Really Bad Ideas Posted by jamere at 05/04/05 08:36 PM

Submarines with screen doors, Pat Boone covering Ozzy Osborne and genetically engineering food crops to produce drugs and industrial chemicals – there might be worse ideas, but they don’t readily come to mind. “Gosh, it seemed like a good idea at the time,” had to have been what the rocket scientist who imported Kudzu to control soil erosion said after the plant got out of control.

The good news is that the voice of reason isn’t singing solo. Add to the chorus lamenting the risks to babies and bambi, some pretty big players who are worried about contamination of their best selling products. The bad news is the biopharmaceutical industry is a tenacious bunch that’s determined to advance their technology at everyone else’s expense.

After being run out of the state by the good citizens of California, Ventria bioscience sought a permit in Missouri where they planned to experimentally grow rice genetically engineered to produce human proteins to help the immune system. What’s wrong with those people in California, don’t they know this is a good idea?

Actually, I think Californians weren’t too keen on the idea of having drugs wind up in their organic rice cakes. That’s equivalent to a Midwesterner’s concern about having drugs or hormones wind up in their consumables – beer for instance – that’s what Anheuser Busch brewer of Budweiser is concerned about. Rice is the primary ingredient of Bud. Anheuser, headquartered in Missouri, threatened to boycott Missouri rice, if Ventria got a permit to grow biopharm rice there. Bud was convinced that contamination would be inevitable and a precipitous drop in the sale of their beer would be just as inevitable.

Bud, well aware of the impact the Starlink contamination incident had on producers and retailers of corn products was scared starchless by the prospect of a Starlink on steroids. Bud hedged their bets and cut a deal with Ventria whereby Ventria agreed to a 120 mile buffer zone between their experimental plots and any other rice grown in Missouri. Turns out the deal could be a moot point since Ventria needed the permit in time to get their crops in the ground by the May 20th planting deadline.

Word is that Ventria is looking to set up shop in North Carolina. Hmm, California, Missouri, North Carolina – if the voices of reason ring louder, Ventria may need to genetically alter their rice to grow in salt water – somewhere in the Atlantic.

FYI, Texas based Grocer HEB and Consumers Union testified in the Texas House Agriculture Committee in favor of a ban on pharma crops in Texas. We expect the bill to die in committee, but it wouldn’t hurt to tell the Committee Chair what you think, but be polite, he’s a pretty good guy.

You can see a video of the committee hearing on Texas Legislature online. The hearing was held on 5/03/05 at 8:12 a.m.

comments (3)

1 Posted by stevejchi at 08/10/05 11:44 AM

IT MAY BE TRUE THAT Millions of California drivers don't have any idea that the car they're driving to work every day may have safety problem.

While Nearly 42,000 lives are lost annually on the nation's highways, THIS IS ONLY A MINUTE CAUSE OF THOSE DEATHS.

There is evidence that higher correction rates, PROVIDED THAT THESE ARE SAFETY RECALLS, for recalled vehicles results in increased public safety on our roads.

Almost half of car owners don't bring their cars in to get them repaired because the manufacturer recall notice mailed to them either doesn't get to them or is thought to be just another piece of junk mail. IS THIS A STATISTIC OR SOMEONES "ESTIMATE?" ? HOW MANY DON'T GET REPAIR BECAUSE THEY CAN'T BE BOTHERED? MANY RECALLS ARE NOT SAFETY ISSSUES, AND SHOULD BE OPTIONAL.

THE FIRST STEP IS TO ASSURE THAT "SAFETY RECALL" IS BOLDLY ON THE FRONT OF THE ENVELOPE. STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS CAN MAKE THIS HAPPEN.

Increasing the odds that car and truck owners learn about a safety recall on their vehicle is the goal of a California bill being considered by Governor Schwarzenegger.
LEARNING ABOUT IT IS ONLY PART OF THE ISSUE. DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT IS THE REAL ISSUE. THIS NEEDS A FOLLOWUP SYSTEM. EMISSION PROBLEMS ARE FOLLOWED UP WITH ROUTINE SMOG INSPECTIONS.

IF CALIFORNIA IS TO TREAT THIS AS SERIOUS AN ISSUE OF PUBLIC SAFETY AS SMOG, THEN A SYSTEM SIMILAR TO "FIX IT" TICKETS SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED;
RECORD THE ISSUE ON REGISTRATION DATABASE, WITH A METHOD FOR VEHICLE OWNER TO REPLY WITH DEALER REPAIR ORDER TO VALIDATE THE FIX (EITHER WRITTEN OR PHONE MESSAGE SYSTEM WITH DIRECT ACCESS TO RECORD ON DMV DATABASE.) THIS MIGHT BE IMPLEMENTED FROM/THOUGH THE MANUFACTURERS RECALL NOTICE TO CALIFORNIA OWNERS, AS A MANUFACTURERS FOLLOW UP SYSTEM.

SB 114 requires car makers to provide the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) with a list of recalled vehicles and requires the DMV to notify car owners about such recalls on their yearly vehicle registration renewal notice. Current California law already requires car makers to provide recall information to the DMV in cases of emissions-related recalls. Car owners affected by those types of recalls are notified on their annual DMV vehicle registration renewal notice. It can't be that much more complicated or expensive for the DMV to provide similar information to consumers about safety recalls.
THIS IS FAR TOO EXPENSIVE AND NON-PRODUCTIVE. TOO MANY RECALLS ON NON-SAFETY ISSUES. SAFETY ISSUES SHOULD BE ADDRESSED IMMEDIATELY ON NOTIFICATION, NOT WAIT TILL REGISTRATION TIME.

Steven Chichester
7849 Jayseel St
Sunland, CA 91040
818-353-4005

2 Posted by amisheritage at 01/05/06 02:10 PM

Another Really Bad Idea: Late last year Sears distributed an ad flyer with new toys including My First Craftsman Circular Saw! If that's not enough they offer My First Craftsman Chain Saw! What are they thinking? Do they really think it's a good idea for children to be introduced to these items as toys? What happens when the six year old finds similar items in the basement and trys to play with them? Attention emergency rooms and liability lawyers, you might be busy soon.

3 Posted by Jamere at 01/25/06 12:42 PM

Amisheritage, thanks for the comment. I submitted your nomination for “Really Bad Ideas” to the International Dumb Idea Obviation Tribunal (IDIOT). They unanimously agreed that your submission merely qualifies as a questionable idea. A really bad idea must be really bad on its own merits – A really bad idea must be stupid on its face and can not depend on outside intervention or third party negligence to boost its asininity.

Your submission would require one or both of the following intervening forces:
• a small child allowed access to dangerous power tools, and/or
• power tools designed and manufactured with no child proof interlocks.

The Tribunal appreciates your submission and encourages you to remain observant. They further thank you for the opportunity to include reference to the above bulleted really bad ideas.

Jamere
On behalf of IDIOT