Food and climate; innovation; science; and authority

As always, sorry about the long blog break! I just spent the weekend in Washington, DC for the STGlobal annual conference for grad students. I helped plan the event and it went great! We had four presenters from ASU and three folks on the planning committee, so I was happy to see us well-represented amongst the East Coast schools.

I have sadly few deeper thoughts to contribute, and likely will be pretty busy as the semester comes to an end this month. For now, here are my favorite recent science policy links.

Last week some of my colleagues attended the Planet Under Pressure conference in London. Some of the discussion on agriculture is synthesized here:

• A Clarion Call on the Food Supply (quick read; h/t Arijit)
• Achieving Food Security in the Face of Climate Change (long read)
Who has Authority in Political Debates Involving Science?: Roger Pielke Jr. on the science and politics of Planet Under Pressure

On climate security and the role of the military, What to Do? The Climate Security Policy Conundrum at the Duck of Minerva.

WTF is pink slime and why does it matter? Marion Nestle, as always, sorts through the politics of food. Nestle argues, "even if technological processes like this are safe, they are not necessarily acceptable—especially if they are not labeled and do not give consumers a choice."

What Beer Can Teach Us About Emerging Technologies by an ASU/CSPO professor, Dave Conz.
In cancer science, many "discoveries" don't hold up. Yet another reason the NIH has some 'splainin' to do.

Is Science Really Moving Faster Than Ever? and a retort by Sarewitz tomorrow at Slate.

Finally, because I love food politics and MBF loves science fiction, The Hunger Games and the Politics of Food.