ronald, pamela ucdavis

<font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">=</font><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">nothing on funding for UC davis </font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">=
</font><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">co-founder
</font><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">http://www.biofortified.org/blog/</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">husband</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">https://www.biofortified.org/2009/03/guest-blogger-raoul-adamchak-on-</font><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">corporate-transparency</font><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">/</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">=</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style=""><a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/pamela-ronald/" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">https://usrtk.org/tag/pamela-ronald/</a></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</font></div><div><div class="container" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-right: 15px; padding-left: 15px; margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto; width: 1170px; position: relative;"><div id="content" class="row row-with-vspace site-content" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-right: -15px; margin-left: -15px; padding-top: 20px; padding-bottom: 70px;"><div class="col-md-12 content-area" id="main-column" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; min-height: 1px; padding-right: 15px; padding-left: 15px; float: left; width: 1170px;"><main id="main" class="site-main" role="main" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><article id="post-7931" class="post-7931 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-food-for-thought category-gmo category-our-investigations category-pesticides category-sweeteners tag-acsh tag-alison-van-eenennaam tag-american-council-on-science-and-health tag-anthony-shelton tag-basf tag-bayer tag-biofortified tag-cbi tag-center-for-consumer-freedom tag-center-for-science-in-the-public-interest tag-cornell-alliance-for-science tag-cornell-college-of-agriculture-and-life-science tag-cornell-office-of-international-programs tag-council-for-biotechnology-information tag-cspi tag-dow-agrosciences tag-dowdupont tag-ecomodernism tag-gates-foundation tag-genetic-literacy-project tag-gil-ross tag-global-leadership-fellows tag-gmo-answers tag-gregory-jaffe tag-hawaii-alliance-for-science tag-hawaii-farmers-daugh tag-jayson-merkley tag-joan-conrow tag-joni-kamiya tag-kauai-eclectic tag-kevin-folta tag-march-against-myths-against-modification tag-mark-lynas tag-monsanto tag-owen-paterson tag-pamela-ronald tag-rick-berman tag-rob-horsch tag-sarah-evanega tag-sarah-thompson tag-science-literacy-project tag-sense-about-science tag-stats tag-syngenta tag-tracey-brown tag-trevor-butterworth tag-university-of-california-davis tag-university-of-florida" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 10px;"><header class="entry-header" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><h1 class="entry-title" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; line-height: 1.1; text-transform: uppercase; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">cORNELL ALLIANCE FOR SCIENCE IS A PR CAMPAIGN FOR THE AGRICHEMICAL INDUSTRY</font></h1><div class="entry-meta" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="posted-on" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Posted on <a href="https://usrtk.org/our-investigations/cornell-alliance-for-science-is-campaign-for-agrichemical-industry/" title="7:20 am" rel="bookmark" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2020-09-23T07:20:10-07:00" style="box-sizing: border-box;">September 23, 2020</time></a></span><span class="byline" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> by <span class="author vcard" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="url fn n" href="https://usrtk.org/author/stacymalkan/" title="View all posts by Stacy Malkan" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Stacy Malkan</a></span></span></font></div></header><div class="entry-content" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The <a href="https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/about/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Cornell Alliance for Science</a> (CAS) is a public relations campaign funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to train fellows around the world, especially in Africa, to promote and defend genetically engineered crops and agrichemicals in their home countries. The group based at Cornell uses its academic-sounding name and affiliation with an Ivy League Institution to try to gain credibility, but CAS has a long history of <a href="https://usrtk.org/food-for-thought/mark-lynas/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">spreading inaccurate</a> and <a href="https://usrtk.org/our-investigations/gates-foundation-cornell-misinformation-campaign-african-leaders-call-for-agroecology/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">misleading information</a>.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The Gates Foundation has spent $22 million since 2014 funding this PR effort. This fact sheet documents inaccuracies, deceptive tactics and corporate partnerships of CAS and people affiliated with the group.  The examples described here provide evidence that CAS is using Cornell’s name, reputation and authority to advance the PR and political agenda of the world’s largest chemical and seed corporations.</font></p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; text-transform: uppercase;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">INDUSTRY-ALIGNED MISSION AND MESSAGING</font></h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">CAS launched in 2014 with a $5.6 million Gates Foundation grant and promises to “<a href="http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2014/08/new-cornell-alliance-science-gets-56-million-grant" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">depolarize” the debate</a> around GMOs. The group <a href="https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/about/mission/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">says its mission</a> is to “promote access” to GMO crops and foods by training “science allies” around the world to educate their communities about the benefits of agricultural biotechnology.</font></p><div id="attachment_15069" class="wp-caption alignright" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: right; width: 310px; margin-top: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 1.5em; border: none; margin-bottom: 1.5em; max-width: 100%;"><a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/pesticide-industry-promotes-Cornell-Alliance-for-Science.jpg" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-15069" loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-15069" src="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/pesticide-industry-promotes-Cornell-Alliance-for-Science-300x263.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="263" srcset="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/pesticide-industry-promotes-Cornell-Alliance-for-Science-300x263.jpg 300w, https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/pesticide-industry-promotes-Cornell-Alliance-for-Science-768x674.jpg 768w, https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/pesticide-industry-promotes-Cornell-Alliance-for-Science.jpg 911w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; height: auto;" /></font></a><p id="caption-attachment-15069" class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.8075em 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Pesticide industry group promotes CAS </font></span></p></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">A key part of the CAS strategy is to recruit and train </span><a href="https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/education/global-leadership-fellowship/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Global Leadership Fellows</a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> in communications and promotional tactics, focusing on regions where there is public opposition to the biotech industry, particularly African countries that have resisted GMO crops.</span></font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The CAS mission is strikingly similar to <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/council-for-biotechnology-information-gmo-answers-and-croplife-pesticide-industry-pr-initiatives/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">the Council for Biotechnology Information</a> (CBI), a pesticide-industry funded public relations initiative that has <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/CBI-GMO-Answers-partners-with-Cornell-Alliance-for-Science-.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">partnered with CAS</a>. The industry group worked to <a href="https://www.provokemedia.com/latest/article/council-for-biotechnology-information" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">build alliances</a> across the food chain and <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/CBI-2015-990.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">train third-parties</a>, particularly academics and farmers, to persuade the public to accept GMOs.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CAS messaging aligns closely with pesticide industry PR: a myopic focus on  touting the possible future benefits of genetically engineered foods while downplaying, ignoring or denying risks and problems. Like industry PR efforts, CAS also focuses heavily on attacking and trying to discredit critics of agrichemical products, including scientists and journalists who raise health or environmental concerns.</font></p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; text-transform: uppercase;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">WIDESPREAD CRITICISM</font></h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CAS and its writers have drawn criticism from academics, farmers, students, community groups and food sovereignty movements who say the group promotes inaccurate and misleading messaging and uses unethical tactics. See for example:</font></p><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://cagj.org/2020/09/experts-in-agroecology-withdraw-from-cornell-alliance-for-science-agroecology-webinar-cite-bias-of-cas/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Experts in agroecology withdraw from Cornell Alliance for Science Agroecology Webinar, citing bias</a> — Community Alliance for Global Justice<span class="Apple-converted-space" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> (9.30.20)</span></font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://cagj.org/2020/08/new-agra-watch-report-messengers-of-gates-agenda-a-case-study-of-the-cornell-alliance-for-science-global-leadership-fellows-program/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Messengers of Gates’ Agenda: A Case Study of the Cornell Alliance for Science Global Leadership Fellows Program</a>, by AGRA Watch, Community Alliance for Global Justice (8.7.20)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://cornellsun.com/2019/11/19/guest-room-students-should-continue-to-question-the-ethics-of-the-cornell-alliance-for-science/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Students Should Continue to Question the Ethics of the Cornell Alliance for Science</a>, by Fern Anuenue, Hawaii Alliance for Progressive Action, Cornell Daily Sun (11.19.19)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.acbio.org.za/en/mark-lynas-slammed-exploiting-african-farmers-images-promote-gmos" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Mark Lynas slammed for exploiting African farmers’ images to promote GMOs</a>, African Centre for Biodiversity press release (2018)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.acbio.org.za/sites/default/files/documents/202005/mark-lynas-unauthorized-use-farmers-images-misleading-and-unethical-tactics-promote-gm-crops_0.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Mark Lynas’ unauthorized use of farmer’s images in misleading and unethical tactics to promote GM crops in Tanzania</a>, report by Eugenio Tisselli, PhD, and Angelika Hilbeck, PhD. (2018)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://afsafrica.org/seeds-of-neo-colonialism-why-the-gmo-promoters-get-it-so-wrong-about-africa/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Seeds Of Neo-Colonialism: Why The GMO Promoters Get It So Wrong About Africa</a>, statement by the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (2018)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.salon.com/2017/08/27/6-ways-this-ivy-league-university-is-acting-like-a-pr-firm-for-junk-food-gmos-and-pesticides_partner/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">6 ways this Ivy League university is acting like a PR firm for junk food, GMOs and pesticides</a>, by Sophia Johnson, Salon (2017)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://bioscienceresource.org/pressrelease-farmers-alliance-for-science/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">New York Farmers Call for Cornell to Evict the ‘Alliance for Science,’</a> Bioscience Resource Project press release (2016)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.independentsciencenews.org/health/the-gmo-debate-one-students-experience-of-pro-gmo-propaganda-at-cornell-university/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">The GMO Debate: One Student’s Experience of Pro-GMO Propaganda at Cornell University</a>, by Robert Schooler, Independent Science News (2016)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://usrtk.org/food-for-thought/gates-funded-cornell-group-protests-dr-vandana-shiva/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Gates-funded Cornell Group Misfires in Protest of Vandana Shiva</a>, USRTK (2016)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://bit.ly/1SBA0YG" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Why is Cornell University hosting a GMO propaganda campaign</a>? by Stacy Malkan, The Ecologist (2016)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.corporatecrimereporter.com/news/200/gates-foundation-backed-pro-gmo-cornell-alliance-science-attack/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Gates Foundation Backed Pro-GMO Cornell Alliance for Science On the Attack</a>, Corporate Crime Reporter (2015)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2015/02/the-war-on-genetically-modified-food-critics-et-tu-national-geographic/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">The War on Genetically Modified Food Critics,</a> by Timothy Wise, Food Tank (2015)</font></li></ul><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; text-transform: uppercase;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">EXAMPLES OF MISLEADING MESSAGING</font></h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Experts in genetic engineering, biology, agroecology and food policy have documented many examples of inaccurate claims made by Mark Lynas, a visiting fellow at Cornell who has written dozens of articles defending agrichemical products in the name of CAS; see for example his <a href="https://geneticliteracyproject.org/writer/mark-lynas/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">many articles promoted by the <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">Genetic Literacy Project,</span></a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);"> a PR group that <a href="https://usrtk.org/food-for-thought/jon-entine-the-chemical-industrys-master-messenger/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">works with Monsanto</a></span>. Lynas’ 2018 book argues for African countries to accept GMOs, and devotes a chapter to defending Monsanto.</font></p><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Inaccurate claims about GMOs</font></h3><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Numerous scientists have criticized Lynas for making <a href="http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/sd-gmo-food-safety-utak-20180511-story.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">false statements</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/31/opinion/when-food-is-genetically-modified.html" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">“unscientific, illogical and absurd</a>” arguments, <a href="http://blog.ucsusa.org/doug-gurian-sherman/science-dogma-and-mark-lynas" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">promoting dogma over data and research</a> on GMOs, <a href="https://commonreader.wustl.edu/c/the-dubious-virtue-of-apostasy/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">rehashing industry talking points</a>, and making inaccurate claims about pesticides that “<a href="https://twitter.com/petemyers/status/1075184242966126594" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">display a deep scientific ignorance</a><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" style="box-sizing: border-box;">, or an active effort to manufacture doubt.”</span></font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“The laundry list of what Mark Lynas got wrong about both GMOs and science is extensive, and has been refuted point by point by some of the world’s leading agroecologists and biologists,” <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/of-myths-and-men-mark-lyn_b_2591502" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">wrote Eric Holt-Giménez</a><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="box-sizing: border-box;">, executive director of Food First, in April 2013 (Lynas joined Cornell as a visiting fellow later that year).  </span></font></p><blockquote style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; border-left: none;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="">“disingenuous and untruthful”</font></p></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Africa-based groups have critiqued Lynas at length. The Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa, a coalition of more than 40 food and farming groups across Africa, has <a href="https://www.grain.org/bulletin_board/entries/5946-seeds-of-neo-colonialism-why-the-gmo-promoters-get-it-so-wrong-about-africa" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">described Lynas as</a> a “fly-in pundit” whose “contempt for African people, custom and tradition is unmistakable.” Million Belay, director of AFSA, <a href="https://twitter.com/Million_Belay/status/1290533793112227840" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">described Lynas</a> as “a racist who is pushing a narrative that only industrial agriculture can save Africa.”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.acbio.org.za/en/mark-lynas-slammed-exploiting-african-farmers-images-promote-gmos" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">In a 2018 press release</a>, the South Africa-based African Centre for Biodiversity described unethical tactics Lynas has used to promote the biotech lobby agenda in Tanzania. “There is an issue definitely about accountability and [need for] reigning the Cornell Alliance for Science in, because of the misinformation and the way that they are extremely disingenuous and untruthful,” Mariam Mayet, executive director of the African Centre for Biodiversity, said in a <a href="https://cagj.org/2020/08/watch-the-agra-watch-webinar-the-struggle-over-agroecology/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">July 2020 webinar</a>.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><a id="AttackingAgroecology" style="box-sizing: border-box;" />For detailed critiques of Lynas’ work, see articles at the end of this post and our <a href="https://usrtk.org/food-for-thought/mark-lynas-promotes-chemical-industry-commercial-agenda/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Mark Lynas fact sheet</a>.</font></span></p><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attacking agroecology</font></h3><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A recent example of inaccurate messaging is a widely panned article on the CAS <a href="https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/blog/2020/07/scientific-meta-analysis-agro-ecology-risks-harming-the-poor-and-worsening-gender-inequality-in-africa/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">website</a> by Lynas claiming, “agro-ecology risks harming the poor.” Academics described the article as a “<a href="https://twitter.com/KebedeYodit/status/1289135089948008448" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">demagogic and non-scientific interpretation of a scientific paper</a>,” “<a href="https://twitter.com/edwardrcarr/status/1299452432976613383" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">deeply unserious</a>,” “<a href="https://twitter.com/MET_climate/status/1289399142175739910" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">pure ideology” and “an embarrassment</a> for someone who wants to claim to be scientific,” a “<a href="https://twitter.com/eco_marci/status/1289207753018286080" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">really flawed analysis</a>“ that makes “<a href="https://twitter.com/CorbeelsM/status/1288913975254679553" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">sweeping generalizations</a>“ and “<a href="https://twitter.com/bdowduribe/status/1289308167411621888" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">wild conclusions.</a>” Some critics <a href="https://twitter.com/MET_climate/status/1289399142175739910" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">called for</a> a <a href="https://twitter.com/eco_marci/status/1299443356091781120" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">retraction</a>.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A <a href="https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/blog/2019/02/traditional-agricultural-practices-cant-transform-african-agriculture/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">2019 article</a> by CAS fellow Nassib Mugwanya provides another example of misleading content on the topic of agroecology. The article, “Why traditional agricultural practices can’t transform African agriculture,” reflects the typical messaging pattern in CAS materials: presenting GMO crops as the “pro-science” position while painting “alternative forms of agricultural development as ‘anti-science,’ groundless and harmful,” <a href="https://cagj.org/wp-content/uploads/Messengers-of-Gates%E2%80%99-Agenda-A-Case-Study-of-the-Cornell-Alliance-for-Science-Global-Leadership-Fellows-Program.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">according to an analysis</a> by the Seattle-based Community Alliance for Global Justice.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Particularly notable in the article are strong usages of metaphors (e.g., agroecology likened to handcuffs), generalizations, omissions of information and a number of factual inaccuracies,” the group said.</font></p><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Using Monsanto playbook to defend pesticides</font></h3><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Another example of misleading industry-aligned CAS messaging can be found in the group’s defense of glyphosate-based Roundup. The herbicides are a key component of GMO crops with <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/adoption-of-genetically-engineered-crops-in-the-us/recent-trends-in-ge-adoption.aspx" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">90% of corn and soy grown in the United States</a> genetically engineered to tolerate Roundup. In 2015, after the World Health Organization’s cancer research panel said glyphosate is a probable human carcinogen, Monsanto organized allies to “orchestrate outcry” against the independent science panel to “protect the reputation” of Roundup, according to <a href="https://usrtk.org/pesticides/secret-documents-expose-monsantos-war-on-cancer-scientists/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">internal Monsanto documents.</a></font></p><div id="attachment_7938" class="wp-caption alignright" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: right; width: 480px; margin-top: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 1.5em; border: none; margin-bottom: 1.5em; max-width: 100%;"><a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Lynas-anti-science-tweet.png" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-7938" loading="lazy" class=" wp-image-7938" src="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Lynas-anti-science-tweet.png" alt="" width="470" height="207" srcset="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Lynas-anti-science-tweet.png 697w, https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Lynas-anti-science-tweet-300x132.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 470px) 100vw, 470px" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; height: auto;" /></font></a><p id="caption-attachment-7938" class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.8075em 0px; text-align: center;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Monsanto’s PR playbook: attacking cancer experts as ‘activists’</font></i></p></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mark Lynas used the <a href="https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/blog/2017/11/europe-still-burns-witches-if-theyre-named-monsanto/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">CAS platform</a> to amplify the Monsanto messaging, describing the cancer report as a “witch hunt” orchestrated by “anti-Monsanto activists” who “abused science” and committed “an obvious perversion of both science and natural justice” by reporting a cancer risk for glyphosate. Lynas used the same <a href="https://usrtk.org/pesticides/glyphosate-spin-check-tracking-claims-about-the-most-widely-used-herbicide/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">flawed arguments and industry sources</a> as the American Council on Science and Health, a <a href="https://usrtk.org/hall-of-shame/why-you-cant-trust-the-american-council-on-science-and-health/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">front group Monsanto paid</a> to help spin the cancer report.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">While claiming to be on the side of science, Lynas ignored ample evidence from Monsanto documents, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/01/business/monsantos-sway-over-research-is-seen-in-disclosed-emails.html" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">widely reported</a> in the press, that <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-09/monsanto-was-its-own-ghostwriter-for-some-safety-reviews" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Monsanto interfered</a> with <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29843257" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">scientific research</a>, <a href="http://inthesetimes.com/features/monsanto_epa_glyphosate_roundup_investigation.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">manipulated regulatory agencies</a> and used other <a href="https://www.ehn.org/monsanto-effort-to-skew-science-2581194459.html" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">heavy-handed tactics</a> to manipulate the scientific process in order to protect Roundup. In 2018, a jury found the that Monsanto “<a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Johnson-trial-judy-verdict.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">acted with malice, oppression or fraud</a>” in covering up the cancer risk of Roundup.</font></p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">LOBBYING FOR PESTICIDES AND GMOS</font></span></h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Although its main geographical focus is Africa, CAS also aids pesticide industry efforts to defend pesticides and discredit public health advocates in Hawaii. The Hawaiian Islands are an important testing ground for GMO crops and also an area that reports high <a href="https://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/reports/3901/pesticides-in-paradise-hawaiis-health-and-environment-at-risk" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">exposures to pesticides</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/aug/23/hawaii-birth-defects-pesticides-gmo" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">concerns about pesticide-related health problems</a>, including birth defects, cancer and asthma. These problems led <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/hawaii-pesticide-rules" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">residents to organize a years-long fight</a> to pass stronger regulations to reduce pesticide exposures and improve disclosure of the chemicals used on agricultural fields.</font></p><blockquote style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; border-left: none;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="">“launched vicious attacks”</font></p></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As these efforts gained traction, CAS engaged in a “massive public relations disinformation campaign designed to silence community concerns” about the health risks of pesticides, according to Fern Anuenue Holland, a community organizer for Hawaii Alliance for Progressive Action. <a href="https://cornellsun.com/2019/11/19/guest-room-students-should-continue-to-question-the-ethics-of-the-cornell-alliance-for-science/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">In the Cornell Daily Sun,</a> Holland described how “paid Cornell Alliance for Science fellows — under the guise of scientific expertise — launched vicious attacks. They used social media and wrote dozens of blog posts condemning impacted community members and other leaders who had the courage to speak up.”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Holland said she and other members of her organization were subjected to “character assassinations, misrepresentations and attacks on personal and professional credibility” by CAS affiliates. “I have personally witnessed families and lifelong friendships torn apart,” she wrote.</font></p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">OPPOSING THE PUBLIC’S RIGHT TO KNOW     </font></span></h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CAS Director <a href="https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/team/sarah-evanega/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Sarah Evanega, PhD</a>, has <a href="http://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/blog/right-be-known-accurately" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">said her group is</a> independent of industry: “We do not write for industry, and we do not advocate or promote industry-owned products. As our website clearly and fully discloses, we receive no resources from industry.” However, dozens of emails obtained by U.S. Right to Know, now posted in the <a href="https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/chemical/results/#q=Sarah%20Evanega&col=%5B%22usrtk%22%5D&h=%7B%22hideDuplicates%22%3Afalse%2C%22hideFolders%22%3Afalse%2C%22hidePrivileged%22%3Afalse%2C%22hideConfidential%22%3Afalse%2C%22hideCopyright%22%3Afalse%7D&subsite=chemical&cache=true&count=45" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">UCSF chemical industry documents library</a>, show CAS and Evanega coordinating closely with the pesticide industry and its front groups on public relations initiatives. Examples include:</font></p><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CAS played a key role in trying to discredit a public records investigation by U.S. Right to Know to obtain information about the pesticide industry’s partnerships with academics. According to <a href="https://usrtk.org/our-investigations/monsanto-usrtk-foia/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Monsanto documents released in 2019,</a> Monsanto was deeply worried about the USRTK investigation and planned to try to discredit it as an attack on “scientific freedom” — the same messaging CAS used in a <a href="https://www.biofortified.org/2015/03/have-you-signed-the-science14-letter-yet/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">in a public petition</a> opposing the investigation.</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CAS partnered on the petition with Biofortified, a <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/biofortified-aids-chemical-industry-pr-lobbying-efforts/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">group that lobbied</a> against pesticide regulations in Hawaii at the <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Biofortified-boys-messaging.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">behest of a pesticide industry</a> trade group, while <a href="https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2013/07/29/hawaii-science-swat-team-engages-public-fears-fanned-by-anti-gmo-activists/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">claiming to be independent.</a></font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/2019-Monsanto-USRTK-FOIA-Communications-Plan.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Monsanto PR plan</a> to counter the USRTK investigation suggested having a Monsanto executive reach out <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Monsanto-third-party-outreach.png" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">to Rob Horsch at the Gates Foundation</a> to ask for assistance with the effort.</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CAS Director Sarah Evanega <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/521709212/201832189349300313/IRS990" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">was a Trustee in 2017</a> of the International Food Information Council, a food and chemical <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/ific-how-big-food-spins-bad-news/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">industry-funded PR group</a> that defends sugar, food additives, GMOs and pesticides.</font></li></ul><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">More examples of CAS partnerships with industry groups are described at the bottom of this fact sheet. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; line-height: 0; vertical-align: baseline; top: -0.5em;"> </span></font></p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; text-transform: uppercase;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ELEVATING FRONT GROUPS, UNRELIABLE MESSENGERS</font></h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In its efforts to promote GMOs as a “science-based” solution for agriculture, Cornell Alliance for Science has lent its platform to industry front groups and even a notorious climate science skeptic.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><a href="https://usrtk.org/food-for-thought/trevor-butterworth-spins-science-for-industry/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Trevor Butterworth and <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Sense About Science/STATS</span></a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">:</span></span> CAS partners with Sense About Science/STATS to offer “<a href="https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/blog/2015/06/sense-about-science-usa-partnership-offers-statistical-consultation-for-journalists/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">statistical consultation for journalists</a>” and gave <a href="https://stat.cornell.edu/events/statistics-seminars/statistics-seminar-speaker-trevor-butterworth-3292017" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">a fellowship</a> to the group’s director Trevor Butterworth, who built his career defending products important to the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevorbutterworth/2014/04/09/bpa-the-scientists-the-scare-the-100-million-dollar-surge/#1c221f2414cc" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">chemical</a>, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrisprandoni/2015/03/05/when-the-left-peddles-bad-science/#995340196cbd" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">fracking,</a> <a href="https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/sweetener-sucralose-probably-doesnt-cause-leukaemia/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">junk food</a> and <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevorbutterworth/2012/12/13/is-the-era-of-oxycontin-abuse-over/#5ac6ed2073a8" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">drug industries.</a> Butterworth is founding director of Sense About Science USA, which he merged with his former platform, Statistical Assessment Service (STATS).</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Journalists have described STATs and Butterworth as key players in chemical and pharmaceutical industry product defense campaigns (see <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2018/01/30/pharmaceutical-industry-fake-news-tobacco/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Stat News</a>, <a href="http://archive.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/54195297.html/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,</a> <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/11/15/how-self-appointed-guardians-of-sound-science-tip-the-scales-toward-industry/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">The Intercept</a> and <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2011/09/how-lobbyists-are-spinning-weak-science-to-defend-bpa/245657/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">The Atlantic)</a>.  Monsanto documents identify <a href="https://usrtk.org/our-investigations/monsanto-relied-on-these-partners-to-attack-top-cancer-scientists/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Sense About Science among the “industry partner”</a> it counted on to defend Roundup against cancer concerns.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Climate science skeptic Owen Paterson:</span> In 2015, CAS hosted Owen Paterson, a British Conservative Party politician and well-known <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2013/sep/30/owen-paterson-science-climate-change" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">climate science skeptic</a> who <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jan/27/uk-climate-change-owen-paterson" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">slashed funding for global warming mitigation efforts</a> during his stint as UK Environment Minister. Paterson used the Cornell stage to claim that environmental groups raising concerns about GMOs “<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20171011122317/http://www.uk2020.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/2015-09-21-Owen-Paterson-Cornell-Speech-Speakers-Version-FINAL-16-00-EST.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">allow millions to die.</a>” Pesticide industry groups used similar messaging 50 years ago to try to <a href="https://e360.yale.edu/features/fifty_years_after_rachel_carsons_silent_spring_assacult_on_science_continues" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">discredit Rachel Carson</a> for raising concerns about DDT.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Lynas and <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/11/15/how-self-appointed-guardians-of-sound-science-tip-the-scales-toward-industry/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Sense About Science</a>:</span> Lynas of CAS is also affiliated with Sense About Science as a longtime advisory board member. In 2015, Lynas partnered with climate science skeptic Owen Paterson Paterson also Sense About Science Director Tracey Brown to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/30/ecomodernism-launch-was-a-screw-up-of-impressive-proportions" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">launch what he called</a> the “ecomodernism movement,” a corporate-aligned, <a href="https://twitter.com/georgemonbiot/status/638686540814753792" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">anti-regulation strain</a> of “environmentalism.”</font></p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; text-transform: uppercase;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">INDUSTRY DEFENSE IN HAWAII</font></h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2016, CAS launched an <a href="https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/blog/2016/12/hawaii-joins-alliance-for-science-global-network/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">affiliate group called the Hawaii Alliance for Science,</a> which said its purpose was to “support evidence-based decision-making and agricultural innovation in the Islands.” Its messengers include:</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Sarah Thompson, </span>a <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahlynnthompson/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">former employee of Dow AgroSciences</a>, coordinated the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190904162127/http://www.hawaiiallianceforscience.com/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Hawaii Alliance for Science</a>, which described itself as a “communications-based non-profit grassroots organization associated with the Cornell Alliance for Science.” (The website no longer appears active, but the group maintains a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HawaiiAllianceforScience/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Facebook page</a>.)</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Social media posts from the Hawaii Alliance for Science and its coordinator Thompson have described critics of the agrichemical industry as <a href="https://twitter.com/HISciAlly/status/926146908674019328" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">arrogant and ignorant people</a>, celebrated <a href="https://twitter.com/LaylaBlanket/status/887278366717554689" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">corn and soy mono-crops</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/LaylaBlanket/status/880935371202101249" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">defended neonicotinoid pesticides</a> which <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-02639-1" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">many studies</a> and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-04987-4" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">scientists say</a> are harming bees.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Joan Conrow, </span><a href="https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/team/joan-conrow/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Managing Editor of CAS</a>, writes articles on her <a href="https://joanconrow.net/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">personal website</a>, her <a href="http://kauaieclectic.blogspot.com/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">“Kauai Eclectic” blog</a> and for the industry front group <a href="https://geneticliteracyproject.org/glp-library/?search_bar=Joan%20Conrow" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Genetic Literacy Project</a> trying to discredit <a href="http://kauaieclectic.blogspot.com/2017/04/musings-pushing-organics.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">health professionals</a>, <a href="https://joanconrow.net/2018/07/11/hawaiis-regressive-progressives/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">community groups</a> and <a href="http://kauaieclectic.blogspot.com/2017/01/musings-fake-news-false-promises.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">politicians in Hawaii</a> who advocate for stronger pesticide protections, <a href="http://kauaieclectic.blogspot.com/2015/08/musings-christopher-palas-hit-piece.html" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">and journalists</a> who write about pesticide concerns. Conrow has <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160826125226/http://www.journalistjoanconrow.com/undue-outside-influence/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">accused environmental groups</a> of tax evasion and <a href="http://kauaieclectic.blogspot.com/2017/04/musings-cowed-by-anti-science-bullies.html" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">compared a food safety group</a> to the KKK.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Conrow has not always disclosed her Cornell affiliation. Hawaii’s Civil Beat newspaper criticized Conrow for her <a href="http://www.civilbeat.org/2016/08/reader-rep-commenters-paid-or-not-should-adhere-to-standards/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">lack of transparency and cited her in 2016</a> as an example of why the paper was changing its commenting policies. Conrow “often argued the pro-GMO perspective without explicitly mentioning her occupation as a GMO sympathist,” wrote journalism professor Brett Oppegaard. “Conrow also has lost her journalistic independence (and credibility) to report fairly about GMO issues, because of the tone of her work on these issues.”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Joni Kamiya</span>, a 2015 CAS <a href="https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/fellows/joni-kamiya/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Global Leadership Fellow</a> argues against pesticide regulations on her website <a href="https://hawaiifarmersdaughter.com/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Hawaii Farmer’s Daughter</a>, in the <a href="https://www.sctimes.com/story/opinion/2016/06/01/anti-gmo-groups-hurting-farmers/85189128/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">media</a> and also for the industry front group <a href="https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2014/10/21/bleeding-of-aloha-ugliness-of-the-anti-gmo-movement-in-hawaii/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Genetic Literacy Project</a>. She is an <a href="https://gmoanswers.com/experts/joni-kamiya" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">“ambassador expert”</a> for the agrichemical industry-funded <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/gmo-answers-is-a-marketing-and-pr-website-for-gmo-companies/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">marketing website GMO Answers</a>. Like Conrow, Kamiya claims pesticide exposures in Hawaii <a href="https://hawaiifarmersdaughter.com/my-favorite-go-to-sources-for-information/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">aren’t a problem</a>, and <a href="https://hawaiifarmersdaughter.com/2018/07/20/intolerant-politicians/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">tries to discredit elected officials</a> and <a href="http://www.thegardenisland.com/2018/01/30/hawaii-news/pesticides-issue-debated-at-legislature/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">“environmental extremists”</a> who want to regulate pesticides.</font></p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; text-transform: uppercase;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">STAFFERS, ADVISORS</font></h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CAS describes itself as “an initiative based at Cornell University, a non-profit institution.” The group does not disclose its budget, expenditures or staff salaries, and Cornell University does not disclose any information about CAS in its tax filings.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The website lists <a href="https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/team/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">20 staff members</a>, including Director <a href="https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/team/sarah-evanega/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Sarah Evanega, PhD</a>, and Managing Editor <a href="https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/team/joan-conrow/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Joan Conrow</a> (it does not list Mark Lynas or other fellows who may also receive compensation). Other notable staff members listed on the website include:</font></p><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Gregory Jaffe,</span> <a href="https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/team/gregory-jaffe/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Associate Director of Legal Affairs</a> of CAS, is also the Director of Biotechnology for Center for Science in the Public Interest where he draws a <a href="https://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2017/237/122/2017-237122879-0eb29770-9.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">$143,000 salary</a> plus benefits. CSPI <a href="https://www.acsh.org/news/2015/01/29/cspi-dead-gm-labeling-good" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">opposes GMO labeling</a> and Jaffe argues that “<a href="https://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2007/10/30/3055331.htm" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Americans should embrace</a>” the current crop of genetically engineered foods.</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Jayson Merkley</span>, one of 10 members of the CAS <a href="https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/team/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">training team</a>, worked as <a href="https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/fellows/jayson-merkley/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">a social media consultant</a> for March Against Myths Against Modification, a project of the <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/biofortified-aids-chemical-industry-pr-lobbying-efforts/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">industry partner group Biofortified</a>. For an example of misleading messaging involving Merkley, see 2016 post, <a href="https://usrtk.org/food-for-thought/gates-funded-cornell-group-protests-dr-vandana-shiva/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Gates-funded Cornell group misfires in protest against Vandana Shiva</a>.</font></li></ul><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The CAS advisory board includes academics who regularly assist the agrichemical industry with their PR efforts.</font></p><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><a href="https://usrtk.org/our-investigations/pamela-ronald-led-chemical-industry-front-group-efforts/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Pamela Ronald</a>,</span> a geneticist at UC Davis, has ties to chemical industry front groups and PR efforts that claim to be independent; she co-founded and served on the board of <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/biofortified-aids-chemical-industry-pr-lobbying-efforts/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Biofortified</a>, and set up the industry-tied <a href="https://usrtk.org/hall-of-shame/jon-entine-the-chemical-industrys-master-messenger/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Genetic Literacy Project and its founder Jon Entine</a> with a platform at UC Davis. Ronald receives industry payments for speaking engagements; see <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Pam-Ronald-Bayer.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">$10,000 invoice to Bayer</a> and <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Pam-Ronald-Monsanto-invoice.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">$3,000 invoice to Monsanto</a>.</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/alison-van-eenennaam-key-outside-spokesperson-and-lobbyist-for-the-agrichemical-and-gmo-industries/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Alison Van Eenennaam</a>,</span> a cooperative extension specialist at UC Davis, argues for <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/609699/meet-the-woman-using-crispr-to-breed-all-male-terminator-cattle/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">deregulating genetically engineered animals she is developing</a>. She is a key outside spokesperson who has worked with the agrichemical industry on various PR efforts to oppose regulations and transparency.</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Cornell Professor Tony Shelton</span> was one of several professors <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-wp-blm-monsanto-0c06199a-692b-11e5-bdb6-6861f4521205-20151002-story.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">recruited by Monsanto</a> to write pro-GMO papers that were <a href="http://cornellsun.com/2015/11/18/pro-gmo-article-penned-by-cornell-professor-linked-to-monsanto/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">published by</a> the industry front group <a href="https://usrtk.org/hall-of-shame/jon-entine-the-chemical-industrys-master-messenger/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Genetic Literacy Project</a> with no disclosure about Monsanto’s role. Shelton created a controversy when he asked his students to taste a pesticide, ostensibly as a <a href="https://www.independentsciencenews.org/health/as-a-gmo-stunt-professor-tasted-pesticide-and-gave-it-to-students/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">stunt to promote GMOs</a>.</font></li></ul><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">GATES FOUNDATION CRITIQUES  </font></span></h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Since 2016, the Gates Foundation has spent over $4 billion on agricultural development strategies, much of that focused on Africa. The foundation’s agricultural development strategies were <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130911190858/http://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/Global-Development/Agricultural-Development/Strategy-Leadership/Rob-Horsch" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">led by Rob Horsch</a> (recently retired), a <a href="https://archive.fo/3Ece2" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Monsanto veteran</a> of 25 years. The strategies have drawn criticism for promoting GMOs and agrichemicals in Africa over the <a href="https://afsafrica.org/seeds-of-neo-colonialism-why-the-gmo-promoters-get-it-so-wrong-about-africa/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">opposition of Africa-based groups</a> and social movements, and despite many concerns and doubts about genetically engineered crops across Africa.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Critiques of the Gates Foundation’s approach to agricultural development and funding include:</font></p><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"> </span><a href="https://sites.tufts.edu/gdae/files/2020/07/20-01_Wise_FailureToYield.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Failing Africa’s Farmers: An Impact Assessment of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa</a>, by Timothy Wise, Tufts Global Development and Environment Institute (2020)<span class="Apple-converted-space" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </span></font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.rosalux.de/fileadmin/rls_uploads/pdfs/Studien/False_Promises_AGRA_en.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">False Promises: The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa</a>, by Rosa Luxtemburg Stiftung et. al. (2020)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.iatp.org/blog/202008/replacing-hunger-malnutrition-former-un-official-calls-out-failing-african-green" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">‘Replacing hunger with malnutrition’: Former UN official calls out African Green Revolution,</a> by Timothy A. Wise,  Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (2020)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://theecologist.org/2020/aug/14/gates-failing-green-revolution-africa" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Gates Foundation’s ‘failing green revolution in Africa,’</a> by Stacy Malkan, The Ecologist (2020)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/has-africas-green-revolution-failed/a-54581028" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Has Africa’s green revolution failed?</a> Deutsche Welle (2020)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://civileats.com/2020/08/11/what-u-s-investment-in-africa-means-for-agroecology/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">US groups invest billions in industrial ag in Africa. Experts say it’s not ending hunger or helping farmers,</a> by Lisa Held, Civil Eats (2020)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.grain.org/bulletin_board/entries/5946-seeds-of-neo-colonialism-why-the-gmo-promoters-get-it-so-wrong-about-africa" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Seeds of Neo-Colonialism: Why the GMO Promoters Get it So Wrong About Africa</a><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">, </span>statement by the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (2018)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.independentsciencenews.org/environment/the-gates-foundations-ceres2030-plan-pushes-agenda-of-agribusiness/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">The Gates Foundation’s Ceres 2030 Plan Pushes Agenda of Agribusiness</a>, by Jonathan Latham, Independent Science News (2018)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.independentsciencenews.org/news/gates-foundation-hired-pr-firm-to-manipulate-un-over-gene-drives/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Gates Foundation Hired PR Firm to Manipulate UN Over Gene Drives, by Jonathan Latham, Independent Science News</a> (2017)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://twn.my/title2/resurgence/2017/328/eco1.htm" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Philanthrocapitalism: The Gates Foundation’s African programmes are not charity,</a> by Philip L Bereano, Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington, Third World Resurgence (2017)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/zng548/bill-gates-foundation-global-justice-now-report-389" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Does the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation help big corporations more than poor people?</a> by Oscar Rickett, Vice (2016)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/food/bill-gates-mission-sell-gmos-africa-hes-not-telling-whole-truth" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Bill Gates is on a mission to sell GMOs to Africa, but he’s not telling the whole truth<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">,</span></a> by Stacy Malkan, Alternet (2016)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.globalpolicy.org/images/pdfs/GPFEurope/Philanthropic_Power_online.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Philanthropic Power and Development. Who shapes the agenda?</a><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"> </span>by Jens Martens and Karolin Seitz, Global Policy Forum (2015)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/03/23/gates-foundations-seed-agenda-africa-another-form-colonialism-warns-protesters" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Gates Foundation’s Seed Agenda in Africa ‘Another Form of Colonialism,’ Warns Protesters<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">,</span></a> by Lauren McCauley, Common Dreams (2015)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.grain.org/article/entries/5064-how-does-the-gates-foundation-spend-its-money-to-feed-the-world" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">How does the Gates Foundation feed the world?</a> funding analysis by GRAIN report (2014)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/nov/04/bill-melinda-gates-foundation-grants-usa-uk-africa" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Bill Gates spends bulk of agricultural grants in rich countries</a>, by John Vidal, the Guardian (2014)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.globaljustice.org.uk//resources/gated-development-gates-foundation-always-force-good" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Gated Development: Is the Gates Foundation always a force for good?</a> Global Justice Now report (2014)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/01/kfc-africa-chicken-usaid-gates-foundation/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">How Bill Gates is Helping KFC Take Over Africa</a><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">, </span>by Alex Park, Mother Jones (2014)</font></li></ul><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MORE CAS-INDUSTRY COLLABORATIONS </font></span></h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dozens of emails obtained via FOIA by U.S. Right to Know, and now posted in the <a href="https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/chemical/results/#q=Sarah%20Evanega&col=%5B%22usrtk%22%5D&h=%7B%22hideDuplicates%22%3Afalse%2C%22hideFolders%22%3Afalse%2C%22hidePrivileged%22%3Afalse%2C%22hideConfidential%22%3Afalse%2C%22hideCopyright%22%3Afalse%7D&subsite=chemical&cache=true&count=45" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">UCSF chemical industry documents library</a>, show CAS coordinating closely with the agrichemical industry and its public relations groups to coordinate events and messaging:</font></p><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CAS Director Sarah Evanega <a href="https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/chemical/docs/#id=lswm0226" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">worked with Monsanto’s Cami Ryan</a> to organize a <a href="https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/chemical/docs/#id=fswm0226" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">series of workshops</a> in 2017 to promote genetically engineered foods.</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Responding to a request <a href="https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/chemical/docs/#id=lkbm0226" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">from a DuPont Pioneer executive</a>, Evanega recruited University of Florida Professor Kevin Folta to speak to the University-Industry Consortium, a group that works to maintain “a competitive advantage” for its corporate and academic members. Although Folta has <a href="https://usrtk.org/our-investigations/kevin-folta/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">misled the public about his ties to industry</a>, Evanega has promoted him as “<a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Folta-invite-to-Cornell-.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">an amazing champion for change</a>” and “<a href="https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/chemical/docs/#id=lkbm0226" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">a model for scientists</a>.”</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Evanega invited CAS <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/alison-van-eenennaam-key-outside-spokesperson-and-lobbyist-for-the-agrichemical-and-gmo-industries/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">advisory board member Alison Van Eenennaam</a>, a cooperative extension specialist at UC Davis, to <a href="https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/chemical/docs/#id=qxfm0226" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">speak at the DuPont Pioneer-funded</a> Cornell Breeding Symposium. The emails show Evanega asking Van Eenennaam to submit comments on a government proposal to regulate GMOs, and discussing how to develop feminist materials to promote GMOs.</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Evanega served <a href="http://www.cropgeneticsinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/197/2015/04/IFAL-Launch-Newsletter.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">on the working group</a> of the UC Davis Institute for Food and Agricultural Literacy (IFAL), alongside Monsanto staffers and two industry front groups, <a href="https://usrtk.org/hall-of-shame/jon-entine-the-chemical-industrys-master-messenger/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Genetic Literacy Project</a> and <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/academics-review-the-making-of-a-monsanto-front-group/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Academics Review</a>. The groups co-hosted an <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/academics-review-the-making-of-a-monsanto-front-group/#BLPbootcamps" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">industry-funded “boot camp”</a> to <a href="https://progressive.org/magazine/how-the-biotech-industry-cultivates-positive-media/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">train scientists and students</a> to promote and defend GMOs and pesticides.</font></li></ul><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MORE CRITIQUES OF MARK LYNAS </font></span></h2><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/mark-lynas-promotes-chemical-industry-commercial-agenda/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Mark Lynas’ inaccurate, deceptive promotions for the agrichemical agenda</a> — USRTK fact sheet (updated regularly)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.acbio.org.za/en/mark-lynas-slammed-exploiting-african-farmers-images-promote-gmos" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Mark Lynas slammed for exploiting African farmers’ images to promote GMOs</a>, African Centre for Biodiversity (2018)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://afsafrica.org/seeds-of-neo-colonialism-why-the-gmo-promoters-get-it-so-wrong-about-africa/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Seeds Of Neo-Colonialism – Why The GMO Promoters Get It So Wrong About Africa</a> — Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (2018)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/sd-gmo-food-safety-utak-20180511-story.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">The Science is Still Out on GMO Safety</a>, by David Schubert, PhD, Head, Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory & Professor at The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, San Diego Union Tribune letter (2018)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://biotechsalon.com/2015/06/16/the-absurdity-of-claiming-that-all-gmos-are-safe/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">The Absurdity of Claiming All GMOs are Safe,</a> by geneticist Belinda Martineau, PhD Biotech Salon and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/31/opinion/when-food-is-genetically-modified.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Letter to NYT</a> (2015)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2015/02/the-war-on-genetically-modified-food-critics-et-tu-national-geographic/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">The War on Genetically Modified Food Critics</a>, by Timothy A. Wise, Food Tank</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130802170034/http://www.foodfirst.org/en/GMO+uproar+in+EU" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Professor John Vandermeer challenges environmentalist Mark Lynas on GMOs</a>, Food First (2014)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://blog.ucsusa.org/doug-gurian-sherman/science-dogma-and-mark-lynas" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Science, Dogma and Mark Lynas,</a> by Doug Gurian-Sherman, PhD, Union of Concerned Scientists (2013)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.gmwatch.org/en/news/rss/14598-misleading-claims-made-by-and-about-mark-lynas" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Misleading Claims Made By and About Mark Lynas</a>, GM Watch (2013)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-holt-gimenez/of-myths-and-men-mark-lyn_b_2591502.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Of Myths and Men: Mark Lynas and the Intoxicating Power of Technocracy</a>, by Eric Holt-Giménez, PhD, Director Food First/Institute of Food Policy and Development, Huffington Post (2013)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://www.non-gmoreport.com/articles/february2013/genetic-engineering-based-on-incomplete-knowledge.php" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Scientist: Genetic Engineering is Based on Dramatically Incomplete Knowledge</a>, Q&A with John Vendermeer (2013)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://permaculturenews.org/2013/01/22/the-lynas-school-of-pseudo-scientific-environmentalism-twenty-two-pieces-of-junk-science-from-the-lynas-manifesto/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">22 Pieces Of Junk Science From The Lynas Manifesto</a>, by Brian John, PhD, Permaculture Research Institute (2013)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140928154721/http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/elist/eListRead/a_rebuttal_to_mark_lynas_gmo_reversal/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">A Rebuttal to Mark Lynas’ GMO Reversal</a>, by Jason Mark, Earth Island Journal (2013)</font></li></ul><div class="clearfix" style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></div><footer class="entry-meta" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 20px;"><div class="entry-meta-category-tag" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="cat-links" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="categories-icon glyphicon glyphicon-th-list" title="Posted in" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; top: 1px; 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text-decoration-line: none;">Genetic Literacy Project</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/gil-ross/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Gil Ross</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/global-leadership-fellows/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Global Leadership Fellows</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/gmo-answers/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">GMO Answers</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/gregory-jaffe/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Gregory Jaffe</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/hawaii-alliance-for-science/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Hawaii Alliance for Science</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/hawaii-farmers-daugh/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Hawaii Farmer's Daugh</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/jayson-merkley/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Jayson Merkley</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/joan-conrow/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Joan Conrow</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/joni-kamiya/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Joni Kamiya</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/kauai-eclectic/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Kauai Eclectic</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/kevin-folta/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Kevin Folta</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/march-against-myths-against-modification/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">March Against Myths Against Modification</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/mark-lynas/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Mark Lynas</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/monsanto/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Monsanto</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/owen-paterson/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Owen Paterson</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/pamela-ronald/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Pamela Ronald</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/rick-berman/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Rick Berman</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/rob-horsch/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Rob Horsch</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/sarah-evanega/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Sarah Evanega</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/sarah-thompson/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Sarah Thompson</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/science-literacy-project/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Science Literacy Project</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/sense-about-science/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Sense About Science</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/stats/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">STATS</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/syngenta/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Syngenta</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/tracey-brown/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Tracey Brown</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/trevor-butterworth/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Trevor Butterworth</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/university-of-california-davis/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">University of California Davis</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/university-of-florida/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">University of Florida</a></span></font></div><div class="entry-meta-comment-tools" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="comments-link" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://usrtk.org/our-investigations/cornell-alliance-for-science-is-campaign-for-agrichemical-industry/#respond" class="btn btn-default btn-xs" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none; display: inline-block; padding: 1px 5px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.5; text-align: center; white-space: nowrap; vertical-align: middle; touch-action: manipulation; cursor: pointer; user-select: none; background-image: linear-gradient(rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px, rgb(224, 224, 224) 100%); border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); border-radius: 3px; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 0px; box-shadow: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.15) 0px 1px 0px inset, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.075) 0px 1px 1px; background-repeat: repeat-x;"><span class="comment-icon glyphicon glyphicon-comment" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; top: 1px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;"><small class="comment-total" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-left: 5px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">0</font></small></span></a></span></div></footer></article><article id="post-9237" class="post-9237 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-food-for-thought category-gmo category-our-investigations tag-academics-review tag-academy-of-nutrition-and-dietetics tag-acsh tag-alison-van-eenennaam tag-american-council-on-science-and-health tag-andrew-kniss tag-bayer tag-bill-melinda-gates-foundation tag-biofortified tag-biology-fortified-inc tag-biotech-literacy-project tag-biotech-literacy-project-boot-camp tag-breakthrough-institute tag-bruce-chassy tag-cami-ryan tag-cornell-alliance-for-science tag-cornell-university tag-david-ropeik tag-david-tribe tag-dow tag-drew-kershen tag-dupont tag-food-3000 tag-food-evolution tag-gates-foundation tag-genetic-literacy-project tag-geoffrey-kabat tag-gmos tag-hank-campbell tag-ifal tag-institute-for-food-and-agricultural-literacy tag-institute-for-food-technologists tag-jay-byrne tag-joe-ballanger tag-jon-entine tag-kevin-folta tag-mammyths tag-monsanto tag-pamela-ronald tag-porter-novelli tag-science-literacy-project tag-statistical-assessment-service tag-steve-savage tag-ted-nordhaus tag-the-sci-babe tag-tomorrows-table tag-uc-davis tag-university-of-florida tag-university-of-illinois tag-university-of-melbourne tag-wendy-reinhardt-kapsak tag-world-food-center tag-yvette-dentremont" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 10px;"><header class="entry-header" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><h1 class="entry-title" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; line-height: 1.1; text-transform: uppercase; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">PAMELA RONALD’S TIES TO CHEMICAL INDUSTRY FRONT GROUPS</font></h1><div class="entry-meta" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="posted-on" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Posted on <a href="https://usrtk.org/our-investigations/pamela-ronald-led-chemical-industry-front-group-efforts/" title="10:14 am" rel="bookmark" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2018-12-27T10:14:10-08:00" style="box-sizing: border-box;">December 27, 2018</time></a></span><span class="byline" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> by <span class="author vcard" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="url fn n" href="https://usrtk.org/author/stacymalkan/" title="View all posts by Stacy Malkan" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Stacy Malkan</a></span></span></font></div></header><div class="entry-content" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="">Updated in June 2019</font></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pamela Ronald, PhD, a professor of plant pathology at the University of California, Davis and author of the 2008 book “Tomorrow’s Table,” is a well-known advocate for genetically engineered foods. Less known is Dr. Ronald’s role in organizations that portray themselves as acting independently of industry, but in fact are collaborating with chemical corporations to promote and lobby for GMOs and pesticides, in arrangements that are not transparent to the public.<span class="Apple-converted-space" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </span></font></p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TIES TO KEY AGRICHEMICAL INDUSTRY FRONT GROUP</font></span></h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">Pamela Ronald has multiple ties to a leading agrichemical industry front group, the <a href="https://usrtk.org/food-for-thought/jon-entine-the-chemical-industrys-master-messenger/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Genetic Literacy Project, and its executive director, Jon Entine</a>. She assisted them in many ways. For example, <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Entine-Ronald-MOU.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">documents show that in 2015</a>, Dr. Ronald appointed Entine as a senior fellow and instructor of science communications at UC Davis, and collaborated with Genetic Literacy Project to host an agrichemical industry-funded <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/BLP-Davis-Flyer-2015.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">messaging event</a><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> that trained participants how to promote agrichemical products. </span></font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Genetic Literacy Project is described in an <a href="https://www.europeanpressprize.com/article/mons" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">award-winning <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Le Monde</em> investigation</a> as a “well-known propaganda website” that played a key role in Monsanto’s campaign to discredit the World Health Organization cancer research agency’s report on glyphosate.<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);"> In a <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/72-Document-Details-Monsantos-Strategy-Regarding-IARC.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">2015 PR document,</a> Monsanto identified Genetic Literacy Project among the  “<a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/monsanto-relied-on-these-partners-to-attack-top-cancer-s" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">industry partners”</a> the company planned to engage to “orchestrate outcry”</span> about the cancer report. GLP has since published many articles attacking the cancer scientists as “anti-chemical enviros” who lied and engaged in <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Genetic-Literacy-Project-attacks-on-scientists.png" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">corruption, distortion, secrecy and fraud</a>.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Entine has longtime ties to the chemical industry; his body of work includes defending <a href="https://www.aei.org/publication/neonics-not-key-driver-of-bee-deaths-usda-study-may-clash-with-white-house-poised-to-restrict-pesticide/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">pesticides</a>, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonentine/2012/10/31/bisphenol-a-bpa-found-not-harmful-yet-again-so-why-did-so-many-reporters-and-ngos-botch-coverage-yet-again/#6f2da1d34e95" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">industrial</a> <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonentine/2012/08/30/anti-chemical-alarmism-spreads-to-your-school-dora-the-explorer-will-kill-your-kid/#4077d29b20a5" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">chemicals</a>, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonentine/2013/11/14/cant-get-pregnant-blame-it-on-plastics-well-not-if-science-matters/#6d72a12218d9" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">plastics</a>, <a href="https://nypost.com/2012/06/15/fear-trumps-science/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">fracking</a>, and the <a href="https://nypost.com/2016/03/01/how-the-columbia-journalism-school-smeared-exxon/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">oil industry</a>, often with <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonentine/2014/03/10/did-the-new-yorker-botch-puff-piece-on-frog-scientist-tyrone-hayes-turning-rogue-into-beleaguered-hero/#1ce91a6d47f6" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">attacks on scientists</a>, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonentine/2012/10/03/new-york-times-blunders-into-advocacy-role-on-the-fracking-debate-children-are-the-victims/#4b743d18160a" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">journalists</a> and <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-entine/post_10952_b_9111688.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">academics.</a>  Entine <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/ICANN-WHOIS_geneticliteracyproject.org.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">launched</a> the Genetic Literacy Project in 2011 when <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/entine-client-monsanto.jpg" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Monsanto was a client </a>of his public relations firm. The GLP was originally <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20110724151339/http://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">associated with STATS</a>, a nonprofit group journalists have described as a “<a href="https://www.statnews.com/2018/01/30/pharmaceutical-industry-fake-news-tobacco/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">disinformation campaign</a>” that <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/11/15/how-self-appointed-guardians-of-sound-science-tip-the-scales-toward-industry/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">seeds doubt about science</a> and is “<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2011/09/how-lobbyists-are-spinning-weak-science-to-defend-bpa/245657/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">known for its defense of the chemical industry</a>.” </font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2015, the Genetic Literacy Project moved to a new parent organization, the Science Literacy Project. IRS tax filings for that year <a href="https://pdf.guidestar.org/PDF_Images/2016/521/844/2016-521844456-0ddae559-9.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">indicated</a> that Dr. Ronald was a founding board member of the Science Literacy Project, but <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Entine-Ronald-SLP-board.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">emails from August 2018</a> show that Dr. Ronald convinced Entine to retroactively remove her name from the tax form after it became known she was listed there (the amended tax form is now <a href="https://990s.foundationcenter.org/990_pdf_archive/521/521844456/521844456_201606_990.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">available here)</a>. Dr. Ronald wrote to Entine, “I did not serve on this board and did not give permission for my name to be listed. Please take immediate action to notify the IRS that my name was listed without consent.”<span class="Apple-converted-space" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </span>Entine wrote that he had a different recollection. “I clearly recall you agreeing to be part of the board and head the initial board … You were enthusiastic and supportive in fact. There is no question in my mind that you agreed to this.” Nevertheless he agreed to try to get her name removed from the tax document.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The two discussed the tax form again in December 2018 after this fact sheet was posted. <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Entine-Ronald-SLP-board-service-2.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Entine wrote</a>, “I listed you in the original 990 based on a telephone conversation in which you agreed to be on the board. When you represented to me that you disagreed, I purged the record as you requested.” In <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GLP-board-tweet.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">another email that day</a>, he reminded Dr. Ronald that “in fact you were associated with ‘that organization: as we worked together, seamlessly and constructively, in making the boot camp at your university a great success.” <span class="Apple-converted-space" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </span></font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Science Literacy Project tax forms now list three board members: Entine; <a href="https://usrtk.org/pesticides/drew-kershen-agrichemical-industry-front-group-ringleader/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Drew Kershen</a>, a former law professor who was also on the board of “Academics Review,” <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/academics-review-the-making-of-a-monsanto-front-group/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">a group that claimed to be independent</a> while receiving its funds from agrichemical companies; and <a href="https://usrtk.org/pesticides/geoffrey-kabats-ties-to-tobacco-and-chemical-industry-groups/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Geoffrey Kabat</a>, an epidemiologist who serves on the <a href="https://www.acsh.org/profile/geoffrey-kabat" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">board of scientific advisors</a> for the <a href="https://usrtk.org/hall-of-shame/why-you-cant-trust-the-american-council-on-science-and-health/%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">American Council on Science and Health</a>, a group that <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/pamela-ronald/%22https:" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">received money from Monsanto</a> for its work defending pesticides and GMOs.</font></p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">FOUNDED, LED UC DAVIS GROUP THAT ELEVATED INDUSTRY PR EFFORTS</font></span></h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Dr. Ronald was the founding director of the World Food Center’s <a href="https://ucloud.unicatt.it/ucloud-IFAL_Summary_Update_080315.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Institute for Food and Agricultural Literacy</a> (IFAL), a group launched in 2014 at UC Davis to train faculty and students to promote genetically engineered foods, crops and pesticides. The group does not fully disclose its funding.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">Documents show that Dr. Ronald gave <a href="https://usrtk.org/hall-of-shame/jon-entine-the-chemical-industrys-master-messenger/" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Jon Entine and his industry front group</a> Genetic Literacy Project a platform at UC Davis, <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Entine-Ronald-MOU.pdf" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">appointing Entine as an unpaid senior fellow of IFAL</a> and an instructor and mentor in a science communications graduate program. Entine is no longer a fellow at UC Davis. See our 2016 letter to the World Food Center <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/UC-Davis-Entine.pdf" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">inquiring about funding for Entine and IFAL</a> and their <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/WFC_Response_Letter_040716.pdf" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">obscure explanation</a> about where their funding comes from.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">In July 2014, Dr. Ronald indicated in an email to a colleague that Entine was an <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Ronald-Entine-important-collaborator.pdf" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="important collaborator who could suggest ideas for fundraising (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">important collaborator who could give them good suggestions on who to contact to raise additional funds</a> for the first IFAL event</span>.<b> In June 2015, IFAL co-hosted the “<a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/academics-review-the-making-of-a-monsanto-front-group/#BLPbootcamps" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Biotech Literacy Project boot camp</a>” with Genetic Literacy Project and the <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/academics-review-the-making-of-a-monsanto-front-group/" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Monsanto-backed group Academics Review</a></b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">. Organizers claimed the event was funded by academic, government and industry sources, but non-industry sources denied funding the events and the <a href="https://progressive.org/magazine/how-the-biotech-industry-cultivates-positive-media/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">only traceable source of money came from industry</a>, according to reporting by Paul Thacker in The Progressive.</span></font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b><a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Academics-Review_2015-990.pdf" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Tax records show</a> that Academics Review, which received its <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/CBI_2015-990.pdf" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">funding from the agrichemical industry</a> trade group, spent $162,000 for the three-day conference at UC Davis</b>. The purpose of the boot camp, <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/BLP-Davis-Flyer-2015.pdf" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">according to the agenda</a>, was to train and support scientists, journalists and academic researchers to persuade the public and policy makers about the benefits of GMOs and pesticides.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Speakers at the UC Davis boot camp included <a href="https://usrtk.org/our-investigations/jay-byrne-meet-the-man-behind-the-monsanto-pr-machine" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Jay Byrne</a>, Monsanto’s former director of corporate communications; <a href="https://usrtk.org/our-investigations/hank-campbells-maze-of-monsanto-loving-science-blogs/" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Hank Campbell</a> of the Monsanto-funded <a href="https://usrtk.org/hall-of-shame/why-you-cant-trust-the-american-council-on-science-and-health/" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">American Council on Science and Health;</a> professors with undisclosed industry ties such as <a href="https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/why-didnt-an-illinois-professor-have-to-disclose-gmo-funding/eb99bdd2-683d-4108-9528-de1375c3e9fb" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">University of Illinois Professor Emeritus Bruce Chassy</a> and <a href="https://usrtk.org/our-investigations/kevin-folta/" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">University of Florida Professor Kevin Folta;</a> Cami Ryan, who now works for Monsanto; David Ropeik, a risk perception consultant who has a PR firm with <a href="https://dropeik.com/dropeik/clients.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">clients including Dow and Bayer;</a> and other agrichemical industry allies.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://worldfoodcenter.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk1976/files/local_resources/pdfs/IFAL%20Symposium%20Flyer.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Keynote speakers</a> were Dr. Ronald, <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/sci-babe-yvette-dentremont/" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Yvette d’Entremont the S<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">ci Babe,</span></a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);"> a “science communicator” who defends pesticides and artificial sweeteners while taking money from companies that sell those products, and Ted Nordhaus of the Breakthrough Institute. (Nordhaus was also listed as a Science Literacy Project board member </span>on the original 2015/2016 tax form, but his name was removed along with Dr. Ronald’s in the amended form Entine filed in 2018; Nordhaus said he never served on the board.)</font></p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">COOKING UP A CHIPOTLE BOYCOTT</font></span></h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">Emails indicate that Dr. Ronald and Jon Entine <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Ronald-Entine-Chipotle-boycott.pdf" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">collaborated on messaging to discredit critics of genetically engineered foods</a>. In one case, Dr. Ronald proposed to organize a boycott against the Chipotle restaurant chain over its decision to offer and promote non-GMO foods.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">In April 2015, Dr. Ronald emailed Entine and <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/alison-van-eenennaam-key-outside-spokesperson-and-lobbyist-for-the-agrichemical-and-gmo-industries/" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Alison Van Eenennaam, PhD</a>, a former Monsanto employee and cooperative extension specialist at UC Davis,</span> to suggest they find a student to write about farmers using more toxic pesticides to grow non-GMO corn. “<a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Ronald-Entine-Chipotle-boycott.pdf" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">I suggest we publicize this fact (once we get the details) and then organize a chipotle boycott</a>,” Dr. Ronald wrote. Entine directed an associate to write an article for Genetic Literacy Project on the theme that “pesticide use often soars” when farmers switch to a non-GMO model to supply restaurants like Chipotle. The <a href="https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2015/05/07/gmo-free-myth-busting-labeling-movement-leading-farmers-to-use-more-toxic-chemicals/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">article</a>, co-authored by Entine and touting his UC Davis affiliation, fails to substantiate that claim with data.</font></p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CO-FOUNDED BIOTECH SPIN GROUP BIOFORTIFIED</font></span></h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">Dr. Ronald co-founded and served as board member (2012-2015) of <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/biofortified-aids-chemical-industry-pr-lobbying-efforts/" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Biology Fortified, Inc. (Biofortified)</a>, a group that promotes GMOs and <a href="http://www.mamyths.org/mission/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">has a partner activist group</a> that organizes <a href="https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2015/02/02/call-for-action-its-time-to-march-against-the-march-against-monsanto/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">protests to confront Monsanto critics</a>. Other leaders of Biofortified include founding board member David Tribe, a geneticist at University of Melbourne who co-founded <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/academics-review-the-making-of-a-monsanto-front-group/" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Academics Review, the group that claimed to be independent</a> while receiving industry funds, and collaborated with IFAL to host the Biotech Literacy Project “boot camp” at UC Davis.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Former board member Kevin Folta (2015-2018), a plant scientist at the University of Florida, was the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/06/us/food-industry-enlisted-academics-in-gmo-lobbying-war-emails-show.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">subject of a New York Times story</a> reporting that he misled the public about undisclosed industry collaborations.</b> Biofortified bloggers include Steve Savage, a former <a href="https://gmoanswers.com/experts/steve-savage" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">DuPont employee turned industry consultant</a>; Joe Ballanger, a <a href="https://gmoanswers.com/experts/joe-ballenger" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">consultant for Monsanto</a>; and Andrew Kniss, who has <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Andrew-Kniss-Monsanto.pdf" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">received money from Monsanto</a>. Documents suggest that <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Biofortified-boys-lobby-trip.pdf" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">members of Biofortified coordinated</a> with <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Biofortified-boys-messaging.pdf" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">the pesticide industry</a> on a lobbying campaign <a href="https://www.gmwatch.org/en/news/latest-news/16432-how-the-biofortified-boys-defended-the-pesticide-industry-s-secrets-in-hawaii" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">to oppose</a> pesticide restrictions in Hawaii.</font></p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">PLAYED LEADING ROLE IN INDUSTRY-FUNDED PROPAGANDA MOVIE</font></span></h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">Dr. Ronald featured prominently in Food Evolution,</span> a documentary film about genetically engineered foods funded by the trade group Institute for Food Technologists. <b>Dozens of academics have <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/food-evolution-gmo-film-serves-up-chemical-industry-agenda/" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">called the film propaganda</a>,</b> and several people interviewed for the film <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/neil-degrasse-tyson-food-evolution-2446914838.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">described a deceptive filming process</a> and said their views were taken out of context.</font></p><figure class="wp-block-embed-wordpress wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-food-politics-by-marion-nestle" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.foodpolitics.com/2017/06/gmo-industry-propaganda-film-food-evolution/</font></div></figure><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ADVISOR FOR CORNELL-BASED GMO PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGN</font></span></h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">Dr. Ronald is on the advisory board of the Cornell Alliance for Science, a PR campaign based at Cornell University that promotes the GMOs and pesticides using agrichemical industry messaging. Funded primarily by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Cornell Alliance for Science has <a href="https://www.biofortified.org/2015/03/have-you-signed-the-science14-letter-yet/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">opposed the use of Freedom of Information Act</a> to investigate public institutions, <a href="https://usrtk.org/food-for-thought/mark-lynas-promotes-chemical-industry-commercial-agenda/" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">misled the public with inaccurate information</a> and elevated unreliable messengers; see <a href="https://usrtk.org/our-investigations/cornell-alliance-for-science-is-a-pr-campaign-for-the-agrichemical-industry/" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">documentation in our fact sheet</a>.</font></p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">RECEIVES MONEY FROM THE AGRICHEMICAL INDUSTRY</font></span></h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Documents obtained by U.S. Right to Know indicate that Dr. Ronald receives compensation from agrichemical companies to speak at events where she promotes GMOs to key audiences that companies seek to influence, such as dieticians. Emails from November 2012 provide an example of how Dr. Ronald works with companies.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Monsanto</b> staffer Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak, a dietician who formerly worked for the food-industry <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/ific-how-big-food-spins-bad-news/" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">spin group IFIC</a>, invited Ronald to speak at two conferences in 2013, Food 3000 and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo. <b>Emails show that the two <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Ronald-Monsanto-Food3000-invite-1.pdf" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">discussed fees and book purchases</a> and agreed Dr. Ronald would speak at Food 3000, a conference organized by the PR firm Porter Novelli</b> that Kapsak said would reach “90 high media impact food and nutrition professionals/influencers.” <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">(Dr. Ronald <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Pam-Ronald-Monsanto-invoice.pdf" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">invoiced $3,000 for the event</a>)</span>. <b>Kapsak asked to </b><a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Pamela-Ronald-Monsanto-Food-3000.pdf" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;"><b>review Dr. Ronald’s slides and set up a call to discuss messaging</b>.</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 51);"> Also on the panel were moderator Mary Chin (<a href="https://mic.com/articles/170569/leaked-email-reveals-dietitian-s-murky-relationship-with-monsanto#.2rz3OTiFH" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="a dietician who (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">a dietician who</a> <a href="https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2017/03/27/dietitian-why-i-consult-with-the-food-industry-including-monsanto/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">consults with Monsanto)</a>, and representatives from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Monsanto,</span> with Kapsak giving opening remarks. Kapsak later reported that the panel got rave reviews with participants saying they would share the idea that, “<a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Ronald_Food-3000-reviews.pdf" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">We have to have biotech to help feed the world</a>.”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Other industry-funded speaking engagements for Dr. Ronald included a <b>2014 <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Pamela-Ronald-slides-Monsanto.pdf" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">speech at Monsanto</a> for <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Ronald-Lohuis-Monsanto-Ambassadors-1.pdf" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">$3,500 plus 100 copies of her book</a> </b>which she <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Ronald_Monsanto-talk-.pdf" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">declined to tweet about</a>; and a <b>2013 speaking engagement for which she invoiced <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Pam-Ronald-Bayer.pdf" target="blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Bayer AG for $10,000</a>.</b></font></p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">RETRACTED PAPERS</font></span></h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Retraction Watch</em> reported that, “2013 was a rough year for biologist Pamela Ronald. After discovering the protein that appears to trigger rice’s immune system to fend off a common bacterial disease – suggesting a new way to engineer disease-resistant crops – she and her team had to retract two papers in 2013 after they were unable to replicate their findings. The culprits: a mislabeled bacterial strain and a highly variable assay. However, the care and transparency she exhibited earned her a ‘<a href="http://retractionwatch.com/2013/10/10/ronald-science/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">doing the right thing</a>’ nod from us at the time.”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">See coverage:</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“<a href="https://retractionwatch.com/2015/07/24/qa-with-pamela-ronald-redemption-after-retraction/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">What do you do about painful retractions? Q&A with Pamela Ronald and Benjamin Swessinger</a>,” <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Retraction Watch</em> (7.24.2015)</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“<a href="https://www.independentsciencenews.org/news/can-the-scientific-reputation-of-pamela-ronald-public-face-of-gmos-be-salvaged/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Can the scientific reputation of Pamala Ronald, the public face of GMOs, be salvaged?</a>” by Jonathan Latham, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Independent Science News</em> (11.12.2013)</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“<a href="https://retractionwatch.com/2013/10/10/ronald-science/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Pamela Ronald does the right thing again, retracting a Science paper</a>,” <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Retraction Watch</em> (10.10.2013)</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“<a href="https://retractionwatch.com/2013/09/11/doing-the-right-thing-researchers-retract-quorum-sensing-paper-after-public-process/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Doing the right thing: Researchers retract quorum sensing paper after public process</a>,” <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Retraction Watch</em> (9.11.2013)</font></p><div class="clearfix" style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></div><footer class="entry-meta" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 20px;"><div class="entry-meta-category-tag" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="cat-links" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="categories-icon glyphicon glyphicon-th-list" title="Posted in" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; top: 1px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; cursor: default;" /> <a href="https://usrtk.org/category/food-for-thought/" rel="category tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; 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border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); margin-bottom: 20px; padding: 10px;"><header class="entry-header" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><h1 class="entry-title" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; line-height: 1.1; text-transform: uppercase; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">BIOFORTIFIED AIDS CHEMICAL INDUSTRY PR & LOBBYING EFFORTS</font></h1><div class="entry-meta" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="posted-on" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Posted on <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/biofortified-aids-chemical-industry-pr-lobbying-efforts/" title="1:39 pm" rel="bookmark" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2018-05-31T13:39:13-07:00" style="box-sizing: border-box;">May 31, 2018</time></a></span><span class="byline" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> by <span class="author vcard" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="url fn n" href="https://usrtk.org/author/stacymalkan/" title="View all posts by Stacy Malkan" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Stacy Malkan</a></span></span></font></div></header><div class="entry-content" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Biology Fortified Inc., known as “<a href="https://www.biofortified.org/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Biofortified</a>,” is a nonprofit organization that works closely with the agrichemical industry and its collaborators on public relations and lobbying campaigns to defend genetically engineered foods and pesticides, and attack industry critics.</font></p><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Board members and bloggers are key agrichemical industry allies</font></span></h3><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Current and former board members and blog authors listed on Biofortified’s “<a href="https://www.biofortified.org/about/experts/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">meet our experts</a>” page have close ties to the agrichemical industry and industry front group efforts.</font></p><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Current board member David Tribe, a geneticist at University of Melbourne, co-founded <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/academics-review-the-making-of-a-monsanto-front-group/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Academics Review, a Monsanto front group</a> that claimed to be independent while receiving industry funds. <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Sachs-AR.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Internal documents</a> <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/uploadBruceChassy3.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">describe how</a> Academics Review was set up with the help of Monsanto to attack industry critics. Tribe has been a Biofortified board member since the group’s launch in 2012.</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Biofortified co-founder and former board member Pamela Ronald, a geneticist at UC Davis, is also a former board member of the <a href="https://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2016/521/844/2016-521844456-0ddae559-9.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Science Literacy Project,</a> the umbrella organization of Jon Entine’s <a href="https://usrtk.org/hall-of-shame/jon-entine-the-chemical-industrys-master-messenger/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Genetic Literacy Project, a key chemical industry front group</a>. Ronald has received industry money to promote genetically engineered crops; see <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Pam-Ronald-Bayer.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">$10,000 invoice to Bayer</a> and <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Pam-Ronald-Monsanto-invoice.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">$3,000 invoice to Monsanto</a> for speaking fees.</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Former Biofortified board member Kevin Folta, a plant scientist at the University of Florida, aids agrichemical industry PR efforts and has also <a href="https://usrtk.org/our-investigations/kevin-folta/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">received industry funds.</a> [Update: Biofortified announced on 8/29/2018 they <a href="https://www.biofortified.org/2018/08/kevin-folta-coi/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">cut ties with Folta</a> over conflict of interest disclosure issues.]</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Biofortified blog author <a href="https://www.biofortified.org/author/stevesavage/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Steve Savage</a>, an agrichemical industry <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-savage-820a263/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">consultant</a> and <a href="https://gmoanswers.com/experts/steve-savage" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">former DuPont employee,</a> promoted inaccurate information about pesticide residues in organic food, according to a May 2018 <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/the-truth-about-organic-produce-and-pesticides/2018/05/18/8294296e-5940-11e8-858f-12becb4d6067_story.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">column</a> in the Washington Post</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Biofortified blog author <a href="https://www.biofortified.org/author/joe-ballenger/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Joe Ballenger</a> has been a <a href="https://gmoanswers.com/experts/joe-ballenger" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Monsanto contractor</a>.</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Biofortified blog author <a href="https://www.biofortified.org/author/wyoweeds/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Andrew Kniss</a> was offered an <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Andrew-Kniss-Monsanto.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">“unrestricted gift”</a> by Monsanto.</font></li></ul><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Following are examples of industry-aligned lobbying and public relations efforts involving Biofortified and its leaders.</font></p><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Biofortified boys” lobby squad defends pesticides</font></span></h3><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2013, the Hawaii Crop Improvement Association (HCIA) — a trade group <a href="http://www.bettercropshawaii.com/home/the-hcia-team/what-is-the-hcia/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">representing</a> DowDuPont, Monsanto and the Hartung Brothers — organized a lobbying trip to Kauai for industry allies to oppose a community ordinance that would have improved <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/maggie-sergio/gmo-pesticide-experiments_1_b_3649358.html" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">public disclosure</a> of pesticide use and required pesticide buffer zones around schools, hospitals and other public areas. According to emails obtained by U.S. Right to Know, the HCIA executive director referred to four supporters who were invited on the lobby trip as the “Biofortified boys.” They were:</font></p><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.biofortified.org/about/experts/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Karl Haro von Mogel</a>, Biofortified science director</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-savage-820a263/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Steve Savage</a>, Biofortified blog author and agrichemical industry consultant</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://usrtk.org/our-investigations/kevin-folta/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Kevin Folta</a>, Biofortified board member and professor at University of Florida</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://usrtk.org/hall-of-shame/jon-entine-the-chemical-industrys-master-messenger/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Jon Entine</a>, director of Genetic Literacy Project, a Monsanto partner group</font></li></ul><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Emails show that Renee Kester, lead organizer of the HCIA lobby project, emailed the four men on <a href="https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/chemical/docs/#id=yjbm0226" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">July 11, 2013 (page 10)</a> to thank them “for all of the support you have given us over here in Hawaii with regard to our recent legislative battles” and to set up a call to discuss their availability to attend an upcoming legislative hearing. Alicia Muluafiti, executive director of HCIA, then emailed the group (<a href="https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/chemical/docs/#id=yjbm0226" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">page 9</a>) about the need to craft out short term and longer term strategies “using the Biofortified boys”:</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Biofortified-boys.png" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8426" src="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Biofortified-boys.png" alt="" width="2244" height="1444" srcset="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Biofortified-boys.png 2244w, https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Biofortified-boys-300x193.png 300w, https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Biofortified-boys-768x494.png 768w, https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Biofortified-boys-1024x659.png 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 2244px) 100vw, 2244px" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" /></font></a></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">More information:</font></p><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/09/06/us/document-folta.html?r=3" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">New York Times</a>, “A Florida Professor Works with the Biotech Industry: A Trip to Hawaii to Testify, Paid by Industry” (page 23) (9/5/2015)</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.gmwatch.org/en/news/latest-news/16432-how-the-biofortified-boys-defended-the-pesticide-industry-s-secrets-in-hawaii" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">GM Watch</a>, “How the ‘Biofortified Boys’ defended the pesticide industry’s secrets in Hawaii” (9/27/2015)</font></li></ul><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Biofortified listed as “industry partner” in Monsanto PR doc  </font></span></h3><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/72-Document-Details-Monsantos-Strategy-Regarding-IARC.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">internal Monsanto document</a> identifies Biofortified as an “industry partner” in Monsanto’s public relations plan to discredit the World Health Organization’s cancer research arm, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), to protect the reputation of Roundup weedkiller. In March 2015, an IARC expert panel judged glyphosate, the key ingredient in Roundup, to be <a href="http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/iarcnews/pdf/MonographVolume112.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">probably carcinogenic to humans.</a></font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Monsanto PR document identified <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/monsanto-relied-on-these-partners-to-attack-top-cancer-scientists/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">four tiers of industry partners</a> the corporation planned to engage in its “preparedness plan” for the IARC cancer report. Biofortified is listed in “Tier 2,” along with <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/academics-review-the-making-of-a-monsanto-front-group/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Academics Review,</a> <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/agbiochatter-where-corporations-and-academics-plotted-strategy-on-gmos-pesticides/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">AgBioChatter academics</a>, <a href="https://geneticliteracyproject.org/glp-facts/u-s-right-to-know-usrtk-organic-industry-funded-anti-bio-group-attacks-researchers/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Genetic Literacy Project</a> and <a href="https://usrtk.org/food-for-thought/trevor-butterworth-spins-science-for-industry/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Sense About Science</a>. These groups are are often cited as independent sources, but as the Monsanto plan and other examples suggest, they work behind the scenes with the agrichemical industry to protect corporate interests. (Update: In October 2018, Biofortified posted a <a href="https://www.biofortified.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/BIofortified.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">statement</a> from Monsanto saying the company does not fund or partner with them.)</font></p><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Opposed transparency and state FOIA requests</font></span></h3><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Biofortified co-sponsored, along with <a href="https://theecologist.org/2016/jan/22/why-cornell-university-hosting-gmo-propaganda-campaign" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">the Cornell Alliance for Science</a>, a <a href="https://www.biofortified.org/2015/03/have-you-signed-the-science14-letter-yet/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">March 2015 petition</a> opposing the use of state Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to investigate links between publicly funded academics and the agrichemical industry.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Emails obtained by U.S. Right to Know via state FOIA requests have since revealed <a href="https://usrtk.org/our-investigations/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">numerous examples</a> of academics working in covert ways with agrichemical companies and their PR firms to aid industry’s lobbying and messaging agenda — for example, the <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/academics-review-the-making-of-a-monsanto-front-group/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">documents</a> describing the origins of the front group Academics Review, and those that discussed the “Biofortified boys” <a href="https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/chemical/docs/#id=yjbm0226" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">lobby trip to Hawaii</a>. Many of the emails obtained by U.S. Right to Know are now posted in the UCSF Chemical Industry Documents Library, <a href="https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/chemical/collections/usrtk-agrichemical-collection/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">USRTK Agrichemical Collection.</a> The documents have generated worldwide <a href="https://usrtk.org/our-investigations/top-findings-of-the-u-s-right-to-know-investigations/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">media coverage</a> about transparency in the food industry and the health and environmental risks of pesticides and GMOs.</font></p><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Biofortified’s industry-aligned attacks on critics</font></span></h3><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;" /><div id="attachment_6107" class="wp-caption alignright" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: right; width: 262px; margin-top: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 1.5em; border: none; margin-bottom: 1.5em; max-width: 100%;"><a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Frank-N-Foode-copy.jpg" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-6107" loading="lazy" class=" wp-image-6107" src="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Frank-N-Foode-copy.jpg" alt="" width="252" height="252" srcset="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Frank-N-Foode-copy.jpg 600w, https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Frank-N-Foode-copy-150x150.jpg 150w, https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Frank-N-Foode-copy-300x300.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 252px) 100vw, 252px" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; height: auto;" /></font></a><p id="caption-attachment-6107" class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.8075em 0px; text-align: center;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A stuffy doll representing GMO corn named Frank N. Foode is the mascot of Biofortified.</font></em></p></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;" /><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Biofortified founding board member David Tribe co-founded <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/academics-review-the-making-of-a-monsanto-front-group/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Academics Review</a>, a front group set up with the help of Monsanto to attack industry critics, according to documents obtained by U.S. Right to Know. <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/uploadBruceChassy3.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">In one email</a>, Jay Byrne, a former director of corporate communications for Monsanto, discussed a target list of industry critics he was developing for Monsanto.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">March Against Myths about Modification (<a href="http://www.mamyths.org/about-us/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">MAMyths</a>), a project of Biofortified, also targeted some of the groups and individuals named on Byrne’s target list – for example, the group participated in a <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/gates-funded-cornell-group-protests-dr-vandana-shiva/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">protest against Vandana Shiva</a> and reportedly led a <a href="https://foodbabe.com/the-unethical-tactics-of-the-chemical-industry-to-silence-the-truth/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">failed attempt to derail</a> an event featuring Vani Hari, the “Food Babe,” sponsored by the Center for Food Safety.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MAMyths co-founder Kavin Senapathy had several articles <a href="https://usrtk.org/food-for-thought/kavin_senapathy_henry_miller/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">deleted by Forbes</a> after the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/01/business/monsantos-sway-over-research-is-seen-in-disclosed-emails.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">New York Times revealed</a> that her co-author, Henry Miller, published a column in Forbes that was ghostwritten by Monsanto. Miller was also identified as a partner in <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/monsanto-relied-on-these-partners-to-attack-top-cancer-scientists/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Monsanto’s public relations plan</a> to attack the IARC cancer panel.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Senapathy is co-author of a 2015 <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Fear-Babe-Shattering-Haris-Glass/dp/069250981X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1460581173&sr=8-1&keywords=the+fear+babe&linkCode=sl1&tag=ttgawkinja-20&linkId=e66a64b8df2e8d810617d7d7966a7c8a" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">book</a> about Hari, “The Fear Babe,” which features a forward written by former Biofortified board member Kevin Folta, in which he describes the food movement as a “well financed terrorist faction.”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Senapathy and Haro von Mogel also appear in the <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/food-evolution-gmo-film-serves-up-chemical-industry-agenda/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">GMO propaganda film</a> Food Evolution.</font></p><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Related projects</font></span></h3><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">GENERA Database</span> is a list of studies to “show people how much research has been conducted on genetically engineered crops,” according to the <a href="https://www.biofortified.org/genera/faq/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">FAQ</a> on the Biofortified website. The list was first started by David Tribe, who also co-founded the <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/academics-review-the-making-of-a-monsanto-front-group/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Monsanto front group Academics Review</a>. Early promotion for GENERA <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140208023211/http://www.biofortified.org/genera/guide/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">misleadingly claimed</a> to show “more than 600 peer-reviewed reports in the scientific literature which document the general safety and nutritional wholesomeness of GM foods and feeds.” Many of those studies did not address safety issues. The inaccurate promotional language was later removed, along with about a third of the studies.</font></p><div class="clearfix" style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></div><footer class="entry-meta" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 20px;"><div class="entry-meta-category-tag" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="cat-links" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="categories-icon glyphicon glyphicon-th-list" title="Posted in" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; top: 1px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; cursor: default;" /> <a href="https://usrtk.org/category/food-for-thought/" rel="category tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Food For Thought</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/category/gmo/" rel="category tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">GMOs</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/category/our-investigations/" rel="category tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Our Investigations</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/category/pesticides/" rel="category tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Pesticides</a> </span><span class="tags-links" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="tags-icon glyphicon glyphicon-tags" title="Tagged" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; top: 1px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; cursor: default;" />  <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/academics-review/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Academics Review</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/agbiochatter-academics/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">AgBioChatter academics</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/alicia-muluafiti/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Alicia Muluafiti</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/andrew-kniss/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Andrew Kniss</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/bayer/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Bayer</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/biofortified-boys/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Biofortified boys</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/cornell-alliance-for-science/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Cornell Alliance for Science</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/david-tribe/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">David Tribe</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/dowdupont/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">DowDuPont</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/dupont/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Dupont</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/food-evolution-propaganda-film/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Food Evolution propaganda film</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/frank-n-foode/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Frank N. Foode</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/genera/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">GENERA</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/genetic-literacy-project/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Genetic Literacy Project</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/hcia/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">HCIA</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/iarc/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">IARC</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/industry-partner/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">industry partner</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/jay-byrne/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Jay Byrne</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/joe-ballenger/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Joe Ballenger</a>, <a href="https://usrtk.org/tag/jon-entine/" rel="tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; 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text-decoration-line: none;">World Health Organization</a></span></font></div><div class="entry-meta-comment-tools" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="comments-link" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/biofortified-aids-chemical-industry-pr-lobbying-efforts/#respond" class="btn btn-default btn-xs" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none; display: inline-block; padding: 1px 5px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.5; text-align: center; white-space: nowrap; vertical-align: middle; touch-action: manipulation; cursor: pointer; user-select: none; background-image: linear-gradient(rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px, rgb(224, 224, 224) 100%); border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); border-radius: 3px; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 0px; box-shadow: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.15) 0px 1px 0px inset, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.075) 0px 1px 1px; background-repeat: repeat-x;"><span class="comment-icon glyphicon glyphicon-comment" style="box-sizing: border-box; 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margin: 0px 0px 30px; line-height: 1.1; text-transform: uppercase; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">FOOD EVOLUTION GMO FILM SERVES UP CHEMICAL INDUSTRY AGENDA</font></h1><div class="blog-article-options" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; width: 1118px; margin-bottom: 20px;"><a class="option-link option-print" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: url("../images/icon-print.png"); background-position: left top; background-size: initial; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; padding-left: 30px; display: block; float: left; margin-right: 30px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Print</font></a><a href="mailto:gary@usrtk.org" class="option-link option-email" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: url("../images/icon-email.png"); background-position: 3px 5px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none; padding-left: 30px; display: block; float: left; margin-right: 30px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Email</font></a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://usrtk.org/gmo/food-evolution-gmo-film-serves-up-chemical-industry-agenda/" target="blank" class="option-link option-facebook" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: url("../images/icon-facebook.png"); background-position: 3px 4px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none; padding-left: 30px; display: block; float: left; margin-right: 30px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Share</font></a><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Food%20Evolution%20GMO%20Film%20Serves%20Up%20Chemical%20Industry%20Agenda%20via%20@USRightToKnow%20&url=https://usrtk.org/gmo/food-evolution-gmo-film-serves-up-chemical-industry-agenda/" target="blank" class="option-link option-twitter" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: url("../images/icon-twitter.png"); background-position: 3px 5px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none; padding-left: 30px; display: block; float: left; margin-right: 30px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Tweet</font></a></div><div class="entry-meta" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="posted-on" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Posted on <a href="https://usrtk.org/gmo/food-evolution-gmo-film-serves-up-chemical-industry-agenda/" title="11:19 am" rel="bookmark" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2018-02-04T11:19:07-08:00" style="box-sizing: border-box;">February 4, 2018</time></a></span><span class="byline" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> by <span class="author vcard" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="url fn n" href="https://usrtk.org/author/stacymalkan/" title="View all posts by Stacy Malkan" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Stacy Malkan</a></span></span></font></div></header><div class="entry-content" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This post has been updated with reviews of Food Evolution: </font></em></p><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Letter from 45 academics:<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"> </span>“Food Evolution deserves to be called out for what it is: <a href="https://foodfirst.org/response-to-uc-berkeley-early-screening-of-food-evolution/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">a piece of propaganda</a>“</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Letter from University of Minnesota research scientists: “The Food Evolution movie is <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/UMinn_FoodEvolution-.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">agribusiness propaganda</a>“</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">NYU Professor Marion Nestle: Food Evolution is a “<a href="http://www.foodpolitics.com/2017/06/gmo-industry-propaganda-film-food-evolution/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">slick piece of GMO industry propaganda</a>” … “I have asked repeatedly to have my short interview clip removed from this film. The director refuses. He believes his film is fair and balanced. I do not.” Follow up post by Marion Nestle: “A win for GMO trolls: this blog <a href="https://www.foodpolitics.com/2017/06/follow-up-to-gmo-propaganda-film-food-evolution/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">no longer accepts comments</a>“</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Michael Pollan: “<a href="https://twitter.com/michaelpollan/status/877526504909000704" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">My experience and take much the same</a>” and “<a href="https://twitter.com/michaelpollan/status/868179839580336128" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">This movie is funded by industry</a>“</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">UC Berkeley Associate Professor Alastair Iles:<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"> </span>“<a href="http://blogs.berkeley.edu/2017/07/17/no-evolution-in-thinking-in-food-evolution/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">No evolution in thinking in Food Evolution</a>“</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">UC Berkeley Professor Miguel Altieri: “Food Evolution is <a href="https://foodfirst.org/food-evolution-propaganda-for-public-support-of-gmos/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">propaganda for public support of GMOs</a>“</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Doug Durian-Sherman, PhD: “Food Evolution Supports GMOs, but Not Science” <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2017/10/food-evolution-part1/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Part 1</a> and <a href="https://beginningtoendhunger.com/2017/11/10/guest-post-by-doug-gurian-sherman-food-evolution-documentary-supports-gmos-but-not-science-part-2/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Part 2</a></font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Vice article: “This Documentary Wants to Teach People About GMOs, But <a href="https://munchies.vice.com/en_us/article/a3dd8g/this-documentary-wants-to-teach-people-about-gmos-but-experts-call-it-propaganda" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Experts Call It Propaganda</a>“</font></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 10px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Alternet by Stacy Malkan: “Neil deGrasse Tyson Owes Fans a <a href="http://www.alternet.org/food/neil-degrasse-tyson-owes-fans-more-honest-conversation-about-gmos-food-evolution" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">More Honest Conversation About GMOs</a>“</font></li></ul><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-3085 aligncenter" src="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/food-evolution-propaganda-alert-300x164.png" alt="" width="624" height="341" srcset="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/food-evolution-propaganda-alert-300x164.png 300w, https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/food-evolution-propaganda-alert-768x419.png 768w, https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/food-evolution-propaganda-alert-1024x559.png 1024w, https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/food-evolution-propaganda-alert.png 1195w" sizes="(max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; clear: both; display: block; margin: 0px auto; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">By Stacy Malkan, 6/19/2017 </font></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Some industry messaging efforts are so heavy-handed they end up highlighting their own PR tactics more than the message they are trying to convey. That’s the problem with <a href="http://foodevolutionmovie.com/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Food Evolution</a>, a new documentary by Academy Award-nominated director Scott Hamilton Kennedy and narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The film, opening in theaters June 23, claims to offer an objective look at the debate over genetically engineered foods, but with its skewed presentation of science and data, it comes off looking more like a textbook case of corporate propaganda for the agrichemical industry and its GMO crops.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">That the film’s intended purpose was to serve as an industry-messaging vehicle is no secret. Food Evolution was <a href="http://www.ift.org/About-Us/Our-History/FutureFood-2050.aspx" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">planned in 2014</a> and funded by the Institute for Food Technologists, a trade group, to culminate a multi-year messaging effort.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">IFT is partly funded by <a href="http://www.feedingtomorrow.org/content/our-programs" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">big food corporations</a>, and the group’s <a href="http://news.ift.org/2014/06/21/janet-collins-reflects-on-ift-at-75/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">president at the time</a> was Janet Collins, a former DuPont and Monsanto executive who <a href="http://www.croplifeamerica.org/croplife-america-hires-dr-janet-collins-as-senior-vice-president-of-science-and-regulatory-affairs/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">now works for</a> CropLife America, the pesticide trade association. IFT’s President-Elect <a href="http://www.ift.org/About-Us/Our-Leadership/Cindy-Stewart.aspx" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Cindy Stewart</a> works for DuPont.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">IFT chose Kennedy to direct the film, but he and producer Trace Sheehan <a href="https://foodevolutionmovie.com/about/the-film/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">say they had</a> complete control over the film they describe as a fully independent investigation into the topic of GMOs including all points of view.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The film’s credibility suffers from their choice to embrace only the science and scientists who side with the chemical industry players who profit from GMOs and the chemicals used on them, while ignoring science and data that doesn’t fit that agenda.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Monsanto Science Treatment</font></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The clearest example of the scientific dishonesty in Food Evolution is the way the film deals with glyphosate. The weed killer chemical is at the heart of the GMO story, since <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/adoption-of-genetically-engineered-crops-in-the-us/recent-trends-in-ge-adoption.aspx" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">80-90% of GMO crops</a> are genetically engineered to tolerate glyphosate.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Food Evolution reports that the <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/glyphosate-now-most-used-agricultural-chemical-ever-422419" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">increase in glyphosate use</a> due to GMOs is not a problem, because glyphosate is safe. Two sources establish this claim in the film: a farmer says glyphosate has “very, very low toxicity; lower than coffee, lower than salt,” and Monsanto’s Robb Fraley – in response to a woman in an audience who asks him about science linking glyphosate to birth defects and cancer – tells her that’s all bad science, “it’s pseudoscience.”</font></p><blockquote style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; border-left: none; font-style: italic;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">All science raising concerns about glyphosate is “pseudoscience,” says Monsanto.</font></p></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">There is no mention of the carcinogenicity concerns that are engulfing Monsanto in an <a href="http://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2017/06/02/monsanto-les-moissons-du-fiel_5137487_3244.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">international</a> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/24/eu-declared-monsanto-weedkiller-safe-after-intervention-from-controversial-us-official?CMP=share_btn_tw" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">science</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/14/business/monsanto-roundup-safety-lawsuit.html?r=1" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">scandal</a>, or the many farmers who <a href="https://usrtk.org/pesticides/mdl-monsanto-glyphosate-cancer-case-key-documents-analysis/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">are suing Monsanto</a> alleging they got cancer from the company’s glyphosate-based Roundup herbicide.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">There is no mention of the 2015 report by the World Health Organization’s cancer agency that classified glyphosate as a <a href="https://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/iarcnews/2016/glyphosate_IARC2016.php" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">probable human carcinogen</a>, or <a href="https://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65/chemicals/glyphosate" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">California’s decision</a> to add glyphosate to the Prop 65 list of chemicals known to cause cancer, or the peer-reviewed studies that have linked <a href="https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-016-0117-0" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">various adverse health outcomes</a> to glyphosate and Roundup.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Instead of an objective look at the evidence, Food Evolution gives viewers the full Monsanto science treatment: any science that raises concerns about the possible health risks of agrichemical products should be ignored, while studies that put those products in a favorable light is the only science worth discussing.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Double Standards in Science and Transparency</font></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Equal treatment of interview subjects with different points of view would have helped the credibility of Food Evolution. Instead, the film paints the GMO critics it features as dishonest or out to make a buck off the organic industry, while leaving out key details about its pro-industry sources.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In one scene, the film’s main character, UC Davis professor Alison van Eenennaam, frets that appearing onstage with a Monsanto executive at a debate could sully her independent reputation. Viewers never learn that she used to <a href="http://docs.house.gov/meetings/IF/IF14/20141210/102797/HHRG-113-IF14-Bio-VanEenennaamA-20141210.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">work for Monsanto</a>, or that she holds <a href="http://patents.justia.com/inventor/alison-van-eenennaam" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">several GE patents</a> which suggest a financial interest in the topic at hand.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pro-industry scientist Pamela Ronald, another key science source, gets the hero treatment with no mention that <a href="http://www.independentsciencenews.org/news/can-the-scientific-reputation-of-pamela-ronald-public-face-of-gmos-be-salvaged/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">two of her studies have been retracted</a>. Yet viewers are hammered with news that a study by French scientist Gilles-Eric Séralini – which found kidney problems and tumors in rats fed GMO corn – was “retracted, retracted, retracted!”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The film leaves out the fact that the study was <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/paper-claiming-gm-link-with-tumours-republished-1.15463" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">subsequently republished</a>, and was retracted in the first place after a former Monsanto employee <a href="http://www.lemonde.fr/sciences/article/2016/07/11/la-discrete-influence-de-monsanto_4967784_1650684.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">took an editorial position</a> with the journal where it was originally published.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The “Africa Needs GMOs” Narrative</font></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In another neatly spun narrative, Food Evolution takes viewers on an emotional journey to the developing world, and along another favorite industry messaging track: rather than focus on how genetic engineering is used in our food system now – primarily to convey herbicide tolerance – we should focus on how it might possibly be used in the future.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">With plenty of airtime and dramatic tension, the film examines the problem of banana wilt, a disease killing staple crops in Africa, and leads viewers to believe that genetic engineering will save the crop, the farmers and the community.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Maybe. But the film neglects to mention that the savior GE technology is not yet available and might not even work. According to a paper in <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pbi.12170/epdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Plant Biotechnology Journal</a>, the resistance shown in the lab is robust but may not be durable in open fields.</font></p><blockquote style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; border-left: none; font-style: italic;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The film is “fundamentally dishonest.”</font></p></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Meanwhile, a low-tech solution is working well and looks like it could use some investment. According to a 2012 paper in the <a href="http://www.academicjournals.org/article/article1379961894_Kubiriba%20et%20al.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Journal of Development and Agricultural Economics</a>, farmer field schools, which help growers acquire hands-on knowledge of techniques to prevent banana wilt, led to lower infection rates and high crop recovery in Uganda. Results from farmer field schools “have been remarkable,” <a href="http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/7418/icode/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">according to the UN</a>.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The solution doesn’t warrant a mention in Food Evolution.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“It’s fundamentally dishonest of the film to tout a GE solution that may not even work, as the scientists themselves acknowledge,” said Michael Hansen, senior scientist at Consumers Union, “while failing to point out another way to control the problem that works very well, but doesn’t involve selling a product to make money.”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Did Monsanto have anything to do with Food Evolution?</font></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Monsanto and allies were discussing plans for a documentary in late 2013, according to <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/movie.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">emails obtained</a> by US Right to Know. The emails do not contain evidence linking those discussions to Food Evolution, but they do establish Monsanto’s desire for a film that sounds surpassingly similar to the one Kennedy created.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Monsanto’s Eric Sachs <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/movie.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">wrote in Dec. 2013</a> to a group of PR advisors, “there is clearly a lot of interest to pursue a documentary film. Importantly, the consensus was that Monsanto’s participation was welcome, particularly in the planning phase.”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">He recommended a January 2014 planning call. Jon Entine of the <a href="https://usrtk.org/hall-of-shame/jon-entine-the-chemical-industrys-master-messenger/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Genetic Literacy Project</a> stepped up to take the lead, and mentioned he had “gotten a personal pledge of $100,000 from a private business person if we can get” (the rest of the line is cut off). Entine also has a connection to the Institute for Food Technologists; he spoke about “<a href="http://www.acsh.org/news/2012/07/23/jon-entine-on-anti-food-activism" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">anti-food activism</a>” at IFT’s 2012 annual meeting.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Another person mentioned in the Monsanto emails, <a href="http://www.mamyths.org/about-us/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Karl Haro von Mogel</a> – who had discussed <a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/movie.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">with Sachs</a> “the downsides of a film funded by the ‘Big 6’” and suggested “what would matter more than their money is their participation” – was interviewed in Food Evolution, and was also involved in filming one scene, which suggests some behind the scenes coordination with the filmmakers.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In reaction to the emails, Kennedy wrote <a href="https://twitter.com/garyruskin/status/868489555086721025/photo/1" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">on Twitter</a>: “@foodevomovie has had ZERO $ or INPUT from <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Monsanto?src=hash" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">#Monsanto</a>. We are fully transparent & happy 2 have fact-based dialogue.”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">He said in an interview, “that email exchange had absolutely nothing to do with our project whatsoever … we hadn’t even committed to making the film with IFT at that date in 2013.”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The people in the email exchange were not involved in filming or advising, he said, and Karl Haro von Mogel “was a subject in the film and had no involvement or influence on any creative/editorial decisions on the film at any point in the production. Also it may be useful to point out that the email conversation you reference occurred long before we ever even knew Karl or any of these people.”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sneak Peek Behind the Scenes</font></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Food-Evolution-emails.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Another email exchange obtained by US Right to Know</a> offers a peek behind the scenes at the narrative development in Food Evolution. The exchange depicts Kennedy’s search for examples to feature for “us/developing world need GMO.”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Any other ‘us/developing world need GMO’ you can give me names of aside from oranges? Shintakus lettuce?” Kennedy asked. Producer Trace Sheehan responded with a list of GMO products including drought-tolerant rice, allergy-free peanuts, carcinogen-free potatoes … “and then button with Golden Rice.”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">When Kennedy pushed for “the top GMO crops currently in use, and what countries,” Mark Lynas of the <a href="http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2986952/why_is_cornell_university_hosting_a_gmo_propaganda_campaign.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Cornell Alliance for Science</a> wrote, “Really Bt brinjal in Bangladesh is the only one that is truly GMO in and is in widespread operation.”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The film’s frame-driven reporting ignores that detail about the lack of operational GMO solutions, and doesn’t mention that the closer example, vitamin-A enhanced Golden Rice, <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/food/2016/02/golden-rice-still-showing-promise-still-not-field-ready/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">still isn’t available</a> despite huge investments and years of trials, because it doesn’t work as well in the field as existing rice strains.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">What is propaganda?</font></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In a scene that is supposed to convey scientific credibility, Food Evolution flashes the logo of the American Council on Science and Health at the very moment Neil deGrasse Tyson says there is a global consensus on the safety of GMOs. It’s a fitting slip. ASCH is a <a href="https://usrtk.org/hall-of-shame/why-you-cant-trust-the-american-council-on-science-and-health/" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">corporate front group</a> closely aligned with Monsanto.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The ACSH logo scene also appears in the background in this <a href="https://climateone.org/video/defense-food-evolution" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">2-minute clip</a> from a recent Climate One debate, as Kennedy pushed back against the suggestion that his film is propaganda.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“How do we determine what is propaganda?” Kennedy asked. “I say one of the ways we do it is (to ask), are results asked for, or results promised? I was not asked for results and I did not promise results. If you have a problem with the film, the problem lies with me.”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This review originally appeared in <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/food-evolution-gmo-film-showcases-chemical-industry_us_5942b09ce4b024b7e0df49db" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Huffington Post</a> and has been <a href="http://www.alternet.org/environment/neil-degrasse-tyson-narrates-new-doc-food-evolution-blatant-case-monsanto-corporate" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">reprinted in Alternet.</a> </font></em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">See also: Stacy Malkan’s follow-up article, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/food/neil-degrasse-tyson-owes-fans-more-honest-conversation-about-gmos-food-evolution" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">Neil deGrasse Tyson Owes Fans a More Honest Conversation About GMOs than Food Evolution</a></em>.</span> “Interviews with several other GMO critics who appear in the film, or were asked to be in it, corroborate the picture of a strange process involving sneaky filming, selective editing, misrepresentation and lack of disclosure about the film’s funding.”</font></p><div class="clearfix" style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></div><footer class="entry-meta" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 20px;"><div class="entry-meta-category-tag" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="cat-links" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="categories-icon glyphicon glyphicon-th-list" title="Posted in" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; top: 1px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; cursor: default;" /> <a href="https://usrtk.org/category/food-for-thought/" rel="category tag" style="box-sizing: border-box; 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</font></div><div><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>Pamela C. Ronald</b> (born 1961) is an American <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_pathologist" class="mw-redirect" title="Plant pathologist" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">plant pathologist</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneticist" title="Geneticist" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">geneticist</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-NatGeo_2015_1-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-NatGeo_2015-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[1]</a></sup> She is a professor in the Genome Center and the Department of Plant Pathology,<sup id="cite_ref-Summers_2-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Summers-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[2]</a></sup> and founding director of the Institute for Food and Agricultural Literacy (IFAL), at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,Davis" title="University of California, Davis" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">University of California, Davis</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Ifal_3-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Ifal-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[3]</a></sup> She also serves as Key Scientist at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_BioEnergy_Institute" title="Joint BioEnergy Institute" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Joint BioEnergy Institute</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emeryville,California" title="Emeryville, California" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Emeryville, California</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Summers_2-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Summers-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[2]</a></sup> In 2018 she served as a visiting professor at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_University" title="Stanford University" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Stanford University</a> in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_University_centers_and_institutes#Freeman_Spogli_Institute_for_International_Studies" title="Stanford University centers and institutes" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Center on Food Security and the Environment</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[4]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Her laboratory has genetically engineered rice for resistance to diseases and tolerance to flooding, which are serious problems of rice crops in Asia and Africa. Ronald's research has been published in <i>Science</i>, <i>Nature</i> and other leading peer-reviewed scientific journals, and has also been featured in The New York Times,<sup id="cite_ref-Blakeslee_5-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Blakeslee-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[5]</a></sup> Organic Gardening Magazine,<sup id="cite_ref-Organic_Gardening_6-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Organic_Gardening-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[6]</a></sup> Forbes Magazine,<sup id="cite_ref-Herper_7-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Herper-7" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[7]</a></sup> The Wall Street Journal, The Progressive Farmer,<sup id="cite_ref-Lehner_8-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Lehner-8" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[8]</a></sup> CNN,<sup id="cite_ref-Ornstein_9-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Ornstein-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[9]</a></sup> <b style="">Discover Magazine, </b>The Scientist,<sup id="cite_ref-Scudellari_10-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Scudellari-10" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[10]</a></sup> Popular Mechanics,<sup id="cite_ref-Sofge_11-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Sofge-11" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[11]</a></sup> Bill Gates blog,<sup id="cite_ref-Gates_12-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Gates-12" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[12]</a></sup> National Public Radio<sup id="cite_ref-Hamilton_13-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Hamilton-13" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[13]</a></sup> and National Geographic.<sup id="cite_ref-NatGeo_2015_1-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-NatGeo_2015-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[1]</a></sup></font></p><div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); padding: 7px; display: table;"><ul style="list-style: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#Early_life_and_education" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;"><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Early life and education</span></span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#Career_and_research" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Career and research</span></font></a><ul style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#Xa21:Pattern_recognition_receptor-mediated_immunity" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">2.1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Xa21: Pattern recognition receptor-mediated immunity</span></font></a><ul style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px;"><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#Paper_retraction" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">2.1.1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Paper retraction</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#RaxX_as_a_mediator_of_Xa21" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">2.1.2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">RaxX as a mediator of Xa21</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#Genetic_Resources_Recognition_Fund" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">2.2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Genetic Resources Recognition Fund</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#Sub1:Tolerance_to_abiotic_stress" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">2.3</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Sub1: Tolerance to abiotic stress</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#Public_engagement" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">3</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Public engagement</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#Awards_and_honors" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Awards and honors</span></font></a><ul style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#Chronological_list_of_honors" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4.1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Chronological list of honors</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-11" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#References" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">5</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">References</span></font></a></li></ul></div><h2 style="margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Early_life_and_education">Early life and education</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span></span></font></h2><table class="infobox" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); border-spacing: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); margin: 0px 0px 1.5em 1.5em; padding: 0.2em; float: right; clear: right; line-height: 1.5em; width: 210px;"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">External media</font></th></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">...</font></th></tr></tbody></table><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Pamela Ronald was born in 1961 to Patricia (née Fobes) and Robert Ronald of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Mateo,California" title="San Mateo, California" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">San Mateo, California</a>. Robert Ronald, a Jewish refugee who was born Robert Rosenthal, wrote a memoir entitled "Last Train to Freedom".<sup id="cite_ref-Horowitz_14-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Horowitz-14" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[14]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-freedom_15-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-freedom-15" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[15]</a></sup> From an early age, Ronald spent time backpacking in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Nevada(U.S.)" class="mw-redirect" title="Sierra Nevada (U.S.)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Sierra Nevada</a> wilderness, sparking her love for plant biology.<sup id="cite_ref-Summers_2-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Summers-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[2]</a></sup> Ronald realized that analyzing and studying plants could be a profession after witnessing botanists in the field during a summer time hike with her brother. She already knew she loved plants after time spent helping her mother tend to them in the garden.<sup id="cite_ref-:0_16-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-:0-16" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[16]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>As a student at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed_College" title="Reed College" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Reed College</a> </b>with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Helen_Stafford&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Helen Stafford (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Helen Stafford</a> (1922–2011),<sup id="cite_ref-Barton_17-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Barton-17" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[17]</a></sup> Ronald became intrigued by the interactions of plants with other organisms. For her senior thesis, she studied the recolonization of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_St.Helens" title="Mount St. Helens" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Mount St. Helens</a>. Ronald received a B.A. in Biology from Reed College in 1982.<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-18" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[18]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Ronald_19-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Ronald-19" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[19]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">She went on to earn an M.A. in Biology from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_University" title="Stanford University" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Stanford University</a> in 1984 and an M.S. from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uppsala_University" title="Uppsala University" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Uppsala University</a>, Sweden in plant physiology in 1985.<sup id="cite_ref-fulbright-chair_20-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-fulbright-chair-20" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[20]</a></sup> As a Fulbright Scholar in Sweden she visited Nils Fries and studied how plants interact with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycorrhiza" title="Mycorrhiza" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">mycorrhizal fungi</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-freedom_15-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-freedom-15" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[15]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">As a graduate student at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,Berkeley" title="University of California, Berkeley" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">UC Berkeley</a>, she began to study plant-bacterial interactions in the laboratory of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Staskawicz" title="Brian Staskawicz" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Brian Staskawicz</a>, working with peppers and tomatoes.<sup id="cite_ref-NatGeo_2015_1-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-NatGeo_2015-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[1]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Lemaux_21-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Lemaux-21" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[21]</a></sup> Because rice is the most important food staple in the world, she switched her studies to rice, hoping to contribute to the well-being of farmers in impoverished regions of the world.<sup id="cite_ref-NatGeo_2015_1-3" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-NatGeo_2015-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[1]</a></sup> She received her Ph.D. in molecular and physiological plant biology in 1990.<sup id="cite_ref-fulbright-chair_20-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-fulbright-chair-20" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[20]</a></sup><b> She was a postdoctoral fellow at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornell_University" title="Cornell University" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Cornell University</a> from 1990 to 1992 </b>in the laboratory of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_D.Tanksley" title="Steven D. Tanksley" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Steven Tanksley</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-fulbright-chair_20-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-fulbright-chair-20" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[20]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Table_22-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Table-22" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[22]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In 1996 she married Raoul Adamchak, an organic farmer.<sup id="cite_ref-TEDMED_23-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-TEDMED-23" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[23]</a></sup> They have two children, Cliff and Audrey.<sup id="cite_ref-Table_22-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Table-22" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[22]</a></sup></font></p><h2 style="margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Career_and_research">Career and research</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span></span></font></h2><div class="thumb tleft" style="float: left; clear: left; margin: 0.5em 1.4em 1.3em 0px; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); padding: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 222px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font><div class="thumbcaption" style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 0px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:March_for_Science_San_Francisco_20170422-4376.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" resources="resources" src="src" mediawiki.skinning="mediawiki.skinning" images="images" magnify-clip-ltr.svg="magnify-clip-ltr.svg" e="e" display="display" block="block" text-indent="text-indent" px="px" white-space="white-space" nowrap="nowrap" overflow="overflow" hidden="hidden" width="width" height="height" user-select="user-select" none="none" /></div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:March_for_Science_San_Francisco_20170422-4376.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" resources="resources" src="src" mediawiki.skinning="mediawiki.skinning" images="images" magnify-clip-ltr.svg="magnify-clip-ltr.svg" e="e" display="display" block="block" text-indent="text-indent" px="px" white-space="white-space" nowrap="nowrap" overflow="overflow" hidden="hidden" width="width" height="height" user-select="user-select" none="none"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Speaking at the </font></a><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_for_Science" title="March for Science" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">March for Science</a> San Francisco, April 2017</font></div></div></div><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In <b>1992, Ronald joined <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,Davis" title="University of California, Davis" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">UC Davis</a> as a faculty member.</b> From 2003 to 2007 Ronald chaired the UC Davis Distinguished Women in Science seminar series, an event designed to support women's professional advancement in the sciences. She served as Faculty Assistant to the Provost from 2004 to 2007.<sup id="cite_ref-CV_24-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-CV-24" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[24]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In addition to being a professor in the Genome Center and the Department of Plant Pathology at UC Davis,<sup id="cite_ref-Summers_2-3" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Summers-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[2]</a></sup> Ronald is the founding director of the Institute for Food and Agricultural Literacy (IFAL) at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,Davis" title="University of California, Davis" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">University of California, Davis</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Ifal_3-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Ifal-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[3]</a></sup> She also serves as Key Scientist at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_BioEnergy_Institute" title="Joint BioEnergy Institute" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Joint BioEnergy Institute</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emeryville,California" title="Emeryville, California" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Emeryville, California</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Summers_2-4" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Summers-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[2]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Ronald is a vocal advocate for science and for sustainable agriculture. Her laboratory has been instrumental in the development of rice that is disease-resistant and flood-tolerant.<sup id="cite_ref-Annals_25-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Annals-25" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[25]</a></sup></font></p><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Xa21:Pattern_recognition_receptor-mediated_immunity">Xa21: Pattern recognition receptor-mediated immunity</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span></span></font></h3><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The Ronald laboratory studies the innate immune response, using the host organism <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice" title="Rice" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">rice</a> and the agriculturally important pathogen <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanthomonas_oryzae_pv.oryzae" title="Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae</a> (Xoo)</i>. In the 1990s, through conversations with rice geneticist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurdev_Khush" title="Gurdev Khush" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Gurdev Khush</a>, Ronald became interested in the rice XA21 genetic locus, which conferred broad-spectrum resistance to <i>Xoo</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-ikeda_26-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-ikeda-26" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[26]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-khush_27-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-khush-27" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[27]</a></sup> She hypothesized that <i>Xa21</i> encoded a single protein that recognized a conserved microbial determinant.<sup id="cite_ref-locus_28-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-locus-28" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[28]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In 1995, the Ronald laboratory isolated and characterized the rice XA21 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pattern_recognition_receptor" title="Pattern recognition receptor" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">pattern recognition receptor</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Summers_2-5" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Summers-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[2]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-xa21_29-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-xa21-29" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[29]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Retraction1_30-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Retraction1-30" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[30]</a></sup> Subsequent discoveries in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drosophila_melanogaster" title="Drosophila melanogaster" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">flies</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-fly_31-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-fly-31" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[31]</a></sup> humans,<sup id="cite_ref-human_32-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-human-32" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[32]</a></sup> mice,<sup id="cite_ref-mice_33-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-mice-33" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[33]</a></sup> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabidopsis_thaliana" title="Arabidopsis thaliana" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><i>Arabidopsis</i></a><sup id="cite_ref-fls2_34-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-fls2-34" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[34]</a></sup> revealed that animals and other plant species also carry membrane-anchored receptors with striking structural similarities to XA21 and that these receptors also play key roles in the immune response.<sup id="cite_ref-Beutler_35-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Beutler-35" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[35]</a></sup> For their discoveries of the fly and mice receptors, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Hoffman" class="mw-redirect" title="Jules Hoffman" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Jules Hoffman</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Beutler" title="Bruce Beutler" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Bruce Beutler</a> received the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nobel_laureates" title="List of Nobel laureates" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine</a> (jointly with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Steinman" class="mw-redirect" title="Ralph Steinman" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Ralph Steinman</a>), indicating the importance of such research.<sup id="cite_ref-NobelPrize_36-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-NobelPrize-36" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[36]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">This work resulted in part from the identification of a blight-resistant rice strain from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mali" title="Mali" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Mali</a>, <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oryza_longistaminata" title="Oryza longistaminata" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Oryza longistaminata</a></i>, in the late 1970s. The strain was studied and bred at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Rice_Research_Institute" title="International Rice Research Institute" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">International Rice Research Institute</a> (IRRI) in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Ba%C3%B1os,Laguna" title="Los Baños, Laguna" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Los Baños</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines" title="Philippines" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Philippines</a>. Ronald's group subsequently mapped, sequenced, and cloned the Xa21 gene from this rice strain. When US patent 5859339 was granted to the University of California for the XA21 gene, Ronald and law professor John Barton established a benefit-sharing model for the source countries of genetically important plant varieties called the Genetic Resources Recognition Fund. Ronald also launched a project with CGIAR to allow noncommercial use of the gene for nonprofit purposes and released the gene to IRRI for the development of rice strains to be grown in developing nations.<sup id="cite_ref-Perlman_37-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Perlman-37" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[37]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Kate_38-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Kate-38" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[38]</a></sup></font></p><div class="thumb tright" style="clear: right; float: right; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); padding: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 222px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font><div class="thumbcaption" style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 0px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pamela_Ronald_at_Pop!Tech_2008.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" resources="resources" src="src" mediawiki.skinning="mediawiki.skinning" images="images" magnify-clip-ltr.svg="magnify-clip-ltr.svg" e="e" display="display" block="block" text-indent="text-indent" px="px" white-space="white-space" nowrap="nowrap" overflow="overflow" hidden="hidden" width="width" height="height" user-select="user-select" none="none" /></div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pamela_Ronald_at_Pop!Tech_2008.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" resources="resources" src="src" mediawiki.skinning="mediawiki.skinning" images="images" magnify-clip-ltr.svg="magnify-clip-ltr.svg" e="e" display="display" block="block" text-indent="text-indent" px="px" white-space="white-space" nowrap="nowrap" overflow="overflow" hidden="hidden" width="width" height="height" user-select="user-select" none="none"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dr. Ronald at Pop!Tech 2008</font></a></div></div></div><h4 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pamela_Ronald_at_Pop!Tech_2008.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" resources="resources" src="src" mediawiki.skinning="mediawiki.skinning" images="images" magnify-clip-ltr.svg="magnify-clip-ltr.svg" e="e" display="display" block="block" text-indent="text-indent" px="px" white-space="white-space" nowrap="nowrap" overflow="overflow" hidden="hidden" width="width" height="height" user-select="user-select" none="none"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Paper_retraction">Paper retraction</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span></span></font></a></h4><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pamela_Ronald_at_Pop!Tech_2008.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" resources="resources" src="src" mediawiki.skinning="mediawiki.skinning" images="images" magnify-clip-ltr.svg="magnify-clip-ltr.svg" e="e" display="display" block="block" text-indent="text-indent" px="px" white-space="white-space" nowrap="nowrap" overflow="overflow" hidden="hidden" width="width" height="height" user-select="user-select" none="none"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2009<sup id="cite_ref-Retraction1_30-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;" /></font></a><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Retraction1-30" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[30]</a> and 2011,<sup id="cite_ref-Retraction2_39-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Retraction2-39" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[39]</a></sup> Ronald's laboratory reported on the discovery of a bacterial protein that they believed was the activator of Xa21-mediated immunity. These reports were described by <i>ScienceWatch</i> as "hot" and "highly cited".<sup id="cite_ref-ScienceWatch_40-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-ScienceWatch-40" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[40]</a></sup> In 2013, Ronald retracted both scientific papers, notifying the scientific community that two bacterial strains, Ax21 and RaxSt, had been confused.<sup id="cite_ref-retractionwatch1_41-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-retractionwatch1-41" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[41]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-retractionwatch2_42-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-retractionwatch2-42" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[42]</a></sup> The error was discovered when new laboratory members Rory Pruitt and Benjamin Schwessinger<sup id="cite_ref-auto1_43-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-auto1-43" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[43]</a></sup> were unable to replicate previous results. </font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px;"><font face="Times New Roman" style="" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">As a result, the laboratory carried out a lengthy and painstaking process, re-confirming the genotypes of all the laboratory strains in their collection. Examination of the bacterial strains and rice seed stocks indicated that one of the bacterial strains involved in key experiments had been mislabeled. Researchers also discovered that results of one of the tests that had been performed were highly variable. In a blog post at </span><i style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Scientific American</i><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, Ronald describes the 18-month process leading to the retraction.</span><sup id="cite_ref-SARetraction_44-0" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-SARetraction-44" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[44]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> The retractions were also reported on by </span><i style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The Scientist</i><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span><sup id="cite_ref-Yong_45-0" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Yong-45" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[45]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">Retraction watch, a website that shines light on problems with papers and educates and celebrates research ethics and good practices stated, "that this was a case of scientists doing the right thing</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">".</span><sup id="cite_ref-retractionwatch2_42-1" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-retractionwatch2-42" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[42]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> As part of a story about the importance of setting the record straight, in 2014, </span><i style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Nature</i><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> magazine also covered the Ronald retraction.</span><sup id="cite_ref-Gewin_46-0" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Gewin-46" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[46]</a></sup></font></p><h4 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="RaxX_as_a_mediator_of_Xa21">RaxX as a mediator of Xa21</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span></span></font></h4><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">For two more years Ronald's laboratory repeated critical experiments and carried out new ones. In redoing their work, they introduced new procedures and controls to ensure that they were getting it right. Ronald reports that she was amazed not only by the perseverance and loyalty of her team, but also by the community support that she received during this difficult time.<sup id="cite_ref-auto2_47-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-auto2-47" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[47]</a></sup> <b>In 2015, Ronald published the discovery of the predicted ligand of XA21, a sulfated peptide called RaxX, correcting their mistake and bringing the research team full circle</b>.<sup id="cite_ref-auto1_43-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-auto1-43" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[43]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-auto_48-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-auto-48" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[48]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-49" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-49" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[49]</a></sup></font></p><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Genetic_Resources_Recognition_Fund">Genetic Resources Recognition Fund</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span></span></font></h3><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px;"><font face="Times New Roman" style="" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Ronald has sought ways to recognize source nations and institutions that have contributed to important scientific advances, such as . Working with law professor John Barton, Ronald tried to establish a benefit-sharing model for the source countries of genetically important plant varieties. In 1996, Ronald founded the Genetic Resources Recognition Fund (GRRF) at UC Davis. The intention of the fund was to collect payments from the licensing of academic discoveries that utilized plant materials from developing countries, and to redistribute those monies to source countries through fellowships, land conservation efforts, or other projects of benefit to nation partners</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span><sup id="cite_ref-Table_22-2" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Table-22" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[22]</a></sup><sup class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;">:142–147</sup><sup id="cite_ref-GRRF1998_50-0" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-GRRF1998-50" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[50]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Perlman_37-1" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Perlman-37" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[37]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Kate_38-1" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Kate-38" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[38]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Brush_51-0" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Brush-51" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[51]</a></sup></font></p><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Sub1:Tolerance_to_abiotic_stress">Sub1: Tolerance to abiotic stress</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span></span></font></h3><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In 1996, Ronald began a project with rice breeder David Mackill who had recently demonstrated that tolerance to complete submergence mapped to the Submergence tolerance 1 (Sub1) <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_trait_locus" title="Quantitative trait locus" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Quantitative trait locus</a> (QTL). In 1997, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Agriculture" title="United States Department of Agriculture" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">USDA</a> awarded Ronald and Mackill a grant to isolate the Sub1 locus. Ronald's laboratory led the positional cloning of the Sub1 QTL, revealed that it carried three ethylene response transcription factors (ERF) and demonstrated that one of the ERFs, which she designated Sub1A, was upregulated rapidly in response to submergence and conferred robust tolerance to submergence in transgenic plants .<sup id="cite_ref-sub_52-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-sub-52" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[52]</a></sup> This work revealed an important mechanism with which plants control tolerance to abiotic stress and set the stage for in-depth molecular-genetic analyses of Sub1A-mediated processes with her collaborator <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Bailey-Serres" title="Julia Bailey-Serres" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Julia Bailey-Serres</a>, who joined the project in 2003.<sup id="cite_ref-serres_53-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-serres-53" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[53]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-fukao_54-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-fukao-54" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[54]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-seo1_55-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-seo1-55" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[55]</a></sup> Mackill's team at the International Rice Research Institute <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Rice_Research_Institute" title="International Rice Research Institute" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">(IRRI)</a> generated and released several Sub1A varieties (developed through <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marker_assisted_selection" class="mw-redirect" title="Marker assisted selection" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">marker-assisted breeding</a>) in seven countries including India, Indonesia and Bangladesh, where submergence destroys four million tons of rice each year, enough to feed 30 million people.<sup id="cite_ref-Voosen_56-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Voosen-56" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[56]</a></sup> <b>With support from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill%26_Melinda_Gates_Foundation" title="Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-Breakthrough_57-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Breakthrough-57" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[57]</a></sup> Sub1 rice has reached over six million farmers as of 2017</b>.<sup id="cite_ref-Folger_58-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Folger-58" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[58]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-QuartzFoF_59-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-QuartzFoF-59" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[59]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-IRRI-Stress-Rice_60-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-IRRI-Stress-Rice-60" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[60]</a></sup></font></p><h2 style="margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Public_engagement">Public engagement</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span></span></font></h2><div class="thumb tright" style="clear: right; float: right; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); padding: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 422px;"><div class="thumbcaption" style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 0px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pamela_Ronald_and_Raoul_Adamchak_on_the_UC_Davis_certified_organic_farm.Photo_credit_Pico_van_Houtryve,picophotos.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" resources="resources" src="src" mediawiki.skinning="mediawiki.skinning" images="images" magnify-clip-ltr.svg="magnify-clip-ltr.svg" e="e" display="display" block="block" text-indent="text-indent" px="px" white-space="white-space" nowrap="nowrap" overflow="overflow" hidden="hidden" width="width" height="height" user-select="user-select" none="none" /></div></div></div></div><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pamela_Ronald_and_Raoul_Adamchak_on_the_UC_Davis_certified_organic_farm.Photo_credit_Pico_van_Houtryve,picophotos.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: url(" w="w" resources="resources" src="src" mediawiki.skinning="mediawiki.skinning" images="images" magnify-clip-ltr.svg="magnify-clip-ltr.svg" e="e" display="display" block="block" text-indent="text-indent" px="px" white-space="white-space" nowrap="nowrap" overflow="overflow" hidden="hidden" width="width" height="height" user-select="user-select" none="none"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ronald co-authored the book <i>Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics and the Future of Food</i> with her husband, Raoul Adamchak. <i>Tomorrow's Table</i> was selected as one of the best books of 2008 by <i>Seed Magazine</i><sup id="cite_ref-Seed_61-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;" /></font></a><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Seed-61" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[61]</a> and the <i>Library Journal</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-Library_62-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Library-62" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[62]</a></sup> Bill Gates calls the book "a fantastic piece of work" and "important for anyone that wants to learn about the science of seeds and challenges faced by farmers."<sup id="cite_ref-63" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-63" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[63]</a></sup> This book describes new ideas about genetically engineered crops, helpful tips about crop production in general, and evidence for why genetically engineered crops are hard to consistently produce.<sup id="cite_ref-:12_64-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-:12-64" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[64]</a></sup> Ronald talks about the importance of organic farming while also explaining that genetically engineered crops are also a good option if organic farming fails.<sup id="cite_ref-:12_64-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-:12-64" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[64]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In addition to her scholarly publications, Ronald has written for <i>The New York Times</i>,<sup id="cite_ref-McWilliams_65-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-McWilliams-65" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[65]</a></sup> <i>The Boston Globe</i>,<sup id="cite_ref-BGRonald_66-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-BGRonald-66" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[66]</a></sup> <i><b>Forbes Magazine</b></i>,<sup id="cite_ref-Frankenfoods_67-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Frankenfoods-67" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[67]</a></sup> <i>Scientific American</i>,<sup id="cite_ref-SA1997_68-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-SA1997-68" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[68]</a></sup> <i>The Harvard International Review</i>,<sup id="cite_ref-Invaders_69-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Invaders-69" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[69]</a></sup> <i>The Economist</i>, the <i>Boston review</i><sup id="cite_ref-BostonReview_70-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-BostonReview-70" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[70]</a></sup> and the <i>MIT Technology Review</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-MIT2014_71-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-MIT2014-71" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[71]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The song "Sierra Bound", from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rita_Hosking" title="Rita Hosking" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Rita Hosking</a>'s 2013 CD <i>Little Boat</i>, is dedicated to Pamela Ronald.</font></p><h2 style="margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Awards_and_honors">Awards and honors</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span></span></font></h2><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Ronald was elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2019<sup id="cite_ref-NASElection_72-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-NASElection-72" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[72]</a></sup> and as a Fellow of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Association_for_the_Advancement_of_Science" title="American Association for the Advancement of Science" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">American Association for the Advancement of Science</a> (AAAS) in 2006.<sup id="cite_ref-AAAS_73-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-AAAS-73" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[73]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">She and her colleagues have received a number of awards for their work on submergence tolerant rice. They were recipients of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Agriculture" title="United States Department of Agriculture" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">USDA</a> National Research Initiative Discovery Award in 2008,<sup id="cite_ref-SeedQuest_74-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-SeedQuest-74" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[74]</a></sup> and finalists for the World Technology Award for Environment in 2009.<sup id="cite_ref-75" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-75" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[75]</a></sup> In 2009, Ronald was nominated for the Biotech Humanitarian Award.<sup id="cite_ref-Conservation_76-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Conservation-76" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[76]</a></sup> In 2012, Ronald, Mackill, and postdoctoral fellow Xu received the Tech Award 2012.<sup id="cite_ref-RiceFarming_77-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-RiceFarming-77" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[77]</a></sup></font></p><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Chronological_list_of_honors">Chronological list of honors</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; unicode-bidi: isolate; margin-right: 0px;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span></span></font></h3><ul style="list-style-image: url(" w="w" skins="skins" vector="Vector" resources="resources" common="common" images="images" bullet-icon.svg="bullet-icon.svg" d4515="d4515" margin="margin" em="em" px="px" padding="padding"><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">1984–1985, Fulbright Fellow<sup id="cite_ref-Silent_78-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Silent-78" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[78]</a></sup></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">1999–2000, Guggenheim Fellowship<sup id="cite_ref-Guggenheim_79-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Guggenheim-79" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[79]</a></sup></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">2006 elected Fellow of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Association_for_the_Advancement_of_Science" title="American Association for the Advancement of Science" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">American Association for the Advancement of Science</a> (AAAS)<sup id="cite_ref-AAAS_73-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-AAAS-73" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[73]</a></sup></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">2006 Fellow at the Davis Humanities Institute<sup id="cite_ref-SeedQuest_74-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-SeedQuest-74" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[74]</a></sup></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">2008 Fellow, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Society_for_the_Promotion_of_Science" title="Japan Society for the Promotion of Science" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">(JSPS)</a><sup id="cite_ref-SeedQuest_74-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-SeedQuest-74" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[74]</a></sup></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">2008 USDA National Research Initiative Discovery Award<sup id="cite_ref-SeedQuest_74-3" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-SeedQuest-74" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[74]</a></sup></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2008 <i>Tomorrow's Table</i> selected as one of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seed(magazine)" title="Seed (magazine)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">SEED Magazine</a>'s Best Books of 2008, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_Journal" title="Library Journal" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Library Journal</a>'s Best Sci-Tech Books of 2008</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">2009 Science in Society Journalism Award from the National Association of Science Writers in Society for her commentary "The New Organic" of March 16, 2008, on the <i>Boston Globe</i> website<sup id="cite_ref-NAS_80-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-NAS-80" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[80]</a></sup></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">2011 Charles Valentine Riley lecturer (Selected by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Association_for_the_Advancement_of_Science" title="American Association for the Advancement of Science" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">AAAS</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=US_National_Academies&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="US National Academies (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">US National Academies</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Riley_Foundation&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Riley Foundation (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Riley Foundation</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Food_Prize" title="World Food Prize" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">World Food Prize</a> Committee)<sup id="cite_ref-Riley_81-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Riley-81" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[81]</a></sup></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">2011 Fast Company magazine named Ronald one of the 100 most creative people.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Fast-73" title="Pamela Ronald" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><sup style="line-height: 1;">[73]</sup></a></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">2012 Fulbright-Tocqueville Distinguished Chair Award, Université de Montpellier 2 and the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement<sup id="cite_ref-fulbright-chair_20-3" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-fulbright-chair-20" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[20]</a></sup></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">2012, Louis Malassis International Scientific Prize for Agriculture and Food<sup id="cite_ref-Malassis_82-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Malassis-82" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[82]</a></sup></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">2012 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tech_Awards" title="The Tech Awards" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">The Tech Award</a>: Technology Benefiting Humanity<sup id="cite_ref-RiceFarming_77-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-RiceFarming-77" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[77]</a></sup></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2012 <i>Tomorrow's Table</i> selected by the New Earth Archive Booklist as one of the 25 books selected in 2012 that educate, inspire, and drive change</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">2015 Selected by National Geographic as an innovator who is transforming her field of research "by creating, educating, provoking, and delighting"<sup id="cite_ref-83" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-83" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[83]</a></sup></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">2015 <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_American" title="Scientific American" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Scientific American</a></i> named Ronald one of the World's 100 most influential people in biotechnology<sup id="cite_ref-Worldview_84-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Worldview-84" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[84]</a></sup></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">2016 Named one of the 50 innovators and visionaries who will lead us toward a more sustainable future by Grist magazine<sup id="cite_ref-85" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-85" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[85]</a></sup></font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">2016</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 51);"> Ronald named <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://thebreakthrough.org/people/profile/pamela-ronald" style="background-image: url(" w="w" resources="resources" src="src" mediawiki.skinning="mediawiki.skinning" images="images" external-ltr.svg="external-ltr.svg" background-position="background-position" right="right" center="center" background-size="background-size" initial="initial" background-repeat="background-repeat" no-repeat="no-repeat" background-attachment="background-attachment" background-origin="background-origin" background-clip="background-clip" text-decoration-line="text-decoration-line" none="none" padding-right="padding-right" px="px">Breakthrough Fellow</a></span></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">2019 Elected Member, National Academy of Sciences<sup id="cite_ref-NASElection_72-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-NASElection-72" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[72]</a></sup></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2019 Honorary Doctorate, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_University_of_Agricultural_Sciences" title="Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences</a></font></li></ul><h2 style="margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.3; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="mw-headline" id="References"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Reference</font></span></h2></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">=</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">entine extracted 404</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">wayback:</font></div><div><blockquote style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 20px 30px 20px 35px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; border-left: 1px solid rgb(219, 213, 205); background-image: url(" web="web" http="http" ucfoodobserver.com="ucfoodobserver.com" wp-content="wp-content" themes="themes" ucfo="ucfo" assets="assets" img="img" bg-blockquote.png="bg-blockquote.png" background-position="background-position" left="left" top="top" background-size="background-size" initial="initial" background-repeat="background-repeat" no-repeat="no-repeat" background-attachment="background-attachment" background-origin="background-origin" background-clip="background-clip" color="color" rgb="rgb"><p class="dropcap" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[it is?]s interesting that the public has come to believe that organic farming is diametrically opposed to genetics. That’s untrue…organic farmers also rely on genetic improvements. I’m lucky to have a chance to talk to people about this. And I’m happy – as is Raoul [Adamchak] – that people are interested. Twenty-five years ago, farmers and geneticists were boring. Now we walk into a room and everyone’s interested in our work. The public interest in the topic is gratifying.”  </font></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">                                                                       – Pam Ronald<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></font></span></p></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Pamela Ronald is a professor at the Department of Plant Pathology and the Genome Center at UC Davis. She also serves as director of grass genetics at the <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20150619215255/http://www.jbei.org/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Joint BioEnergy Institute</a> in Emeryville and faculty director of the <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20150619215255/http://worldfoodcenter.ucdavis.edu/What_We_Do/IFAL.html" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">UC Davis Institute for Food and Agricultural Literacy.</a></font></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Ronald’s <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20150619215255/http://www.cropgeneticsinnovation.org/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Laboratory for Crop Genetics Innovation and Scientific Literacy</a> is dedicated to “developing a new generation of staple food crops through genetic innovations, education and partnerships.” Ronald’s research includes studying the genetic basis of resistance to disease and tolerance to stress in rice. Together with her collaborators, she has engineered rice for resistance to disease and tolerance to flooding, which seriously threaten rice crops in Asia and Africa.</font></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Ronald is also the co-author – with her husband, Raoul Adamchak, who manages UC Davis’ student-run organic student farm – of<a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20150619215255/http://www.cropgeneticsinnovation.org/book-tomorrows-table/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Tomorrow’s Table: Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future of Food</a>. The book argues for a food system that is both organic … and genetically engineered. And it’s earning accolades. Among the book’s fans? Bill Gates.</font></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">And this is key about Ronald’s work: she’s embracing both genetically improved seed and ecologically based farming methods, as a means to enhance sustainable agriculture.</font></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Ronald has emerged – nationally and internationally – as one of the most effective advocates for genetic engineering … and for science literacy. Her TED talk – included at the end of this Q&A – has become a sensation. She’s incredibly busy these days: her work has recently been featured on the BBC and in publications such as National Geographic, Forbes, Nature, the New Yorker, the Nation and Ensia, among others. </font></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Ronald graciously found time to chat with the UC Food Observer about her work and to share her insight on a range of topics.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></font></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Q: Some feel that we’re in the midst of a new Green Revolution. Your work is improving rice and assuring more stable production patterns in Asia and Africa … thus increasing food security. What would you want those who oppose this kind of genetic engineering to understand about your work?</font></strong></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Ronald</strong>: It’s important to keep in perspective the goals of sustainable agriculture and to not get bogged down in genetic techniques. There are many types of genetic techniques, some that I’m just learning about, and I’m a plant geneticist. For an average consumer to keep up with plant genetics is quite a challenge.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">What we’ve lost in the discussion about plant genetics are the goals of sustainable agriculture. It doesn’t matter how seed has developed, as long as it’s proven to be safe and is approved by the appropriate regulatory agencies – the genetic methods used in food and medicine are safe for humans and the environment. And there’s consensus on this by all of the <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20150619215255/http://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2014/07/08/graphic-comparing-the-independent-global-scientific-consensus-on-gmo-safety/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">major</a> scientific organizations across the globe.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Go with science first of all. Then focus on the goals of sustainable agriculture. There are key questions we should be focusing on. For example, how can we use less land and water, or use land and water more efficiently? How can we reduce toxic inputs? How can we foster rural communities, help farmers thrive and help feed the poor and malnourished? How can we improve soil productivity?</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">These critical questions are often lost in discussions because we get bogged down in talking about genetic techniques that have been used safely – some for 10,000 years – and modern ones safely for 40 years. That’s where the disconnect lies.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Q: A recent study showed a big gap between how scientists view the safety of GMOs, and how consumers view the issue. What gives?</font></strong></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Ronald: </strong>The major global scientific organizations agree on their safety. These are the same organizations that most of us trust when it comes to global <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20150619215255/http://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/climateGMO1page.pdf" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">climate change</a> or the safety of vaccines.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">We see this with many scientific issues. This particular issue seems to be resonating for a long, long time with consumers. As scientists, we think eventually consumers will get the science right and it will all be okay. But that is not always true. Human opinions have less to do with science and more to do with emotion and the marketing of products … and the marketing of fear.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Q: </strong><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">You are a superb <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20150619215255/http://www.ted.com/talks/pamela_ronald_the_case_for_engineering_our_food" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">science educator</a></strong><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">. There seems to be a strand of anti-science thought in aspects of our public life. What are strategies that we could use to inject more science into public policy to the benefit of our nation’s civic life? How does the Pope’s encyclical about climate change play into this?</strong></font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Ronald:</strong> Have you heard of <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20150619215255/http://sciencedebate.org/board" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Science Debate 2008</a>? Perhaps we can revive this model. The project encouraged vice presidential and presidential candidates to comment on key topics in science. It was pretty interesting, and the organization got some candidates to respond.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">We need to elevate these kinds of scientific discussions to the presidential level.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The response to the Pope’s comments on climate change was noteworthy. Some politicians have dismissed his comments. The Pope is saying, “Let’s pay attention to science and how climate change is going to the impact the poor and malnourished, let’s pay attention to this.” We need to inject that kind of scientific ethos at a very high level.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The Pope supports Golden Rice, a genetically engineered rice enriched for B-carotene, the precursor of vitamin A that is lacking in the diets of hundreds of thousands poor children (11/7/2013). He gave the rice his personal blessing. It’s great that Pope Francis is getting involved and seemingly cares about the science behind critical issues. That a leading religious figure is paying attention to science and encouraging consumers to use science in public policy making is wonderful, and challenges the stereotype that faith is in opposition to science.</font></p><figure id="attachment_6401" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; padding: 4px; line-height: 1.42857; border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); border-radius: 4px; transition: border 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; float: left; width: 200px;"><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20150619215255/http://ucfoodobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/20110415farmers143.jpg" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" color="#000000"><img class="fancybox wp-image-6401 size-medium" src="http://web.archive.org/web/20150619215255im/http://ucfoodobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/20110415farmers143-200x300.jpg" alt="DAVIS - APRIL 15: Husband and wife team Pamela Ronald, a plant geneticist, and Raoul Adamchak, a bio-gardener, co-authored " tomorrow="Tomorrow" apos="apos" s="s" table="Table" organic="Organic" farming="Farming" genetic="Genetic" and="and" the="the" future="Future" of="of" food="Food" at="at" uc="UC" davis="Davis" in="in" ca="Ca" on="on" friday="Friday" april="April" width="200" height="300" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></font></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 9px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">DAVIS – APRIL 15: Husband and wife team Pamela Ronald, a plant geneticist, and Raoul Adamchak, a bio-gardener and organic farmer.</font></figcaption></figure><blockquote style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 20px 30px 20px 35px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; border-left: 1px solid rgb(219, 213, 205); font-style: italic; background-image: url(" web="web" http="http" ucfoodobserver.com="ucfoodobserver.com" wp-content="wp-content" themes="themes" ucfo="ucfo" assets="assets" img="img" bg-blockquote.png="bg-blockquote.png" background-position="background-position" left="left" top="top" background-size="background-size" initial="initial" background-repeat="background-repeat" no-repeat="no-repeat" background-attachment="background-attachment" background-origin="background-origin" background-clip="background-clip" color="color" rgb="rgb"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em; text-align: right;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </font></em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.6em; text-align: center;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">“Many groups are arguing about what farmers should do. Increasingly, farmers have very little voice. We need to communicate to the public what farmers are doing and how they’re growing food, and the changes they’re making to make farms more sustainable. This needs to be translated so systems can be evaluated and measured, and to enable consumers to make informed choices. It’s very difficult for consumers to learn about farming in the current environment where only 2 percent of the population are farmers</em>.”</font></p></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Q: Shifting gears a little bit … you’re a researcher and a scientist. What would you want the public to know </strong><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">about public record information requests and scientific research?</strong></font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Ronald: </strong>Public record information requests are going on and in some cases, they may be an attempt to intimidate and silence scientists and distract them from their research focus.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Happily, the University of California has good lawyers, and I haven’t spent one minute on it. It’s highly inappropriate for scientists to spend any time at all on this kind of thing. I do worry, however, about the possible affects on young scientists. Many young scientists are interested in communicating more with the public and see an information and communication gap that they can fill. They want to have a role in the public sphere, to be available and to answer questions. And clearly, that kind of interaction benefits us all. I fear that the smearing and intimidation campaigns will hinder the enthusiasm of young scientists from communicating freely with the public. Some plant geneticists and journalists have even received death threats for <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20150619215255/http://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2014/07/25/mike-adams-claims-monsanto-set-up-kill-gmo-supporters-website-as-scientists-journalists-face-death-threats/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">speaking out about science</a>. It is like we are back in the time of Galileo.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Q: Whole Foods has recently begun a “Responsibly Grown” program. I</strong><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">t provides another set of standards for the produce and flowers that the retailer sells. The system rates both organic and conventionally grown produce. It considers energy conservation, water use and other “environmental and ethical factors. What do you think about this kind of labeling system? Will it benefit consumers?</strong></font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Ronald: </strong>I’ve looked briefly at the Whole Foods matrix. It’s certainly good to start to look at sustainability. But I don’t think large corporations are the right organizations to set up this type of label. Whole Foods is now a bigger corporation than Monsanto. The matrix appears to me to be just a form that farmers fill out. Farmers are required to pay a fee to get into the program even though they are already subject to EPA safety guidelines. So this creates more costs for farmers. Whole Foods is not setting up any new regulations and there are no inspections. So it’s good for marketing and for the Whole Foods profit margin but I am skeptical it will enhance sustainable food production.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">It would be much better if we had a government label – a certified sustainable label – that was not to the benefit of one particular corporation. There is no reason to believe that Whole Foods doesn’t want to do this in a fair way, but there is a huge conflict of interest in making the decisions. For example, say there was a scarce product. A company with their own labeling program could label any of the scarce commodities a “best buy” product, and the consumer would never know. The company would still make a lot of money. There are no teeth to a corporate-sponsored labeling program.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Still, it is clear that there is a huge consumer desire for more information about how their food is grown, which is great. The food labeling system needs to be transparent, not just someone in Whole Food’s office filing paperwork. The GMO label in Vermont is completely meaningless; everything is genetically modified, somehow and the label does not provide any information about food safety or sustainability.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">So I guess I’m a little skeptical of some of the current labeling trends; it’s not in consumers’ best interests to have Chipotle and Whole Foods decide what’s going to be eaten. They are not agriculturalists or food safety experts … they are marketers and business people.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">With the USDA certified organic label, it’s clear what’s being measured and inspections take place. That label doesn’t necessarily mean a product is certified sustainable, and it doesn’t allow for many new technologies that can reduce food waste and pesticide use, but at least there are clear requirements behind the system. I favor the idea of a USDA-certified sustainable label. It could be difficult on a political level to achieve, however.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Q: You and your husband have collaborated on some work, including your authorship of <em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20150619215255/http://www.cropgeneticsinnovation.org/book-tomorrows-table/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration: none;">Tomorrow’s Table: Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future of Food</a>, </em>which is receiving accolades as one of the most powerful and influential books on this topic, especially for college-aged students. You have carved a sort of <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">via media – </em>a middle road – that is bringing people with different perspectives together … essentially, building bridges. What do you think of this assessment? What lessons might your work hold for others?</font></strong></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Ronald</strong>: In terms of being “bridge” figures … Raoul and I don’t see ourselves as too different from our friends and colleagues. My husband is a farmer. Most farmers are very interested in sustainable agriculture and are very obsessed with new seed varieties…they love looking through seed catalogs. Many plant biologists are drawn to science because they want to advance sustainable agriculture.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">It’s interesting that the public has come to believe that organic farming is diametrically opposed to genetics. That’s untrue … organic farmers also rely on genetic improvements. I’m lucky to have a chance to talk to people about this. And I’m happy – as is Raoul – that people are interested. Twenty-five years ago, farmers and geneticists were boring. Now we walk into a room and everyone’s interested in our work. The public interest in the topic is gratifying.<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></strong></font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Q: What keeps you up at night?</font></strong></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Ronald: </strong>The drought.<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></strong></font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Q: I’m giving you a super power. You can change one thing about the food system with that super power. What change would you make?</font></strong></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Ronald: </strong>I would have a certified sustainable label that is transparent and that has appropriate metrics that consumers can access via a barcode, and receive every bit of information about how food was grown. That would include where the food was grown, the genetic techniques used to develop the seed used in its production, comparative metrics with neighboring farms, the pesticides used and the toxicity of those pesticides. This sort of label could transform the food system.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 25px; line-height: 1.6em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Many groups are arguing about what farmers should do. Increasingly, farmers have very little voice. We need to communicate to the public what farmers are doing and how they’re growing food, and the changes they’re making to make farms more sustainable. This needs to be translated so systems can be evaluated and measured, and to enable consumers to make informed choices. It’s very difficult for consumers to learn about farming in the current environment where only 2 percent of the population are farmers.</font></p></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">https:/<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">/www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2015/</span>06/22/qa-plant-geneticist-pamela-ronald-on-why-organic-farming-needs-genetics/</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">oxford UP</font></div><div><h5 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.52941; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">pamela C. Ronald and Raoul W. Adamchak</font></h5><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"> </font></p><h2 class="heading--underline" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; font-weight: 200; line-height: 1.04; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="">TOMORROW’S TABLE: ORGANIC FARMING, GENETICS, AND THE FUTURE OF FOOD</font></span></span></h2><h4 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.36842; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Description</font></h4><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In modern agricultural politics, organic farming and genetic engineering occupy opposite ends of the spectrum. In the Ronald-Adamchak household, the world is not so black and white. Ronald is a professor of plant pathology at the University of California, Davis. Adamchak manages the student-run organic farm on campus. Together, they’re exploring the juncture where their methods can (and they argue, should) meet to ensure environmentally sustainable food production. Revealing common principles and “leveling the playing field,” this book roughly chronicles one year in the lives of the Ronald-Adamchak family.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Through dialogue with friends and family, the authors thoughtfully explore the use of GE agriculture and the concerns expressed by consumers. They discuss the contents of their own largely organic pantry, what they choose to feed their children, and how over the last ten years of their marriage, they have developed a specific criteria for the use of GE in agriculture. From their personal vantage points, Ronald and Adamchak explain what geneticists and organic farmers actually do, and help readers distinguish between fact and fiction in the debate about crop genetic engineering.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Loosely organized by season, each section of the book addresses a different issue related to the role of GE and organic farming in food production. Raoul provides a farmer’s view of the philosophy and practice of organic farming and how it differs from conventional agriculture; Pam describes the tools and processes of genetic engineering, as well as  the potential ecological benefits and risks of using GE technology to generate new crop varieties. At the end of the book, they describe one of their typical family dinners, explain their choice to bring both genetically engineered and organic food to their table, and share some of their family’s best recipes.</font></p><h4 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.36842; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Reviews</font></h4><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">“A fantastic piece of work” — Bill Gates</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“This book is a tale of two marriages. The first is that of Raoul and  Pam, the authors, and is a tale of the passions of an organic farmer and a plant genetic scientist. The second is the potential marriage of two technologies-organic agriculture and genetic engineering. …  Like all good marriages, both include shared values, lively tensions, and reinvigorating complementarities. [The authors] share a strong sense of both the wonder of the natural world and how, if treated with respect and carefully managed, it can remain a source of inspiration and provision of our daily needs.” — Sir Gordon Conway KCMG FRS, Professor of International Development, Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College, London, and past President of the Rockefeller Foundation, from his foreword.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Here’s a persuasive case that, far from contradictory, the merging of genetic engineering and organic farming offers our best shot at truly sustainable agriculture. I’ve seen no better introduction to the ground truth of genetically engineered crops and the promising directions this ‘appropriate technology’ is heading.” — Stewart Brand, creator of the Whole Earth Catalog</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Whether you ultimately agree with it or not, Tomorrow’s Table brings a fresh approach to the debate over transgenic crops.” — Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food and The Omnivore’s Dilemma</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Welcome as water in the desert-at a time when partisans compete to see who can deliver the hardest slam against those who think differently, what a welcome surprise to find this book building bridges between unnecessary antagonists. The developers of crops improved through biotechnology and the practitioners of organic agriculture want the same thing-a way to grow food that helps farmers tread more gently on the land. Ronald and Adamchak explain how simpatico these two approaches are at heart. For a future that will bring unprecedented challenges we will need all the tools we can muster. Tomorrow’s Table shows how organic and biotech can coexist and complement one another. Bravo, and bring on Volume II.” — L. Val Giddings, President, PrometheusAB</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“A unique, personal perspective on the ways in which genetically enhanced crops can improve wholesome agricultural productivity, helping to achieve the low chemical inputs that are the goal of organic agriculture and of those who care about our environment and health. Highly recommended.” — Peter H. Raven, President, Missouri Botanical Garden</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“With the world’s population projected to grow some 50 percent by mid-century, rigorous agricultural planning becomes indispensable to forestall the onset of ecological and human disaster. Ronald and Adamchak, a wife-husband team from the University of California at Davis, combine the training and insights of a geneticist and the know-how of a committed organic farmer. They examine the often-passionate debate about genetically engineered food and how it may affect the food supply of the future, meticulously dissecting arguments for and against such application of science. This wildly eccentric book juxtaposes deep scientific analysis of genetically engineered agriculture with recipes for such homey kitchen staples as cornbread and chocolate chip cookies. In a marvelously useful table, they outline a history of biological technology from 4000 BC through the dawn of the twenty-first century. A glossary of agricultural genetics and an extensive bibliography supplement the text.” — Mark Knoblauch, Booklist, April 1, 2008</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Genetically-engineered versus organically-grown. It’s a choice often framed as being between science and nature, but it’s a false one, says this wife-husband team. In a literal marriage of two entrenched camps, Ronald, a plant genomics researcher at UC Davis, and Adamchak, an organic gardener, shed light on the unfounded fears of gene modification and the merits a more-holistic approach to agriculture. Recipes include “Sticky Rice with GE Papaya” and “Isolation of DNA from Organically- Grown Strawberries.” – Seed Magazine</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“I’ve seen no better introduction to the ground truth of genetically engineered crops and the promising directions this ‘appropriate technology’ is heading.” – Stewart Brand, creator of the Whole Earth Catalog</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Welcome as water in the desert… Bravo, and bring on Volume II.” –<b> L. Val Giddings,</b> President, PrometheusAB</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Highly recommended.” – Peter H. Raven, President, Missouri Botanical Garden</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“This wildly eccentric book juxtaposes deep scientific analysis of genetically engineered agriculture with recipes for such homey kitchen staples as cornbread and chocolate chip cookies” – Mark Knoblauch, Booklist, April 1, 2008</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Ronald and Adamchak have inspired books by a varied clutch of professionals: an environmentalist, a historian and a journalist” – Paul Voosen, The New York Times (<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/01/04/04greenwire-can-we-feed-the-world-without-damaging-it-99381.html?pagewanted=all" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">link</a>)</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“We found the book insightful and well-documented.” – <b>Organic Gardening Magazine</b></font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Tomorrow’s Table is not just another biology textbook posing as a general reader in a shallow attempt to garner extravagant royalty payments for their academic authors, but one of the best, most balanced accounts of transgenic agriculture that I have read” – Nature Biotechnology</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Ronald and Adamchak’s clear, rational approach is refreshing, and the balance they present is sorely needed in our increasingly polarized world.” –<b> Science Magazine</b></font></p><h4 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.36842; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Reviews of the Second Edition</font></h4><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“In a debate that has become so polarized, having both the voice of a plant geneticist and an organic farmer is a killer combination, and this book is highly recommended.” —</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://inquisitivebiologist.wordpress.com/2018/10/01/book-review-tomorrows-table-organic-farming-genetics-and-the-future-of-food-second-edition/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">The Inquisitive Biologist</font></a></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/http://pamelaronald.blogspot.com/2008/09/reviews-of-tomorrows-table.html" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Additional Reviews</font></a></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"> </font></p><h4 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.36842; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Product Details</font></h4><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">232 pages; 7 b/w halftones and 1 line illus.; 6-1/8 x 9-1/4;</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ISBN13: 978-0-19-530175-5</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ISBN10: 0-19-530175-7</font></p><h4 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.36842; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">About the Authors</font></h4><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><em style="box-sizing: inherit;">Pamela C. Ronald</em> is a Professor in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of California, Davis. Her laboratory has genetically engineered rice for resistance to diseases and flooding. Her work has been published in Science, Nature , and other scientific periodicals and has also been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal,  Le Monde and on National Public Radio. <b>She is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.</b></font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: inherit;">Raoul Adamchak</span> has grown organic crops for twenty years, part of the time as a partner in Full Belly Farm, a private 150-acre organic vegetable farm. He has inspected over one hundred organic farms as an inspector for California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) and served as a member and President of CCOF’s Board of Directors. He now works at the U.C., Davis as the Market Garden Coordinator at the certified organic farm on campus.</font></p><h4 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0.75em 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.36842; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Press</font></h4><ul style="box-sizing: inherit; overflow: hidden;"><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/The-New-Science-of-Feeding-the-World--Bill-Gates.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Tomorrow’s Table recommended on The Gates Notes</font></a></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bill Gates tackles controversy over genetically-modified crops at UC Berkeley</font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bill Gates recommends Tomorrow’s Table at The Techonomy Conference (skips to 4:26)</font></p></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/http://berkeley.news21.com/theration/2011/07/27/video-gmorganic-a-botanical-love-story/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">GMOrganic, A Botanical Love Story</a>  – The Ration</font></p></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/What-genetic-engineering-and-organic-farming-have-in-common-.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">WHAT GENETIC ENGINEERING AND ORGANIC FARMING HAVE IN COMMON</a> -TED</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/http://books.google.com/books?id=UcMDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA70&lpg=PA70&dq=organic+gardening+magazine+adamchak&source=bl&ots=YQkfwQJ7ta&sig=b1-2Nb1Sdsf_HodqVyFVKP4iik4&hl=en&ei=i9OxTc-cCrPXiAKY582vBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAw%23v=onepage&q&f=false#v=onepage&q&f=false" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">“Organic Gardening Magazine”. Retrieved 2012-06-02.</font></a></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/The-New-Science-of-Feeding-the-World--Bill-Gates.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">“Pamela Ronald and Raoul Adamchak’s Tomorrow’s Table: Organic Farming,<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />Genetics, and the Future of Food”. Thegatesnotes.com. Retrieved<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />2012-06-02</a>.</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/http://vimeo.com/92291215" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Edible Education 101: “Plant Genetic Engineering and the Future of Food” with<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />Pamela Ronald</font></a></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/Gentechnik-und-Biolandbau-eine-Vernunftehe-academics.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">Eine Vernunftehe?</a> – Die Zeit</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/An-Organic-Farmer-and-a-Geneticist-Walk-Into-a-Field--Ensia.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">An Organic Farmer and a Geneticist Walk Into a Field</a> – Ensia</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/geneticliteracyproject_org.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">Scientific American’s new Food Matters blog is all about the science of food, including GMOs</a> – Genetic Literacy Project</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/New-Earth-Archive-%E2%80%93-The-2012-New-Earth-Archive-Booklist.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">Tomorrow’s Table ranked one of the top 25 powerful and influential books that educate, inspire, and drive change</a> – The New Earth Archive</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cropgeneticsinnovation.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/Gentechnik-und-Biolandbau-eine-Vernunftehe-academics.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">Gentechnik ganz ökologisch Letzte Rettung für den Goldenen Reis</a> -Spiegel Online</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/mprnews_org.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">How will we feed world’s growing population?</a> – Minnesota Public<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />Radio</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/http://archive.org/details/Insight-120507" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">Can organic farming sustain the world’s food needs? Experts say a mix of organic and conventional farming can help.</a> – KXJZ’s Insight</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/interview-pamela-ronald/id393569777?i=1000264526569&mt=2" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">AR Plant Biology: A podcast</a> – Annual Reviews Conversations</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/surveygizmo_com.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">“Tomorrow’s Table” is a candidate for the 2012 New Earth Archive Booklist</a> – The New Earth Archive</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/15/nepal-and-others-mull-monsantos-role-in-advancing-agriculture/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">Nepal and Others Mull Monsanto’s Role in Advancing Agriculture</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/NYT_Dot_Earth_12-15-11.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">(pdf)</a> – Dot Earth, New York Times Blog</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Biotech Discussion with Pamela Ronald and Michael Dimock – Food Dialogues</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://vimeo.com/27023498" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">GMOrganic, A Botanical Love Story</a> – The Ration</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Is organic GM the answer? <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/Organic-Genetic-Modification_Jon-Entine.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">(pdf)</a> – Ethical Corporation</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/Artilcle-from-Popular-Science-Raoul-and-Pam.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">The Second Green Revolution (pdf)</a> – Popular Science</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/2477342/pamela-ronald-genes,-seeds,-and-weeds" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">Pamela Ronald : genes, seeds, and weeds</a> – Radio New Zealand</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/nzherald_co.nz.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">The New Zealand Herald</font></a></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/archive_org-2.pdf" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; outline: 0px;">Fear of a GM Planet III: The Future of Food</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">– Examiner.com</span></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://www.npr.org/2011/03/01/134162035/a-growing-debate-how-to-define-organic-food" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">A Growing Debate: How To Define ‘Organic’ Food</a> – NPR</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/archive_org-11.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">The Future of Food</a>– World Science Festival</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/archive_org-12.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">Food 2.0:Feeding a Hungry World</a> – World Science Festival</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/archive_org-10.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">Is Genetically Modified Food Safe?</a> – World Science Festival</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Raoul Adamchak, Fred Pearce, Prabhu Pingali: REINVENTING SUSTENANCE. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTJt1BqE9lM" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">Techonomy</a></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bill Gates: Reinventing Capitalism. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/cnbc_com.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">Techonomy</a></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Book Review: Tomorrow’s Table. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/archive_org-3.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">Pursue – Action for A Just World</a></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Should Zambia accept GMOs? <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/http://www.daily-mail.co.zm/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">Zambia Daily Mail</a></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/zdnet_com.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">Bill Gates tackles controversy over genetically-modified crops at UC Berkeley</a>.</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bill Gates – What I’m Learning – The New Science of Feeding the World. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/The-New-Science-of-Feeding-the-World--Bill-Gates.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">The Gates Notes</a></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Green Genes: Are genetically modified crops eco-friendly? <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/forbes_com1.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">Forbes</a></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dramatic changes in agriculture needed as world warms and grows. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/ucdavis_edu.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">UC Davis News Service</a></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/insideurbangreen_org.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Radically rethinking agriculture.</font></a></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tomorrow’s Table featured on <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/TomorrowsTableLectureSlides-foodforthought.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">Food For Thought, an Oregon State University lecture series.</a></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Can we feed the world without damaging it? <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/nytimes_com-1.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">The New York Times</a> or <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/2010/01/04/1/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">Greenwire</a></font></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">Author and journalist Michael Specter believes that public fear and skepticism of technological developments — from vaccines to genetically modified foods to synthetic biology — threaten to undermine scientific progress. He joins us in studio to discuss his new book, “Denialism.” <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://www.kqed.org/forum/911191000/denialism" style="box-sizing: inherit; outline: 0px;">KQED</a>.</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pamela Ronald and Raoul Adamchak featured on The Progressive Farmer( <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/TheOddCouple.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">pdf</a>)</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pamela Ronald featured on NOVA | Evolution in Your Life ( <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://www.pbs.org/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">PBS</a>)</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pamela Ronald and Raoul Adamchak, “Organically Grown and Genetically Engineered: The Food of the Future” ( <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/http://www.longnow.org/seminars/02009/jul/28/organically-grown-genetically-engineered-food-future/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">The Long Now Foundation</a> or <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5RpALgZihY" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">youtube</a>)</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Food Farming and Genetics: A Panel Discussion with Michael Pollan(<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=VXiYbbri8YU" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">UCTV.com</a>)</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Grains of Truth ( <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/reededucombined.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">Reed Magazine</a>)</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sustainably Engineered Organic ( <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/wired_com.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">Wired Magazine</a>)</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">GE crops and the Boulder ‘brand’ ( <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/http://www.dailycamera.com/news/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">dailycamera.com</a>)</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The fetish art of Superman’s co-creator, the future biotech farmers of America, and Hank Williams Jr.’s right-wing populism (<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/reason_com.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">reason.com</a>)</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Scientific Flip Flop – Five experts debate the roots of GM<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />opposition, the role of big agribusiness, and whether we’ve achieved<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />real scientific consensus (<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/Seed_Mag_6_23_09.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">pdf</a>)</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Food Fight: the future of biotech farming (<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/archive_org-6.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">The Molokai Dispatch</a>)</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Reconciling GMOs and Organics ( <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/TheOddCouple.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">visit DTN/The Progressive Farmer</a>)</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Is it possible to feed six billion people – and counting – without exploiting animals, workers, or the earth? (visit <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/http://www.steinershow.org/radio/the-marc-steiner-show/april-7-2009-hour-2" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">The Marc Steiner Show</a> or download the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDOFq8T3eZk" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">youtube</a>)</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tomorrow’s Table lecture at The University of Hawaii at Manoa (<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/http://mm.ctahr.hawaii.edu/ocs/tomorrows_table.wmv" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">view the video at ctahr.hawaii.edu</a>)</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Could genetically modified foods actually be good for the environment? (<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/wbur_org.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">listen at hereandnow.org</a>)</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Food symposium to kick off T-ride’s Mountainfilm Festival 2009 ( <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://www.ouraynews.com/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">OurayNews.com</a>)</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://www.yahoo.com/news/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Poptech – Pamela Ronald: Rethinking genetic engineering</font></a></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Library journal selects “Tomorrow’s Table” as one of the Best-Sci tech books of 2008. ( <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/Best-Sci-Tech-Books-of-2008-3_1_2009-Library-Journal.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">libraryjournal.com)</a></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Why Not Genetically Modified Organic Crops? (<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/reason_com-1.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">reason.com</a>)</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Green Monster – Could Frankenfoods be good for the environment?<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />(<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/http://www.slate.com/id/2209168/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">Slate.com</a>) or ( <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/Slate-Green-Monster-1-09.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">pdf</a>)</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tomorrow’s Table has been selected as one of SEED Magazine’s best<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />of 2008. ( <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/Seed-Seed-Picks-2008.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">pdf</a>)</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">See more <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/http://pamelaronald.blogspot.com/2008/09/reviews-of-tomorrows-table.html" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">reviews</a> of Tomorrow’s Table (pamelaronald.blogspot.com)</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Here’s a persuasive case that, far from contradictory, the merging<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />of genetic engineering and organic farming offers our best shot at<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />truly sustainable agriculture”–Stewart Brand, creator of the Whole Earth Catalog</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“We found the book insightful and well-documented.” — <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/Organic-GMO.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">Organic Gardening Magazine</a></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">See review in Nature Biotechnology” ( <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/nbt1008-1084.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">pdf</a>)</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">See review in Science ( <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/Science-9-21-08-Tomorrows-Table-Review.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">pdf</a>)</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tomorrow´s Table, una búsqueda de la verdad sobre la agricultura<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />orgánica y la modificación genética. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/ANTAMA-dot-org-12-9-08-Tomorrows-Table.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">fundacion-antama.org (pdf)</a></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bill Nye the Science Guy (<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/nye-press.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">pdf</a>)</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Read and view videos of <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/archive_org-9.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">Pam Ronald’s</a> and <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/archive_org-7.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">Raoul Adamchak’s</a> interviews in “Silent Killer-The Unfinished Campaign Against Hunger “</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">GMO coupled with organic farms best for environment. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/reuters_com.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">The Guardian.April 24, 2008</a>.</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Engineering crops for the 21st century. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8lRP8a3x1o" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">UC Davis Frontiers.September, 2007</a>.</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Interview. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/http://www.thetakeaway.org/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">The Takeaway. May 1, 2008</a>.</b></font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">GMO coupled with organic farms best for environment. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/https://cgilab.sf.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6996/files/inline-files/reuters_com.pdf" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;">Reuters.April 24, 2008</a>.</font></li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit;"><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210112173923/http://scienceblogs.com/tomorrowstable/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; outline: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Visit Tomorrow’s Table blog</font></a></p></li></ul></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" /><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>Symposium calls for food security (not food uncertainty)</b></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></div><div><b>
</b></div><div>By Brad Hooker, UC Davis</div><div>Tuesday, July 7, 2015</div><div>
</div><div> Nathaniel Johnson, Marian Swain and Tom Muller take questions from the audience in a panel discussion. </div><div>Credit: Shannon Albers/UC Davis</div><div>
</div><div>(From left) Nathanael Johnson, Marian Swain and Tom Muller take questions from the audience in a panel discussion at the Food for Thought: Communicating Agricultural Science symposium at UC Davis.</div><div>
</div><div>Like many regions of the world, California is facing a barrage of environmental challenges. One that often bewilders scientists is a deep skepticism growing among consumers who are taking a more critical look at the food they eat — as in where it comes from, what it’s made of and how it’s made.</div><div>
</div><div>This while researchers are looking to the same processes and technologies as one hope for sustainably and nutritiously feeding a rapidly growing global population under the threat of climate change. Both sides met recently at UC Davis to establish a middle ground.</div><div>
</div><div>“I won’t be here in 2050, but we have a deep responsibility to leave our children with a world that is as nice as ours was,” said Bruce Chassy, a professor emeritus in food and nutrition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a moderator at Food for Thought: Communicating Agricultural Science.</div><div>
</div><div>Held on June 3, the first symposium by the<b> Institute for Food and Agricultural Literacy (IFAL), a unit initiated by the UC Davis World Food Center and a partner in the UC Global Food Initiative,</b> convened journalists, scientists and foodies to discuss the controversies surrounding genetic engineering technologies.</div><div>
</div><div>Much of the audience — students, faculty, researchers or family from the UC Davis community — wanted to know how to better explain their complex genetic research to the public, to the media and to skeptics.</div><div>
</div><div>Genetic engineering = sustainability</div><div>
</div><div>“It’s important not to confuse a privilege with virtue,” said Ted Nordhaus, chairman of the Breakthrough Institute, in his talk at the IFAL symposium. “Nor should we think an individual food system can feed the planet.”</div><div>
</div><div>More food must be grown on less land to preserve our natural areas, he explained, adding that raising solely grass-fed cattle — as some celebrity authors have encouraged — is a western luxury that would be impossible for feeding the entire world.</div><div>
</div><div>Similarly, Marian Swain, a conservation analyst also at the institute, spoke on how Indonesian farmers applying slash and burn agriculture are trading primary forests for palm trees. This trend can be flipped, she said, with genetically engineered palm trees. The new varieties can produce more oil, are more disease-resistant and encourage farmers to be more productive on the land they have.</div><div>
</div><div>From the local farming community, Tom Muller, a Central Valley alfalfa grower, charmed the audience with his stilting personal stories and honest humor. He told of his struggle to kill weeds in his non-GMO crops and of trying to maintain his business during a devastating drought.</div><div>
</div><div>“I lost two wells yesterday. They sucked in gravel,” he said. “It’s just a big game right now.”</div><div>
</div><div>The cost of innovation</div><div>
</div><div><b>“I’ve shaken hands with people who have tiny skeletal hands from having no food,” said Kevin Folta, who was visibly shaken when recalling his experience.</b></div><div>
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Folta, a horticulture professor at the University of Florida, spoke on how engineered foods can help undernourishment abroad as well as with drought resistance at home. This opened the conversation to the heavy scrutiny U.S. regulatory agencies have had with genetically engineered products.</span></div><div>
</div><div>Kent Bradford, a UC Davis plant science professor, adviser to the World Food Center and audience member at the symposium, brought up the case of the destructive bacterial leaf spot disease in peppers and tomatoes.</div><div>
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">“It’s a very minimal thing,” he said of developing a genetically resistant crop. “But the path they map out for regulatory is still half a million dollars. A whole new variety may make only a quarter of a million in its lifetime.”</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">This is why these technologies often fall to the large multinational corporations that can afford the regulatory costs, said Pamela Ronald, a UC Davis professor, IFAL faculty director and co-organizer of the symposium.</span></div><div>
</div><div>Gateway to the public</div><div>
</div><div>Concerned about the health impacts of a GMO corn crop, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration monitored the plant for seven years, said one audience member, citing a news report she had read.</div><div>
</div><div>Ronald explained the science behind this story: how the corn was made as animal feed but was found in tortillas and how the agencies meticulously investigated the crop but found no evidence for the alleged causes for sickness.</div><div>
</div><div>“How do you deal with the emotional barrier?” asked another attendee.</div><div>
</div><div><b>“I really don’t like the term GMO because it means something different to everyone</b>,” responded Ronald. “The only way to have a valuable discussion is to break it down to why farmers are using it and that each crop is different.”</div><div>
</div><div>Another audience member said that transparency is key and offered her experience working for Calgene with the famous Flavr Savr tomato that was genetically altered by the company in the 1990s.</div><div>
</div><div>“We labeled it, talked to the public and the tomatoes flew off the shelves in Davis,” she said.</div><div>
</div><div>Common ground in science communication</div><div>
</div><div>“When talking to me, I need you to speak in specific clear sentences,” said Russ Parsons, a food editor and columnist at the Los Angeles Times in his talk on how scientists can better explain their work to journalists.</div><div>
</div><div>Nathanael Johnson, a reporter for Grist, said to meet him as a fellow critic.</div><div>
</div><div>“The way to be a journalist is to be a skeptic and I’m looking for skeptics when I’m talking to scientists because that’s the way to be a scientist,” he said.</div><div>
</div><div><b>The Science Babe blogger, Yvette d’Entremont</b>, who was once a skeptic herself before confronting the controversial blogger Food Babe on her anti-GMO advice, has found that more than anything those who are devoutly against the science of genetic engineering have simply received bad information and shouldn’t be blamed for that.</div><div>
</div><div>“The people who try out the Food Babe’s advice are not unintelligent. They are desperate,” she told the audience. “You don’t want to lose people who could be your best allies.”</div></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">2010 forbes</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" /><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Green Genes</font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></div><div>Plant geneticist Pamela Ronald was just tagging along on a kayaking trip with a girlfriend when she met Raoul Adamchak 15 years ago. She spent her days in the lab, trying to figure out how to genetically engineer plants. He was an organic farmer–and genetically engineered crops cannot be organic. They fell in love and got married.</div><div>
</div><div>Despite the giant gap in the public mind between organic farming, which bans artificial pesticides and fertilizers, and gene modification, the couple was never exactly star-crossed. From the beginning, Ronald says, they shared this goal: figuring out how to grow crops in a way that could feed the Earth without destroying the environment. Shortly after she met Adamchak, Ronald began looking for a variety of rice that could resist the floods that annually destroy 4 million tons of crops in India and Bangladesh. She produced one, and in 2009 the rice was released to farmers.</div><div>
</div><div>Now Ronald, 49, and Adamchak, 55, have become proselytizers for the marriage of genetically modified foods and organic farming. Their goal: crops that limit the use of pesticides and fertilizers while delivering more food per acre planted. They wrote a book together, Tomorrow’s Table. An opinion piece she wrote for the Boston Globe won a 2009 National Association of Science Writers prize. They give lectures. They are leading a chorus of young scientists and forward thinkers who see genetic modification not as a threat to sustainable farming but as a new way to make it better. They are not fans of corporate agriculture but think genetically modified organisms represent a missed opportunity to make things better.</div><div>
</div><div>These true believers come as a flood of new gene crops approaches. The European Union estimates the number of GM traits in crops will quadruple to 120 by 2015. Only half will be made by for-profit companies. Stewart Brand, one of the founders of the back-to-the-land movement, has been arguing fiercely that environmentalists need to drop their anti-GM stance. So has Karl Haro von Mogel, a 27-year-old plant sciences graduate student at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, whose blog promotes the technology. “There’s so much stuff going on that nobody even knows about,” says Von Mogel. “There is this huge potential if we use the science to pursue those things that are possible.”</div><div>
</div><div>Then there are farmers like Jose Baer, a California grower of organic walnuts. He knows that big companies will probably never want to make GM versions of a minor crop like walnuts, but he bemoans the fact that protecting his trees without pesticides is expensive (he uses pheromones to lure the insects into mating with everything but one another). Transgenic plants, engineered with an antipest gene, could kill the bugs. “I believe it’s probably going to be a very valuable technology in the future,” he says.</div><div>
</div><div>For Ronald the most powerful argument is that lives are at stake. A genetically engineered rice that contains vitamin A was created by academic researchers and the seed company Syngenta . It could save the lives of 40,000 children a year–more, if people don’t reject it just because it’s genetically modified. “Greenpeace is against that,” she says. Why? “People just really cannot imagine their child dying from any kind of vitamin deficiency.”</div><div>
</div><div>Most naysayers have little understanding of agricultural genetics, Ronald says, and are under the impression that the food they eat is far more natural than it really is.</div><div>
</div><div>“You can never develop anything with no risk,” she says. “Every single thing you eat every day has been genetically manipulated, unless you’re eating wild Alaskan salmon or Maine blueberries.” Plant and animal breeding go back maybe 14,000 years.</div><div>
</div><div>Foods created through a process called mutagenesis, in which seeds are exposed to chemicals or radioactivity until their traits change, can be certified organic, Ronald says. Yet, as the National Academy of Sciences has noted, this method is far more unpredictable than inserting a single gene from another species, as was done to produce insect-resistant corn, soybeans and cotton.</div><div>
</div><div>Ronald’s flood-resistant rice is also certified organic through another loophole. The gene that lets the rice plant survive after being submerged in water comes from an archaic rice strain from before the dawn of agriculture, discovered by geneticists 50 years ago. Initially she inserted the gene using bacteria, but then her colleagues managed to breed the ancient rice with modern varieties using genetics-assisted breeding technologies, which transferred the flood-resistance gene and not much else. That meant fewer regulatory hurdles.</div><div>
</div><div>Ronald says that genetically modified crops have proved remarkably safe for both people and the environment. When genetically modified corn not made for human consumption got into the food supply in 2001, there were many reports of allergies. But the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention found that none of them panned out. Insect-resistant corn containing the bt toxin, derived from a bacterium and used in organic farming, does kill butterflies and other good insects but far less than 1% of them. Traditional pesticides kill them all. A row of bt cotton has more diversity in insect species than the regular stuff. Besides, pesticides kill people, too: 300,000 a year, most of them impoverished farm workers.</div><div>
</div><div>In the eyes of these revisionist enviros, even Monsanto ‘s Roundup Ready crops, which are genetically modified to be resistant to the company’s herbicide, have a good side. Roundup is not as toxic to animals or people as other herbicides, and the crops have allowed farmers to do less tilling. That means fewer tractors and the carbon-sparing equivalent of taking 6 million cars off the road.</div><div>
</div><div>Adamchak emphasizes that genetically modified crops can’t overcome the lack of biodiversity in the farm system. But with organic farming representing 3% of U.S. crop production, there is certainly room for GM crops to help.</div></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
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</font><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>Independent Science News</b> | Food, Health and Agriculture Bioscience News - http://www.independentsciencenews.org -</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Can the Scientific Reputation of Pamela Ronald, Public Face of GMOs, Be Salvaged?</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Posted By jrlatham On November 12, 2013 @ 2:51 am In Biotechnology,News,Science Media | 21 Comments</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">by Jonathan Latham, PhD</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Professor Pamela Ronald is probably the scientist most widely known for publicly defending genetically engineered (GE or GMO) crops. Her media persona, familiar to readers of the Boston Globe, the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, NPR, and many other global media outlets, is to take no prisoners.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">After New York Times chief food writer Mark Bittman advocated GMO labelling, she called him [1] “a scourge on science” who “couches his nutty views in reasonable-sounding verbiage”. His opinions were “almost fact- and science-free” continued Ronald. In 2011 she claimed in an interview [2] with the US Ambassador to New Zealand: “After 14 years of cultivation and a cumulative total of two billion acres planted, GE crops have not caused a single instance of harm to human health or the environment.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">This second career of Pamela Ronald’s, as advocate of GMOs (which also includes being a book author [3], and contributor to and board member of the <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">blog Biofortified</span> [4]) is founded on her first career: at the<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> University of California in Davis</span> she is Professor in the Department of Plant Pathology, Director of the Laboratory for Crop Genetics Innovation [5], and Director of Grass Genetics at the Joint BioEnergy Institute [6], among other positions.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">This background is relevant because Pamela Ronald is now also fighting on her home front. Her scientific research has become the central question in a controversy that may destroy both careers.<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> In the last year Ronald’s laboratory at <b>UC Davis has retracted two scientific papers</b> (Lee et al. 2009 and Han et al 2011) and other researchers have raised questions about a third (Danna et al 2011). The two retracted papers form the core of her research programme into how rice plants detect specific bacterial pathogens (1).</span></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">When the mighty fall, others try to catch them</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The first paper was retracted on January 29th 2013, from the journal PLoS One (Han et al 2011 [7]). News of the retraction was (belatedly) published on the 11th of September 2013 by the <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">blog Retraction Watch</span> under the headline:<b> Doing the right thing: Researchers retract quorum sensing paper after public process</b> [8] (2). [CORRECTION: Jan 29th was the date the Ronald group notified PLoS One of probable errors. Retraction formally occurred on Sept 9th. Apologies to Retraction Watch [9] as there was no delay to explain. Footnote 2 is therefore superfluous.]</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The second retraction, from Science, was officially announced a month later, on October 11th 2013 (Lee et al 2009 [10]). This time, retraction was accompanied by a lengthy explanation (Anatomy of a Retraction [11], by Pamela Ronald) in the official blog of Scientific American. In this article, Ronald blamed the work of unnamed former lab members from Korea and Thailand. Retraction Watch reported the retraction, this time the same day, as:<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> Pamela Ronald does the right thing again</span> [12]. Also on the same day, The Scientist [13] magazine quoted Pamela Ronald saying it was<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> “just a mix-up” </span>and repeating her claim that “Former lab members who had begun new positions as professors in Korea and Thailand were devastated to learn that [we] could not repeat their work.”</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Scientifically, the two retractions mean that the molecule (Ax21), identified by Pamela Ronald’s group (in Lee et al 2009), is not after all what rice plants use to detect the pathogen rice blight (Xanthomonas oryzeae) and neither is it a ‘quorum sensing’ molecule, as described in Han et al 2011.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The media coverage of the retractions didn’t query Ronald’s mea non culpa. Instead, reports added, as<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> UC Berkeley professor Jonathan Eisen put it, ‘Kudos to Pam </span>[14]’ for stepping forward.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Did Pamela Ronald jump, or was she pushed?</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In fact, scientific doubts had been raised about Ronald-authored publications at least as far back as August 2012. In that month Ronald and co-authors responded in the scientific journal The Plant Cell to a critique from a German group. The German researchers had been unable to repeat Ronald’s discoveries in a third Ax21 paper (Danna et al 2011 [15]) and they suggested as a likely reason that her samples were contaminated (Mueller et al 2012 [16]).</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Furthermore, the German paper also asserted that, for a theoretical reason (3), her group’s claims were inherently unlikely.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In conclusion, the German group wrote:</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">“While inadvertent contamination is a possible explanation, we cannot finally explain the obvious discrepancies to the results in..…..Danna et al. (2011)”</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Pamela Ronald, however, did not concede any of the points raised by the German researchers and did not retract the Danna et al 2011 paper. Instead, she published a rebuttal</span> (Danna et al 2012 [17]) (4).</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The subsequent retractions, beginning in January 2013 (of Lee et al 2009 and Han et al 2011), however, confirm that in fact very sizable scientific errors were being made in the Ronald laboratory. But more importantly for the ‘Kudos to Pam’ story, it was not Pamela Ronald who initiated public discussion of the credibility of her research.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Was it “just a mix-up”?</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Reporting of the retractions also accepted Pamela Ronald’s assertions that simple errors by two foreign and now-departed laboratory members were to blame. But her more detailed description of events, which appeared in Footnotes with technical details for those in the discipline below her Scientific American blog, contradict that notion.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Ronald’s footnotes admit two mislabellings, along with failures to establish and use replicable experimental conditions, and also minimally two failed complementation tests [18]. Each mistake appears to have been compounded by a systemic failure to use basic experimental controls (5). Thus, leading up to the retractions were an assortment of practical errors, specific departures from standard scientific best practice, and lapses of judgement in failing to adequately question her labs’ unusual (and therefore newsworthy) results.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Who is responsible?</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE ) published the first and most widely cited principles of authorial ethics in science. These recommendations [19] are followed by thousands of medical and other scientific journals. The following is the first paragraph of the section regarding authorship [20]:</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">“Authorship confers credit and has important academic, social, and financial implications. Authorship also implies responsibility and accountability for published work. The following recommendations are intended to ensure that contributors who have made substantive intellectual contributions to a paper are given credit as authors, but also that contributors credited as authors understand their role in taking responsibility and being accountable for what is published.” (italics added)</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The ICMJE guidelines go on to state that authorship should not be conferred on those who do not agree to be accountable for all aspects of the accuracy and integrity of the work.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Some scientific journals, have their own policies that provide more specifics. The journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology states:</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">“Principal investigators are ultimately responsible for the integrity of their research data and, thus, every effort should be made to examine and question primary data.”</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Likewise, Columbia University’s guidelines on responsible authorship and peer review [21] concludes:</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">“Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content.”</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Lastly, Science (publisher of Ronald’s retracted Lee et al 2009 paper) has this policy [22] on authorship:</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">“The senior author from each group is required to have examined the raw data their group has produced.”</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">It is perhaps surprising then that a senior scientist should publicly disclaim responsibility for research carried out in their own laboratory.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Footnotes</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">(1) Pamela Ronald appeared to be a leader in understanding the mechanisms by which rice, and other plants, detect and resist important pathogens. She and others have (or in the case of Ronald, thought they had) identified specific molecules characteristic of each pathogen that are detected by dedicated receptors in plants. In this case, rice cultivars resistant to the bacterium Xanthomonas oryzeae detect a small protein molecule called Ax21 that derives from the pathogen. The ability to detect Ax21 enables rapid activation of defences and thus confers resistance to the pathogen. This line of research, as it pertains to Pamela Ronald and Ax21, is now retracted.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">(2) Retraction Watch does not explain the delay of over 8 months between the retraction and their report of it. Neither is the “after public process” part of the headline explained.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">(3) The theoretical reason is that molecules that warn of incipient plant pathogen infection (as Ax21 was supposed to do) are typically detected by receptors at very low concentrations–otherwise they wouldn’t serve as useful warning molecules. Yet in the experiments from Pamela Ronald’s laboratory (Lee et al. 2009 and Danna et al. 2011) Ax21 is required to be present at concentrations millions of fold higher than other elicitors to achieve the same effects (Mueller et al 2012).</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">(4) The rebuttal argued, among other points, that: “experimental differences may explain the failure of Mueller et al. (2012) to observe FLS2-dependent defense-related responses.” (Danna et al 2012).</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">(5) The errors noted by Pamela Ronald in her Scientific American blog were: a) “By careful sleuthing, [lab members] found that two out of 12 of the strains……were mislabeled.” b)“In the more recent experiments we found that although the modified (sulfated) Ax21 peptide did induce resistance in Xa21 plants, it also induced resistance in plants lacking the Xa21 immune receptor, an important control.” c) “Furthermore, results of the pretreatment test were highly dependent on greenhouse conditions.” d) “They also made mistakes in their complementation tests of the Ax21 insertion mutant with the wild-type Ax21 gene.” (italics added). e) These errors were not caught prior to publication because experiments in the Ronald lab lacked controls. Apparently: “When laboratory members first established the pretreatment assay years ago, they included diverse controls to optimize the assays. However, in subsequent experiments, some of the controls were dropped to reduce the size of the experiments.”</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">References</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Danna CH, YA Millet, T Koller et al (2011) The Arabidopsis flagellin receptor FLS2 mediates the perception of Xanthomonas Ax21 secreted peptides [15]. PNAS 108: 9286-9291.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Danna CH, XC Zhang, A Khatri, AF Bent et al (2012) FLS2-mediated responses to Ax21-derived peptides: response to the Mueller et al. commentary [17] Plant Cell 24:3174-3176.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Han SW, M Sriariyanun SW Lee, Sharma, O Bahar, Z Bower, PC. Ronald (2011) Small Protein-Mediated Quorum Sensing in a Gram-Negative Bacterium [7]. PLoS One</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Lee SW, SW Han, M Sririyanum, CJ Park, YS Seo et al. (2009) A type I secreted, sulfated peptide triggers XA21-mediated innate immunity [10] Science 326: 850-853.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Mueller K., Chinchilla D., Albert M., Jehle A.K., Kalbacher H., Boller T., Felix G. (2012). The flagellin receptor FLS2 is blind to peptides derived from CLV3 or Ax21 but perceives traces of contaminating flg22 [16]. Plant Cell 24: 3193–3197</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">=</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="http://www.independentsciencenews.org/science-media/fakethrough-gmos-and-the-capitulation-of-science-journalism/">http://www.independentsciencenews.org/science-media/fakethrough-gmos-and-the-capitulation-of-science-journalism/</a></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>Fakethrough! GMOs and the Capitulation of Science Journalism</b></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">January 7, 2014 Biotechnology, Commentaries, Science Media 25 Comments</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">by <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Jonathan Latham, PhD</span></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Good journalism examines its sources critically, it takes nothing at face value, places its topics in a historical context, and it values above all the public interest. Such journalism is, most people agree, essential to any equitable and open system of government. These statements about journalism are especially applicable to the science media. But while the media in general has recently taken much criticism, for trivialising news and other flaws, the science media has somehow escaped serious attention. This is unfortunate because no country in the world has a healthy science media.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">This is science journalism?</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">According to the New York Times genetically engineered Xa21 rice was big news (Song et al 1995). In a 1995 article titled “Genetic Engineering Creates Rice Resistant to Destructive Blight”, journalist Sandra Blakeslee wrote it was:</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">“the first time that a disease-resistance gene has been put into rice”</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Another biotech breakthrough</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">YET ANOTHER BIOTECH BREAKTHROUGH?</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Blakeslee then quoted a senior figure, Gary Toenissen, deputy director of agricultural sciences at the Rockefeller Institute in New York, as saying it heralded</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">“a new era in plant genetics and resistance breeding”.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">But eighteen years after that artice was written, the failure of these predictions is clear. No commercial GMO rice of any kind exists, nor has Xa21 or any similar gene for disease resistance been developed for commercial purposes.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Neither was the research as novel as the Times made it sound. Toenissen claimed it was:</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">“the first time that a disease-resistance gene has been put into rice”,</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">but readers weren’t told that this gene was already in rice plants, because rice is where it came from (Song et al 1995). Blakeslee thus described neither a conceptual nor a commercial breakthrough. But it was certainly a very useful PR boost for plant biotechnology.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>The high protein cassava that never was</b></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">“Cassava packs a protein punch with bean genes“ was the title of a 2011 New Scientist article portraying a new GMO cassava developed by Dr Claude Fauquet and colleagues of the <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Donald Danforth Center, St Louis, USA. The Center, which is largely funded by Monsanto,</span> had produced a GMO cassava using money from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Thanks to the addition of a synthetic protein (called zeolin), the modified cassava was reported to contain protein levels elevated by a factor of four and apparently sufficient to greatly improve the nourishment of “hungry children” (Abhary et al 2011).</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">But despite the enthusiasm of New Scientist, SciDevNet, and many other media outlets, no such cassava is ever likely to feed the hungry of Africa. A subsequent investigation at the Danforth Center found that the “modified” cassava plants in their greenhouses had no zeolin gene in them. They were not transgenic despite the fact that illustrations in the Abhary publication appeared to show they were. The Abhary paper was therefore retracted (this was later noted by New Scientist and SciDevNet).</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">According to Danforth President James Carrington, the main author (Abhary) had left the country along with vital information:</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">“The specific route by which these [plants] were produced we could not determine.“</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">As Retraction Watch discovered, that appears to have been the end of high-protein cassava:</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">“The Fauquet lab has not gone back to redo the study properly,” Carrington said, “because the<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> Gates grant that funded the project ended a few years ago.”</span></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>
</b></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>The virus-resistant sweet potato that vanished</b></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">In 2001 US special envoy Dr Andrew Young</span> flew into Kenya to launch a GM virus-resistant sweet potato developed with Monsanto by Dr. Florence Wambugu. According to <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Forbes magazine </span>its yields were “astonishing”, fully twice that of standard sweet potatoes. Dr. Wambugu, at that time the Kenyan project leader, told the Toronto Globe and Mail that her “modified sweet potato, for example, can increase yields from four tonnes per hectare to 10 tonnes”, and Canada’s National Post called GMOs a technology to pull “the African continent out of decades of economic and social despair”.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">These eulogies appeared despite the absence of any scientific confirmation of the claims.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Subsequently, in <b>2004,</b> it was acknowledged in Kenyan newspapers and on the website GMWatch that Monsanto’s virus resistance was ineffective in field tests and an official report even claimed that “non-transgenic crops used as controls yielded much more per tuber compared to the transgenics”. Kenyan scientists involved in field testing were quoted as saying that:</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">“all lines tested were susceptible to viral attacks.” and</span>:</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">“The transgenic material did not quite withstand virus challenge in the field.”</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Even these negative reports, however, didn’t prevent this being cited once again in the US press, this time by<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> celebrity scientist Pamela Ronald</span><b>. Ronald wrote in the May 14th 2010 </b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>New York Times,</b> </span>that “virus-resistant sweet potatoes and high-yielding pearl millet are just a few examples of genetically engineered foods that could improve the lives of the poor around the globe.”</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">But in fact no GMO virus-resistant sweet potato varieties or scientific publications on this project have ever emerged from Kenya or elsewhere. Presumably the story reported by Kenyan newspapers, that yields were considerably less than “astonishing”, was the accurate one.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>Edible vaccines prove fruitless</b></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">While successful nutrient-fortified crops and virus resistance traits are routinely developed in non-GMO plant breeding programmes, the creation of edible vaccines seemed to be a potentially unique opportunity for GMO crops:</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">“Tangible consumer benefits could turn the debate on genetically modified food,”</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">said Novartis CEO Daniel Vasella about the PR possibilities of edible vaccines.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The edible vaccine concept (variously, lettuce, tomatoes, bananas and potatoes) was described by the Guardian in 2000 as “the most exciting area of biological science”, almost ready to “benefit millions of people in the developing world who could not afford western medicine.” Similar reports, spanning the years 2000-2005, appeared on PBS radio, in the New York Times, Scientific American (twice), and many other high profile media sources.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The articles typically focused on the theoretical advantages of edible vaccines (cheapness and ease of preservation) but neglected to discuss their downsides. These turn out to dwarf (as discussed at length here) the problems they are intended to solve. Some of these problems are applicable to any vaccine, but others relate to the GE process. For example, most established vaccines are not edible. They are injected expressly so as to bypass the saliva and stomach acids that would render them useless. Problems also arose getting GMO plants that produce vaccines to still grow well.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">But many of the downsides of edible vaccines are more practical</span>. Some stem from the questionable wisdom of making living medical products that are visually indistinguishable from food; others from the problems associated with self-medication by untrained individuals. With plants grown in backyards how will individuals keep track of the dose they have received? How does one safeguard the food supply against contamination with vaccine genes? How should edible vaccine programmes overcome likely inconsistencies of dose due to natural variations in climate, season, and other factors?</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">An alternative edible vaccine scenario often put forward, in which the vaccine is grown in a regional centre and distributed from there, poses its own problems, such as how to transport the edible vaccine, which is a perishable foodstuff, separately from the rest of the food supply?</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">As a consequence of these unresolved issues no product has gone beyond the status of a small initial trial in people or animals and a 2011 scientific review concluded: “Edible transgenic plant vaccines have a long way to go before they will be ready for large-scale tests”. Yet even a large-scale test is not a final product.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>Golden rice, the emperor of GMOs</b></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Golden rice has the kind of PR to ensure it needs no introduction. The search term: “golden rice” + vitamin A generates 131,000 results on Google’s internet search engine (1).</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Golden rice has genes inserted which produce in its endosperm modest quantities of beta-carotene, the precursor molecule of vitamin A. Golden rice has become the standard bearer for the humanitarian and beneficial use of a GMO and was famously featured on the cover of Time magazine as well as being the inspiration for eleven separate articles in the New York Times alone.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">And as documented in a recent report from German NGO Testbiotech, the PR campaign for golden rice commandeered the phrase “crime against humanity”. Typical is The Hindu of India’s description of a recent visit to that country by Nobel prizewinner Richard J. Roberts (whose prize was unrelated to agriculture). The Hindu wrote:</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">“Describing the protest by “green” parties in Europe against GM crops as a “crime against humanity,” he particularly drew attention to the project to produce a GM rice variety for tackling the problem of vitamin A deficiency in India and other countries.” (The Hindu Dec 10th 2013)</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The scientific reality of golden rice could hardly be more different to that implied by the heavy-handed PR. Prior to 2005, all such publicity pertained to golden rice 1 (GR1) (Ye et al. 2000). Amidst an almost total absence of journalistic scepticism, only Greenpeace and Vandana Shiva pointed out that the claims for it were false: GR1 was incapable of solving vitamin A deficiencies because the levels of beta-carotene were too low. This was disputed at the time, but it is a clear acknowledgement of GR1’s failure that Syngenta developed a new rice (GR2) (Paine et al 2005).</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The current version of golden rice (GR2) has been the subject of just three scientific publications (Paine et al 2005; Tang et al 2009; Tang et al 2012). Nothing is known about its yield or agronomic characteristics and hardly any more is known about its efficacy or safety. GR2 has not been approved for commercial use or public consumption in any country. It is thus a product still in development, and indeed the transgenes in GR2 have only recently been crossed into the indica rice subspecies that most Asian people eat. There is thus what must surely be an unprecedented disparity between the number of articles generated around golden rice and its actual achievement, which currently stands at zero.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">On occasion, the better parts of this press coverage have indicated that there are socio-cultural and technical obstacles to golden rice achieving genuine success in improving the nutrition of those with a Vitamin A deficiency. For a start golden rice will have to be widely grown (which means replacing many thousands of local varieties, or breeding the transgenes into each one); it must be made available to the poorest and most isolated (who actually need it); and it will have to overcome strong cultural preferences for white rice (by means not yet known). Moreover, in both scientific trials on humans (Tang et al 2009; Tang et al 2012) GR2 was immediately frozen at -70C to prevent loss of the apparently easily degraded beta-carotene (2). It was then fed to the study participants with 10% or more butter or oil (to ensure the availability of the fat necessary for absorption of beta-carotene). It perhaps doesn’t need saying that -70C storage capability and comparably fatty diets are not characteristics of those likely to be deficient in vitamin A.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Thus, between its technical flaws and its requirement for very large quantities of financial resources and political will (for plant breeding, distribution, etc.), it is highly probable that golden rice will never progress beyond a nice media story.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Indeed, following Greenpeace and Vandana Shiva, Michael Pollan proposed that golden rice (at that time GR1) was a “purely rhetorical technology”. Pollan’s scepticism proved fully correct, yet somehow only those three managed to disclose certain key facts. The entire science media failed, being apparently too enthralled by golden rice’s grenade-proof greenhouse in Switzerland.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">But the main point, besides that New York Times readers may be the world’s most misinformed, is that golden rice is not alone, it is just one example among many of preliminary or doubtful research projects being inflated into positive global GMO news stories.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The ingredients missing from science journalism</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">These five ‘humanitarian’ GMO stories, often presented without doubts or caveats, are to be found literally by the thousands in the global news media. To adequately understand the full extent of this journalistic problem, however, it is necessary to briefly consider the specific intellectual and journalistic deficiencies they contain.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Firstly, these news stories offer robust evidence that science reporting is plagued by the same fundamental problem that pervades the rest of commercial journalism. It is the problem summed up by newspaper man Lord Northcliffe as:</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">“News is what people do not want you to print. All the rest is advertising.”</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In biotech reporting, this defect is characterised firstly by missing context. Science journalism could at any point over the lifetime of biotechnology have asked some foundational public interest questions: Is the technology ready? Are the regulators competent? Why is it considered appropriate for industry to fund and conduct its own safety studies? What are the views of dissenting scientists? And many others. Yet only a tiny handful of professional science journalists have ever escaped the standard narrow framing around a specific product, which therefore leaves the reader imagining there are good answers to these questions. Michael Pollan’s excellent Playing God in the Garden is almost unique in this respect.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The second failing is that fakethrough reporting is simple old-time boosterism, whose art largely consists of leaving information out. Except it isn’t quite that innocuous. Because these products are not just the latest cell phone, the quantity of information left out is enormously large and hugely significant. As a non-technical example: when the reader is expected to believe that the agribusiness industry is operating a humanitarian enterprise, is it appropriate to leave out (or deny) the same industry’s historical record of intimidating farmers or manufacturing dangerous agricultural products and then denying and evading responsibility?</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The authors of these articles may reasonably argue that in a short space some assumptions have to be made; but readers can hardly note omissions for themselves when the contradictory facts or viewpoints have never been reported, either in their own newspaper, or even in any commercial media.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">For example, when the UN published a major report by hundreds of scientists proposing that industrial agriculture and GMOs were inappropriate solutions for agriculture and poverty, the New York Times never once mentioned it. Only years later did guest writers ever reference the IAASTD at “the paper of record”.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">As a further example, in the typical fakethrough article, technical success is treated as a given. The presumption seems to be that biotech seed developers can introduce at will almost any trait they choose. What is never pointed out, however, is that all existing commercialised GMO crops are based on a very small number of conceptually simple modifications of conventionally-bred crops. These insect resistance and herbicide resistance traits are single genes and do not require complex understanding of, or deliberate interference with, existing biochemical pathways. In contrast, the new ‘humanitarian’ traits are (in often numerous ways) adventures into much less well understood areas of biology.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The gap between the global coverage and wide acclaim versus the ensuing reality in which two of these five ‘breakthroughs’ failed (or never existed) and the rest which never progressed, can now be understood. That vast gap is a precise and evidence-based barometer of the integrity of GMO news coverage worldwide and unquestionably it points to uniformly one-sided reporting of no value to readers. Its major use is to demonstrate the extent to which biotech journalism has been captured by agribusiness interests.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The journalistic rationale for celebrating putative future successes and discounting actual failures, was advanced by Gregg Easterbrook in a New York Times opinion piece about biofortified GMOs:</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">“The important thing to keep in mind is that the transgenic crops in the news today are just the first manifestations of a fundamental new idea. Much better versions are coming.” (New York Times Nov 19 1999)</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In this view theoretical possibilities alone are what matter; real GMO failures are irrelevant. Which just happens to be how the industry sees the situation. It is as if reporters covering the nuclear power industry, rather than describing accidents, cost overruns, or cover-ups, were to focus on the humanitarian uses of nuclear-powered electricity (4).</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Unfortunately, as these and other equally important stories show, this uncritical industry-pleasing approach guides almost all science journalism today (3).</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>Science journalists can do better, however. Michael Pollan (in Playing God..) ably dissected GMO regulatory gaps and later critiqued golden rice</b> (nota bene: from outside the science pages), pointing out in the process golden rice’s $50 million PR budget. The website GMWatch.org frequently points out unheralded non-GMO breeding successes of comparable importance.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The way of total information control</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">These misreports of biotechnology are endlessly useful to the industry. Articles about supposed breakthroughs constitute the excuse for stern editorials in prestigious magazines decrying ‘irrational objections’ to GMOs. Supposed breakthroughs, like golden rice, are also an opportunity to prize open specific foreign markets. But the main benefit is less obvious but more fundamental. Agribusiness is an industry whose financial success springs ultimately from building a technological treadmill and establishing monopoly control of agriculture. However, its products are invariably dispensable to agriculture and it struggles to develop new ones. Therefore, fakethroughs’ great value is to confirm, in the eyes of the world, the industry’s claim to be ethical, innovative, and essential to a sustainable future.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The fundamental driver behind scientific misreporting, therefore, is not intellectually lazy journalists (though they do help). It is that for agribusinesses and other powerful corporations everything is at stake in science journalism. Their reputations as essential and ethical organisations are daily at risk for the reason that it is in science that the hypocrisy is most self-evident: of financing climate change denial while espousing corporate responsibility, of insisting on due process while buying ones way into the political process (or bribing government officials), of attempting to undermine environmental and worker safety legislation, while describing oneself as a clean green global good citizen, and so on.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Imagine if the New York Times or NBC published, under appropriately scathing headlines, a full and detailed analysis of how GMO corporations perennially manipulate the scientific literature? And then Fox News reported the real story of how the FDA, advised by its own scientists that GMOs should receive close scrutiny, took the purely political and probably illegal decision to disregard that advice? And then each story was picked up by all the other radio, print and TV news outlets? Customers would rebel, political support would disappear (not least because this would discredit the official policy information democratic representatives receive) and the industry would probably collapse. Consequently, the agbiotech industry must make sure such a scenario never happens.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">It is for just this reason that BASF, Coca-Cola, Merck, L’Oreal, Monsanto, Syngenta, Smith & Nephew, the Nuclear Industry Association and their competitors now support coordinated attempts to manage scientific news coverage in the form of the </span><b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">UK’s Science Media Centre.</span> </b>And now, having decided that this method of information control is effective, or maybe that the threat from the internet is sufficiently serious, they are adding some international offshoots.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The marketing of fakethroughs is an important component of a general manipulation of the science media. But interference with the media is in turn only a part of the barely understood but vast web of influence by which the biotech industry meticulously orchestrates the perception of itself (and its products).</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">What is new today, and which wasn’t the case thirty years ago, is that individual industrial sectors such as the life science industry are nowadays sufficiently profitable, monopolistic, and global that they can and do coordinate, to the mutual benefit of their larger members, the flow of information that spans three distinct but interconnected domains of thought: the public domain (TV, radio, print), the scientific domain (peer-reviewed publications), and the policy domain (government reports and bureaucratic discussions).</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">A case in point occurred when a sceptical EU parliament commissioned (in 2007) a comprehensive report (called BIO4EU) into the claims behind the new ‘knowledge-based bio-economy’. Though the evidence base uncovered in the report was extraordinarily weak the life science industry mobilised its resources to ensure that the document text inflated the underlying data and the executive summary inflated the text to the extent that thousands of biotech jobs were converted into millions. The EU parliament was even told, in BIO4EUs summary, that the new bio-economy would</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">“break the link between economic growth and pressure on the environment”</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">(though this assertion was not mentioned or justified in the text) and that:</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">“It is said that money does not grow on trees, but more of our economic prosperity will be based on agricultural produce. Not only will farmers grow food for a larger population, but much of the economy will also be based on the raw materials they grow: new foods, biofuels, and biomaterials.”</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Nothing in the underlying data of the report itself warranted these conclusions but concerted industry pressure on the independent EU institute that prepared the report averted a potential disaster for the industry. Obviously, the fakethrough data that was appearing in the print media must not be contradicted by policy-oriented research.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The EU parliamentarians were probably never made aware that their report was nothing but a giant fraud, but this case demonstrates the extent to which industry PR efforts extend, to use a military term, to full spectrum dominance of the total information environment. This is how it becomes possible for an industry image of ever increasing ambition to be separated from dull reality by a gulf so enormous that, were it to open, it would probably swallow the industry whole.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">But in this the biotech industry is no different from almost every realm of economic activity. From the food industry to the mining industry, to the conduct of wars, very few people would support these activities in anything like their present form if they were fully understood. It follows that the underlying reason businesses operate as they do is that the modern press fails in its fundamental purpose. In 1822 James Madison wrote that:</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">“A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy or perhaps both.”</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">This statement was surely intended to be understood literally, and now, two hundred years later, when we have entered fully into the state which James Madison envisaged, it is time to take Madison at his word and ask: Is it not possible that solving the great problems of our age: climate change, social injustice, and ecological sustainability, is as simple as creating an effective media? Or, to put it another way, can it be done without one?</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Footnotes</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">1. Search conducted on Dec 10th 2013</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">2. The probable reason is that rice is dry while other sources of beta-carotene (e.g. spinach) are hydrated. The high water content probably normally protects the beta-carotene from oxidation.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">3. Internalisation of industry PR is also obvious in the value-laden terminology with which journalists refer to biotechnology. The science media has failed to dissect the language that the industry uses, and which intentionally obscures what is actually being done. Genes are “added” as if biotechnology were a simple mathematics problem; organisms are genetically “engineered” as if they were not living systems; traits are described as “approved” even though (in the US) FDA merely consults, the USDA has a very narrow remit and the EPA often has no role at all.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">4. There are intriguing parallels between nuclear power and genetic engineering. Both technologies are unnecessary (in the sense that both make a product (electricity, seeds) that was already being made, and less expensively), both are cumbersome and resource-intensive compared to their competitors, both are doubted by the wider public, and both are largely driven by an agenda their proponents attempt to keep hidden. In the case of nuclear power that agenda is to conceal activities associated with nuclear weapons and often to milk them for subsidies. For GMOs the concealed agenda is to exploit the intellectual property potential of transgenes to monopolise the seed supply and so to ultimately control agriculture.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">But perhaps the most important parallel is that both are attempts to control within narrow parameters, and over extended time periods, highly complex and improperly understood systems (nuclear reactors and living organisms). In this respect the two technologies are probably unique among all human endeavours.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">References</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Abhary M, Siritunga D, Stevens G, Taylor N J, Fauquet CM (2011) Transgenic Biofortification of the Starchy Staple Cassava (Manihot esculenta) Generates a Novel Sink for Protein. PLoS One DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0016256</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Paine J.A., Shipton, C.A., Chaggar, S., Howells, R.M., Kennedy, M.J., Vernon, G., Wright, S.Y., Hinchliffe, E., Adams, J.L., Silverstone, A.L. & Drake, R., (2005) Improving the nutritional value of Golden Rice through increased pro vitamin A content. Nature Biotechnology, 23: 482-487.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Tang G, J Qin, GG Dolnikowski, RM Russell, and MA Grusak (2009) Golden Rice is an effective source of vitamin A. Am J Clin Nutr 89: 6 1776-1783.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Tang G, Y Hu, S Yin, Y Wang, GE Dallal, MA Grusak, and RM Russell (2012) ß-Carotene in Golden Rice is as good as ß-carotene in oil at providing vitamin A to children. Am J Clin Nutr 96: 658-664.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Song WY, Wang G-L, Chen L-L, Kim H-S, Pi L-Y, Holsten T, et al (1995) A receptor kinase-like protein encoded by the rice disease resistance gene, Xa21?. Science 270 (5243): 1804–6. December 1995. doi:10.1126/science.270.5243.1804.</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Ye, X. et al. (2000) Engineering the provitamin A (b -carotene) biosynthetic pathway into (carotenoid-free) rice endosperm. Science 287: 303–305.</font></div></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">=</font></div></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">wiki</font></div><div><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>Pamela C. Ronald</b> (born 1961) is an American <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_pathologist" class="mw-redirect" title="Plant pathologist" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">plant pathologist</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneticist" title="Geneticist" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">geneticist</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-NatGeo_2015_1-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-NatGeo_2015-1" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[1]</a></sup> She is a professor in the Genome Center and the Department of Plant Pathology,<sup id="cite_ref-Summers_2-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Summers-2" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[2]</a></sup> and founding faculty director of the Institute for Food and Agricultural Literacy (IFAL), all at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,Davis" title="University of California, Davis" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">University of California, Davis</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Ifal_3-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Ifal-3" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[3]</a></sup> She also serves as Director of Grass Genetics at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_BioEnergy_Institute" title="Joint BioEnergy Institute" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">Joint BioEnergy Institute</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emeryville,California" title="Emeryville, California" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">Emeryville, California</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Summers_2-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Summers-2" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[2]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Her laboratory has genetically engineered rice for resistance to diseases and tolerance to flooding, which are serious problems of rice crops in Asia and Africa. Ronald's research has been published in <i>Science</i>, <i>Nature</i> and other leading peer-reviewed scientific journals, and has also been featured in <i>The New York Times</i>,<sup id="cite_ref-Blakeslee_4-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Blakeslee-4" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[4]</a></sup> <i>Organic Gardening Magazine</i>,<sup id="cite_ref-Organic_Gardening_5-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Organic_Gardening-5" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[5]</a></sup><i>Forbes Magazine</i>,<sup id="cite_ref-Herper_6-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Herper-6" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[6]</a></sup> <i>The Wall Street Journal</i>, <i>The Progressive Farmer</i>,<sup id="cite_ref-Lehner_7-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Lehner-7" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[7]</a></sup> CNN,<sup id="cite_ref-Ornstein_8-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Ornstein-8" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[8]</a></sup> <i>Discover Magazine</i>, <i>The Scientist</i>,<sup id="cite_ref-Scudellari_9-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Scudellari-9" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[9]</a></sup><i>Popular Mechanics</i>,<sup id="cite_ref-Sofge_10-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Sofge-10" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[10]</a></sup> Bill Gates blog,<sup id="cite_ref-Gates_11-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Gates-11" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[11]</a></sup> National Public Radio<sup id="cite_ref-Hamilton_12-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Hamilton-12" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[12]</a></sup> and <i>National Geographic</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-NatGeo_2015_1-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-NatGeo_2015-1" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[1]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><div id="toc" class="toc" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249); padding: 7px; display: table; zoom: 1;"><div id="toctitle" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><h2 style="background: none; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border: none; display: inline; line-height: 1.3;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Contents</font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></h2> <span class="toctoggle" style="-webkit-user-select: none;"> [<a role="button" tabindex="0" id="togglelink" style="background: none; cursor: pointer;">hide</a>] </span></div><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#Early_life_and_education" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Early life and education</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#Career_and_research" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Career and research</span></font></a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#Xa21:Pattern_recognition_receptor-mediated_immunity" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">2.1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Xa21: Pattern recognition receptor-mediated immunity</span></font></a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#Paper_retraction" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">2.1.1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Paper retraction</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#RaxX_as_a_mediator_of_Xa21" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">2.1.2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">RaxX as a mediator of Xa21</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#Genetic_Resources_Recognition_Fund" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">2.2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Genetic Resources Recognition Fund</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#Sub1:Tolerance_to_abiotic_stress" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">2.3</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Sub1: Tolerance to abiotic stress</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#Public_engagement" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">3</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Public engagement</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#Awards_and_honors" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Awards and honors</span></font></a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#Chronological_list_of_honors" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4.1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Chronological list of honors</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-11" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#References" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">5</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">References</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-12" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#External_links" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">6</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">External links</span></font></a></li></ul></div><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); font-family: " linux="Linux" libertine="Libertine" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" serif="serif" line-height="line-height"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Early_life_and_education">Early life and education</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pamela_Ronald&action=edit&section=1&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Early life and education" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h2><table class="infobox" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); border-spacing: 3px; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249); margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em; padding: 0.2em; float: right; clear: right; line-height: 1.5em; width: 210px;"><caption style="font-weight: bold; padding: 0.2em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">External media</font></caption><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Audio</font></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/Nuvola_apps_arts.svg/16px-Nuvola_apps_arts.svg.png" width="16" height="16" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/Nuvola_apps_arts.svg/24px-Nuvola_apps_arts.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/Nuvola_apps_arts.svg/32px-Nuvola_apps_arts.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" style="border: none; vertical-align: middle;" /> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.chemheritage.org/discover/media/distillations/203-genetic-engineering-and-organic-farming-an-unexpected-marriage.aspx" style="text-decoration: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" standalone="standalone" no="no" f="F" e="E" csvg="Csvg" http="http" a="A" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" cpath="Cpath" fill="fill" fff="fff" stroke="stroke" m1.5="M1.5" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" m5.765="M5.765" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" m9.995="M9.995" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" cursor="cursor" pointer="pointer" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data">“Episode 203: Genetic Engineering and Organic Farming: An Unexpected Marriage” (includes interview with Pamela C. Ronald and Raoul Adamchak)</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_Heritage_Foundation" title="Chemical Heritage Foundation" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">Chemical Heritage Foundation</a></font></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Video</font></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Nuvola_apps_kaboodle.svg/16px-Nuvola_apps_kaboodle.svg.png" width="16" height="16" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Nuvola_apps_kaboodle.svg/24px-Nuvola_apps_kaboodle.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Nuvola_apps_kaboodle.svg/32px-Nuvola_apps_kaboodle.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" style="border: none; vertical-align: middle;" /> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.ted.com/talks/pamela_ronald_the_case_for_engineering_our_food" style="text-decoration: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" standalone="standalone" no="no" f="F" e="E" csvg="Csvg" http="http" a="A" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" cpath="Cpath" fill="fill" fff="fff" stroke="stroke" m1.5="M1.5" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" m5.765="M5.765" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" m9.995="M9.995" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" cursor="cursor" pointer="pointer" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data">“Pamela Ronald: The Case for Engineering our Food“</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TED(conference)" title="TED (conference)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">TED Talks</a></font></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Nuvola_apps_kaboodle.svg/16px-Nuvola_apps_kaboodle.svg.png" width="16" height="16" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Nuvola_apps_kaboodle.svg/24px-Nuvola_apps_kaboodle.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Nuvola_apps_kaboodle.svg/32px-Nuvola_apps_kaboodle.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" style="border: none; vertical-align: middle;" /> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://vimeo.com/27023498" style="text-decoration: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" standalone="standalone" no="no" f="F" e="E" csvg="Csvg" http="http" a="A" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" cpath="Cpath" fill="fill" fff="fff" stroke="stroke" m1.5="M1.5" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" m5.765="M5.765" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" m9.995="M9.995" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" cursor="cursor" pointer="pointer" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data">“GMOrganic: A Botanical Love Story“</a></font></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Pamela Ronald was born in 1961 to Patricia (né Rosenthal) and Robert Ronald of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Mateo,California" title="San Mateo, California" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">San Mateo, California</a>. Her father Robert Ronald, a Jewish refugee, wrote a memoir entitled "Last Train to Freedom".<sup id="cite_ref-Horowitz_13-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Horowitz-13" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[13]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-freedom_14-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-freedom-14" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[14]</a></sup> From an early age, Ronald spent time backpacking in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Nevada(U.S.)" title="Sierra Nevada (U.S.)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">Sierra Nevada</a> wilderness, sparking her love for plant biology.<sup id="cite_ref-Summers_2-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Summers-2" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[2]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">As a student at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed_College" title="Reed College" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">Reed College</a> with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Helen_Stafford&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Helen Stafford (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">Helen Stafford</a> (1922–2011),<sup id="cite_ref-Barton_15-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Barton-15" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[15]</a></sup> Ronald became intrigued by the interactions of plants with other organisms. For her senior thesis, she studied the recolonization of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mt.St_Helens" class="mw-redirect" title="Mt. St Helens" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">Mt. St Helens</a>. Ronald received a B.A. in Biology from Reed College in 1982.<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-16" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[16]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Ronald_17-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Ronald-17" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[17]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">She went on to earn an M.A. in Biology from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_University" title="Stanford University" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">Stanford University</a> in 1984 and an M.S. from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uppsala_University" title="Uppsala University" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">Uppsala University</a>, Sweden in plant physiology in 1985.<sup id="cite_ref-fulbright-chair_18-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-fulbright-chair-18" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[18]</a></sup> As a Fulbright Scholar in Sweden she visited Nils Fries and studied how plants interact with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycorrhiza" title="Mycorrhiza" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">mycorrhizal fungi</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-freedom_14-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-freedom-14" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[14]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">As a graduate student at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,Berkeley" title="University of California, Berkeley" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">UC Berkeley</a>, she began to study plant-bacterial interactions in the laboratory of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brian_Staskawicz&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Brian Staskawicz (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">Brian Staskawicz</a>, working with peppers and tomatoes.<sup id="cite_ref-NatGeo_2015_1-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-NatGeo_2015-1" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[1]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Lemaux_19-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Lemaux-19" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[19]</a></sup> Realizing that rice is the biggest food staple in the world, she decided to study rice, determining her future career.<sup id="cite_ref-NatGeo_2015_1-3" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-NatGeo_2015-1" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[1]</a></sup> She received her Ph.D. in molecular and physiological plant biology in 1990.<sup id="cite_ref-fulbright-chair_18-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-fulbright-chair-18" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[18]</a></sup> She was a postdoctoral fellow at<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornell_University" title="Cornell University" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">Cornell University</a> from 1990–1992 in the laboratory of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_D.Tanksley" title="Steven D. Tanksley" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">Steven Tanksley</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-fulbright-chair_18-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-fulbright-chair-18" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[18]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Table_20-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Table-20" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[20]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In 1996 she married Raoul Adamchak, an organic farmer.<sup id="cite_ref-TEDMED_21-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-TEDMED-21" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[21]</a></sup> They have two children, Cliff and Audrey.<sup id="cite_ref-Table_20-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Table-20" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[20]</a></sup></font></p><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); font-family: " linux="Linux" libertine="Libertine" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" serif="serif" line-height="line-height"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Career_and_research">Career and research</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pamela_Ronald&action=edit&section=2&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Career and research" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h2><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In 1992, Ronald joined <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,Davis" title="University of California, Davis" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">UC Davis</a> as a faculty member. From 2003–2007 Ronald chaired the UC Davis Distinguished Women in Science seminar series, an event designed to support women's professional advancement in the sciences. She served as Faculty Assistant to the Provost from 2004–2007.<sup id="cite_ref-CV_22-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-CV-22" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[22]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In addition to being a professor in the Genome Center and the Department of Plant Pathology at UC Davis,<sup id="cite_ref-Summers_2-3" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Summers-2" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[2]</a></sup> Ronald is the founding faculty director of the Institute for Food and Agricultural Literacy (IFAL) at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,Davis" title="University of California, Davis" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">University of California, Davis</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Ifal_3-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Ifal-3" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[3]</a></sup> She also serves as Director of Grass Genetics at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_BioEnergy_Institute" title="Joint BioEnergy Institute" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">Joint BioEnergy Institute</a> in<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emeryville,California" title="Emeryville, California" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">Emeryville, California</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Summers_2-4" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Summers-2" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[2]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Ronald is a vocal advocate for the development of foods that will improve agricultural production while minimizing its negative impact. The Ronald laboratory focuses on the development of strains of rice that will be more robust and productive and offer health benefits. They have been instrumental in the development of rice that is disease-resistant and flood-tolerant.<sup id="cite_ref-Annals_23-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Annals-23" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[23]</a></sup></font></p><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: none; line-height: 1.6;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Xa21:Pattern_recognition_receptor-mediated_immunity">Xa21: Pattern recognition receptor-mediated immunity</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pamela_Ronald&action=edit&section=3&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Xa21: Pattern recognition receptor-mediated immunity" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h3><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The Ronald laboratory studies the innate immune response, using the host organism <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice" title="Rice" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">rice</a> and the agriculturally important pathogen <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanthomonas_oryzae_pv.oryzae" title="Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae</a>(Xoo)</i>. In the 1990s, through conversations with rice geneticist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurdev_Khush" title="Gurdev Khush" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">Gurdev Khush</a>, Ronald became interested in the rice XA21 genetic locus, which conferred broad-spectrum resistance to <i>Xoo</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-ikeda_24-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-ikeda-24" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[24]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-khush_25-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-khush-25" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[25]</a></sup> She hypothesized that <i>Xa21</i> encoded a single protein that recognized a conserved microbial determinant.<sup id="cite_ref-locus_26-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-locus-26" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[26]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In 1995, the Ronald laboratory isolated and characterized the rice XA21 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pattern_recognition_receptor" title="Pattern recognition receptor" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">pattern recognition receptor</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Summers_2-5" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Summers-2" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[2]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-xa21_27-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-xa21-27" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[27]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-ax21_28-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-ax21-28" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[28]</a></sup> Subsequent discoveries in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drosophila_melanogaster" title="Drosophila melanogaster" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">flies</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-fly_29-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-fly-29" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[29]</a></sup> humans,<sup id="cite_ref-human_30-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-human-30" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[30]</a></sup> mice,<sup id="cite_ref-mice_31-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-mice-31" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[31]</a></sup>and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabidopsis_thaliana" title="Arabidopsis thaliana" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">Arabidopsis</a><sup id="cite_ref-fls2_32-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-fls2-32" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[32]</a></sup> revealed that animals and other plant species also carry membrane-anchored receptors with striking structural similarities to XA21 and that these receptors also play key roles in the immune response.<sup id="cite_ref-Beutler_33-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Beutler-33" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[33]</a></sup> For their discoveries of the fly and mice receptors, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Hoffman" class="mw-redirect" title="Jules Hoffman" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">Jules Hoffman</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Beutler" title="Bruce Beutler" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">Bruce Beutler</a> received the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nobel_laureates" title="List of Nobel laureates" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine</a> (jointly with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Steinman" class="mw-redirect" title="Ralph Steinman" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">Ralph Steinman</a>), indicating the importance of such research.<sup id="cite_ref-NobelPrize_34-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-NobelPrize-34" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[34]</a></sup></font></p><h4 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: none; line-height: 1.6;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Paper_retraction">Paper retraction</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pamela_Ronald&action=edit&section=4&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Paper retraction" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h4><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In 2009<sup id="cite_ref-Retraction1_35-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Retraction1-35" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[35]</a></sup> and 2011,<sup id="cite_ref-Retraction2_36-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Retraction2-36" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[36]</a></sup> Ronald's laboratory reported on the discovery of a bacterial protein that they believed was the activator of Xa21-mediated immunity. It was an exciting and important discovery.<sup id="cite_ref-ScienceWatch_37-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-ScienceWatch-37" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[37]</a></sup> In 2013, Ronald retracted both scientific papers, notifying the scientific community that two bacterial strains, Ax21 and RaxSt, had been confused.<sup id="cite_ref-retractionwatch1_38-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-retractionwatch1-38" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[38]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-retractionwatch2_39-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-retractionwatch2-39" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[39]</a></sup> The error was discovered when new laboratory members Rory Pruitt and Benjamin Schwessinger<sup id="cite_ref-auto1_40-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-auto1-40" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[40]</a></sup> were unable to replicate previous results. As a result, the laboratory carried out a lengthy and painstaking process, re-confirming the genotypes of all the laboratory strains in their collection. Examination of the bacterial strains and rice seed stocks indicated that one of the bacterial strains involved in key experiments had been mislabeled. Researchers also discovered that results of one of the tests that had been performed were highly variable. In a blog post at <i>Scientific American</i>, Ronald describes the 18-month process leading to the retraction.<sup id="cite_ref-SARetraction_41-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-SARetraction-41" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[41]</a></sup> The retractions were also reported on by <i>The Scientist</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-Yong_42-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Yong-42" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[42]</a></sup> Retraction watch, a website that shines light on problems with papers and educates and celebrates research ethics and good practices stated, "that this was a case of scientists doing the right thing".<sup id="cite_ref-retractionwatch2_39-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-retractionwatch2-39" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[39]</a></sup> As part of a story about the importance of setting the record straight, in 2014, <i>Nature</i> magazine also covered the Ronald retraction.<sup id="cite_ref-Gewin_43-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Gewin-43" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[43]</a></sup></font></p><h4 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: none; line-height: 1.6;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="RaxX_as_a_mediator_of_Xa21">RaxX as a mediator of Xa21</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pamela_Ronald&action=edit&section=5&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: RaxX as a mediator of Xa21" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h4><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">For two more years Ronald's laboratory repeated critical experiments and carried out new ones. In redoing their work, they introduced new procedures and controls to ensure that they were getting it right. Ronald reports that she was amazed not only by the perseverance and loyalty of her team, but also by the community support that she received during this difficult time.<sup id="cite_ref-auto2_44-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-auto2-44" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[44]</a></sup> In 2015, Ronald published the discovery of the predicted ligand of XA21, a sulfated peptide called RaxX, correcting their mistake and bringing the research team full circle.<sup id="cite_ref-auto1_40-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-auto1-40" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[40]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-auto_45-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-auto-45" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[45]</a></sup></font></p><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: none; line-height: 1.6;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Genetic_Resources_Recognition_Fund">Genetic Resources Recognition Fund</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pamela_Ronald&action=edit&section=6&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Genetic Resources Recognition Fund" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h3><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Ronald has sought ways to recognize source nations and institutions that have contributed to important scientific advances, such as the West African country of Mali, the source of the Xa21 rice gene. Working with law professor John Barton, Ronald tried to establish a benefit-sharing model for the source countries of genetically important plant varieties. In 1996, Ronald founded the Genetic Resources Recognition Fund (GRRF) at UC Davis. The intention of the fund was to collect payments from the licensing of academic discoveries that utilized plant materials from developing countries, and to redistribute those monies to source countries through fellowships, land conservation efforts, or other projects of benefit to nation partners.<sup id="cite_ref-Table_20-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Table-20" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[20]</a></sup><sup class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;">:142–147</sup><sup id="cite_ref-GRRF1998_46-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-GRRF1998-46" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[46]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Perlman_47-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Perlman-47" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[47]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Kate_48-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Kate-48" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[48]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Brush_49-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Brush-49" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[49]</a></sup></font></p><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: none; line-height: 1.6;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Sub1:Tolerance_to_abiotic_stress">Sub1: Tolerance to abiotic stress</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pamela_Ronald&action=edit&section=7&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Sub1: Tolerance to abiotic stress" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h3><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">In 1996, Ronald began a project with rice breeder David Mackill who had recently demonstrated that tolerance to complete submergence mapped to the Submergence tolerance 1 (Sub1) </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_trait_locus" title="Quantitative trait locus" style="background: none; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer;">Quantitative trait locus</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> (QTL). In 1997, the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Agriculture" title="United States Department of Agriculture" style="background: none; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer;">USDA</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> awarded Ronald and Mackill a grant to isolate the Sub1 locus. Ronald’s laboratory led the positional cloning of the Sub1 QTL, revealed that it carried three ethylene response transcription factors (ERF) and demonstrated that one of the ERFs, which she designated Sub1A, was upregulated rapidly in response to submergence and conferred robust tolerance to submergence in transgenic plants .</span><sup id="cite_ref-sub_50-0" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-sub-50" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[50]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> This work revealed an important mechanism with which plants control tolerance to abiotic stress and set the stage for in-depth molecular-genetic analyses of Sub1A-mediated processes with her collaborator </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Bailey-Serres" title="Julia Bailey-Serres" style="background: none; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer;">Julia Bailey-Serres</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, who joined the project in 2003.</span><sup id="cite_ref-serres_51-0" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-serres-51" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[51]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-fukao_52-0" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-fukao-52" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[52]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-seo1_53-0" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-seo1-53" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[53]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> Mackill’s team at the International Rice Research Institute </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Rice_Research_Institute" title="International Rice Research Institute" style="background: none; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer;">(IRRI)</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> generated and released several Sub1A varieties (developed through </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marker_assisted_selection" class="mw-redirect" title="Marker assisted selection" style="background: none; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer;">marker-assisted breeding</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">) in seven countries including India, Indonesia and Bangladesh, where submergence destroys four million tons of rice each year, enough to feed 30 million people.</span><sup id="cite_ref-Voosen_54-0" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Voosen-54" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[54]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">With support from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill%26_Melinda_Gates_Foundation" title="Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer;">Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation</a>,</span><sup id="cite_ref-Breakthrough_55-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Breakthrough-55" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 102); text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer;">[</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Breakthrough-55" style="background: none; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer;">55]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> Sub1 rice has reached over four million farmers.</span><sup id="cite_ref-Folger_56-0" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Folger-56" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[56]</a></sup></font></p><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); font-family: " linux="Linux" libertine="Libertine" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" serif="serif" line-height="line-height"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Public_engagement">Public engagement</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pamela_Ronald&action=edit&section=8&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Public engagement" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h2><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Ronald co-authored the book <i>Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics and the Future of Food</i> with her husband, Raoul Adamchak. <i>Tomorrow's Table</i> was selected as one of the best books of 2008 by <i>Seed Magazine</i><sup id="cite_ref-Seed_57-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Seed-57" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[57]</a></sup> and the <i>Library Journal</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-Library_58-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Library-58" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[58]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">In addition to her scholarly publications, Ronald has written for </span><i style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The New York Times</i><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">,</span><sup id="cite_ref-McWilliams_59-0" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-McWilliams-59" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[59]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><i style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The Boston Globe</i><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">,</span><sup id="cite_ref-BGRonald_60-0" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-BGRonald-60" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[60]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><i style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Forbes Magazine</i><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">,</span><sup id="cite_ref-Frankenfoods_61-0" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Frankenfoods-61" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[61]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><i style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Scientific American</i><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">,</span><sup id="cite_ref-SA1997_62-0" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-SA1997-62" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[62]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><i style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The Harvard International Review</i><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">,</span><sup id="cite_ref-Invaders_63-0" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Invaders-63" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[63]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><i style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The Economist</i><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, the </span><i style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Boston review</i><sup id="cite_ref-BostonReview_64-0" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-BostonReview-64" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[64]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> and the </span><i style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">MIT Technology Review</i><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span><sup id="cite_ref-MIT2014_65-0" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-MIT2014-65" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[65]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The song "Sierra Bound", from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rita_Hosking" title="Rita Hosking" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">Rita Hosking</a>'s 2013 CD <i>Little Boat</i>, is dedicated to Pamela Ronald.</font></p><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); font-family: " linux="Linux" libertine="Libertine" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" serif="serif" line-height="line-height"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Awards_and_honors">Awards and honors</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pamela_Ronald&action=edit&section=9&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Awards and honors" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h2><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Ronald was elected a Fellow of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Association_for_the_Advancement_of_Science" title="American Association for the Advancement of Science" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">American Association for the Advancement of Science</a> (AAAS) in 2006.<sup id="cite_ref-AAAS_66-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-AAAS-66" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[66]</a></sup> In addition to being a Fulbright Fellow in 1984-1985,<sup id="cite_ref-Silent_67-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Silent-67" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[67]</a></sup>she was named the Fulbright-Tocqueville Distinguished Chair in 2012.<sup id="cite_ref-fulbright-chair_18-3" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-fulbright-chair-18" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[18]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Fulbright2012_68-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Fulbright2012-68" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[68]</a></sup> She has also received a Guggenheim Fellowship (1999-2000),<sup id="cite_ref-Guggenheim_69-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Guggenheim-69" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[69]</a></sup> and was a Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) in 2008.<sup id="cite_ref-SeedQuest_70-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-SeedQuest-70" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[70]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">She and her colleagues have received a number of awards for their work on submergence tolerant rice. They were recipients of the USDA National Research Initiative Discovery Award in 2008,<sup id="cite_ref-SeedQuest_70-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-SeedQuest-70" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[70]</a></sup> and finalists for the World Technology Award for Environment in 2009.<sup id="cite_ref-71" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-71" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[71]</a></sup> In 2009, Ronald was nominated for the Biotech Humanitarian Award.<sup id="cite_ref-Conservation_72-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Conservation-72" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[72]</a></sup> In 2012, Ronald, Mackill and postdoctoral fellow Xu received the Tech Award 2012 for innovative use of technology to benefit humanity.<sup id="cite_ref-RiceFarming_73-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-RiceFarming-73" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[73]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In 2011, Ronald was considered one of the 100 most creative people in business, according to <i>Fast Company</i> Magazine.<sup id="cite_ref-Fast_74-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Fast-74" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[74]</a></sup> In 2015 Ronald was selected by <i>Scientific American</i> as one of the Worldview 100 — a list of the world’s 100 most influential people in biotechnology.<sup id="cite_ref-Worldview_75-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Worldview-75" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[75]</a></sup></font></p><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: none; line-height: 1.6;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Chronological_list_of_honors">Chronological list of honors</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pamela_Ronald&action=edit&section=10&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Chronological list of honors" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h3><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" a="A" csvg="Csvg" http="http" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="cx" cy="cy" r="r" fill="fill" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">1984-1985, Fulbright Fellow<sup id="cite_ref-Silent_67-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Silent-67" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[67]</a></sup></font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">1999-2000, Guggenheim Fellowship<sup id="cite_ref-Guggenheim_69-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Guggenheim-69" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[69]</a></sup></font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">2006 elected Fellow of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Association_for_the_Advancement_of_Science" title="American Association for the Advancement of Science" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">American Association for the Advancement of Science</a> (AAAS)<sup id="cite_ref-AAAS_66-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-AAAS-66" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[66]</a></sup></font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">2006 Fellow at the Davis Humanities Institute<sup id="cite_ref-SeedQuest_70-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-SeedQuest-70" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[70]</a></sup></font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">2008 Fellow, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Society_for_the_Promotion_of_Science" title="Japan Society for the Promotion of Science" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">(JSPS)</a><sup id="cite_ref-SeedQuest_70-3" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-SeedQuest-70" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[70]</a></sup></font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">2008 USDA National Research Initiative Discovery Award<sup id="cite_ref-SeedQuest_70-4" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-SeedQuest-70" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[70]</a></sup></font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">2009 Science in Society Journalism Award from the National Association of Science Writers in Society for her commentary "The New Organic" of March 16, 2008, on the <i>Boston Globe</i> website<sup id="cite_ref-NAS_76-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-NAS-76" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[76]</a></sup></font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">2011 Charles Valentine Riley lecturer (Selected by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Association_for_the_Advancement_of_Science" title="American Association for the Advancement of Science" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">AAAS</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=US_National_Academies&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="US National Academies (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">US National Academies</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Riley_Foundation&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Riley Foundation (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">Riley Foundation</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Food_Prize" title="World Food Prize" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">World Food Prize</a> Committee)<sup id="cite_ref-Riley_77-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Riley-77" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[77]</a></sup></font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">2011, One of the 100 most creative people in business, according to <i>Fast Company</i> Magazine.<sup id="cite_ref-Fast_74-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Fast-74" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[74]</a></sup></font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">2012 Fulbright-Tocqueville Distinguished Chair Award, Université de Montpellier 2 and the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement<sup id="cite_ref-fulbright-chair_18-4" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-fulbright-chair-18" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[18]</a></sup></font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">2012, Louis Malassis International Scientific Prize for Agriculture and Food<sup id="cite_ref-Malassis_78-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Malassis-78" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[78]</a></sup></font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">2012 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tech_Awards" title="The Tech Awards" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">The Tech Award</a>: Technology Benefiting Humanity<sup id="cite_ref-RiceFarming_73-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-RiceFarming-73" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[73]</a></sup></font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">2015 One of the 100 Top Most Influential People in Biotechnology according to <i>Scientific American</i><sup id="cite_ref-Worldview_75-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Ronald#cite_note-Worldview-75" style="text-decoration: none; background: none; cursor: pointer;">[75]</a></sup></font></li></ul></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"></font></div></div></div>