they’re no less healthy to eat,” he said.

Write to Tennille Tracy at tennille.tracy@wsj.com
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Bill Glasheen
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Re: Better living through science

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How’d we do that?

So how’d we “make” nonbrowning Arctic Apples? This modern marriage of nature and science is simpler than you may think.

Browning 101
Enzymatic browning is the primary type of apple browning. It is caused by the apple’s chemical reaction after cell injury, such as by bruising, biting or cutting the apple. Enzymatic browning is a predominant cause of apple browning due to handling, for example in your kitchen. Arctic apples don’t undergo enzymatic browning. (Let any food get old enough, such as leaving it in the fridge too long, and any apple – including Arctic apples – will eventually suffer other types of browning.)

Meet the PPO gene family
When you bruise, bite, slice or dice an apple, rupturing the apple cells’ walls, a chemical reaction is triggered between the apple’s polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and phenolics that turns the apple flesh brown. And unfortunately, that reaction burns up the apple's health-promoting phenolics in the process. .... A family of four genes controls the majority of PPO production.

Apple-to-apple transformation
To scientifically breed Arctic apples, Okanagan Specialty Fruits’ science team turns down the expression of the apple PPO genes in a process called gene silencing, which utilizes low-PPO genes from other apples. Gene silencing is a natural process that all plants (and animals too) use to control expression of their genes. This apple-to-apple transformation is aided by time-proven biotechnology tools. In the end, Arctic apples produce too little PPO to brown. ...

No frankenfood here, folks – just apples, now with suppressed PPO to stop enzymatic browning.

The transformed Arctic apple plantlets are grafted onto rootstock and grow in a tree nursery until they are ready to be transplanted to an orchard, just as other commercial apple tree seedlings are propogated.*

One small, significant difference
Arctic apple trees behave in the orchard just as other apple trees do – they grow, flower and fruit the same way, and react to pests and weather the same way. And Arctic fruits grow, are harvested, packed, stored and shipped just as other apples are.

In other words, Arctic apple trees and fruits are identical to their conventional counterparts in every way – until you bite, cut or bruise the fruit, that is. That’s when the handiwork of their silenced PPO genes becomes evident. No PPO, no browning. No enzymatic browning, no “yuck” factor to discourage you from enjoying that delicious apple.

*Did you know? Apple trees aren’t grown from seeds – they are “grown” by grafting bud wood from a tree of the desired variety onto a selected rootstock.
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Re: Better living through science

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"Every single independent study conducted on the impact of genetically modified food shows that it damages organs, it causes infertility, it causes immune system failure, it causes holes in the GI tract, and it causes multiple organ system failure.independent study."...
Seeds of Death...Unveiling the Lies of GMOs documentary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... 9rRSLY4A
GEM
"Do or do not. there is no try!"
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Bill Glasheen
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Re: Better living through science

Post by Bill Glasheen »

There it is! :lol:

This is a lot like me putting bait out on my deck so I can find that raccoon who keeps stealing my bird feeders.

Image
gmattson wrote:"Every single independent study conducted on the impact of genetically modified food shows that it damages organs, it causes infertility, it causes immune system failure, it causes holes in the GI tract, and it causes multiple organ system failure.independent study."...
Seeds of Death...Unveiling the Lies of GMOs documentary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... Ud9rRSLY4A
Whenever you see the following...
  • The use of words like "every" and "always"
    .....
  • The use of such words in a publication which isn't peer reviewed
...then you pretty much can assume that you're dealing with a non-scientist cashing in on fear.

Here's a great example of fear-mongering associated with the use of microwave ovens. Back when they first came out in the very early 1970s, there was much misinformation spread about how dangerous they were to the "molecular structure of your food", or what it did to you if you stood near the oven. Now pretty much every home has one, and few young people use their ovens.

..... Claim: Water that has been boiled in a microwave oven (then cooled) is harmful to plants.

- Bill
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Re: Better living through science

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Image
I'm sure drug studies must be published in those "peer reviewed" publications which must give us all great confidence in these drugs.

I viewed this film, which contains lots of studies and findings that scare me. . . and unlike Moncanto, who has a responsibility to their stockholders to make money, the scientists against GMO, are not doing it for money.

Regarding the Microwave. I seem to remember a time when you refused to use this machine and didn't you just give up diet mountain dew for some reason? And do you believe the published (by the government) findings that Ebola will never reach the USA?

I bet, if you really wanted to, could site a number of "peer-reviewed" publications making monumental mistakes. . . for whatever reason. . . and if you actually viewed the movie I mentioned, and the results of studies by respected scientist, you might not be so quick to jump on Moncanto's bandwagon.

BTW, how is your "cold-turkey" effort going to get off the Mountain Dew kick? No scientific, peer-review studies to back up the belief that Dew (and other sugar drinks) are addictive, but from what my "hooked" friends say, it is tough to give up.

Oh yes. . . in case you would like to view this film:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... d9rRSLY4A
GEM
"Do or do not. there is no try!"
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Bill Glasheen
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Re: Better living through science

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gmattson wrote:Image
I'm sure drug studies must be published in those "peer reviewed" publications which must give us all great confidence in these drugs.

I viewed this film, which contains lots of studies and findings that scare me. . . and unlike Moncanto, who has a responsibility to their stockholders to make money, the scientists against GMO, are not doing it for money.

Regarding the Microwave. I seem to remember a time when you refused to use this machine and didn't you just give up diet mountain dew for some reason? And do you believe the published (by the government) findings that Ebola will never reach the USA?

I bet, if you really wanted to, could site a number of "peer-reviewed" publications making monumental mistakes. . . for whatever reason. . . and if you actually viewed the movie I mentioned, and the results of studies by respected scientist, you might not be so quick to jump on Moncanto's bandwagon.

BTW, how is your "cold-turkey" effort going to get off the Mountain Dew kick? No scientific, peer-review studies to back up the belief that Dew (and other sugar drinks) are addictive, but from what my "hooked" friends say, it is tough to give up.

Oh yes. . . in case you would like to view this film:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... d9rRSLY4A
Wow... exactly where is someone supposed to start here? Let's see if I can parse out your concerns and comments.

  • Monsanto is a publically traded company, and has a fiduciary responsibility to make money for their shareholders. I'm a capitalist. I have no problem with Monsanto making money.
    ....
    Monsanto has made some very toxic things in the past. The government in fact ordered them, and used them in nefarious ways. It is what it is. Meanwhile... this article has NOTHING (zero, nada, zilch) to do with the big, bad Monsanto. That's a red herring argument, and the YouTube hero has a real burr in his bum about them. If you don't like Monsanto, don't buy their stuff and don't invest in their company. But that has nothing to do with this thread.
    ....
  • If something is published in a peer-reviewed journal, then it has the highest level of scrutiny possible. Will such material be flawless? Not necessarily. Do I have better confidence in the information given than some guy who writes a book? Absolutely.
    ....
  • YouTube isn't the source of good scientific information. Said information gets dispersed at scientific conferences, where material presented is first scrutinized by experts in the field (a type of peer review) and then presentations selected by the scientific meeting peer review board. Presenters get to show their information to their peers. Questions and comments afterwards are sometimes civil, and sometimes not so much. Scientists wear Fruit of the Looms as well, and have all the human shortcomings as lay people. If the material is well received, then it's often seen in a peer-reviewed journal a year or two later. IT'S A PROCESS. You sometimes hear about that process in the news (such as the piece from Nature about artificial sweeteners).
    ....
  • I still drink some Diet Dew. Artificial sweetners are still less poisonous than straight sugar. We have a nation of diabetics and people with metabolic syndrome to prove it. I see the data every single day. It's costing our health care system billions.
    ....
    But I have cut back. Less Diet Dew; more green tea. Works for me. Meanwhile I still have excellent lab results - last checked in August. I'll put mine up against anyone else my age. And I don't need hypertension meds, cholesterol meds, diabetes meds, etc. Whatever I'm doing, it's working. Some Nature, and some Nurture involved.
    ....
  • I don't recall refusing to use a microwave. I do like my fish raw, but it needs to be flash frozen. I prefer not to overcook my fish so as to retain nutritional value. I use a lot of vegetable steamer packs in the microwave, and I now cook a lot of sweet potatoes there. I can have a hot sweet potato in 7 minutes vs. close to an hour from the oven. FWIW, sweet potatoes and raw fish are some of the reasons Okinawans live so long.
    ....
  • There's no evidence that artificial sweeteners are addictive. IT'S THE CAFFEINE! Mathematicians are professionals who convert caffeine to theorems. Diet Dews work for me because when you spill them, they don't leave a stain on a white shirt or your papers.
    ....
    Caffeine is habit forming, and you can get a caffeine headache when you withdraw. But you'll be hard pressed to find evidence that it's as addictive as say nicotine.
    ....
    No, you may not tell me to quit caffeine. It's one of my few vices, and people who drink tea and/or coffee live longer.* Look it up! 8)
Meanwhile... had any apples lately? :lol:

- Bill

* Association of Coffee Drinking with Total and Cause-Specific Mortality
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Van Canna
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Re: Better living through science

Post by Van Canna »

Bill
Artificial sweetners are still less poisonous than straight sugar.
Bill,

I drink a couple of cups of coffee a day at breakfast, and I have been using straight sugar instead of 'artificials' because I had heard that such sweeteners were bad for you.

The Mayo clinic states that they are not so bad after all.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-livin ... t-20046936

So Am I better off using 'splenda' than straight sugar?
Van
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Bill Glasheen
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Re: Better living through science

Post by Bill Glasheen »

Van

I wasn't able to pull up your Mayo Clinic site. But I'm pretty well read up on this.

There are two issues with sugar: the effect on our mouths/teeth, and the glycemic index. Sugar feeds bacteria in your mouth that can give you halitosis and/or tooth decay. And lots of sugar on an empty stomach wreaks havoc on your blood sugar regulation.

The "natural" way to get sugar in your diet is by eating whole fruit, which also has vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and fiber. You need all those trace nutrients. And the fiber keeps the sugar from raising your blood sugar too quickly and too high. It acts as a buffer, causing the sugar not to hit your system all at once. Eating fruit also can naturally clean your teeth via the abrasive action of biting and chewing the fruit flesh.

Having straight sugar on a relatively empty stomach is the problem. Having a cup of coffee with sugar at the end of breakfast isn't so bad. Having dessert at the end of a meal also isn't as bad as digging into the cake late at night when your stomach is empty. All this is expressed quantitatively by the glycemic index, which measures how quickly something raises your blood sugar level. Sadly almost all processed food is filled with sugar or high fructose corn syrup. So we're being assaulted every day with most processed foods that we choose to eat from cereal in the morning to the marinara sauces we put on our food at night.

Not all artificial sweeteners are the same, and some actually have been pulled off the market. The big problem isn't that they are "artificial" per se, but rather than there's an unexplained change in your gut bacteria when you use too much of it. These bacteria cause some of the same blood sugar problems that plain sugar causes. Go figure...

Finally... We program our olfactory senses via what we typically eat. If you eat a lot of sugary or salty foods, that's what you'll crave and all you'll taste. If you cut both out of your diet (including the artificial sweeteners), over time your taste buds will begin to pick out other flavors which you never knew were in food because sugar (real or artificial) made too much "taste noise." Over time I've taught myself to consume most of my food without sugar, salt, or artificial sweeteners. And I taste things in food now (like really good dark roast coffee) that I've never tasted before. As a Sicilian, you really should learn to appreciate a cup of unsweetened espresso at the end of a meal. ;-) This also of course means that you'll begin to develop expensive tastes. It's the hazard of being a connoisseur of good food.

Here are the things to keep an eye on:

1) Try to avoid drinking that coffee with real or artificial sweetener on an empty stomach. That practice should also include no caffeine or even vitamins on an empty stomach.

2) Be wary of what sugar does to your teeth. Good dental hygiene can circumvent most problems.

3) Keep track of total calories consumed. Sugar is part of it. Artificial sweeteners don't add to the caloric count - even though they cause problems with blood sugar similar to sugar.

4) In the end, you may make your choices by taste. I personally don't like the aftertaste I get after consuming sugar. I can taste the byproducts of my oral bacteria having a party. Other people have problems with the aftertaste of artificial sweeteners. To each his/her own.

I hope that helps.

Bill
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Van Canna
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Re: Better living through science

Post by Van Canna »

Thanks, Bill...appreciated...funny thing, in my younger days I drank coffee with no sugar...now I seem to need sugar in my coffee.

I do eat cereals most mornings for breakfast...one day a week...scrambled eggs and toast.
Van
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Re: Better living through science

Post by Bill Glasheen »

Sounds like a good breakfast, Van.

The problem may be as simple as getting better coffee. I'm spoiled now... I have my Cuisinart coffee maker with the K-Cup thingie (Keurig), and I'm picky about my coffee. Only Italian roast, French roast, Sumatra, etc... dark roast, "extra bold" coffees. Then when I go to visit my son at college and take him out to breakfast at IHOP, I get my first (and only) cup of coffee there. The look on my face drinking that dishwater cr@p is priceless, like watching a baby bite into a lemon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNPYoCwR_Zg

By the way, I personally think that's child abuse. Just me...

And drinking IHOP coffee without something to mask that awful flavor is adult abuse! What I'm saying is... try better coffee! 8)

- Bill
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Van Canna
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Re: Better living through science

Post by Van Canna »

Bill, I have been using some of this in my coffee.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/the- ... bout-agave

What do you make of it?

As to better coffee...well...ever had coffee at some restaurants that are not only delicious but seem to have a thick taste? I love that...it is the kind of coffee you find down south Italy.

Have been trying to duplicate flavor and taste, but no luck. Where is Tony Licalzi when we need him? The ultimate coffee > Connoisseur. Right now I drink Starbuck house blend...'so-so' but it gets tiring to try other brands and variations...what do you drink?

As to breakfast...I remember being my favorite meal when in the Infantry...with eggs, bacon, pancakes...and more.

I love eggs over easy with ham and toast...could eat that every day...

I hear conflicting opinions on eggs....good or bad for you...and how many a week?

My cholesterol is in check...no problem.
Van
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Bill Glasheen
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Re: Better living through science

Post by Bill Glasheen »

Van

Good source on Agave.

Six of one, half dozen of the other. It's a sugar, and the glycemic index will be high enough. Need to be careful with it.

I drink any variety of coffee that is "dark roast" and "extra bold" flavor. I hear you on the thickness thing... That's what espresso is like.

Make sure you use a filter for the coffee. K-cups have them built in. Don't do press pot. There are bad things in coffee that a stupid-simple paper filter removes.

Here are some examples of the K-cup coffees I might drink. Not as thick as the coffee you remember from southern Italy, but plenty robust flavor.

http://www.amazon.com/Keurig-Tullys-Fre ... B007PA34CE

http://www.amazon.com/Starbucks-French- ... B006G1C6K4

http://www.amazon.com/Tullys-Coffee-Ita ... ast+k+cups

http://www.amazon.com/Starbucks-Caffe-V ... ast+k+cups

http://www.amazon.com/Keurig-Starbucks- ... Q64AE1C2DS

http://www.amazon.com/Green-Mountain-Da ... gic+k+cups

Bed, Bath & Beyond has a good selection to shop for these. If you find something you like, Amazon will get you a good price.

Bill
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Van Canna
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Re: Better living through science

Post by Van Canna »

Hi Bill,

I hear you on Agave...I go light on it.

For some reason I cannot get used to Keurig coffee.

http://www.yourguidetoitaly.com/types-o ... offee.html

Espresso wise...I have found Lavazza to be the best for me.

But I have tried Italian/American coffee brands and still can't find that elusive taste.

Yes I do filter my coffee...no French press for me.
Van
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