This was a civil conversation regarding the future of food at Iowa State University
Kelsey Faivre, featured on Kevin Folta’s blog*
The original article was published on April 7, 2015. It was written by Kelsey Faivre, a [alors] student at Iowa State, following attending lectures by Vandana Shiva and myself, Kevin Folta.
Ms. Shiva was invited to Iowa State University by a group of students. Fearing the usual flood of misinformation, another group on campus invited me to provide scientific counterpoint. My entire presentation from March 25, 2015 can be viewed ici. [la présentation antérieure de Mme Vandana Shiva est ici.]
Ms. Faivre has captured the contrast between the two events. This article is reproduced [et traduit] without the permission of Feedstuffs who originally published it; the original item is no longer available.
Dr. Kevin Folta, professor and chairman of the Department of Horticultural Sciences at the University of Florida, recently came to give a lecture at Iowa State University.
The topic of his lecture was transgenic crops (also known as genetically modified organisms – GMOs) – what they are, what they can do and how to communicate regarding them. Mr. Folta, who uses transgenic cultures for his research in his laboratory, has first-hand knowledge of this.
The main points of Mr. Folta’s lecture were: it has been established that transgenic crops pose no more risks than conventional crops, that they have an important place in the future of agriculture and that the debate surrounding them is not a scientific debate.
While a clear majority of scientists support the safety of transgenic crops, the debate over these crops ” is a social debate fueled by fear and misinformation “, did he declare. Mr. Folta used a fungus-resistant strawberry and a Citrus greening as examples of future applications of transgenic selection.
Mr. Folta’s lecture followed that of activist Vandana Shiva, which had taken place two weeks earlier (Feedstuffs, March 23). Although the topic of Ms. Shiva’s talk was similar – she and Mr. Folta discussed the impacts of transgenic crops – the two talks mightn’t have been more different. Not only did their content differ, but their communication methods and motivations were clearly dissimilar.
Dr. Folta presented the scientific consensus regarding the safety of transgenic crops, explaining that plant breeding is inherently risky, but transgenic breeding methods pose no more risk than conventional breeding.
Ms. Shiva rejected this consensus, saying there are health risks associated with GMOs, despite the fact that no cases of GMO-related illness have ever been reported. In fact, Ms. Shiva has supported her anti-GMO agenda with research that Mr. Folta says has either been discredited – such as the work of Mr. Gilles-Éric Seralini – or distorted by the media – such as in a study concerning the placental cells and glyphosate.
Mr Folta said he wanted to connect with people who are worried regarding their food security and who risk being influenced by activists who profit from the fear and distrust of others. It was refreshing to hear from someone who is a primary source of information and obviously passionate regarding presenting the facts.
After attending both conferences, I felt that there was more obvious dissatisfaction with Mr. Folta’s message. A man in the crowd interrupted Mr. Folta twice – the second time proclaiming: “ I think regarding 90% of what you said might be proven wrong. »
Despite this cynical and furious challenge, Mr. Folta remained calm and responded with grace and kindness. Mr Folta then used the challenge to illustrate his point that anti-GMO activists sometimes make more noise than scientists and farmers and use fear to cover up the facts.
After his lecture, Mr. Folta stayed for more than an hour to answer questions on topics ranging from ethical issues related to transgenic crops to the research he conducts in his lab. When difficult questions arose, he agreed to dig deeper and follow up with those involved, and in one case he invited someone to participate in a study with him.
Mr. Folta provided a great example of how we in agriculture can engage in conversation with non-scientific audiences. One of his ideas regarding science communication is that we must, as he said, ” stop beating people over the head with science » ; the public wants to hear the facts without needing a doctorate to understand them.
He also appealed to the values of everyone in the room, acknowledging that“At the end of the day, we’re all on the same page and want the same things; we just bring different toolkits to the table. »
After listening to Ms. Shiva and Mr. Folta, the biggest difference I might detect in their messages was the tone behind the messages. I am afraid that my classmates left Ms. Shiva’s lecture with a feeling of fear, distrust and conflict. I hope those who listened to Mr. Folta came away knowing more regarding the science behind the technology and feeling more confident regarding the future of food.
Whatever your feelings regarding transgenic crops, one thing is certain: appealing to fear, blame and mistrust is not going to start or end this conversation.
For nearly half an hour, Mr. Folta and an audience member discussed her real concerns regarding transgenic crops, and the discussion remained a conversation rather than turning into a verbal battle. At the end of her questions, Mr. Folta asked if there was any type of transgenic crop that she would accept. After several minutes of deliberation, she admitted that using a transgenic orange tree to stop the Citrus greening would be a good app. That’s what I call a success.
In my opinion, Mr. Folta has done an excellent job of putting facts before fear while maintaining a civil, open and conversational atmosphere. This is something to be welcomed.
I left Mr. Folta’s conference with a feeling I hadn’t felt in a long time: hope. We can open a civil conversation regarding the future of food. By sharing our agricultural and scientific stories, we have the opportunity to shed light on the facts of modern food production.
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* Kelsey Faivre is [était] in his second year of agricultural communication at Iowa State University. She grew up on a row crop farm in DeKalb, Illinois, and raises cattle.
Dr. Kevin Folta is a professor of molecular biology and genomics at a public university, lecturer, and podcast host. The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of its employers or clients.
Source : Illumination 2.0: REPOST: A civil conversation regarding the future of food (kfolta.blogspot.com)
