“Now, who wants to cover nanotech this week?”
As the northern hemisphere warms up, news editors begin scraping the barrel for stories to fill up all that empty space usually filled by the politicians currnelty ploouting beaches around the Mediterranean. Fact checkers head off on vacation, as do most serous journalists, leaving news rooms looking like the set of the Banana Splits Show.
The hands of Fleegle, Drooper, Bingo and Snorky are more than apparent in this story form the UKs Independent which concludes on the basis of yet another rather odd report from the crazy gang at Helmut Kaiser that “Two hundred companies are already working on inserting nanotechnology into food, posing “immense” risks to health.” Like many of the nanotech fringe groups, HK are already living in the future (it’s the mention of nanorobots that always gives the game away) claiming to be able to supply “Markets for nanofood industries 2015 worldwide by segments.” Hmm, wont we all be getting it all from non grey goo compatible tabletop assemblers by then?
Before anyone starts foaming at the mouth and picketing university labs at the thought that evil nanotechnologists may have succeeded where Monsanto failed, the original report doesnt mention the intention of anything into food. In fact the story is so flimsy that 90% is a rehash of last weeks hoo-ha over Price Charles’ comments.
While it true that a large number of companies and researchers are investigating the uses of nanotechnology in food (from everything to pesticide and nutrient delivery to packaging), reports of imminent doom are somewhat premature.
We’ll expect the usual seasonal increase in nano scare stories, and we’ll respond in the same way.
Drooper, take out the trash!
