Green Options

Scientists at the University of Utah report that the genes of offspring are modified in the womb as a result of the mother’s diet, emphasizing that what the mother eats (or doesn’t eat) influences the health of the child throughout its life.

“The new ‘epigenetics’ has taught us how nature is changed by nurture. The jury’s in and, yes, expectant moms really are eating for two. This study shows not only that we need to address problems such as preeclampsia during pregnancy, but also that prenatal care is far more important than anyone could have imagined a decade ago.” - Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of FASEB Journal

Imagine a grass crop, grown on marginal, non-food bearing land without pesticides or much fertilizer, that, when harvested, produces an oil that needs almost no processing to be substituted for diesel fuel.

Much attention has been given to producing ethanol from non-food crops like grasses, but the ability to produce something indistinguishable to diesel from grass could be a game-changer. It would require almost no infrastructure change and could fuel all of the existing long-haul trucks on the road without modification.