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The Chicago Tribune warns, “It would be a travesty if the U.S. allows fear and ignorance to crowd out crucial public education about biotechnology’s potential.” Meanwhile, Food and Drug…

Professor of Biogeography Philip Stott of the University of London attack nannies who back organic farming. "The idea that organic farming can ever be a large-scale alternative to other forms of farming is a pernicious recent myth. There are also other elements to this myth, namely that organic farming is 'safer,' 'better,' and more 'natural.'"

The radical animal rights activists at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have erected four billboards in New Hampshire asking, "If you choose to eat meat, why should I pay your hospital bills?" PETA says it hopes presidential candidates campaigning in the state will see "the need for a tax on meat" that could "pay for dietary education programs that would help reduce health care costs and save consumers' and animals' lives" and "pay for the meat industry's huge detrimental effect on the environment."

Nanny nutritionist Carrie Latt told NBC's Later Today that the restaurant industry was largely to blame for the so-called obesity epidemic. "They could feed Third World countries with the portions we get in restaurants. I mean it's seriously out of control. What's interesting is, calories are on the rise, where fat grams have come down. But we're still obese, and it's getting worse and worse every day. A lot of it is the restaurant industry, to be quite honest." Read excerpts from Latt's latest book, "Portion Savvy."

Buoyed by the scientifically baseless arguments of anti-genetically engineered food activists, countries seeking to label GE food produced for export won the first round of the 130-nation food policy trade talks in Montreal. Worldwide labeling could begin in as little as two years. {Washington Post} {New York Times}

There's been a dramatic increase in GE food crop and research facility vandalism, with crimes by anti-GE (and virulently anti-choice) activists now reported in seven states.

Reporter Joyce Howard Price details the U.S. government's expanding and intrusive "war on fat." Comments from nannies at the Centers for Disease Control put much of the blame for childhood obesity on fast food chains offering "megaportions" and food eaten outside the home. "Right now this anti-obesity campaign is only in its infancy," says a USDA spokesman. ("Fat Chance: The Government's War on Obesity," The Washington Times, 1/30/00, No link available.)

In their ongoing campaign against modern technologies and agricultural methods, the nannies from the Turning Point Project took out a full-page ad in today's New York Times attacking food irradiation, pesticides, large-scale animal-raising and, of course, GE foods.

For the first time, nannies have linked a "body count" to new fat taxes. A British study released today claims a whopping 17.5% tax on high-fat food will save 1,000 lives a year. It was met with cheers in Canada, with one academic calling it "a neat way of getting health care money." The USDA voiced preference for other solutions, but labeled the concept "intriguing."

The drumbeat against restaurant portions goes on and on. Once again, restaurants are being blamed for the so-called "obesity epidemic." "Restaurant portions have done so much to contribute to obesity," according to a Cincinnati dietician. Another argues that larger restaurant food portions have distorted people's judgment about what is a reasonable amount of food.