3C. Science Session

Science and Public Perceptions about Technology and Food Production: GMOs, Antibiotics, and Emerging Trends

As researchers and the face of science to the public, we must present the best information available to the community. This session will cover research related to GMOs, antibiotics, new technologies and how the public perceives the safety and environmental costs and benefits by adopting production systems using (or not using) these technologies.

This session will start with clips from the 2016 documentary “Food Evolution” interspersed with presentations about creating a narrative for skeptical audiences. This will be followed by a presentation about trends in antimicrobial use in animal production. The last presentation will cover where we can be going and how trends in food consumption or new science may affect acceptance of these advances.

Moderator: Cheryl Wilen, Area Integrated Pest Management Advisor, Southern California

8:30 Myths and Misconceptions: Discussion with clips from movie “Food Evolution” 

• 8:30 Field Guide to Transgenic Crops: Simple Facts that Everybody Should Know - Norm Ellstrand, Distinguished Professor of Genetics, Jane S. Johnson Endowed Chair in Food and Agriculture, UC Riverside
• 8:45 The importance of narrative storytelling: Results and Impacts from the movie “Food Evolution”
  • Alison Van Eenennaam, CE Specialist in Animal Genomics and Biotechnology, Dept of Animal Science, UC Davis
  • Scott Hamilton Kennedy, Director and Writer (Invited)

9:30 Antimicrobial Resistance in Food Animals and Foods: Where we think we are and where we're going (we think...) - Maurice Pitesky, CE Specialist, Population Health & Reproduction, Vet Med, UC Davis

9:45 Emerging Science, Food Trends (Organic, Natural…), Future Application, and Moving to the Future - Neil McRoberts, Professor, Dept. of Plant Pathology, UC Davis

10:00 End

Planning Committee: Cheryl Wilen, Maurice Pitesky, Neil McRoberts