Last week we discussed farming and genetically modified foods (GMO’s). We had an interesting discussion about sustainable farming. As the world’s population grows, how will we meet the increase demands for production while at the same times sustain the natural resources that are the source of that food, and is this possible? Can we continue the current course we that we are on, in regard to food production, or do we need a paradigm shift? GMO’s are just another layer in this dilemma. GMO’s have demonstrated to be beneficial in increasing food production, including promises of crops that are more adaptable and more productive. On the other hand, there are questions regarding to how safe they are to the health of humans and the environment. How will we address these concerns for the future?

Attach is the response I made last week.

The normal curve is the shape that represents how variables are distributed, and it has some very interesting characteristics: a) the mean, the median, and the mode are all the same value; b) it is symmetrical about its midpoint, which means that the left and right halves of the curve are mirror images; and c) the tails of the curve get closer and closer to the X-axis but never touch it—the curve is asymptotic (Salkind, 2012). In fact, many inferential statistics are based on the assumption that the population distribution of variables from which samples are selected is normal in shape. From a practical standpoint, how likely is a healthcare professional conducting an informal study or program evaluation at their organization to achieve a “normal distribution curve”?