Today we’re launching a new feature on IAmBiotech.org: a list of the Best & Worst biotech-related posts from the last week.

This is where we’ll give shout outs to the bloggers who are showcasing the promise of biotech in interesting ways. And it’s also where we’ll draw attention to misinformation and myths about the science or the industry.

We’ve been combing the net to find our featured links for this week, but we need your help! If you see something that makes you smile – or cringe – send it our way. This week we’re just highlighting one “best” and one “worst”, but we’ll increase it to 3 per category next week…IF we get some good links from you all!

BEST OF THE WEEK:

Sheril Kirshenbaum at the Discover Magazine blog caught our attention with this note on the Vatican’s endorsement of genetically modified crops:

Good.  The human population is burgeoning and we need changes in agricultural policy to keep science at pace with global food demand. In past years, the rising cost of food has led to riots around the world and exposed how vulnerable many regions are to widespread instability when price increases. Ever more limited resources combined with the need to boost agricultural yield means we’ll need genetically modified crops and the biggest hurdles will be implementing associated policies and dispelling the misinformation that plagues the public.  I may not always agree with the Vatican, but whatever their motivations may be, I’m very pleased that genetically modified crops have their blessing.

This post makes our “best” list mostly because of the dialogue it sparked in the comments section. There were a number of people who commented that who were opposed to Sheril’s position, and many brought up the kind of misinformation that we in the biotech community try to counteract every day. But Sheril – and many other commenters – engaged them in a dialogue and backed their opinions with solid science:

Sheril Kirshenbaum: TomJoe is correct in that a good deal of the food we consume is genetically modified. Erica points out that much of the problem so far has been about distribution, but looking to projected population models over the next half century–it will soon be about quantity.

Genetic modification does not mean creating something dangerous, but it allows us to understand how to develop crops that will grow more efficiently on marginal lands and more. And no, GMO’s are not a big biotech conspiracy, but the result of a lot of sound research coming out of the nation’s top R01 universities as well as private industry.

This thread is pretty demonstrative of what I meant by misinformation plaguing the public.

It’s a great example of how critical it is for the biotech community to engage more online and take part in these kinds of discussions.

WORST OF THE WEEK:

We were disappointed to find this HuffPost op-ed last Thursday, which had some very misguided (and discredited) views about agricultural biotech. The author even goes so far as to attack the Gates Foundation, which has devoted considerable energy and resources to battling world hunger with the help of biotechnology:

One would think, however, that the big-brained folks at the Gates Foundation would have no problem understanding the science behind biotech and the potential problems with it, but if the government and academics are on the bandwagon and Monsanto is behind the wheel, Gates is definitely pitching in for gas with grants to the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). What gives? Lotter and Powell both allude, in terms of America’s acceptance of this dubiously tested technology, to our belief, as a culture, in science and innovation, and who stands for innovation more than Gates?

This post also sparked a lively debate in the comments, some of which showed the extent of misinformation that’s out there:

gunxclimber: I don’t think there are to many people, but the power elite do, and thats why they are pushing this poison. Do you think they eat this junk? of course not, its just for the slave of the planet, the useless eaters. If you think there are too many people, then why don’t you go ahead and commit suicide? I didn’t think so. How about letting some of the free energy technology out, so we stop poisoning the planet with toxic, outdated technology?

But the discussion wasn’t all bad. There were a number of commenters who tried to pull the conversation back on track…take a look and join the conversation!