Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Collected Blog Posts of an Agricultural Scientist


I began blogging about agriculture and related issues in July of 2009.  Since that time I have posted 173 times: 84 on Sustainablog, 37 on Red Green and Blue, 22 on Eat Drink Better, 3 on News Blaze, 6 on Biofortified and 9 on Applied Mythology only.  I've also posted 15 larger documents on SCRIBD.  I've classified these posts by topic below and provided links.  If the post is on this Applied Mythology site you can go to that copy using the "AM" link.  I appreciate any and all feedback! (savage.sd@gmail.com or on this site)


Attempting to counter the anti-science and anti-technology narratives that are so widespread today


Countering the widespread disinformation about biotechnology, GMOs etc


Posts about the "Carbon Footprint of Agriculture" and its often non-intuitive status


Posts about Climate Change - how it will effect agriculture and how agriculture can mitigate the changes


Some observations about demographic trends with important ramifications for humanity in the future

Thinking about the unfortunate nature of the debates over food and technology

Countering the extremely misleading interpretation of USDA pesticide residue data which appears in the Environmental Working Groups, "Dirty Dozen List"



Discussions of aspects of the food supply that are frequently misunderstood


Discussions of the challenge ahead to continue to feed a growing global population and analysis of the on-going phenomenon of unusually large swings in global food prices


Talking about the little-known fact that much of our farmland is leased, and an analysis of what that means for the implementation of optimal sustainability practices


My perspectives on what form of agriculture is actually the most sustainable?


Providing some perspective on toxicity, pesticide safety progress, and the fact that toxic materials are common in nature


Looking at historical and current trends in farming and related issues


Why an extensively "local" food supply is not practical or fully desirable


Confronting the widespread myths about what Organic is and what ultimate contribution it could ever make to the food supply


Providing some perspective on the field of biofuels


Discussions of businesses involved in farming and why they serve a necessary purpose:


Some general posts of food politics and posts in defense of farmers


General discussions about how things work in the food supply



Other random topics

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    Monday, April 19, 2010

    About My Blogging Adventure

    Last May (2009) I was being frustrated seeing the disinformation about agriculture that is so common.  I was on a site called "Sustainablog" intending to leave a comment to challenge some erroneous assertions the writer was making.  I noticed a link at the top of the page that said, "Write For Us."  That took me to the umbrella site called "Green Options" and to a way to apply to be a contributor.  I filled it out with full disclosure that I have been working for decades on many of the technologies that bloggers on the site distrust.  I also explained that I did a lot of work on things most of these writers would probably like (biological controls, natural product pesticides...).  I didn't hear anything until July and was surprised that they were inviting me to contribute to Sustainablog.  Since then I've written dozens of posts.

    I have found it quite interesting and rewarding to be putting up "out of the box" posts in the "Green Blogosphere."  I've gotten a good share of angry comments and emails, but I've also gotten a lot of positive feedback and evidence that there are thoughtful people out there that are open to new information.  I'll list some of my favorite feedback:

    • "Steve, I'm sure we will continue to disagree on many points, but you made me think."
    • "Against my better judgement, I'm beginning to like you."
    • "I had never thought of that, that makes sense." 

    I continued to post on Sustainablog until December of 2009 when Jeff, the editor, decided to take that blog in a different direction that didn't include free-lance contributions.  After that I posted on other Green Options blogs - "Eat Drink Better" and "Red Green and Blue." These are not extremely high traffic web sites, but in January and February of 2010 I often had between 500 and 1000 page views for each post.

    Between February and April 2010, Green Options transitioned to "Important Media."  It was not functional for some time and there has been a big drop in readership.  I hope it can be rebuilt.  I've also posted some more technical documents of SCRIBD. I'll also include links to invited talks I've given on topics of agricultural sustainability.

    I'm currently searching for a new place to post and contemplating a book that compiles and adds to these essays.
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