Simon Maechling, PhD

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I’m not a bot.
I’m a chemist.

I’m a human with a PhD trying to talk about science.

My goal is simple, make people smarter, not angrier.

Science, explained clearly.

If you’re human too, drop a “Hi” so I know I’m not shouting into the botnet.

11/4/25: EWW! You Should Still Wash ORGANIC Produce; What SNAP is Spent On; Donation Advice; Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity--What if it's NOT the Gluten?; Thanks for Giving with Build Up Dietitians Because EVERYBODY Eats

Sneak peek at Tuesday's GROCERY Cart Newsletter open.substack.com/pub/thegroce...
Look for mention of @conscienhealth.bsky.social @mcgilloss.bsky.social @simonmaechling.bsky.social

The value mentioned in the article (3µg/kg, or 0.003 mg/kg) is well below this detection limit and therefore insignificant.

MAHA going well I see. South Carolina confirms full-blown outbreak of measles.

@drneilstone.bsky.social

www.wrdw.com/2025/10/03/s...

My superpower is turning anything I don’t understand into a conspiracy theory.

@simonmaechling.bsky.social

The appeal to nature fallacy isn’t cute or harmless.

It’s the reason people fear medicine, vaccines, GMOs, and chemistry itself.

It’s not “back to nature.”
It’s back to ignorance.

It is unbelievable that in 2025, defending science has become an act of bravery.

@simonmaechling.bsky.social

Impact of genetically modified Brinjal (Bt brinjal) on farmers’ income and production in Pabna District, Bangladesh Approval of Bt brinjal cultivation represents a crucial step forward for Bangladesh in agricultural biotechnology. However, the scalability of Bt brinjal adoption faces barriers, mainly due to resi...

Here is the link to the study: Impact of genetically modified Brinjal (Bt brinjal) on farmers’ income and production in Pabna District, Bangladesh. 12/ www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

This isn’t a promise.
It’s already happening.

Bt brinjal is one of the most successful real-world GMO case studies.

More countries should learn from Bangladesh.

🔁 Share this if you believe in science-based farming. 11/

What if Europe allowed this too?

Instead of banning gene editing…
We could grow more with less and protect farmers.

And reduce our pesticide footprint.
But ideology still blocks innovation. 10/

THE BOTTOM LINE:

Bt brinjal in Bangladesh delivers:

✅ More yield.
✅ Less pesticide.
✅ More income.
✅ Fewer sprays.
✅ No trade-offs.

All thanks to a small genetic tweak. 9/

NO YIELD TRADE-OFF:

Critics often say GMOs trade off nutrition or quality.
But here, the market price of Bt brinjal was similar or slightly better.

No penalty. No rejection. Just better results. 8/

INCOME: +69% HIGHER PROFIT

Bt brinjal farmers earned 90,708 BDT/ha.
Non-Bt farmers earned 53,217 BDT/ha.

That’s a $340 per hectare difference in local currency.
Big deal for smallholders. 7/

PESTICIDE: -40% LESS

Bt brinjal required far fewer insecticide sprays.
Why?

The plant already protects itself.

This means:
🟢 Lower costs.
🟢 Lower exposure. 6/

YIELD: +43% MORE

Bt brinjal farmers harvested 19.67 tons/ha.
Non-Bt farmers got 13.75 tons/ha.
That’s a massive jump from just one trait change. 5/

Study Design:

✔️ 300 farmers
✔️ 150 growing Bt brinjal
✔️ 150 growing non-Bt brinjal
✔️ Surveyed on yield, input costs, pesticide use, and profits. 4/

Enter: Bt brinjal This is a genetically modified eggplant.

It produces a natural protein from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) that kills FSB. 3/

Location: Pabna District, Bangladesh.

Brinjal (eggplant) is a major crop here.
But pests like the fruit and shoot borer (FSB) cause major losses. 2/

What happens when farmers plant GMOs?

A new study from Bangladesh shows the answer:

⬆️More yield.
⬇️Less pesticide.
⬆️Higher income.

Let’s unpack the data 🧵1/

Bottom line:
We need to power the future.
We need to feed the future.

That means embracing the tools that work.

☢️ Nuclear
🌽 GMOs

Science is not the enemy.
It’s our only way forward. 9/

The only thing standing in the way?

🚫 Outdated ideologies
🚫 Anti-science movements
🚫 Fear-based politics

The planet can’t afford that anymore. 8/

We don’t need magical new solutions.

We already have:

✅ Clean, scalable power
✅ Precise, sustainable farming tools

They’re called nuclear and GMOs.
And they’re ready right now. 7/

What are the real risks?

⚠️ Burning more coal and gas because we shut down nuclear.
⚠️ Plowing more forests and using more pesticides because we banned biotech.

We’re not avoiding danger.
We’re creating it — by rejecting innovation. 6/

Let’s get this straight:

☢️ Nuclear is not dangerous.
It has the lowest death rate per kWh of any energy source — including wind and solar.

🌽 GMOs are not risky.
After 30 years, thousands of studies, and billions of meals:
No proven health harms.
Only benefits. 5/

Both nuclear and GMOs have been victims of the same script:

🔻 Decades of fear-mongering
🔻 Cherry-picked horror stories
🔻 “Natural is better” fallacies
🔻 Political paralysis
🔻 Activist lawsuits

The result?
We blocked the very technologies that could save lives. 4/

Food demand is also rising fast.
We need to grow more food using less land, less water, and fewer resources.

GMOs help us do that.

But instead of celebrating them, we ban them —
While hunger, emissions, and prices rise. 3/

Energy use is surging.
AI, data centers, electric cars, industrial growth.
We’re going to need 2x more electricity by 2050.

Yet we’re shutting down nuclear —
The cleanest, safest, and most reliable energy source ever invented.

Why? 2/

Energy demand keeps rising.
Food demand keeps rising.
But our policies are stuck in 1970.

It’s time to remove the ideological blinders.

Because the world needs more power and more food —
Not more fear.

Let’s talk about nuclear and GMOs. 🧵1/