It's Official: India needs Biotech

Great news from the Land of Promises:

Genetically modified crops are order of the day: Govt
17 Sep, 2007, 1710 hrs IST, PTI

NEW DELHI: India should accept that genetically modified seeds is the solution to feed the growing population and reduce the pressure on land, a top government official said.

"If we like it or not, transgenics are the order of the day," Indian Council of Agricultural Research Director General Mangala Rai said at a conference on agricultural biotechnology organised by industry chamber FICCI.

He pointed that India will have a population of more than five billion by 2050 and the pressure on land would increase by 4-6 times.

Rai said due to adoption of GM crops "resistance has increased, pesticides consumption has reduced and productivity has increased".

He added when other seeds can produce one kilo rice by utilising 3,000 litres of water, why should there be opposition, if GM seed can have a better yield with less water.

Rai also said when oilseeds like castor have improved yield because of use of transgenic seeds, there should not be any resistance against it.

In Gujarat, castor seeds productivity is estimated at 17 quintal per hectare against all India average of four quintal, Rai said.

FICCI Biotech Committee Chairman Krishna M Ella said India would be the hub for world seed production in the next few years. Agri-biotech is growing at 15 per cent per annum, he added.

Another news item from Reuters on the same subject: http://uk.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUKDEL3447220070917

This is something that I have been waiting since long time ago. Almost seven years. Not exactly from India, but from any government. And now, it has happened. Despite the claims of environmentalists about risks for health, despite the lies and fake reports by some environmentalists, which I have personally witnessed here and that crippled our emerging bioengineered crops of papaya, despite all that, finally officers in the government have acknowledged the importance of GM crops for our future, with almost exactly the same arguments that a lot of us have been using during the last decade.

I won't engage here in rants about the contradictions of accepting hybrid crops (that mix a lot of unknown genes) like wheat, and refusing to accept crops in which only a couple of genes is different from the parental variety. I only will say that I am happy that finally reason has triumphed, at least in India, I hope more undeveloped countries follow India's example and not only give permission to plant GM crops created by the industry, as Argentina does, but also create their own varieties and crops according to their particular needs. And I hope this is done under an OS approach with a license analogue to Copyleft. Those would be great news not only for the poor people, but also for a lot of scientists around the world, who would benefit from the creativity of other and would be able to contribute themselves to this noble endeavor.

This is a very happy day for me and for a lot of people. And India again is showing us that it takes seriously further development in science and technology. This is a lesson and a warning for developed countries, they have achieved a high living standard thanks science and technology and now can ignore it and scorn it, praise primitivism and older times and give almost null importance to scientific literacy, but India could show that the future is going to be tough for those who chose that path.

Ironic cardboardsteaks

While I was at the US I traveled a little bit more than I expected. I visited San Diego and Philadelphia, among other places.

Being in San Diego I went to eat a famous "Philadelphia Cheesesteak" at a a fast food in a mall. It turned that the "All American" cheesesteak was prepared by Mexican guys who did not speak in English even to Caucasian customers. It was tasty, and I thought that the original ones, in Philadelphia, must taste much better than these imitations.

Later I went to Philadelphia, I stayed in South Philly, just a couple of blocks from the famous Geno's restaurant, where you are not allowed to speak in other language than English when ordering.



I found it quite offensive, not the message itself (I find terrible going to another country and refusing to learn the language, like those Mexicans in San Diego) but other signs praising Marines and violence and the statement "This is America, Speak in English", which is false, America is made from immigrants and a lot of them have other languages that they use in their own environment. Aren't the people from Chinatown in San Francisco Americans?

Anyway, the funny thing is that the reputed Geno's Cheesesteaks, a proud tradition of Philly, autopraised as the best of those, the original, from the Land of Cheesesteaks, Philadelphia... tastes like cardboard!. In fact, the cheesesteak I got at San Diego was much better, even if those Mexicans did not speak English.

Those cheesesteaks are really awful, well, at least the ones made with provolone cheese (which I love, btw). But It seems unlikely I will return to try the other flavors of cardboard. I just wish I remember the name of that fast food restaurant in San Diego.

More strange fusions: This time is Kraftwerk

Two year ago, shortly before I began to travel (yes, that was a milestone in my life and I refer to that frequently) I discovered Kraftwerk. I was in love with those pure sounds, sometimes a fast beat, but mostly paused notes, flowing, building a fresh, unadorned, but beatiful music. Besides, their lyrics, simple, but appealing, were something I liked, with mostly an optimistic and cheerful attitude to technology. And I was learning to code, my first useful (but very clumsy, as they are still now) programs are from that date.

And I dreamed about a better existence when I heard:

I program my home computer
Beam myself into the future

or

I'm the operator
with my pocket calculator


I could say my dreams have become reality in a certain way (I am real geek, I guess).
I liked a lot Kraftwerk's fusion of their electronic music with the Yodel in their song Autobahn, blending the old and the new. But now I have discovered an even more wild mix, featuring latin rythms, electronic music, Kraftwerk and colorful clothes.

It is Señor Coconut y su conjunto, these guys (Or this guy) remix Kraftwerk and blend it with latin music in turly innovative and funny ways. I even found to actually enjoy their music rather than just finding it amusing, as is often the case with these kind of covers. Anyway, this blend is unique, exciting and strange, but enjoyable, and it makes me feel at home, mixing the tropical rythms of my native culture (of one of my blend of cultures) with the high tech elements of other cultures that I crave for, giving birth to an astonding and creative synthesis.

Anyway, I have to go, gotta finnish the presentations and some code I am working in, but I leave this for those of you who are curious:



PD: Yes, it is more fun to compute!