Stuart Strand

Environmental engineer using GMO plants to fight pollution: indoor air, N2OReductase, BLU, soils, bioremediation, WWTPs. Opinions mine. 60 yrs bike commuting.

[Genetic Literacy Project @GeneticLiteracy]

“One of the biggest threats to banana farming in East Africa is Banana Xanthomonas Wilt,” says Valentine Otang Ntui. Using CRISPR, his team—including Leena Tripathi—removed a gene that helps the bacteria infect plants. The result: disease-resistant bananas, while unedited ones succumbed. @MoroccoWNews
https://t.co/nRCDXuIB6B

[Simon Maechling @simonmaechling]

🇺🇸 The US embraced GM crops.
🇪🇺 The EU restricted GM crops.

Now:

🇺🇸 More food, less pesticide use.
🇪🇺 Lower yields, more imports.

🇺🇸 Corn yield: 10.8 tons/ha 🟢
🇪🇺 Corn yield: 5.9 tons/ha 🔴

The problem isn’t GMOs.
The problem is bad policy.

[Be the change you want to be @AgBioWorld]

Ag Scientist here: Welcome to starvation! BTW, Soviet Union & China tried something along these lines in 1950s & 1960s, killed millions of their people by the famines that ensued.

[Simon Maechling @simonmaechling]

The biggest paradoxes of modern environmentalism?

🚨 They demand solutions for climate change and food security.

🚨 But they reject the best technologies to solve those problems.

From GMOs to nuclear energy, ideology keeps blocking progress.
Here’s why it’s a problem 🧵: 1/

[Andrew McGuire @agronomistag]

Does regenerative agriculture bring any new practices?

There are the soil health principles, and its goal of restoring soils, and lots of other ideas, but the practices remain the same.

[Simon Maechling @simonmaechling]

One of the most dangerous things in history?
When politics replaces science.

That’s exactly what happened in the Soviet Union under Trofim Lysenko.

A man whose pseudoscience led to famine, ruined careers, and millions of deaths.

His ideology destroyed Soviet agriculture 🧵:

[Simon Maechling @simonmaechling]

Germany shut down nuclear.
Now it burns more coal.

France kept nuclear.
Now it has cleaner energy.

Which country has one of the biggest energy policy failures in modern history?

[Healthy Air Purifier @HealthyAirNG1]

OPENING WINDOWS ISN'T ENOUGH! 🌬️

Outdoor air can be up to 5x more polluted than indoor air. Don't rely on open windows for fresh air. Upgrade to a Healthy Air Medical Grade Air Purifier, proven to eliminate 99.99% of airborne impurities, including pollutants, allergens.

[Kimberly Prather, Ph.D. @kprather88]

Air quality is getting worse in LA and elsewhere now that winds have slowed down. Indoor air filtration and masks are key.

[Andrew McGuire @agronomistag]

A reminder that concentrating organic matter near the soil surface, as happens with no-till, can improve soil health/function without an overall increase in soil organic matter.
https://t.co/oWTBCZ0zv9

[Stuart Strand @stuartestrand]

@CCACoalition @UNEP @davidrkanter @FAOclimate @UNEPozone You are right about the dangers of nitrous oxide emissions. Let’s try something radical: genetically modified plants with nitrous oxidereductase. https://t.co/mXy7abGptN

[Climate & Clean Air Coalition @CCACoalition]

This year’s extreme heat has reignited calls for action on greenhouse gas emissions, but there’s one super-pollutant we can’t afford to ignore: Nitrous Oxide!

This compound:
🔥 Warms the planet hundreds of times faster than CO₂!
⚠️ Destroys the stratospheric ozone layer, exposing us to dangerous solar radiation!

Learn more: https://t.co/3NUK5qPnNR

[Terry Daynard @TerryDaynard]

@RobSoil But more vulnerable to losses by leaching vs inhibitor-treated UAN and urea?

[Rob Mikkelsen @RobSoil]

@ScottAdd5 Sorry if not clear. All N sources end up as nitrate... all are susceptible to leaching or wet denitrification. I was referring to N2O loss during nitrification. This step avoided by using NO3. No perfect solution... 4R and water management are key. Yes, field info available

[Rob Mikkelsen @RobSoil]

Nitrous oxide from nitrification still causes confusion. Usually <1% of N, but may be much higher. https://t.co/xof1vyOrzw
This is NOT from N2O loss in wet soils
Hayatsu reviewed mechanisms- N2O FORMED DURING NH2OH OXIDATION BY CHEM & BIOCHEM REACTIONS. https://t.co/kUWo4tHjIJ

[Good Food Movement @goodfoodin]

Urea fertilizer breaks down in soil to release ammonia, which microbes convert into nitrous oxide (N₂O), a greenhouse gas nearly 265 times more potent than CO₂ in trapping heat. This process contributes significantly to #globalwarming, making agriculture a major emitter.

As stewards of the land, Vani - an organic farmer from Haripad (Kerala) - believes farmers have a moral responsibility to adopt sustainable practices. Switching to organic and natural alternatives like compost or biofertilizers can in fact reduce emissions while enriching the soil.

#goodfoodmovement #organicfarming

[Andrew McGuire @agronomistag]

"Nature does everything better than humans" is a foolish notion. Nature does not do farming better than humans. In fact, most of us would starve if we relied on nature for food. Neither is natural always better...https://t.co/D7mm7zi9Ko

[Simon Maechling @simonmaechling]

I’ve seen my share of anti-science activists.

But few are as dangerous as Vandana Shiva.

She brands herself as a "food sovereignty" advocate.

In reality? She’s an activist spreading misinformation about GMOs, pesticides, and modern agriculture.

Here’s the real story 🧵: 1/

[Stuart Smyth @stuartsmyth66]

Here's yet another example of consumer fraud from the @NonGMOProject. There are no GMO chickpeas anywhere. If you want to support farmers, please don't buy products with the fake logo.

[Stuart Strand @stuartestrand]

We’re still working on getting approval from USDA for sale of our indoor plants in the USA. Super pothos @origenair is available commercially in Canada. Lucky Canadians! https://t.co/Fs24RYOdA9