Air Date: Week of September 24, 2010

Host Bruce Gellerman dips into the mailbag to give Living on Earth listeners a chance to sound-off.

Transcript

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GELLERMAN: Time again for listener letters, feedback and backtalk. Our story last week about the FDA considering the merits of genetically modified salmon landing on the nation’s tables caught the attention of Margo Pellegrino who heard it on WHYY.

PELLEGRINO: My first reaction was, I'm sorry, but this is scary. We are still learning about genetically modified crops. Maybe I'm just a simpleton, but the "kiss" rule is the best rule to live by (and eat by)-- "keep it simple, silly."

GELLERMAN: Many listeners wrote to say, the thought of a genetically modified fish on their plate didn’t make their lips smack. Support local farmers some said…other’s suggested grow your own food or go vegan. Listener Jon Parker, a supporter of WYPR in Baltimore, Md, had this advice for producers of transgenic fish.

PARKER: Industry: agree to label and try it out in a few markets. Take your time, do this right. Good science, slow open studies, are good business.

GELLERMAN: In response to our story about political interference with Government food inspectors we received this email. It reads, in part…

“I am a Federal Employee who knows first hand about the risks of speaking out and the subsequent retaliation by agency administrators. The Merit System Protection Board, the No FEAR Act, and other so-called Whistleblower protections are considered ineffective by attorneys who specialize in Federal employment law. A real achievement would be changing the law to make speaking to media about agency intransigence and wrongdoing a protected practice. Please do not publish my name or email address.”

Last week, Robin Moore of Conservation International talked to us about expeditions in search of a hundred species of amphibians scientists fear are extinct. Moore said he was hopeful he’d have some good news to report, and promised to let us know as soon as he did. Well good news travels fast. Researchers found three species that didn’t croak.

If you have comments – kudos or criticism – you can leap over to our Facebook page, PRI’s Living on Earth. Our email address is comments@ L-O-E dot org. Or give us a buzz at 800-218-9988.

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