Meet the Plush GMO Mascot, Frank N. Foode

Three years ago, CMD reported on Karden -- an adorable puppet used in part to convince kids that gardening with sewage sludge was a fun activity for all ages. (Karden, of course, failed to explain to the kiddos that sewage sludge extracted from...

March 26, 2014 | Source: PR Watch | by Rebekah Wilce

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Three years ago, CMD reported on Karden — an adorable puppet used in
part to convince kids that gardening with sewage sludge was a fun
activity for all ages. (Karden, of course, failed to explain to the
kiddos that sewage sludge extracted from city waste supplies can contain
toxic and hazardous materials.)

Well, move over Karden the sludge puppet, there’s a new toy in town! Frank N. Foode
is “your friendly neighborhood genetically modified organism,” who
helps “make the science of biotechnology fun and approachable.”

This ear of corn sprouted eyes, white hair, and spectacles. The “cutest
corn plush” is the mascot of Biology Fortified, Inc., a new small
non-profit group based in Middleton, Wisconsin that promotes genetically
modified organisms (GMOs) and is responsible for the Biofortified blog.

“Few are able to resist getting their photo taken with” Frank, the group gushes — including “the late Senator George McGovern, food writer Michael Pollan, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack,” and more.

But don’t worry! Frank “does not endorse products, least of all
genetically engineered food products,” the group claims. Just GMOs and
the science of GMOs in general!

Not content to be alone in his travels around the world, getting photographed with a random assortment of academics and confused luminaries, a recent fully-funded Kickstarter
campaign now makes multiple plush “lovable Frank”s — in other forms,
branching out from GMO corn to GMO papaya and the opportunity to
“adopt-a-crop” and pick a new GMO design (an opportunity not taken by
anyone to date) — available to his adoring fans (all 210 backers).

And hey, Frank even tweets