Steve Strauss
trees: forest biotechnology
Carol Mallory-Smith
grasses: gene flow and herbicide resistance
Jim Peterson
wheat: breeding and genetics
Paul Jepson
integrated pest management & GE
The Food for Thought Lecture Series brings internationally recognized experts to OSU to speak about ways that biotechnology can support sustainable agriculture. Lectures are free and open to the public.
On Tuesday, Jan 19, Robert Paarlberg, an expert on international food policy, presented the next topic in the series: "The Ethics of Modern Agriculture." Paarlberg discussed why, after embracing agricultural science to become well fed, people in wealthy countries are instructing Africans not to do the same.
Paarlberg is a professor of political science at Wellesley College and an associate at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University, and the author of the provocative books, Starved for Science and Food Politics.
Hey Copenhagen, do GE crops threaten human health, diverse ecosystems and climate stability?
Western Producer(Canada), 17 December 2009
Some social activist goups and NGOs are expressing concern that climate negotiators in Copenhagen are embracing flawed technologies as solutions to the world's climate woes. But not according to a recent study of western Candian farming practices.
“That data we’ve gathered […] certainly suggests that genetically modified crops are probably the most environmentally beneficial crop technology being used in agriculture today,” said Stuart Smyth, a research associate with the University of Saskatchewan’s agriculture college. “This is where it really starts to get important for the environment.”
The quest to develop fortified genetically engineered plants has yielded mixed results
The Scientist, September 2009
The UN estimates that one in every six people on this planet is starving, and one in every two is nutrient deficient. People suffering from the "hidden hunger" of micronutrient malnutrition may consume sufficient calories, but not enough nutrients. Scientists have genetically engineered several biofortified food plants to tackle this problem. Because of scientific, social and political hurdles, the crops have yet to be planted on a wide scale, but that may be about to change.
Forbes, 31 August 2009
With the world population headed toward 9 billion by 2050, Texas author James McWilliams supports producing more, healthier food on less land using fewer resources. His new book, "Just Food: Where Locavores Get it Wrong and How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly" downplays the importance of shopping locally and is sure to irritate organic food fundamentalists.
"The crops [McWilliams] proposes to replace grains actually have a far higher carbon footprint/acre, cannot be farmed no-till (the most sustainable way) and generate little protein," commented Food for Thought lecturer, Steven Savage, in his 9/16/09 response to the Forbes article. "For a meat alternative it would be better to plant lentils or quinoa."
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