Biology in the Media

Media Article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/7736773/Garden-birds-prefer-non-organic-food-to-organic-study-finds.html

1) The scientific article states that the global demand for organic produce is increasing by $4 billon annually.

2) The writer, Richard Alleyne, did explain this finding both accurately and clearly in the media article. Richard clearly stated that the global demand for organic produce is increasing by 4 Billon Euros annually and adds that the organic market now accounts for between two and three percent of food purchased in Europe and the U.S.

3) I believe that this research study is really important and relevant in our life today especially in the United States where we are increasingly demanding more and more organic products over the conventional products. This study had a very interesting conclusion. The results signified that the current belief of organic food being preferred to conventional food may not always be true, and that one of the reasons the birds may have preferred the conventional seed over the organic seeds was the on average 10% higher protein content than the organic seeds.

4) Reviews comparing organic and conventional food have stated that birds and mammals in choice tests prefer organic food.

5) The Newcastle team set up feeding stations in more than 30 gardens across the North of England. Organic and non-organic wheat seeds were put into adjacent bird feeders and then monitored the rate at which the birds ate the different seeds over the span of six weeks. At the end of the six weeks the study somewhat disproves the hypothesis above because the results say that captive and wild garden birds both consumed more conventional than organic wheat when given free choice.

6) These methods are both accurately and clearly reported in the media article. The article gave a clear worded and accurate description of the methods and materials part of the scientific paper. The Media article went on to say...