Food for Thought

A world-renowned expert on the ecological impacts and management of genetically engineered crops, University of Arizona professor Yves Carrière presented the findings of a recent National Academy of Sciences report on the sustainability impacts of genetically engineered crops in the United States. He also discussed the scientific record from the global use of herbicide- and insect-resistant crops, which were designed to reduce the use of pesticides, improve yields and provide economic benefits to farmers and consumers. Outreach in Biotechnology's Food for Thought Lecture Series brings together internationally recognized experts to talk about the best ways to use biotechnology for food and fuel. For more information, go to http://OregonState.edu/OrB Recorded 11 Apr 2012

A world-renowned expert on the ecological impacts and management of genetically engineered crops, University of Arizona professor Yves Carrière presented the findings of a recent National Academy of Sciences report on the sustainability impacts of genetically engineered crops in the United States. He also discussed the scientific record from the global use of herbicide- and insect-resistant crops, which were designed to reduce the use of pesticides, improve yields and provide economic benefits to farmers and consumers. Outreach in Biotechnology's Food for Thought Lecture Series brings together internationally recognized experts to talk about the best ways to use biotechnology for food and fuel. For more information, go to http://OregonState.edu/OrB Recorded 11 Apr 2012

National Geographic Explorer Mark Lynas won the 2007 Royal Society Prize for Science Books for Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet. His is also author of High Tide: The Truth About Our Climate Crisis and The God Species. In his Food for Thought lecture, he discussed the nine planetary boundaries, including climate change, that humans are threatening to violate, the potential catastrophic impacts of transgression, and what can be done to mitigate or avoid them.

National Geographic Explorer Mark Lynas won the 2007 Royal Society Prize for Science Books for Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet. His is also author of High Tide: The Truth About Our Climate Crisis and The God Species. In his Food for Thought lecture, he discussed the nine planetary boundaries, including climate change, that humans are threatening to violate, the potential catastrophic impacts of transgression, and what can be done to mitigate or avoid them.

A Cooperative Extension Specialist and faculty member at the University of California at Berkley, Lemaux’s outreach and educational programming increases public understanding of agricultural practices, food production and the impact of new technologies on food and agriculture. Her research focuses on the development and use of genetic engineering and genomic strategies for cereals, wheat, sorghum, barley, rice, maize and certain grass species. In her Food for Thought lecture, Peggy discusses the challenges faced by having to feed an estimated 9.1 billion people by 2050. Even today there are 923 million chronically undernourished people in underdeveloped regions of the world and increasingly even in the developed world. Through improvements in crops and agricultural practices, crop yields have steadily risen, but those increases are beginning to decline. New agricultural methods and improved crop species are needed to provide adequate food in an environmentally friendly manner without increasing cultivated land.

A Cooperative Extension Specialist and faculty member at the University of California at Berkley, Lemaux’s outreach and educational programming increases public understanding of agricultural practices, food production and the impact of new technologies on food and agriculture. Her research focuses on the development and use of genetic engineering and genomic strategies for cereals, wheat, sorghum, barley, rice, maize and certain grass species. In her Food for Thought lecture, Peggy discusses the challenges faced by having to feed an estimated 9.1 billion people by 2050. Even today there are 923 million chronically undernourished people in underdeveloped regions of the world and increasingly even in the developed world. Through improvements in crops and agricultural practices, crop yields have steadily risen, but those increases are beginning to decline. New agricultural methods and improved crop species are needed to provide adequate food in an environmentally friendly manner without increasing cultivated land.

Wes Jackson is a long time advocate of sustainable agriculture, and his creation, The Land Institute, is working to develop perennial, polyculture systems for grain agriculture to reduce soil erosion and pesticide use. Wes Jackson is the founder and current president of The Land Institute, a research, education and policy nonprofit dedicated to sustainable agriculture based in Salina, Kansas. Jackson and his colleagues are working to develop an intensive, energy-efficient agricultural system that reduces inputs – water, fertilizers and pesticides – and enhances soil fertility and biodiversity. Jackson explains how, for the first time in 10,000 years of grain production, the processes of wild ecosystems could be brought to the farm using perennial crops.

Wes Jackson is a long time advocate of sustainable agriculture, and his creation, The Land Institute, is working to develop perennial, polyculture systems for grain agriculture to reduce soil erosion and pesticide use. Wes Jackson is the founder and current president of The Land Institute, a research, education and policy nonprofit dedicated to sustainable agriculture based in Salina, Kansas. Jackson and his colleagues are working to develop an intensive, energy-efficient agricultural system that reduces inputs – water, fertilizers and pesticides – and enhances soil fertility and biodiversity. Jackson explains how, for the first time in 10,000 years of grain production, the processes of wild ecosystems could be brought to the farm using perennial crops.

Alison Van Eenennaam is a Cooperative Extension Specialist in animal biotechnology and genomics at the University of California, Davis who has taken an active role in scientific and regulatory evaluations of a number of genetically engineered animals. Alison Van Eenennaam discusses the lengthy, tortuous path the company producing the salmon has taken as it has sought regulatory approval from the FDA. She also compares conventional and new forms of animal biotechnologies, focusing on the expected benefits, safety and social acceptance of fast-growing, genetically engineered salmon proposed for contained, land-based aquaculture systems.

Alison Van Eenennaam is a Cooperative Extension Specialist in animal biotechnology and genomics at the University of California, Davis who has taken an active role in scientific and regulatory evaluations of a number of genetically engineered animals. Alison Van Eenennaam discusses the lengthy, tortuous path the company producing the salmon has taken as it has sought regulatory approval from the FDA. She also compares conventional and new forms of animal biotechnologies, focusing on the expected benefits, safety and social acceptance of fast-growing, genetically engineered salmon proposed for contained, land-based aquaculture systems.

Creator of the Whole Earth Catalog, founder of The WELL, the Global Business Network, and the Long Now Foundation, and author of several books including Whole Earth Discipline: Why Dense Cities, Nuclear Power, Transgenic Crops, Restored Wildlands, and Geoengineering Are Necessary, Stewart Brand rejects the dogmatic messages of Green fundamentalism and welcome genuine debate, experimentation, and common sense. In his Food for Thought lecture, Stewart explains why we need to be more daring as we strive for sustainability, and encourage us to embrace sensible technological advances as environmental stewardship opportunities. Outreach in Biotechnology’s Food for Thought Lecture Series brings together internationally recognized experts to talk about the best (and worst) ways to use biotechnology for food and fuel. For more information, go to http://OregonState.edu/OrB A study guide to this lecture is available at http://oregonstate.edu/orb/food-for-thought Recorded 10 Mar 2011

Creator of the Whole Earth Catalog, founder of The WELL, the Global Business Network, and the Long Now Foundation, and author of several books including Whole Earth Discipline: Why Dense Cities, Nuclear Power, Transgenic Crops, Restored Wildlands, and Geoengineering Are Necessary, Stewart Brand rejects the dogmatic messages of Green fundamentalism and welcome genuine debate, experimentation, and common sense. In his Food for Thought lecture, Stewart explains why we need to be more daring as we strive for sustainability, and encourage us to embrace sensible technological advances as environmental stewardship opportunities. Outreach in Biotechnology’s Food for Thought Lecture Series brings together internationally recognized experts to talk about the best (and worst) ways to use biotechnology for food and fuel. For more information, go to http://OregonState.edu/OrB A study guide to this lecture is available at http://oregonstate.edu/orb/food-for-thought Recorded 10 Mar 2011

Pamela Ronald is a professor of plant pathology and the chair of the Plant Genomics Program at the University of California, Davis. Raoul Adamchak is an organic farmer and the Market Garden Coordinator of the Student Farm, also at UC Davis. In their Food for Thought lecture, this married couple explains how some genetically enhanced crops can improve wholesome agricultural productivity and help achieve the low chemical inputs that are the goal of organic agriculture, while some genetic enhancements are best avoided altogether. Outreach in Biotechnology’s Food for Thought Lecture Series brings together internationally recognized experts to talk about the best (and worst) ways to use biotechnology for food and fuel. For more information, go to http://OregonState.edu/OrB A study guide to this lecture is available at http://oregonstate.edu/orb/food-for-thought Recorded 25 Nov 2008

Jason Clay ran a family farm, taught at Harvard and Yale, worked at the US Department of Agriculture and spent more than 25 years working with human rights and environmental organizations before joining the World Wildlife Fund in 1999. Now, as Senior Vice President of Market Transformation at WWF, Clay influences the way governments, foundations, researchers, and NGOs identify and address risks and opportunities for their work. He brings people together to improve environmentally sensitive practices in agriculture and aquaculture. In his Food for Thought lecture, Jason focuses on creating global standards for producing and processing raw materials from plants, particularly in terms of carbon dioxide emissions and water use. Outreach in Biotechnology’s Food for Thought Lecture Series brings together internationally recognized experts to talk about the best (and worst) ways to use biotechnology for food and fuel. For more information, go to http://OregonState.edu/OrB A study guide to this lecture is available at http://oregonstate.edu/orb/food-for-thought Recorded 19 Nov 2009

Gary Marchant is the Lincoln Professor of Emerging Technologies, Law, and Ethics at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. He is also a Professor of Life Sciences at ASU, and Executive Director of the ASU Center for the Study of Law, Science and Technology. Professor Marchant has a PhD in Genetics from the University of British Columbia, a Masters of Public Policy degree from the Kennedy School of Government, and a law degree from Harvard. Prior to joining the ASU faculty in 1999, he was a partner in a Washington, DC law firm where his practice focused on environmental and administrative law. At ASU, Gary teaches environmental, food, genetic, and drug law, and has studied the legal aspects of risk assessment, biotechnology, and nanotechnology. Are genetically engineered foods safe? Should biotechnology products have special labels? Under what circumstances can nations restrict imports of GE foods? Should genes and organisms be patented? The law ultimately decides these and other difficult questions about biotechnology. Gary’s Food for Thought lecture examines how and if these decisions can be made in a fair, scientifically credible, and socially acceptable manner. Outreach in Biotechnology’s Food for Thought Lecture Series brings together internationally recognized experts to talk about the best (and worst) ways to use biotechnology for food and fuel. For more information, go to http://OregonState.edu/OrB A study guide to this lecture is available at http://oregonstate.edu/orb/food-for-thought Recorded 15 Nov 2007

Rachel Ankeny is Senior Lecturer in the School of History and Politics and Manager of the Graduate Program in Gastronomy at the University of Adelaide, Australia. She holds a Ph.D. in History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Adelaide. Although the term “molecular gastronomy” was coined only in the late 1980s, investigations of the application of science to culinary practices have a long history. So what distinguishes recent efforts, and more generally, what is molecular gastronomy as opposed to food science? Rachel’s talk explores the concepts underlying molecular gastronomy and particularly its connections to the content and rhetoric of molecularization in the late twentieth century. Outreach in Biotechnology’s Food for Thought Lecture Series brings together internationally recognized experts to talk about the best (and worst) ways to use biotechnology for food and fuel. For more information, go to http://OregonState.edu/OrB A study guide to this lecture is available at http://oregonstate.edu/orb/food-for-thought Recorded 8 Nov 2007

Dan Koeppel has written for the New York Times Magazine, Outside, Audubon, Popular Science, and National Geographic Adventure, where he is a contributing editor. He has also appeared on CNN and Good Morning America, and is a former commentator for Public Radio International's Marketplace. In his Food for Thought lecture, Dan talks about the questionable fate of one of the most important fruits in the world, explaining how bananas became so important, why the business of bananas has been so checkered (and sometimes even deadly), and most importantly, what makes banana trees weak — and what might make them strong again. Outreach in Biotechnology’s Food for Thought Lecture Series brings together internationally recognized experts to talk about the best (and worst) ways to use biotechnology for food and fuel. For more information, go to http://OregonState.edu/OrB A study guide to this lecture is available at http://oregonstate.edu/orb/food-for-thought Recorded 3 Nov 2009

A decade ago, Mark Manary, a professor of pediatrics at the Washington University School of Medicine, developed a highly effective therapy for severe malnutrition that evolved into the non-profit organization Project Peanut Butter, which serves hundreds of thousands of children annually. Now, as part of the Global Harvest Alliance, he is working to prevent malnutrition, using biotechnology to make cassava — the third largest source of carbohydrates for meals around the world — more nutritious. In his Food for Thought lecture Mark discusses the urgent needs in Africa and how biofortification may help. The goal: stopping malnutrition before it begins. Outreach in Biotechnology’s Food for Thought Lecture Series brings together internationally recognized experts to talk about the best (and worst) ways to use biotechnology for food and fuel. For more information, go to http://OregonState.edu/OrB Recorded 20 Oct 2010 A study guide to this lecture is available at http://oregonstate.edu/orb/food-for-thought

Steven Shapin is the Franklin L Ford Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University. His current research interests include historical and contemporary studies of dietetics, the nature of entrepreneurial science, and modern relations between academia and industry. In late 2007 the Oxford University Press anointed “locavore” Word of the Year. (Some San Franciscans who thought it a good idea to eat only foods produced within a 100-mile radius made up the word in 2005.) Locavores assume they are doing good for the palate and the planet. They also tend to believe that we should reject modern globalization and return to the smaller communities of the past. But have they gotten their history right? Steven’s talk explores how medical and moral traditions from antiquity to recent times have thought about local and exotic diets and reflects on changing conceptions of the self and the place of food in our lives. Outreach in Biotechnology’s Food for Thought Lecture Series brings together internationally recognized experts to talk about the best (and worst) ways to use biotechnology for food and fuel. For more information, go to http://OregonState.edu/OrB A study guide to this lecture is available at http://oregonstate.edu/orb/food-for-thought Recorded 15 May 2008

Ronald Herring is a professor of government and the director of the Program on Nature and Development at Cornell University, New York. He specializes in agrarian reform, political ecology and development, and social conflicts around science and genetic engineering. He has served as a John S Knight Professor of International Relations and as the Director of the Einaudi Center for International Studies. He has also worked as a consultant to the US State Department, World Bank, UNDP, and other international organizations. He won the 2008 Dudley Seers Prize for his book “Transgenics and the Poor.” In his Food for Thought lecture, Ron discusses how the genetic engineering of crops has become a proxy for much larger ideological and political debates. He explores the consequences of limiting this technology for poverty alleviation, global trade, and the environment. Outreach in Biotechnology’s Food for Thought Lecture Series brings together internationally recognized experts to talk about the best (and worst) ways to use biotechnology for food and fuel. For more information, go to http://OregonState.edu/OrB A study guide to this lecture is available at http://oregonstate.edu/orb/food-for-thought Recorded 5 May 2009

As an associate professor of American colonial and environmental history at Texas State University, James McWilliams is well aware that there never was a golden age for American agriculture, a time when farmers and farms were sustainable. In his Food for Thought lecture Jimmy takes the current Food Movement to task for indulging in historical romanticism, and advocating that we go back to the past to achieve a sustainable future. He explores six ways that agriculture can strike a balance between small, sustainable farms and large industrial farms in order to create a global system of agriculture that provides an affordable diversity of food in an environmentally responsible way. Outreach in Biotechnology’s Food for Thought Lecture Series brings together internationally recognized experts to talk about the best (and worst) ways to use biotechnology for food and fuel. For more information, go to http://OregonState.edu/OrB A study guide to this lecture is available at http://oregonstate.edu/orb/food-for-thought Recorded 15 Apr 2010

Daniel J Kevles, the Stanley Woodward Professor of History at Yale University, teaches and writes about issues in science and society past and present. He has received various honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Page One Award, the Watson Davis Prize, and the History of Science Society’s George Sarton Medal for career achievement. In his talk, Dan explains how innovation in fruits turned from a pastime of gentlemanly amateurs into a commercial business by the middle of the nineteenth century. A number of innovators tried to protect their fruits more precisely by commissioning colored lithographs and watercolors. However, registered illustration proved ineffective for IP protection in fruits, and horticulturalists resorted to alternative arrangements that included pricing, contracts, legislation, and in our own day, patents on genes. Outreach in Biotechnology’s Food for Thought Lecture Series brings together internationally recognized experts to talk about the best (and worst) ways to use biotechnology for food and fuel. For more information, go to http://OregonState.edu/OrB A study guide to this lecture is available at http://oregonstate.edu/orb/food-for-thought Recorded 10 Apr 2008

Michael Shellenberger is an environmental strategist and president of the think tank, the Breakthrough Institute. He and his colleague Ted Nordhaus authored “Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility,” an argument for a positive energy policy that focuses on creating a new economy. In June 2008, Time Magazine named Nordhaus and Shellenberger "Heroes of the Environment" for their directing attention to making clean energy cheap, rather than on making fossil fuels expensive. In his lecture, Shellenberger will explore how political agendas regarding environmental problems like climate change often create their own obstacles to finding the solutions they seek, and discuss the need to shift political focus from issues and interests to core needs and values. Outreach in Biotechnology’s Food for Thought Lecture Series brings together internationally recognized experts to talk about the best (and worst) ways to use biotechnology for food and fuel. For more information, go to http://OregonState.edu/OrB A study guide to this lecture is available at http://oregonstate.edu/orb/food-for-thought Recorded 4 Mar 2009

G David Tilman is Regents' Professor and McKnight Presidential Chair in Ecology at the University of Minnesota, and Director of the University's Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve. His research explores how managed and natural ecosystems can meet human needs for food and energy sustainably. Tilman has written five books and published more than 200 peer-reviewed papers; he has been the world's most highly cited environmental scientist for three decades. In his Food for Thought lecture, David suggests solutions: Biofuels can be produced from perennials grown on agriculturally degraded lands without displacing food production or causing loss of biodiversity through habitat destruction. Similarly, biofuels made from waste biomass, manure, corn stover, forest slash, or thinnings offer immediate and sustained advantages and net energy gains. Outreach in Biotechnology’s Food for Thought Lecture Series brings together internationally recognized experts to talk about the best (and worst) ways to use biotechnology for food and fuel. For more information, go to http://OregonState.edu/OrB A study guide to this lecture is available at http://oregonstate.edu/orb/food-for-thought Recorded 25 Feb 2008

Steven Savage, a member of the leading agri-business consulting firm, Cirrus Partners, is a specialist in agricultural biotechnology research and development. His projects have included studies of synthetic and natural chemicals, biological controls, biotechnology, environmental toxicology, information technology, patents, biofuels, and climate change. In his Food for Thought lecture, Steve discusses a surprising combination of traditional and biotechnological options for agriculture — the goal being both sufficient production for a burgeoning world population, and reductions in energy consumption and green house gas emissions. Outreach in Biotechnology’s Food for Thought Lecture Series brings together internationally recognized experts to talk about the best (and worst) ways to use biotechnology for food and fuel. For more information, go to http://OregonState.edu/OrB A study guide to this lecture is available at http://oregonstate.edu/orb/food-for-thought Recorded 3 Feb 2009

Jeffrey M Pilcher grew up in the Midwest and is now a professor of history at the University of Minnesota. He has been fascinated by Mexican cuisine since his first visit to New Mexico, when a mouthful of salsa sent steam boiling out his ears. His current research project, to eat Mexican food in as many countries as possible, provides the material for “Planet Taco.” Mexican food has joined Chinese and Italian as one of the three most popular ethnic varieties in the United States, although many people know that the tacos and burritos they eat are no more representative of the cuisines of Mexico than chop suey and pizza are of Chinese and Italian. In this talk, Jeffrey will examine early American encounters with Mexican food, including the chili “queens” of San Antonio and the taco shops of Southern California. He will also attempt to show how the resulting stereotypes have been carried around the world. Outreach in Biotechnology’s Food for Thought Lecture Series brings together internationally recognized experts to talk about the best (and worst) ways to use biotechnology for food and fuel. For more information, go to http://OregonState.edu/OrB A study guide to this lecture is available at http://oregonstate.edu/orb/food-for-thought Recorded 28 Jan 2008

Felicia Wu is an assistant professor of environmental and occupational health at the Graduate School of Public Health as well as an adjunct professor in the Center for Bioethics and Health Law at the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her research interests include economics, risk analysis, risk communication, and policy analysis applied to the areas of indoor air, food safety, and biotechnology. In her Food for thought lecture, Felicia looks closely at the issues of pesticide and mycotoxin reduction, reviewing the environmental record of a type of genetically engineered corn that is now widely grown throughout the USA and around the globe. Farmers plant this corn because it’s insect resistant, but there’s another, unexpected boon: GE corn kernels are less liable to mold, and therefore to become contaminated with dangerous mycotoxins. Outreach in Biotechnology’s Food for Thought Lecture Series brings together internationally recognized experts to talk about the best (and worst) ways to use biotechnology for food and fuel. For more information, go to http://OregonState.edu/OrB A study guide to this lecture is available at http://oregonstate.edu/orb/food-for-thought Recorded 22 Jan 2009

Robert Paarlberg is a professor of political science at Wellesley College and an associate at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University. His principal research interests are international agricultural and environmental policy. His latest book, Starved for Science: How Biotechnology Is Being Kept Out of Africa, explains why poor African farmers are denied access to productive technologies, particularly genetically engineered seeds with improved resistance to insects and drought. In his Food for Thought lecture, Rob discuses why, after embracing agricultural science to become well fed, those in wealthy countries are instructing Africans — on the most dubious grounds — not to do the same. Outreach in Biotechnology’s Food for Thought Lecture Series brings together internationally recognized experts to talk about the best (and worst) ways to use biotechnology for food and fuel. For more information, go to http://OregonState.edu/OrB A study guide to this lecture is available at http://oregonstate.edu/orb/food-for-thought Recorded 19 Jan 2010

Roger Beachy is the founding president of the non-profit Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in Saint Louis, Missouri. Beachy pioneered the development of virus-resistant plants through biotechnology; his early research led to the development of the world's first genetically modified food crop, a virus-resistant tomato. His laboratory conducts basic research on plant biology, and uses recombinant DNA-based technologies to improve crop plants like rice and sweet potato that are grown in developing countries. Roger’s Food for Thought lecture addresses scientific, commercial, and legal issues for genetically engineered crops, with a focus on cassava, which sometimes is called the potato of Africa. He explores the GMO controversy makes it extremely difficult to get even potentially life-saving crop varieties into the field for evaluation, and thus into the hands of poor farmers who stand to benefit from them. Outreach in Biotechnology’s Food for Thought Lecture Series brings together internationally recognized experts to talk about the best (and worst) ways to use biotechnology for food and fuel. For more information, go to http://OregonState.edu/OrB A study guide to this lecture is available at http://oregonstate.edu/orb/food-for-thought Recorded 22 Oct 2007