Organic Gardening will upgrade its login and registration system on
December 11. The new system is needed to support some of the major site
enhancements that we are currently developing. The new system is shared with
other Rodale sites, including Prevention, Men's Health, Runner's World and Women's Health.
Click here for answers to the most frequently
asked questions related to the new system.
In your OG Watchdog column in the latest issue of OG, you say, "Organic corn crops have tested positive for foreign genetic material because of airborne cross-pollination with genetically engineered (GE) crops. The problem is known as genetic drift..."
That's not what genetic drift is! Genetic drift is when a small, isolated population *loses* genetic information over time because certain genes accidentally don't get passed on. It's the opposite of genetic diversity, more or less. It has nothing to do with *new* genetic material being introduced by 'drifting' on the wind, which seems to be what your writer thought.
So while I find the information about the corn alarming, I find your misuse of terminology alarming as well. It certainly undermines your credibility for accurate reporting.
We have noted the oversight, Karen, and plan to address it in our next issue. What we should have said is that "pollen drift" from genetically engineered crops is leading to the "genetic pollution" of both organic and conventional, non-GE crops. We regret the error. Dan Sullivan senior editor OG
