Laurel Zuckerman's Paris Weblog

Internet humorists have fun with Findus' horsemeat mess.

2013-02-11T10:28:38+01:00

Horsemeat scandal - Facebook and twitter users mock agribusiness' pretentions to quality in these images.

Barbara Navarro, author of Amazon Rainforest Magic, on the Yanomami, indigenous peoples and art

2013-01-28T13:11:48+01:00

Barbarro Navarro's decades-long interest in the peoples of the Amazon rain forest inspired her first illustrated book for children, "Amazon Rainforest Magic: The Adventures of a Yanomami Boy". Based on her experiences with the Yanomami communities living in the jungles of Venezuela and Brazil, Amazon Rainforest Magic relates the journey of Namowë, a thirteen year old Yanomami boy, as he seeks a cure for his baby sister. A Paris Writers News interview.

Why France sent special forces to protect a private company in Niger (next to Mali)

2013-01-26T09:18:00+01:00

A first. French elite soldiers are to protect the holdings of a private company in Mail's neighbor, Niger. Why? Le Point's Jean Guisnel explains: Areva'ss uranium mines in Niger, which are slated to ramp up production to provide fuel for France's nuclear industry as well as foreign clients, are strategic national interests.

Twinkies: the French never knew what they were missing

2012-11-18T15:14:11+01:00

Weep for the Twinkie. And raise high the ebay auctions. Our past is gone and will not return. Except as a shiny Jeff Koons parody, as large as a Hummer and just as soft.

Should airlines charge passengers by the pound, like freight?

2012-11-13T21:51:23+01:00

The question : "How should airlines treat larger passengers?" is anything but simple. Readers of The Economist propose solutions.

The fight against air pollution in Paris

2012-11-03T07:33:26+01:00

Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe wants to ban older cars. But his critics say focusing on heavy polluters might lower pollution rates faster.

French safety expert Joël Guillemain refuses 2 years life-cycle tests for genetically modified crops.

2012-10-29T10:06:16+01:00

French safety agency refuses to replicate Professor's Séralini's study of Monstanto NK603 corn, saying it's too difficult to study the number of rats necessary for statistically valid results over a two year period. Joël Guillemain "expert à l'Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire," denounced Séralini's two year study of of genetically modified Monstanto NK603 corn as statistically inconclusive because it followed only 200 rats, while saying studies of the necessary number of rats would be materially impossible.

Shouldn't Monsanto's GMO safety studies receive same scrutiny as Professor Séralini's?

2012-10-21T08:00:00+02:00

In an unsigned declaration, six French academies (Agriculture, Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences, Technology, Veternary Something) claim they do not need to conduct an "expertise approfondie" into Professor Séralini's study of Monsanto's NK603 because "studies have already been carried out by specialized institutions. Who signed this declaration? Which commission within each academy was responsible? Was there a report? Did the members of each academy vote? (Were they even informed?) Who, exactly, are the scientific "experts" behind this anonymous condemnation? And in what specific ways do they think that Séralini's study is inferior to previous studies? The lack of transparency continues to reign in the world of OGM "science".

French scientists find Monsanto's NK603 GMO corn accelerates tumors: will independent scientists replicate results?

2012-10-08T08:39:17+02:00

In a two-year study, a team of French researchers led by Professor Gilles-Eric Séralini found that rats fed Monsanto’s “Roundup Ready” corn developed significantly more tumors than a control group not fed GM corn. The rats fed a GM diet also developed tumors that appeared earlier and behaved more aggressively, and died sooner than rats in the control group. Will the results be replicated by independent scientists? Or will Monsanto's PR machine succeed in burying the study?

Was NYT Roger Cohen Duped by the Pesticide Industry?

2012-09-08T06:27:45+02:00

It is perfectly understandable that the agribusiness, drug and chemical industries prefer not to focus on the health impact of consuming pesticides, hormones and antibiotics in our food. What is not clear is why NYT writer Roger Cohen fell for it.