Presented at Iowa State University on March 24, 2015. Kevin M. Folta presents new information on the future of food and the utility and risks of biotechnology.

1. Plant Biotechnology, Science
Writing, and Public
Communication
Kevin M. Folta
Professor and Chairman
Horticultural Sciences Department
kfolta.blogspot.com
@kevinfolta
kevinfolta@gmail.com

2. My main job:
Chairman of the Horticultural Sciences Department (Fruit and Veg crops)
56 Faculty over six locations throughout the state
-Breeding / new varieties
-Crop physiology and production
-Molecular genetics
-Genomics
-Organic and sustainable production
-Weed science
-Plant nutrition, water use
-Space biology
-Cell and developmental biology
-Postharvest physiology

3. •13 international scholars
•Undergraduate researchers
•Examine how light affects plant traits, and use as a non-
chemical treatment for enhanced shelf life
•Use of natural fruit volatiles to slow spoilage
•Connecting genes to important traits in small fruits.
•Marker-assisted breeding
My Research Program

4. Biotechnology Communication
•What this technology is
•Why there is resistance to good
technology?
•The future of biotech crops.

5. Irony at the Apple Store
We loves new Apple products!
I demand new technology!
The best company on earth!
New
improved
products!
Don’t want new apple products!
New
improved
products!
If nature didn’t make it, I
don’t want it!!
Down with corporations!

6. What Plant Genetic Improvement Is
More varieties
Grow better under
given conditions
Improved yields
Safer products
Improved nutrtion

7. What Plant Genetic Improvement Is
People t hink
Improved yields

8. Examples of GM Crops?

9. What are our priorities?
Farmers
The Needy
Environment
Consumers

10. What transgenic technology is.What transgenic technology is.

11. Transgenic crop technology (familiar “GMO”) is a precise
extension of conventional plant breeding.
“The techniques used pose no more risk (actually less
risk) than conventional breeding.” (NAS, AAAS, AMA, EFSA many
others)
In 18 years there has not been one case of illness or
death related to these products
There are several traits used in only eight commercial
crops
These are the most well studied and extensively tested
plant products in history.

12. Humans have always manipulated crop genetics

13. “food with DNA that has been altered in such a way that does not occur naturally.”

14. GE vs. Traditional Breeding
Wide crosses exchange hundreds or thousands of genes
and gene variants; GE moves only one/few.
Traditional breeding frequently uses plants that could
never normally cross, GE uses genes from self or any
other organism
GE can monitor the effect of a specific change; breeding
seeks to judge the effect on plant productivity and does
not address possible effects on individual genes.

15. GM Crops Available Now

16. How Do We Add a Gene to a Plant?

17. How Do You Make a Transgenic Plant – Exploit Totipoentcy
Agrobacterium is used to place
gene of interest into a single cell.
The single cell is then cultured
into an entire plant containing
the gene.

18. How Do We Add a Gene to a Plant?
Agrobacterium tumefaciens

19. Making a New Plant from a Single Cell

20. How do the traits work?
Two main traits– Bt and glyphosate resistance

21. GMO Crops Make Pesticides

22. Bt is one of many natural anti-insect proteins

23. Bt is one of many
natural anti-insect
proteins

24. How Bt Works
bt

25. Advantages
Decrease in broad-spectrum
insecticide use on corn and
cotton
Lower fuel and labor costs for
farmers
Solid dividends in the
developing world
No effect on beneficials
Limitations
Need to plant refugia to slow
resistance
Pockets of resistance are seen
and require use of insecticides
Requires careful scouting

26. Glyphosate-Resistant (Roundup Ready) Products
A gene is inserted that
allows plants to survive in
the presence of the
herbicide. Farmers can
spray to kill non-transgenic
plants.

27. How Herbicide Resistance Works
A B C
Amino
acids
proteins
epsps
glyphosate
X
Plants

28. How Herbicide Resistance Works
A B C
Amino
acids
proteins
epsps
glyphosate
X
A B C
Amino
acids
proteins
epsps
Plants
Bacteria
glyphosate

29. How Herbicide Resistance Works
A B C
Amino
acids
proteins
epsps
epsps
Plants
X
glyphosate
A B C
Amino
acids
proteins
Bacteria
glyphosate

30. How Herbicide Resistance Works
A B C
Amino
acids
proteins
epsps
Plants
glyphosate
Resistance!

31. Advantages
Switch to a low-toxicity
herbicide, cheap and effective
Lower fuel and labor costs for
farmers
Decreased tilling, saved
topsoil
Limitations
Weeds can evolve resistance,
requiring increased labor, lower
yields, and new control
strategies. New chemistries.

32. The point is– this is not a scientific debate.
- benefits far outweigh limitations and new solutions are
coming.
This is not a farming debate.
-farmers freely choose the technology because it works.
This is a SOCIAL debate fueled by fear and
misinformation.

34. Why Is There Resistance to Good Technology?

35. Relativenumberinpopulation
Relative scientific understanding
Nonexperts
Farmers,
scientists,
Etc.
MOST PEOPLE!!!!
FEAR FACTS
Manufactured Risk!

36. What Does the General Public Really Think?
“92% of Americans demand to
know what is in their food”

39. Why is there even a problem?
Manufactured risk for profit
Political motivations (anti-corporate sentiment)
Well meaning people responding to a compelling
bad-science message

40. Who is most influential in selling fear?
Oz Smith Shiva Adams Mercola Food Babe

41. Why is there even a problem?
How do we fix the
problem?
Center for Food Integrity

42. Fixing the problem.
There needs to be more communication
from scientists and farmers.
These are the folks that know the science.
We have not been participating well.
The companies have been useless in
communication too.

43. Technology Exists NOW
Research has been published demonstrating that
transgenic techniques can:
Help farmers save labor, fuel, water, fertilizer, other
inputs.
Biofortify foods with vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients
Grow plants in marginal areas
Grow plants with fewer inputs
Efficient use of fertilizers
Insect resistance
Disease resistance

44. Golden Rice
X
Farmers
Consumers
Environment
Needy
Opposition to golden rice cost $2 billion to
farmers in developing countries and 1.4
million human years – Wesseler et al., 2014

46. Cassava
Virus Resistant Cassava (VIRCA)
Biocassava Plus (BC Plus)
250 million depend on cassava
50 million tons lost to virus.
X
X Farmers
Consumers
Environment
Needy

47. Allergy-Free Peanuts
Peanut – RNAi suppression Ara h2
X
Farmers
Consumers
Environment
Needy

48. Low Acrylamide, non Browning Potatoes
X
X
Farmers
Consumers
Environment
Needy

49. Non Browning Apples
Silencing a gene that leads to discoloration
X
X
Farmers
Consumers
Environment
Needy
Small Business!X

51. BS2 Tomato
A pepper gene in tomato eases black spot and wilt.
X
X Farmers
Consumers
Environment
Needy

52. Stopping Citrus Greening
Spinach defensin
NPR1
Lytic peptides
Many show promise
Earliest deregulation is
2019

55. There are many more solutions
to pressing ag problems, yet
few are being developed.

56. What are our priorities?
Farmers
The Needy
Environment
Consumers

57. Conclusions
Transgenic technology is safe
Transgenic technology has proven effective
Progress is slowed by manufactured risk
Existing products could bring great benefit to the
environment, the needy, the consumer and the farmer,
but they are not developed– or people resist their
development out of fear
We need to use all technologies available to ensure
safe and sustainable food with less environmental
impact.

58. Thank you
kfolta.blogspot.com
@kevinfolta
kevinfolta@gmail.com
"There is a path to truth and sincerity
that you must guard and defend“
-- Teruyuki Okazaki It is our mission to stand up for the truth
that science gives us.
Dr. Jack Payne
SVP UF/IFAS

59. Where do I get good information?
Warm welcome Cold facts
kfolta@ufl.edu
GMOanswers.com
Biofortified.org geneticliteracyproject.com
GMOLOL
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