The purpose of the “Back to Center” advice column is to provide perspectives for personal realignment and empowered living in the COVID era. Sarah encourages you to reach out to her with requests for advice about self-development and emotional and mental well-being in these complicated times. Please send your questions to&nbsp;<a href="mailto:advice@aflds.org">advice@aflds.org</a>. Anonymous and secure. Looking forward to hearing from you!For all other inquiries, please direct your questions to <a href="mailto:info@aflds.org">info@aflds.org</a>.When I look at America and think about where the country seems to be headed, I feel a strong tension within me. On the one hand, I feel a pull to get more involved in speaking out publicly against the tyranny we see all around us, to see what I can do on a larger scale to help fight injustice.&nbsp;But on the other hand, I worry about my family. I’m a devoted husband to my wife and father of four children. I see what’s been happening to some of our freedom fighters in this country – they’ve been attacked, they’ve gone to jail, their rights have been taken away. If I got involved in this fight and something happened to me, what would become of my family?&nbsp;I know I’m the only husband and father they’ve got, but I also feel I can’t stand idly by and watch the downfall of my country. I want to do what’s right, but what is the right thing to do? What should my priority be?Wow, you are asking some very deep, important questions here! You’re not alone; I would imagine that many devoted family men throughout history who have found themselves in a time of war or tyranny have had to face these questions for themselves on some level. Do I join the fight, or do I do whatever it takes to make sure my own family is safe?It seems to me like you’re looking for one objective, black and white, right answer to your question. I have to tell you: I’m not sure there is just one. All of the desires you describe in your message are honorable – wanting to be there for your family, to make sure they’re safe and provided for; wanting to rise up against the injustice you see in America and work to transform the country you love for the better. It’s all good. So, maybe the question is not, “What is the right thing to do?” but “What is the right thing for you to do?”If you’re being really honest with yourself…if you lay aside all the “shoulds” and thoughts about expectations of others that might be running through your mind…what do you feel most called to do? What do you want to do? What path will make you feel most like yourself, like you’re doing something only you can do? What is it that you feel you’ve been specifically placed in this time in history, in this country, in this family to do? &nbsp;And let’s remember: The answer that’s right for you may not be black and white. There may be a middle road you could take where you could get more involved in the fight for America in a way that’s personally fulfilling without feeling like you’re putting your family at risk. There are many people out there like you who are working to make a difference, and every effort adds up and counts. The key is finding out what balance is right for you and remembering that it may look very different from that of a single person who is not responsible for anyone else. This is okay; we all have to fight the fight that we can personally commit to in an appropriate way.If you haven’t already, you might think about talking all of this through with your wife. Tell her how you’re feeling, about the struggle within you. It’s possible that, knowing you and the family you’ve built together intimately, she may be able to offer some insights that could help clarify things for you. &nbsp;These are difficult times to navigate, but I believe your strong values will help guide you through to the path that’s personally right for you, where you can make the most difference as the person you are, in the life you’re living. All the best to you and your family!****I am a single mother with an 11-year-old son. My husband passed away a few years ago. I am doing my best to raise my son with traditional religious values, but as he gets older and our culture gets darker, I’m feeling increasingly worried for him.&nbsp;I want him to have strong male role models, but they seem to be harder and harder to find. I worry about the influences he might be under at school from other kids and teachers in this culture where being whoever, whatever, and whatever gender you want to be is praised and encouraged.&nbsp;How can I help my son grow into a strong young man of God with so many negative forces all around us? I don’t know how to do this alone…Thank you for your beautiful question. What an amazing heart you have as a mother! I can tell you have such deep love for your son and want to acknowledge what a big thing you are doing by raising him on your own in a world that’s making it quite challenging to parent these days. &nbsp;I’m very sorry to hear about the loss of your husband. I can imagine the void his absence leaves in the family is profound, to say the least.And you’re right – the negative forces at play in the world today are strong.I first want to encourage you to try to shift your focus away from your son’s lack of a father figure and away from your fear of society’s negative impact on him to a focus on what he does have, on what can impact him positively. And what is that? You! Create a vision for the kind of mother you want to be for your son. What kind of home environment do you want to help create for him? What qualities do you have that you can put to good use in your relationship with him? What resources do you have access to that could help you give over important values to him? &nbsp;You may be feeling alone and inadequate but know that you have tremendous power to influence your son for the good. It can be so easy to focus on all the things that we wish were different, or on outside forces that seem like obstacles to getting to where we want to go. But shifting your focus to what is possible and what you can do can bring out abilities that you didn’t even know you had and create positive circumstances beyond what you thought could be. &nbsp;All best efforts considered, it’s also important to remember to let go of the need to control in parenting. Personally, as a mother, I am realizing as my kids get older just how little control I have over who they become and the choices they make. It’s hard, but true. What I’ve come to so far is that the best I can do is enthusiastically share my values with them, and then give them space to incorporate them in their own lives in their own way (which sometimes and at some stages means not at all!). So much of this experience is about creating the environment we want for our kids, giving information and guidance, and then letting go and letting them be themselves and find their own way. There’s so much you can’t control, but you can always let your son know you’re there for him no matter what, that he can come to you anytime, and that you’ll listen without judgment. That will go a long way toward helping him become a young man of integrity and values who knows he is loved.You are what your son needs, just as you are. You can do this!****I was reminded recently of how long it’s been since I had a really good laugh – like the kind where your stomach hurts and you can’t breathe!&nbsp;I used to be a much more lighthearted person, but I think the heaviness of the past few years has really gotten to me. I miss having fun times where I wasn’t worried about anything. How do I get back there? &nbsp;I love your question! Thanks so much for writing in. Fun and laughter are so important to our well-being! I can understand how they might not come easily these days, but that doesn’t have to mean they’re gone from your life for good. It might be easier than you think to get some of that lightness back. &nbsp;I encourage you first to think about what fun has looked like for you in the past. What makes you light up? What gives you that carefree feeling? Who in your life do you love to have fun with? Who or what makes you laugh? &nbsp;Now, what specifically do you feel is holding you back from engaging in a lighter way of life? Do you spend a lot of time glued to worry-producing news? Are you in a financial situation that causes you to have to work more than in the past? Are you emotionally preoccupied with traumatic experiences of the past few years, with anger at others, or fear of the future? &nbsp;Once you’ve identified your main obstacles to having more fun in your life, ask yourself what you might do to lessen that obstacle’s impact. Maybe you’ll decide you want to cut back on news exposure, look for a different work situation where you might be able to earn more and work less time, or find a trusted friend or professional who can help you work through some of your difficult emotions. &nbsp;Along with making some healthy changes, I want to challenge you to add something new to your schedule. Let’s call it “Five Minutes of Fun.” Whenever you feel yourself going into a heavy place – or at least once a day – try taking five minutes to do something you enjoy or that makes you laugh. Just five minutes! Watch a silly video, call a friend who cracks you up, play a game, put on some upbeat music and dance, get down on the floor and roll around with your kids…whatever it is that brings you back up. It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate or time-consuming. I believe all those minutes will add up to bring you a greater sense of joy in your life, and that each time you take that small break for fun, it will help your laughter to come more easily, little by little.Wishing you many moments of side-splitting laughter and good times!****I’m feeling really afraid to let anyone know anything about my beliefs these days. I mean, crazy things are happening to people who are conservative, religious, pro-life, and pro-traditional marriage in this country.&nbsp;I’m starting to get the feeling that I need to watch my back every time I leave the house, because who knows? Things are getting way out of hand, and I don’t know what to do about it. I don’t want to live in fear or pretend to be anything but who I am, but the times are really scary. What do I do with this fear?I hear you. It’s so hard to grasp the insanity of what’s going on. Sometimes it feels like we must be living in a movie; it can’t possibly be real life! But regardless, living in fear is no way to live. Let’s dive into your question.The thing about fear is that the more you focus on it, on what might happen, the more you create a negative energy that almost invites bad things to happen to you. You’re more likely to have an accident, to get sick, or to run into situations that bring you trouble. Now, of course, unfortunate things can happen to anyone, even those with the most positive mindsets. But the overall mindset you choose to live with does impact the events of your life, and how you respond to the events that come your way.So, the question is: What do you want to invite into your life? Do you want to fill your mind with worries and visions of your pro-choice neighbors shooting at you as you walk down the street, God forbid? Or do you want to live with confidence about who you are and your values, and believe that whatever comes your way, you will be able to handle it? You get to choose what you focus on, what you fill yourself with. &nbsp;Fear doesn’t exist outside of us; it’s something we create within ourselves. If we can create it, we can also make a conscious decision to not let it be our master. You might ask yourself, “What would I do if I had no fear?” And then take steps toward doing that, being that, living that. &nbsp;You can definitely make smart choices about what you share about yourself with others, and in what contexts. We don’t have to go shouting every detail about ourselves from the rooftops. But there is so much in this world that we cannot control, and to try is to end up frustrated, enslaved to fear, locked in our houses, hiding who we are. The cost of living in fear is just too high. &nbsp;We don’t know exactly where things are headed, but if citizens like you resolve to reject a life of fear and stand tall, the country will be much better off. May we all have the courage to live the kind of change we want to see!Previous columns:<ul style="list-style-type:initial;"><li><a href="https://americasfrontlinenews.com/post/back-to-center-our-son-has-secretly-been-in-the-process-of-gender-transition">‘Our son has secretly been in the process of gender transition’</a></li><li><a href="https://americasfrontlinenews.com/post/back-to-center-i-wonder-if-the-sacrifices-i-and-my-fellow-soldiers-made-were-worth-it">‘I wonder if the sacrifices I and my fellow soldiers made were worth it’</a></li><li><a href="https://americasfrontlinenews.com/post/back-to-center-i-know-scripture-approves-of-2nd-amendment-rights-but-the-idea-leaves-me-uneasy">‘I know Scripture approves of 2nd Amendment rights, but the idea leaves me uneasy’</a></li><li><a href="https://americasfrontlinenews.com/post/back-to-center-i-was-an-approval-seeking-people-pleaser">‘I was an approval-seeking people-pleaser’</a></li><li><a href="https://americasfrontlinenews.com/post/back-to-center-god-is-a-god-of-justice-right-wheres-my-justice">'God is a God of justice, right? Where’s my justice?'</a></li><li><a href="https://americasfrontlinenews.com/post/back-to-center-ive-tried-my-best-to-be-faithful-and-live-a-holy-life-now-i-dont-know-what-to-believe">‘I’ve tried my best to be faithful and live a holy life; now I don’t know what to believe’</a></li><li><a href="https://americasfrontlinenews.com/post/back-to-center-kids-gravitate-toward-honest-answers-even-when-theyre-tough-answers">'Kids gravitate toward honest answers, even when they’re tough answers'</a></li><li><a href="https://americasfrontlinenews.com/post/back-to-center-i-used-to-be-a-pretty-positive-person-but-the-world-is-different-now">'I used to be a pretty positive person, but the world is different now'</a></li><li><a href="https://americasfrontlinenews.com/post/back-to-center-do-i-have-an-obligation-to-say-something-to-my-friend-who-is-about-to-inject-her-one-year-old">'Do I have an obligation to say something to my friend who is about to inject her one-year-old?'</a></li><li><a href="https://americasfrontlinenews.com/post/back-to-center-how-do-i-respond-to-wild-hatred">'How do I respond to wild hatred?'</a></li><li><a href="https://americasfrontlinenews.com/post/back-to-center-all-my-friends-have-abandoned-me">‘All my friends have abandoned me’</a></li><li><a href="https://americasfrontlinenews.com/post/back-to-center-who-am-i-to-build-a-better-world">‘Who am I to build a better world?’</a></li><li><a href="https://americasfrontlinenews.com/post/back-to-center-the-world-does-not-have-to-understand-or-approve-of-your-choices">'The world does not have to understand or approve of your choices'</a></li><li><a href="https://www.americasfrontlinenews.com/post/back-to-center-i-get-tired-and-overwhelmed">'I get tired and overwhelmed'</a></li><li><a href="https://www.americasfrontlinenews.com/post/back-to-center-i-vacillate-between-feeling-inspired-and-useless">'I vacillate between feeling inspired and useless'</a></li><li><a href="https://americasfrontlinenews.com/post/back-to-center-i-pity-the-people-creating-the-lies">‘I pity the people creating the lies’</a></li><li><a href="https://aflds.org/news/post/back-to-center-the-anger-and-hurt-feelings-are-costing-you-too-much/">‘The anger and hurt feelings are costing you too much’</a></li><li><a href="https://aflds.org/news/post/back-to-center-people-who-once-treated-each-other-with-so-much-love-and-kindness-are-now-at-odds/">‘People who once treated each other with so much love and kindness are now at odds’</a></li><li><a href="https://aflds.org/news/post/back-to-center-struggling-with-my-relationship-with-god-since-covid/">‘Struggling with my relationship with God since COVID’</a></li><li><a href="https://aflds.org/news/post/back-to-center-i-have-lost-confidence-in-our-healthcare-system-including-my-own-personal-doctors/">'I have lost confidence in our healthcare system, including my own personal doctors'</a></li><li><a href="https://aflds.org/news/post/back-to-center-can-you-forgive-yourself-for-the-years-you-couldnt-be-there-with-your-daughter/">'Can you forgive yourself for the years you couldn’t be there with your daughter?'</a></li><li><a href="https://aflds.org/news/post/back-to-center-my-wife-is-willing-to-take-the-sacrifice-for-her-sister-and-im-sick-to-my-stomach-thinking-about-it/">'My wife is willing to take the sacrifice for her sister and I'm sick to my stomach thinking about it'</a></li><li><a href="https://aflds.org/news/post/back-to-center-i-deeply-regret-taking-the-vaccine/">'I deeply regret taking the vaccine'</a></li><li><a href="https://aflds.org/news/post/back-to-center-married-39-years-and-i-thought-we-were-on-the-same-page-when-it-came-to-things-that-mattered-most/">'Married 39 years and I thought we were on the same page when it came to things that mattered most'</a></li><li><a href="https://aflds.org/news/post/back-to-center-how-do-i-repair-this-relationship-or-accept-that-i-may-never-see-my-son-again/">‘How do I repair this relationship or accept that I may never see my son again?’</a></li><li>‘<a href="https://aflds.org/news/post/back-to-center-how-can-i-stop-fear-from-controlling-my-every-thought-and-ruining-my-dreams/">How can I stop fear from controlling my every thought and ruining my dreams?’</a></li><li><a href="https://aflds.org/news/post/how-can-i-pursue-my-dream-to-find-the-person-to-marry-when-its-so-hard-to-connect-with-new-people-because-of-covid/">'How can I pursue my dream to find the person to marry, when it's so hard to connect with new people because of COVID?'</a></li><li><a href="https://www.americasfrontlinedoctors.org/news/post/how-can-i-feel-safe-these-days/">'How can I feel safe these days?'</a></li><li><a href="https://americasfrontlinedoctors.org/news/post/advice-column-premier-back-to-center/">Advice column premier: Back to Center</a></li></ul><figure class="image image-style-side image_resized" style="width:50%;"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/aflds/image/upload/v1658476705/aflds/file_dlvicv.jpg" alt="Sarah Perron photo.jpg" srcset="/uploads/thumbnail_Sarah_Perron_photo_44bfd83fe5.jpg 177w,/uploads/small_Sarah_Perron_photo_44bfd83fe5.jpg 500w," sizes="100vw"></figure>Sarah encourages you to reach out to her with requests for advice! Please send your questions to <a href="mailto:advice@aflds.org">advice@aflds.org</a>. &nbsp;Anonymous and secure&nbsp;&nbsp;

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...but they seem to be harder and harder to find

Back to Center: I want my son to have strong male role models

<h2 style="margin-left:0px;">Faux milk gaining ground</h2>The synbio (synthetic biology) industry is developing synthetic animal proteins including <a href="https://frontline.news/post/equating-lab-grown-meat-with-animal-meat-is-kooky-thinking-alliance-for-natural-health" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">lab-grown meat</a> and <a href="https://frontline.news/post/got-milk-it-may-not-be-real" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">synbio milk</a>. In its coverage of synbio milk, Frontline News referred to a review by Su-Jit Lin of the HuffPost about Bored Cow, a company selling its synbio milk as "The first milk alternative to do it all."&nbsp;“All,” in this sense, means animal-free, vegan-friendly, nutritionally equivalent to milk, and useful in foods, cooking, and baking in the same ways as real milk, as Frontline News reported:<blockquote>Lin reported Ben Berman, co-founder, and CEO of Bored Cow, made, stating that Bored Cow was created to “replicate the taste, texture, nutrition and functionality of conventional dairy milk” and has a nutrition panel nearly identical, if not better than the generic milk he had in his fridge.&nbsp;</blockquote>Several other companies, as Frontline News highlighted, were also producing faux milk and cheese products, making the same claims as Bored Cow, that their products are good for animals, people, and the environment. &nbsp; &nbsp;<h4 style="margin-left:0px;">Reason to doubt</h4>Frontline News has previously reported on <a href="https://frontline.news/post/lab-grown-meat-not-slaughter-free-not-climate-friendly-as-claimed-can-it-cause-cancer-too" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">claims</a> by manufacturers of lab-grown meat which didn't hold up. Similarly, <a href="https://frontline.news/post/child-slave-labor-in-producing-ev-batteries-raises-serious-questions-about-clean-green-technologies" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">claims</a> by proponents of EV cars turned out to be dubious. It was, therefore, natural to wonder about the veracity of claims made by synbio milk manufacturers.<blockquote>Considering the magnitude of the synbio dairy industry, it is important to ask if the claims made by Bored Cow and other synbio dairy manufacturers are accurate.&nbsp;</blockquote>That is the topic of this article.<h2 style="margin-left:0px;">What could possibly go wrong?</h2>Despite Lin's enthusiastic report, there are many problems associated with synbio milk.<h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Specious claims</h3>Faux milk is promoted as being the same as real milk since the “precision fermentation” process used is based on a yeast genetically modified to produce whey protein, as <a href="https://anh-usa.org/frankenfoods-v2-exploiting-the-bioequivalence-principle/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">explained</a> by the Alliance for Natural Health:<blockquote>Bored Cow is made with whey protein produced through a process called “precision fermentation,” a form of synbio. This involves taking a gene for whey protein and inserting it into a GE yeast. The yeast is put into fermentation tanks with other nutrients to help it grow. At the end the GE yeast is supposed to be filtered out, leaving only the milk protein. Bored Cow takes this protein and adds vitamins, minerals, and other ingredients to mimic the taste, consistency, and nutritional content of real cow’s milk.</blockquote>As Lin reported, Ben Berman, co-founder, and CEO of Bored Cow, boasted that his company's synthetic milk is as good as cow's milk. Berman said that Bored Cow has a nutrition panel nearly identical, if not better, than the generic milk he had in his fridge. &nbsp;However, as ANH explained, it is not likely that synbio milk is equivalent to real milk, because of the complexity of real milk. Cow's milk is more than just the vitamins listed on the nutrition panel.<blockquote>[It is not] very likely that Bored Cow is nutritionally equivalent to real milk. Just as meat is more than just protein, milk is far more than a simple combination of whey and various vitamins and minerals. Milkfat contains 400 different fatty acids. Milk has two types of proteins, whey and casein—and there are several different types of these two proteins contained in milk, and a whole bundle of other compounds like lactoferrin and bioactive peptides that help prime the immune system.</blockquote><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Nutritional dark matter - 92 unknown compounds&nbsp;</h3>When the Iowa-based Health Research Institute (HRI) tested Bored Cow's faux milk using full-spectrum molecular analysis technology, they discovered 92 compounds that are yet to be identified, and the presence of which are not noted on the nutritional panel. As Ken Rosenboro, editor for the Organic and Non-GMO Report <a href="https://non-gmoreport.com/not-so-precise-fermentation-lab-finds-92-unknown-compounds-in-synthetic-biology-milk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">wrote</a>, HRI's chief science officer John Fagan was concerned that they could not identify those compounds.<blockquote>Calling them completely novel to our food,” he says. “They are things that we haven’t consumed as human beings.”Fagan scanned scientific literature and databases to determine whether the molecules had nutritional or other beneficial properties and found nothing.“I couldn’t even find the scientific name for the vast majority of the molecules present in the Bored Cow product. They are nutritional dark matter,” Fagan says.Fagan speculated that the unknown molecules could either be nutrients or waste products created during the fermentation process, stating that if they are waste products you wouldn't “necessarily want them in your food.”</blockquote><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">GMO without the designation</h3>Rosenboro noted that Bored Cow and Perfect Day, the company that manufactures the whey protein Bored Cow uses, avoid using the term genetically engineered to describe the yeast used in the production of the whey protein, preferring “microflora” instead.&nbsp;<blockquote>Bored Cow and Perfect Day use the term “microflora” to avoid using “genetically engineered” or “GMO.”&nbsp;</blockquote><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Not cow protein&nbsp;</h3>As if the 92 unidentifiable compounds were not enough of a problem, HRI also found that the fake milk's protein, assumed to be cow protein, was mostly from the GMO yeast and not the milk protein.&nbsp;<blockquote>Perfect Day and Bored Cow both claim the milk protein is identical to the protein in cow’s milk but HRI’s tests found that the protein in Bored Cow’s milk was mostly from the GMO yeast and not the milk protein.</blockquote>The amino acids in the product were also different from those in real milk.<blockquote>“The amino acid composition of the protein that’s present in the Bored Cow milk is strikingly different from the amino acid composition of real milk,” Fagan says. “We have data that shows this is the case.”</blockquote><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Have some GMO DNA with your Bored Cow</h3>Fagan said that the GMO-derived microflora or yeast, which was supposed to have been removed during fermentation, was still found in the final product, Rosenboro also reported:<blockquote>“The (genetically engineered) DNA in these products is broken up or fragmented but is certainly still there,” Fagan says.Further he says tests are being developed to detect the GMO DNA in synthetic biology products like Bored Cow.</blockquote>GMO DNA in synbio products would have to be labeled as such under the bioengineered food disclosure law.<blockquote>“The reality is that all that’s required is to do a little bit of molecular biology and a GMO test can be developed for synbio products,” says Fagan who pioneered creating laboratory tests for GMO corn and soybeans when they were first commercialized in the late 1990s.The presence of GMO DNA in Bored Cow and other synbio products would mean that they would have to be labeled under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Bioengineered Food Disclosure law. Right now, such products don’t require labeling.</blockquote><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">No safety assessments</h3>Rosenboro explained that the FDA does not require safety assessments for synbio milk. That milk, however, with its 92 unknown compounds, would have to undergo testing in Europe and Canada as a novel food.&nbsp;ANH <a href="https://anh-usa.org/frankenfoods-v2-exploiting-the-bioequivalence-principle/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">elaborated</a> on the lack of safety assessment, explaining that Perfect Day, the manufacturer of the synbio whey protein used by Bored Cow, like some food manufacturers, claimed on its own that its product was GRAS (generally recognized as safe), utilizing the FDA's expedited process of GRAS <a href="https://qualitysmartsolutions.com/self-affirmed-gras/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">self-affirmation</a> which does not require FDA review.<blockquote>The FDA must be on top of this, right? Wrong. Bored Cow has not undergone safety testing at the FDA. Perfect Day, the manufacturer of the synbio whey protein, determined it was “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) and voluntarily notified the FDA of this determination; in response the FDA said it had no questions. Given how rife the GRAS process is with conflicts of interest, this is akin to taking the company’s word for it that its novel synbio whey protein is safe.</blockquote><h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Climate-friendly? Not so fast&nbsp;</h3>Rosenboro referred to an article in Forbes by Errol Schweizer, partner of food and agriculture at Impakt, IQ, who questioned the claim that synbio is sustainable and climate-friendly. He wanted to know how the waste material would be disposed of; the amount of energy and resources used as compared to animal-based products; and the use of high-fructose corn syrup to feed the yeast as corn production is energy intensive and polluting.&nbsp;<h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Biology doesn't work like a computer program</h3>Synbio products are being likened to a computer program so all that needs to be done is to program the DNA like a computer, a flawed assumption according to Fagan. The analogy doesn't hold water, he says, since even yeast is infinitely more complicated than computer programs.<blockquote>An article in FoodNavigator USA even describes GMO yeasts being “programmed” to produce proteins. The problem is that the internal functioning of even the simplest organisms like a yeast is vastly more complex than computer programs.“It is a hollow analogy because it implies that you have the same kind of precise control in synthetic biology that you have programming a computer. It’s much more complex,” Fagan says. “Here we have an example of 92 unpredicted compounds being produced, and only a trace of the whey protein that you really want. It’s nothing like precision.” &nbsp;</blockquote>In the tweet below, Millions Against Monsanto links to a lecture by John Fagan about precision fermentation.<blockquote><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Listen to Dr. John Fagan’s Concerning New Findings: <a href="https://t.co/FruJ15ACrz">https://t.co/FruJ15ACrz</a> "His latest research takes aim at the synthetic biology industry, also called 'precision fermentation.'" <a href="https://t.co/3ZCZdgRuWW">pic.twitter.com/3ZCZdgRuWW</a>— Millions Against Monsanto (@againstmonsanto) <a href="https://twitter.com/againstmonsanto/status/1759246872303087825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div></blockquote>Related articles:<ul><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/danger-ahead-changing-the-natural-world-with-genetic-engineering-and-artificial-intelligence" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Danger ahead! Changing the natural world with genetic engineering and artificial intelligence</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/got-milk-it-may-not-be-real" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Got milk? It might not be real</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/equating-lab-grown-meat-with-animal-meat-is-kooky-thinking-alliance-for-natural-health" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Equating lab-grown meat with animal meat is 'kooky thinking' - Alliance for Natural Health</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/lab-grown-meat-not-slaughter-free-not-climate-friendly-as-claimed-can-it-cause-cancer-too">Lab-grown meat not slaughter-free, not climate-friendly as claimed. Can it cause cancer too?</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/a-little-bit-of-pfizer-in-your-cheese-fake-rennet-bypassed-additive-approval-process">A little bit of Pfizer in your cheese? Fake rennet bypassed additive approval process</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/can-t-digest-cheese-maybe-you-can-tolerate-cheese-made-with-natural-rennet-instead-of-pfizer-s-gmo-version">Can't digest cheese? Maybe you can tolerate cheese made with natural rennet instead of Pfizer's GMO version</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/fake-milk-inferior-to-real-milk-experts-find">Fake milk inferior to real milk, experts find</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/fake-meat-sales-plummet-amid-falling-demand">Fake meat sales plummet amid falling demand</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/fake-meat-industry-continues-to-plunge">Fake meat industry continues to plunge</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/italy-becomes-first-country-to-ban-fake-food">Italy becomes first country to ban fake food</a></li><li><a href="https://frontline.news/post/fakefood-another-safe-ingredient-may-pose-health-threat">#FakeFood: Another ‘safe’ ingredient may pose health threat</a></li></ul>

milk in test tubes.jpg

Technology

No FDA safety testing

'Nutritional dark matter' in Bored Cow's synbio milk - 92 unknown compounds

This Wednesday, the senior editor of NPR, Uri Berliner, announced that he would be resigning from the organization for which he has worked for the past 25 years.<div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">My resignation letter to NPR CEO <a href="https://twitter.com/krmaher?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@krmaher</a> <a href="https://t.co/0hafVbcZAK">pic.twitter.com/0hafVbcZAK</a>— Uri Berliner (@uberliner) <a href="https://twitter.com/uberliner/status/1780610524411048183?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The day before he tendered his resignation, Berliner had been suspended from NPR for five days without pay, due to the criticism of his colleagues regarding a piece he wrote for The Free Press, excoriating NPR for its progressive bias.&nbsp;&nbsp;The apology as a weaponInstead of resigning, Berliner could have apologized, recanted, and moved on — as many have done before him, especially when they cannot afford to lose their source of income. The more people take this route, the harder it is to be the outlier, especially as that outlier can be ostracized not only at work but also in his entire social circle, and perhaps even among family and relatives.In an environment where backing down and repenting one's “unwoke” ideas is increasingly idolized, groupthink becomes swiftly embedded and harder to resist.According to Dr. James Lindsay, embedding groupthink is part of the plan, and the plan was hatched not in the United States but in China, where its finer points were tested on the native population before being exported in order to destabilize and weaken China's main rival on the world stage.<div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe width="681" height="383" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MjQp-ZLu0oI" title="James Lindsay on Struggle Sessions: Have Chinese Political Warfare Tactics Influenced American DEI?" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>Dr. Lindsay explains that the “crimes” of the DEI age are intentionally vague.<blockquote>They're training you to recognize your crimes on a predetermined set of terms … and their goal is to pressure you psychologically into figuring out in their terms how you harmed other people.</blockquote>He notes the extensive use of the word “harm," a typically vague term that is essentially impossible to prove or refute.When a person is accused by someone in the workplace or any other setting of having “harmed” someone, he continues, what happens is that the person's social milieu is “weaponized” against them. The person comes under tremendous psychological pressure to “just apologize” and restore the good name of the company, social group, family etc.<blockquote>This is psychological torture that's effected through manipulating the social environment around you to create psychological struggle so that you recognize crimes that are ill-defined in reality…It ends with you selling yourself out.</blockquote>&nbsp;DEI or DIE?Berliner is a prominent example of what is happening in workplaces in many places around the world, where those who dare to resist the prevailing worldview of the institution (even, or perhaps especially, if said institution is supposedly practicing even-handed, <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/3950550-the-truth-about-nprs-funding-and-its-possible-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">government-sponsored</a> journalism) are aggressively weeded out.According to a recent representative <a href="https://freespeechunion.org/the-edi-tax-how-equity-diversity-and-inclusion-is-hobbling-british-businesses/?mc_cid=1c18d61fed&amp;mc_eid=33114c8522&amp;utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">survey</a> conducted in the U.K., training in DEI (referred to in Britain as EDIC—Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Climate) is endemic in the British workplace. 65% of those surveyed said that they had been obliged to undergo some form of diversity training by an employer.Among those who underwent DEI training, the majority reported that they had felt compelled to hide their true opinions of the content. Over one in five said they had “said what they ought to say rather than what they thought.” Among Black and Asian respondents, this proportion rose to almost one in three. Apparently, their caution was well-founded, as 36 percent of those surveyed said that they had witnessed staff being penalized for challenging DEI training and 12 percent said they had seen staff fired.Almost half of those surveyed who went through training said that what they were forced to learn conflicted with their values, and almost a third of respondents said that they had left a job because their employer adopted “woke” ideology. Here, too, the proportion was higher among minority groups and also among those who identify as LGBT.&nbsp;The survey did not examine the reasons why those identifying as LGBT should object to woke ideas, but recent activity on the part of organizations such as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/sep/14/lie-of-gender-identity-spurred-founding-of-lgb-alliance-court-told" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">LGB Alliance </a>against trans-promoting groups perhaps gives a clue to where they are coming from. While woke-trans is an ideology, many who call themselves L, G, or B do not allow their form of intimate attraction to define their entire identity and object to giving it so much prominence.The report's authors concluded that DEI is operating,<blockquote>… in effect, as a tax … Many ambitious employees and senior managers are leaving companies because of the excessive time they're expected to spend on these courses … Genuine diversity of thought is required for any business to thrive, but much EDIC training is having the opposite effect and embedding a new form of groupthink.</blockquote>According to Dr. Lindsay, this is exactly the plan being implemented by influential elements who have succeeded in permeating virtually all U.S. institutions, from the armed forces to the universities, corporations to smaller businesses, government local and federal — essentially, everywhere. Whether or not the United States will be next to adopt draconian thought-police laws like those now in place in Scotland remains to be seen.

Thumbs up.jpg

wokeness

New survey shows DEI destroying workforce caliber, creating 'groupthink'

Made in China: How Mao's minions weaponize DEI to subvert America

By Alex NewmanAs the global war on educational liberty heats up, Johns Hopkins School of Education is launching a new “<a href="https://education.jhu.edu/edpolicy/policy-research-initiatives/homeschool-hub/">Homeschool Hub</a>” that has experts and advocates deeply concerned. Many say it is part of the escalating effort to bring homeschooling families under government control.&nbsp;The new entity is funded by advocates of taxpayer funding for private and home education. The United Nations education agency in recent years has called on governments to fund “non-state education providers” with tax money in order to impose “equity” goals, national testing regimes, “non-discrimination” schemes, and more.&nbsp;Leaders in the homeschooling movement and Christian education told The Newman Report that this scheme by Johns Hopkins posed a “clear and present danger” to home educators. From the information that is publicly available so far, those concerns do not appear unreasonable.&nbsp;Virtually the entire leadership of prominent national and state homeschooling organizations have been opposed to government funding of home education. In fact, homeschooling families and advocacy organizations have been a constant thorn in the side of “school choice” advocates seeking to get home educators hooked on tax funds.&nbsp;The reason why leaders of the homeschooling movement have been largely united on the issue is simple. They believe control and regulation by government will be the inevitable result of taxpayer money — especially since this is what the historical record shows. Concerns about dependency and expanding the size and scope of government exist, too.However, by bringing a new player into homeschooling world — a powerful voice backed by academic credentials and big money seeking “school choice” funding — critics are concerned about possible nefarious intentions. The goal seems to be, in part, to sideline and displace existing voices in the movement. &nbsp; &nbsp;On its website, the new “Homeschool Hub” styles itself the “one-stop shop for current information on homeschooling data, regulations, and research across the United States.” Supposedly, in-depth data and information on all fifty states will be made available on the site, though it has not been fully fleshed out yet.&nbsp;“As homeschooling continues to expand and evolve, we need a better understanding of this growing and diversifying education sector,” argued Dr. Angela Watson, Homeschool Hub creator and assistant professor of education. “We need policy based on facts, not historical stereotypes. My hope is that the Homeschool Hub will help fill these needs.”There are already multiple established and credible services offering exactly that kind of information online. These include the <a href="https://hslda.org/">Home School Legal Defense Association</a> (HSLDA), a powerhouse with detailed insights on the legal environment serving hundreds of thousands of member families that opposes government funding and control of homeschooling.&nbsp;Another major resource on homeschooling data and research is the <a href="https://www.nheri.org/">National Home Education Research Institute</a> (NHERI). Widely recognized as the top repository for research on homeschooling in the world, NHERI and its leader, Dr. Brain Ray, have long been seen as the “one-stop shop” for the latest news, data, research, and insight into homeschooling. Dr. Ray also opposes government funding and control of homeschooling.&nbsp;On its website, the Hub suggests that it will seek to displace those sources to help inform future regulation and policy on home education. “Our goal is to remove barriers to rigorous research, increase transparency, and expand awareness to encourage evidence-driven policy,” the site says without explaining what barriers it believes may exist to research or “evidence-driven policy.”&nbsp;As the far-left Washington Post strategically targets existing homeschooling leaders and institutions, the new hub aims to become “the leader” in the field of homeschooling research. “As homeschooling grows, the Homeschool Hub will serve as the leader in promoting rigorous homeschool research and responding to the need for more transparency from this growing sector,” the site added.&nbsp;When the establishment speaks of “transparency,” that is generally a dog whistle for increasing surveillance, control, data-gathering, and intrusions on privacy.The new hub’s website, citing unnamed supposed “critics,” also cites the alleged risks that “unregulated” home education might feature, including “indoctrination” or even that parents with “conservative Christian values” may seek to “isolate” their children. &nbsp;On April 25, the new Homeschool Hub, hosted at Johns Hopkins “Institute for Education Policy” and its “School of Education,” will be holding a major event on home education. Headlined “Beyond the Traditional Classroom: The Rise of Homeschooling and Its Impact on Education in America,” the event will formally launch the new hub, according to the announcement.Numerous high-profile panelists with no real ties to the homeschooling movement will participate. These include various university officials and faculty members, an adviser to the scandal-plagued World Bank, an “education reporter” at the viciously anti-homeschooling Washington Post, and a senior U.S. Department of Education official.&nbsp;Johns Hopkins, notable for pioneering transgender mutilation of children and other barbarism, is open about the fact that it is partnering with <a href="https://www.edchoice.org/">EdChoice</a>, a well-known and well-funded group seeking what it calls “school choice.” The movement, launched by legendary economist Milton Friedman, is among the leading advocates of tax funding for home education and private schools. &nbsp;Meanwhile, Johns Hopkins is based in Baltimore, Maryland, the first state that sought to create a state-run homeschooling “council” to supposedly speak for homeschooling families and advise authorities. The controversial plan, which became a lightning rod of criticism among home educators, was widely seen as a ploy to bring in regulation and control.&nbsp;<img class="image_resized" style="width:332px;" src="https://i0.wp.com/www.freedomproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/3364780_1225x377_2500.jpg?resize=696%2C214&amp;ssl=1" alt="">With homeschooling becoming a major threat to the government’s “education” narrative and monopoly, it is no surprise to see the establishment work to crush it, co-opt it, or both. Tyrants across the United States and around the world are openly waging war on home education. As such, homeschool leaders and families are right to take the threat seriously.&nbsp;Originally published at <a href="https://www.freedomproject.com/2024/04/17/tnr20240417/">FreedomProject Media</a>.<a href="https://libertysentinel.org/author/admin/">Alex Newman</a> is an award-winning international journalist, educator, author, and consultant who co-wrote the book “Crimes of the Educators: How Utopians Are Using Government Schools to Destroy America’s Children.” He writes for diverse publications in the United States and abroad.

Hopkins.jpg

Education

US News

University launching new 'Homeschool Hub;' experts and advocates deeply concerned

Johns Hopkins Homeschooling: Big Ed Seeking to Control Next Generation of Home Educators

<h2>Genetic engineering puts the natural world at risk</h2>Genetic engineering going from the lab, to the field, to the wildYou may have heard about the genetically modified mosquitos <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01070-x" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">released</a> in Florida to mitigate a Florida invasive species spreading zika and dengue, yet that is only one aspect of how synthetic biology (synbio) can affect nature. Jim Thomas of ETC Group (Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration) <a href="https://www.etcgroup.org/content/video-lab-field-forest" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">spoke</a> about the potential dangers synbio may have on biodiversity and how we look after, conserve, share, and use the natural world.The video below, in which Thomas discusses the threats and new trends we'll have to start dealing with, gives us a window into a world that most of us may not be aware of, but should. His talk results from a discussion held by the Convention on Biological Diversity's Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group.&nbsp;Thomas brought forward the following three issues associated with the technology and nature:1. Tools of genetic engineering are being put out into the field. Previously, genetically engineered organisms would have been created in the lab. Now they can release genetically engineered viruses or organisms into the field that can genetically engineer other organisms out in the field. Examples he called "crazy" include a “project by the US defense establishment called ‘insect allies to genetically engineer plants’.” He expressed “worry about it being a potential bioweapon but also a big shift in terms of doing the genetic engineering in an uncontrolled environment and changing nature.”2. &nbsp;Synbio is being used for conservation applications. Previously, biodiversity and conservation were about protecting the natural world. Now synbio is being used for such projects as eradicating invasive species by releasing synthetic organisms or genetically engineering corals to withstand climate change. “The idea that conservation could be done by making synthetic ecosystems is a really big shift” he said.. . . . [N]ow you've got these proposals of turning the natural world into a kind of synthetic version of itself and that could really upturn how we protect the wild and natural world.&nbsp;3. Machines and algorithms, artificial intelligence, and robots are taking over genetic engineering.&nbsp;<blockquote>Large automated genetic engineering foundries called biofoundries that use artificial intelligence to make tens of thousands of organisms at a time, not from a human's mind but to design them using artificial intelligence, . . . &nbsp;and one day to go out into the environment. And, it raises a real safety question because, if you have something go wrong, you potentially don't understnd why it went wrong. With artificial intelligence, it's a bit of a black box. . . . If you're asking artificial intelligence to redesign nature and release that into the environment then you've got a big problem in terms of trying to understand safety and if something goes wrong understanding what went wrong.&nbsp;</blockquote>The group of experts, Thomas said, all “felt that there needs to be a process for scanning the horizon and monitoring and assessing new developments in genetic engineering. We began to set out what that should be . . .”<div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/e7ES6ZYNTjA" title="From the lab to the field to the forest: synthetic biology" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>

Back to Center: I want my son to have strong male role models

...but they seem to be harder and harder to find

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Latest Articles

'Nutritional dark matter' in Bored Cow's synbio milk - 92 unknown compounds

Made in China: How Mao's minions weaponize DEI to subvert America

Johns Hopkins Homeschooling: Big Ed Seeking to Control Next Generation of Home Educators

Danger ahead! Changing the natural world with genetic engineering and artificial intelligence