What Does GMO Mean in the QA World - Part 2 - Ethics vs. Business

You might remember the story about my grandmother in Part 1 of this article, and how in her garden, some 25-30 years ago in Europe, she managed to crossbreed a River Birch Tree with Red Roses. In retrospect, I am pretty certain that my grandmother never gave any thought to the scientific ethics of her creation. Partly because she wasn’t making any profit from it, but primarily because it was her own personal garden and nobody else’s opinion mattered.

We went. We listened. We learned.

Put us to the test.

I absolutely love this subject. First of all, I have a degree in Molecular Biology, and any time I get to talk about the subject of Genetics I reach the equivalent of nerd Nirvana. Second, it brings back memories of my childhood in Europe, where my grandma, of all people, did genetic experiments on her garden flowers.

My grandmother wasn’t a Scientist, Molecular Biologist, or any other type of Evil-James-Bond-Character. She was an incredibly sweet old lady who lived all of her life in Europe, and meticulously nurtured her gardens, rich with fresh seasonal fruit, vegetables, and flowers. One thing that she impressed into my memory was when she successfully crossbred a River Birch tree with red roses. Just imagine a garden of wild roses, philodendrons, vividly colored lilies, and in the middle of all of that, a twenty foot tree just covered with blooming red roses. Awesome!

 

What Should People REALLY Be Worried About in the Food Supply?

One thing that is not apparent to the public and the retail markets, is that the food industry is not vertically integrated. Most of us in the food industry don’t have the ability to farm, process, manufacture, and package under the same roof. Which is why we use approved vendors and suppliers. In an ideal world, vendors and suppliers are forthcoming, transparent, and willing to share all of their information. However, what happens when the food supply goes off course can be a rude awakening for everyone.

It sounds daunting, doesn't it?

It's not, we promise.

In the immortal words of that Bard of Bad Pants, MC Hammer, let's break it down (we'll wait while you go close the door so you can dance).

AQA is proud to announce our move into the Florida Innovation Hub incubator. The Innovation Hub has already produced a network of alumni companies that are changing the community and the world, including TAO Connect, Shadow Health, Apps for Docs, MindTree Limited, and Gamedayr, to name just a few.

The 48,000-square-foot facility was built with an $8.2 million grant from the federal Economic Development Administration and a $5 million commitment from the University of Florida.

When people think of the “Local Food Movement” and how it gets to our kitchen table, some probably envision a tatted-up hipster, with a perfectly coiffed mustache and parted hair, raving about a thousand different ways to use quinoa in your diet. I live in Huntington Beach, California, otherwise known as “Surf City USA.” Each Tuesday the city of Huntington Beach closes down part of Main Street, an area of the city right by the beach, which allows for food vendors and food manufacturers to sell their locally made products. A farmers’ market of sorts, but you can buy other things, too (e.g. paintings, clothing, hipster moustache wax, etc.). However, for the purpose of this story I’m only focusing on the food manufacturers and growers. Although I truly love this movement because it promotes sustainability and local economic growth, as in any food business we run into obstacles along the way. Here are some examples of what I mean:

 

Hi. My name is Marko, and I am a nerd.

Ever since I can remember, I’ve been intrigued by technology and geeky devices. As a millennial, I witnessed a technological revolution unfold in front of my eyes. More like an evolution to be exact. The Gordon Gekko brick phones, VHS tapes, cassette tapes, VCR’s, and the awesome Sega Genesis are now considered a thing of the past. All of these technological marvels were quickly replaced with inventions such as movie/music streaming services, tablet computers, and phones that have more computational power than Apollo 11 did during the moon landing.

It’s no wonder that the world of food manufacturing and quality assurance has also evolved…or has it?

 

Marc Andreessen of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz wrote in a Wall Street Journal essay in August 2011 that, “software is eating the world.” Software touches every aspect of our lives, with, perhaps, the exception of our consciousness (although with the tremendous advances in Artificial Intelligence, that time may be just around the corner).

The acceleration and velocity of change in the technology world over the last twenty years have been remarkable. Of course, it’s important to note the difference between velocity and acceleration. Acceleration measures the rate of change of the velocity of an object. Velocity is a vector quantity, both speed and direction are needed to define it, e.g. 60 mph, north.

 

“The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now.”

The way I interpret this Chinese proverb is: “You probably should have invested in something important a long time ago, but just because you slacked off then, doesn’t mean you can’t start today.”