Dave came and spoke to us today about improving the industry in agriculture. He first off started by talking about how there are multiple fields in agriculture and not every part might be for you.
Everything in life changes over a period of time. The changing in tools was a big part of agriculture. We went from hand labor, to the mechanical evolution, to the use of chemicals in agriculture which would help prevent weeds and pests, to all the new twenty first century electronic equipment. We are always developing new ways to be successful. Another big development in agriculture is Round Up. Round Up kills the weeds are pesticides near the crops to help them stay safe from bugs, weeds, ect. Decades ago, people declared that there was nothing wrong with the chemical weed killer know as Round Up. Now they are saying it could somehow develop cancer but people did research on it saying otherwise. Like life everything can change at any point in time.
Dave was originally a crop company and now they are the number one seed company. He was a chemist but then that changed too. He claims that we are the future and many things in life can change. Things that are being developed can change everything. These are beneficial changes that are helping the agricultural world.
Today, David Mayonado, who worked for Monsanto, came in and gave us a lecture on Industry and Academia in Agriculture. It was very interesting to learn about how the agricultural boom in the mid-20th century contributed to an explosion in the population of wildlife. I do live in Bucks County, PA, which is one of the deer capitals of America, so I thought everyone saw deer as often as I did. We learned about the 4 stages of Agriculture: manual, mechanical, chemical, and biological. With today’s agriculture being in the biological stage with manipulating genes, I didn’t think about the companies’ point of view. They must constantly be coming up with new products to demonstrate value to farmers because of our constantly competing society. As I am sort of interested in law, it was nice to learn a little bit about legislation in agriculture, like the Morrill, Hatch, and Smith-Lever Acts, which apply to land grant colleges.
Dr. Mayonado works for Bayer, a company that focuses on producing herbicides for agriculture. He started off by talking about the start of agriculture and how labor intensive and hands on it was. As technology has enhanced, yields have increased and the impact on the environment has gone way down, thanks to strategies like no till farming to help soil quality. Technology has also brought on chemicals that increase efficiency. These chemicals can kill a weed and not kill the crop with Glyphosate. He also talked about GMOs and the different modifications to plants that help them produce more. He moved into how these modifications happen and how they help the plant and what it protects against. Bayer, who used to be Monsanto, creates and does research on these technologies. They developed chemicals at first, but moved to seeds as the technology took them down that route. He finished his lecture by clearing up the RoundUp litigation’s around the world.
Non-GMO food that false advertises. Have you ever heard of the store Whole Foods? Whole Foods are known for their false advertising on lots of their products. I didn’t choose a specific product to write about, I chose a whole store. Whole Foods have been caught in false advertising by saying “nothing is artificial ever.” When they say that people tend to believe it. Well it is false. They openly admitted to selling products with artificially modified ingredients. They sell unlabeled GMO products. They speak of no artificial products to trick their costumers into believing nothing has GMO’s, but they sell it, just unlabeled. Many people got upset about how they were being rigged. Many people began lawsuits against Whole Foods, in claiming they were selling unsafe products to their customers. Many people are suing Whole Foods in hopes they will get shut down. Over the years, their profits have dropped and they have been run out of business too.
Within the united states, GMOs, a genetically modified organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques for the benefit of the crops growth and the people, has become a controversial debate in the aspect of if a food should contain the GMO label which is beginning to effect the way food is being produced and purchased across the United States and the world. With the topic of GMOs, many consumers have developed little knowledge about the process in growing them and what they contain which has caused many to publish false information and consumers to become to believe that GMOs are bad. Essentially, with this developed belief, food companies have begun to take this as an advertising advantage and strategy to get consumers to purchase their product even though the product may not even contain genetics such as the product of Pink Himalayan Salt.
Pink Himalayan Salt, a product made of 98% of sodium chloride and contains other minerals such as potassium, magnesium, and calcium that is mined from the rocks of the Punjab region of modern Pakistan, has no genes. However, because much of the public lacks education and knowledge of GMOs and the health of it, the public has come to believe that GMO free products are healthier, thus, causing many food companies to use this as an advantage to label products as GMO free so that the consumer will be more likely to purchase the product even though the salt contains no genes to be altered. Essentially, with labeling, a relationship of trust has been created between the producer and consumer because food labeling allows the consumer to know what’s in the product and purchase it based off of beliefs and individual desires which allows the consumer to know that the company is producing safe products based off of their beliefs; which can be an advantage to the food industry but it can also lead to focused markets and affect the products that are being labeled as GMO.
On October 16, 2019 Ms. Valann BUDISCHAK & Tracy WOOTTEN spoke to us on the Horticulture/Greens Industry. This was the first guest lecture where the guest speakers were actually at the Georgetown campus, instead of the Newark campus. Each speaker took turns, giving information on their professional journey as well as current information on the industry around the state.
First to speak was Ms. WOOTEN. She informed the class that she had an extensive background in agriculture, with her grandparents having farmed ad she herself growing up on a farm. She majored in Plant Science and Vegetable Education to become a horticulture agent for home horticulture. She earned a BS in Plant Science where she observed 1/3 of the samples that were brought in suffered from ‘environmental problems’, i.e., problems due to how the plant grew on the weather , rather than disease or bacteria.
Next, Ms. BUDISCHAK spoke on her background. She took a very different path that Ms. WOOTEN, working at Black and Decker for 14years and commuting between Baltimore and New York before deciding to make a change. She decided to work for the Delaware Nursery and Landscape Organization before managing grants for the Delaware Dept. of Transportation (DelDOT) and then becoming an extension agent for the University of Delaware. She then volunteered for the Botanic Garden of which she eventually became director.
After those brief biographies, the two speakers told us about nurseries. First, that nurseries are usually selling products for the home garden- over 60% of sales a container plants. Most nurseries are located in Maryland, though there are a few noteworthy establishments in the first state. Many nurseries are plug and container nurseries. Many nurseries sell floriculture crops of bedding and garden plants- the biggest purportedly in Lanesboro, PA. Cut flowers may even be sold at CSA’s.
A nursey might sell broadleaf evergreens, trees, and shrubs- ‘ball and burlap’ evergreens that begin as cuttings. A garden nursery might sell field or container plants, plants for garden store and centers, and zero-scaping for low-water, native plants. Sod and turf nurseries may sell bent grass- used on golf courses- or tall fescue and Kentucky Blue- used for home lawns. Sod generates $13.8 billion in revenue.
Other retailers might earn revenue by selling videos and how-tos for independent garden centers. Others my reach consumers through radio shows, displays, and unique offers.
Certain garden centers specialize in particular services. The Gateway Garden Center for example, specializes in ponds, as landscape, providing consumers with the service of install and maintenance. Another garden center might only market major brands like Proven Winner brand, sell only annuals, or sell directly from growers. Sposato Landscape is one of the top three landscaping business in the US, located right here in Delaware. Sposato Landscape has implemented a container rental program where last seasons’ planters may be replaced according to consumer. Other noteworthy garden centers include Coast Garden Center, RSC Landscaping, Ronney’s Garden Center, Lakeside Greenhouse, & Bess’ Buds. These garden centers will aid consumers with the name recognition of plants and provide care instructions and ‘How-to’ tutorials. Though landscaping is a big industry there are a small number of garden centers.
There is a growing market within the industry for indoor plants. Landscapers will go into large corporate buildings and office parks to maintain or change out potted plants. Landscaping is a very science-oriented field. However, in addition to helping to design and build, a landscaper may also be expected to maintain by handling mowing, pest, and invasive control, fertilization, lighting, and water features. A landscaper may also use soil conservation techniques such as stormwater management, irrigation, and hardscaping, or by assessing plant health. One such technique, accessing the health of plants, namely trees, is handled by Delaware Arbor Care.
Those jobs are not without risks however. While working on some landscape maintenance, a Mr. Steve JOHNSON, a nationally-known plant pathologist from New Jersey dies via tree limb. The limb fell from a pine with shallow roots due to the sandy soil of the area. The pine was part of a stretch of trees in a homeowner’s property that posed a risk to the people living and working there. Because of this, insurance had the rest of the trees taken down.
Landscaping is a large component of ‘Land Management’, particularly of parks, schools. The largest landholder in Delaware is DelDOT. DelDOT’s responsibilities include enhancing highways with warm season grasses & meadows. DelDOT does this by conducting minimal invasive management in the roadside, planting pollination strips flanked by mowed edges to cut down on labor. These mowed edges show the public that maintenance is indeed ongoing, while giving a less intensely manicured look that a simple mowed strip would provide. These plantings help curb the spread of invasive weeds like Japanese Knotweed, though the speakers note the mowed turf itself is not so healthy as water runs over it as opposed to seeping into the water table. Creating rain gardens & bioswales is an effective solution, as these improve water quality by filtering run-off.
In addition to highways, DelDOT also has a part in maintaining railroad tracks. By maintaining the vegetation around the tracks they prevent obstruction and mitigate fire risks by cutting back encroaching plants to prevent ‘railspark fires’, which pose a risk to farmers and can burn crops. The risk of fire also allows them to impose burning bans. They will also scan for and remove invasive weeds.
Lastly, DelDOT contributes to the management of parks and recreation areas, like sportsfields. Replacing turf is often cheaper than replacing mature trees and shrubs, as such, sod is a big component of volume purchases. When designing and maintaining these fields there is a choice to be made between cool and warm season turf grasses or simply synthetic groundcover. Warm season grasses grow with rhizomes & stolons that knit together & create a smoother playing surface than cool season grasses, which grow clumped in bunches and spread via seed. To keep the fields in optimum condition, they must be aerated, especially in high-traffic areas such as those found in front of goals, where compaction of the soil causes sand to crust on clay pockets. To amend the soil, compost may been used.
To conclude, the lecture ended with the speakers informing the class on the various in-state opportunities for anyone who might be interested in pursuing landscaping. To begin, it is helpful to know certain definitions such as annual, perennial, and bi-annual. An annual plant grows in one season, i.e., Impatiens plants, while a bi-annual plant has a two-year lifespan, and lastly, a perennial dies and comes back, for example, the invasive Japanese Knotweed where pieces of the plant may break off and it’s underground runners can generate a new plant. In Delaware, a license is required to sell plants, but for the average homeowners, there are tools to inform them of the best ways to manage their properties. For example, a rain garden cannot be created from, ‘wet spots on the lawn’, but rather, must be able to drain. This information and more is available from Delaware Livable Lawns, a program that helps homeowners and lawncare professionals mitigate run-off from nutrient applications from drifting into waterways. In addition, they also have 2.5 month internship gardens. For professionals, there’s the Delaware Nursery & Landscape Association (DNLA) at https://www.dnlaonline.org/.
On September 28, 2019 the class took a field trip to Fifer Orchards at the very beginning of the farms Fall Fest‘commemorating it’s 100th year. This trip would commence very differently than the last one, with the majority of the tour spent on the bus. We would ride around to various fields before visiting the sorting and packing area, taking our obligatory class picture, and finally checking out the farm’s country store.
1st stop on the tour…
The first talk about irrigation…
Our host, Mr. ‘Bobby’ FIFER met us in the parking lot before climbing aboard the bus. He began the tour by giving the class a cit of backstory on himself and the farm. Mr. FIFER was a Virginia Tech graduate who continued to work at the farm after college with his two other brothers and cousin for the past 15 years. Together they encompass the fourth generation of the families now 3000acre farm. Mr. FIFER stated the family once owned more land after they moved from Rehoboth to Dover in 1904 after the drowning of a child, but those Milford and Magnolia parcels were either sold or lost to time. The third generation, made up of Mr. FIFER’s father, now in his 80’s, and Mr. FIFER’s Aunt remain active with the help of two or three female staff members working in public relations. Every family member has their own role to fill n the farm and no one is vying for the other’s job.
An unexpected traveling companion…
A sleepy traveling companion…Hmm, Interesting…
Mr. FIFER notes that each family member does what he or she is best-suited for and comfortable with. Mr. FIFER really enjoys working amongst the people and being at the front of the farms public brand. His brother, Mr. Kirk FIFER, worked for Sargenta right out of college in the 1990s, so he handles a lot of the sales- ‘whether a consumer wants 10 or 10, 000 case of product’, as well as wholesale to Walmart. Mr. Michael FIFER, the cousin, handles the public relations angle of the business, handling retail in Dewey Beach and Dover, booking entertainment, and coordinating ‘Fall Fest’. Another, older brother, prefers to work behind-the-scenes, out int he fields, in a harvester, or just doing maintenance.
‘Velvet Leaf’, or ‘Elephant Ear’ weedVery fuzzy leaves…Kohlrabi
No matter the role, there is always plenty for any one member to do because Fifer’s is a very diversified farm. At the start of the growing season, they are packing fruit, off-season asparagus (a fern and early spring crop that stores energy in it’s roots), and one of their most profitable crops per acre, tomatoes. Strawberries often complete for the most profitable crop per acre, but overall, corn and pumpkins generate the most money. Surprisingly, the tree fruit for which the orchard is known, has the lowest profit per acre, because Delaware’s warmer temperatures and humidity is not really conducive to growing the best peaches or apples. Peaches are prone to get stink bugs, scab, brown bacteria, leaf rot, and scale, with apples fairing a little better, subject to fire bight, wart, black rot, as well as scab, scale, and nutrition deficiency. Both crops are subject to daily pest struggles and require different pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides to stay viable. The harvest season runs from April to December, and also includes kale, broccoli, cauliflower, beans(in rotation with corn), and sweet potatoes. Most of the crops are sold locally, though the corn may be shipped as far a s New Mexico, Walston (PA?), Miami, Mississippi, and Colorado.
Crop duster hard at work…Strawberry fieldsRaised beds, plastic, and row covers…The re-used row cover…
The high temperatures and humidity create the constant threat of disease, making it very difficult to grow anything organically in this state, so Fifer’s is not an organic farm. Mr. FIFER says it’s not worth the ‘headache’ to try and it’s too time-consuming.
Despite the high level of Inputs required for conventional production, Fifer’s has a reliable way to manage their equally high levels of output. They farm utilizes mechanical harvesting for it’s sweet potatoes and corn, along with other harvesters and mowers. Other crops that require hand labor is often supplied by immigrants through the H2A Program, which supplies guest workers on Federal visas to harvest and pack produce. The Fifer’s must pay for the workers living expenses, providing housing, laundry, rides to Walmart and work, as well as $1, 400 per month for the employees to go to an from Mexico from September 1 to November 1. It’s is a great expense, but Mr. FIFER asserts that working through the government program means they only need about 70 people versus the 100 domestic workers they once hired, even as the farm has grown and expanded.
A Hi-tunnel…
To facilitate this growth, Fifer’s has employed a variety of different growing methods, such as double cropping, or growing 2 crops in one year, cover cropping, and reduced tillage. They have also employed the use of ‘protected agriculture’, implementing hi-tunnels with measurable success. Mr. FIFER stated that the practice is easier in New York and Vermont, but in New Jersey, E. PA, and further southward it’s ‘impossible’. Hi-tunnels were utilized to extend the growing season and sell on the ”shoulder season’. Cultivars like strawberries and raspberries were grow first, but tomatoes were the ones that proved most lucrative. The Fifer’s could produce 2-3× the yield in tomatoes when no other local farm has them well into the month of December- but from November into December consumers are often thinking of squash and kale and other ‘fall foods.’ Hi- tunnels are most cost effective than a greenhouse for the Fifer’s as their expense is based on length- they only cost $10, 000-$40/50, 000 per acre. They are a big deal in other states like PA, Maryland, & Virginia. The only caveat is the tunnel cultivar must be rotated and the physical structure moved, or the land it sits on must be fumigated, i.e., the soil must be injected with chemicals to kill and sterilize it of everything- which is an added cost.
Additional growing methods like raised beds and bed covers are used for weed and pest management, as well as on-farm experiments. Raised beds can prevent the wetting of leaves, which promotes bacterial growth. Mr. FIFER spoke of his efforts using plastic bedcovers, namely with strawberries, to keep the soil warm and prohibit weed growth as well. Mr. FIFER said he intended to try alternating between black and white plastic on different rows to stagger the crops soil heat absorption by a few degrees and extend the harvest season with equally ripe berries. The bedcovers, used in tandem with 0.9-1.2oz. re-used row-covers, can be used to retain heat and trick the plants into, ‘thinking they’re in NC’- Delaware strawberries are planted the 1st-3rd week of September, but NC strawberries are planted well into October, with a harvest by the end of April or early May.
Outside the packing facility…
To maintain soil health, the Fifer’s plant oats, whose roots grow up to 1ft. long and absorb and excess nutrients and prevent soil erosion. They may also plant, ‘Tillage Radishes’ that aerate the soil by breaking up the hardpan and create mulch to increase the soil’s organic matter. The Agricultural Stabilization & Conservation Service(ASCS) will pay farmers for planting cover crops, which is particularly important for sandy soil.
Inside the refrigerated packing facility…
One off the most important aspects of farming that Mr. FIFER covers, was the orchards extensive use of different irrigation techniques. Citing Mr. James ADKINS and his expertise on irrigation, Mr. FIFER stated the farm uses 600-12–gal per min wells to power their system of Drip Irrigation, Underground Drip Irrigation, Linear and Center Pivot Irrigation, and Hard-Hose Irrigation. Drip irrigation was displayed on the surface of the peach orchard and used because the farmers experience less of a problem from rodents, groundhogs, and foxes gnawing the lines than they would with an underground system. To run the drip irrigation, the water source must be free of iron and scale, or the hoes nozzles will become plugged, so clarification and filtering are used. With the linear and center pivot irrigation, seen in a field of Kohlrabi, cauliflower, and collards, the system works with automatic pressure release valves and is positioned on plastic wheels that, while more costly, don’t go flat and bolt onto the hub. The hard-hose irrigation system must be hooked to a well, unspooled with a tractor for 200ft and then dragged and relocated, unhooked, and re-hooked to different hydrants along tramlines.
Just outside the refrigerated section…
Looking out on ‘Fall Fest’…
Another aspect, pest management, was covered throughout the tour. One method discussed was airblast and airplane spraying, which requires highly trained trick flyers who can maneuver at low altitudes and often train more than commercial pilots. Aerial spraying can be used to manage weeds, but vigilance by those who work in the fields is needed as well. Prof. ISAACS showed us a ‘Velvet Leaf’ or ‘Elephant Ear’, an example of a weed that when not handled properly and treated quickly, can result in a long-lasting problem- the plant contains large seed pods with up to 50 seeds that can go dormant for up to 50 years. Another method was a deer management strategy in which the Fifer’s allow a set group of hunters to come in and kill deer for free at no liability to them under the State Quality Deer Management Program. Mr. FIFER stated the greatest pest statewide would undoubtedly be the four-legged, white-tail deer- a herd can eat 30 acres of soybeans and 20acres of strawberries.
Additional challenges would be the paperwork and documentation that goes into processing. Every product must be labelled with a GN and LOT# for distribution. The Fifer’s must pay $10, 000 for an audit, flying an inspector in from Idaho. There are also additional expenses that must be covered for any new or changing government regulations- Mr. FIFIER stated that the family would often look for loopholes to avoid the intense scrutiny increasing regulations can bring. Also, without a properly established market for their cultivars, like the Kohlrabi, the plants are just wasted space and must be tilled under to make way for a different crop next season.
Guest workers filling boxes with ice….Mr. Kirk FIFER takes over…
One topic that has seemingly become the subject of every class discussion at some point is the sighting and eventual spread of the Spotted Lantern Fly. Mr. FIFER said that although the invasive insect had found it’s way to Sussex County from Pennsylvania, they had yet to see the pest on their property, but as Prof. ISAACS reminded us, according to the rules of the Department of Agriculture it is up to the farmer to treat any known threats.
Overall, I enjoyed the trip. I would definitely like to come back to Fifer’s for the events as well as the interesting foods in the store that I didn’t get to try or purchase. I was told there was boar, bear, and alligator jerky, and I saw a large selection of jams and jellies with inventive flavors I’d love to sample, but would have no clue how to use.
Mark Lynas is an environmentalist, who, over the course of almost 20 years, has changed his mind. Not only has he changed his mind, but he is also willing to admit it in the conference. He used to be someone who despised GM, but now that he has done a bit of research and gone deeper into the subject, he learned that they can be quite helpful in agriculture. He had so many opinions about GMs that he even wrote books about it. He believed that it created a need for more harmful pesticides, but he was wrong, some modification actually benefited the plants by decreasing the need for pesticides. Almost everything he believed in was not the whole truth. He wrote many books, all discussing environmental changes and how GMs effect it. He didn’t look at the whole truth, and went on his beliefs and didn’t see the other side. He finished his message by saying, let science rule the truth. That saying is why I know climate change is real, the earth is round, or other things that tend to be non believed when the scientific data is there. It’s important to look at both sides, and dig deeper into the subject.
This was a really well thought out and intelligent speech done by Mark Lynas. In this speech, he talked about a lot of points but the thing that stood out the most to me was how explained that he was wrong. He began by talking about how he had previously tried to fight a lot of the progress being made because he believed things needed to be changed but after learning more about the issues he realized that he was wrong and then openly talked about how he was wrong and then went on to endorse the things he used to fight against within the industry. This is an extremely important thing to commend because it shows a lot of things that more people need to think about. One, while fighting for something he deeply believed in he still considered the possibility that maybe he was wrong or didn’t know all the facts. Two, when confronted with the new information he did not double down on his old beliefs but instead dug deeper and sought out the truth and the whole story. Three, he realized he was wrong and changed his ideas. The fact that he did these three things and on a huge stage is something everyone should take note of because this is how it’s supposed to be and if people did this more, we would have much fewer problems and much more progress.
One of the key points that really stood out to me in this document was the knowledge gap about gene editing. In one of my other classes, we were just learning about this and how the gap between people who think gene editing and scientist who think gene editing is safe is large than the gap between people who think climate change is fake and scientists who think it is real. This is a significant problem when it comes to progress because there is a lot more people who don’t know what there are talking about and are denouncing something while at the same time the people that are spending all their time working on it are saying it is good. This causes significant limitations to problems and can be fixed with the thing everyone has with them all the time. If people used their internet access to learn about issues before they spoke out against something, we could be moving along at a much better rate.
Genetically modified food is one of the most efficient ways to feed the growing world population because it is able to reduce the risk of disease in crops, and farmers are able to produce more output with the same amount of acreage (this way the farmers make more money as well). However, after reading the article, it is apparent that many people are misinformed about the largely beneficial nature of this process.
People generally like to know where there food comes from, and more importantly, if that food is safe; “2 out of 3 consumers want to know about how food is produced and who’s producing it.” These same people sometimes don’t trust GMO strategies in crop production because it seems to them that the process is unnatural, and that the GMO’s could potentially be harmful.
The best way to educate people on the great aspects of GMO’s is with sound scientific data presented by respected scientific communities because that is what the public would put greater faith in. It is very important to educate and communicate these ideas so the population stands as one in the regard to the advancement of agriculture in a drastically changing and growing world.
The Center for Food Integrity released an issue on gene editing and how to engage in the conversation about gene editing to consumers. Throughout there were interesting statistics such as the opening statistic of 2 out of 3 consumers want to know more about how food is produced and who’s producing it and more than half of consumers want to know more about gene-editing technology. Out of half of those consumers, 1/3rd have a limited understanding of genes and food. For example, 32% of consumers think vegetables do not have DNA but 2/3rd of consumers think gene editing in humans is okay. This makes it the perfect place to enter the conversation about the world of genetics and agriculture. By being able to connect the population’s understanding of gene editing to agriculture makes the topic more understandable. The journal goes on to give more steps and tips about informing the public about gene editing in agriculture. For example, one should talk about evolution not the revolution of genes; this could also link to another talking point about yield improvements. Many consumers want more environmentally friendly agriculture, by linking gene use to agriculture this educates consumers on the environmental benefits of genetically modified organisms. The most important thing to remember when talking to consumers about genes in agriculture is values are 3-5 times more important than facts. Connect consumers to agriculture by explaining how agriculture is, in fact, meeting consumer values.
Gene editing is one of today’s biggest industries in agriculture. People have been wanting to know exactly how the gene editing is used because of course, people want to know what they are putting in their bodies.
So what is gene editing? “A METHOD OF SELECTIVE BREEDING THAT MAKES PRECISE, INTENTIONAL AND BENEFICIAL CHANGES IN THE GENETIC MATERIAL OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS USED IN FOOD PRODUCTION, WHICH CAN IMPROVE HEALTH, NUTRITION AND ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP.”
One thing that I was surprised to read about was that feeding the world is on the bottom of the gene editing priority list. I thought that would have been more towards the top.
There are many ways to edit genes. Another important one is CRISPR. CRISPR is a more precise way to edit the genetic code. To sum up this blog post, this article was very fascinating in the ways that people genetically modify our food source and could be very beneficial to our world in the future.
Gene editing or genome editing is one of the most promising innovations today which can be used to modify gene to resist disease for organism, increase the production of livestock and plants and so on. This advanced technology help improving the farmers’ s and food industries’ business significantly. But it also rises up a huge amount of concern from public. Because less than half people understand what gene editing is, it is easy to fear something that people isn’t familiar with. Therefore, scientists or experts have responsibility to explain. Also, how to demonstrate it is important. There are several effective communication approaches introduced in this document. Frist of all, people are more willing to trust experts or scientist rather than the companies or farmers who sell these GMO products. It is more acceptable, if explaining gene edition by telling that this technology is just similar to the potential of improving human health by using gene editing. And spokespersons should embrace skepticism and respect what people beliefs. Sharing an idea that people can take benefits from this technology most, not the companies, and the plants, animals and environment can be benefitable.
If public can understand more about the advanced technologies popping out in this world, listen to others’ ideas, not only opposing the new technologies, it will help to solve many issues in this planet.
Mark Lynas is a very intelligent man and he is self taught when it comes to GMOs and many other aspects. Just like many other people he believed that GM was horrible and it was all run by corporate corporations trying to get over on people and make more money for themselves. He thought that science was to be involved with the growing of crops. As well as he thought that GMOs had no purpose and would do no actually good for people. As Mark started to research more and find more things out about GM, he began to realize that maybe it is not such a bad idea. Now Mark doesn’t necessarily think that GMOs are needed for everything but he does believe that they have a place and can be very useful in some situations. With this realization Mark began to think how they can actually help people, such as if a farmer does not have the resources to keep down pest the GMO can fight of diseases and pests by itself without the help of the farmer. He also realized that more yield is possible in countries and areas that need the crop to be as productive as possible because they can’t afford to lose crops. Overall Mark started out by having a very similar opinion to most people when it comes to GM but with a lot of research and talking to people who knew a lot about the topic, he began realizing that they aren’t so bad and his perspective of GM had been off.
