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BY STAN BLADE, P.Ag.
FROM LAB
TO FIELD
Trust issues
“THE GOOD THING ABOUT SCIENCE
is that it’s true whether or not you
believe it.”
I realize that quoting famed astro-
physicist and science communicator Neil
deGrasse Tyson is a strange way to begin a
column on innovation. However, over the
past month, I have been thinking a great
deal about how the work that scientists do
is understood and appreciated by society.
In the last few weeks, I have participated
in a number of events that have focused
on assessing our performance in the
agri-food sector. Have you ever wondered
how the ag sector is doing in convincing
the larger population of the importance of
technical innovation?
My first experience was an invitation
to participate in CRISPRcon, an event
with the subtitle Science, Society and the
Future of Gene Editing, and I have written
about CRISPR technology in a previous
column describing the amazing potential
of gene editing in agriculture and food.
The intent of this University of California,
Berkeley event was to address some of the
errors that were made with transgenic
technologies over three decades ago. The
question posed was how do we create
space for discussion of a new technology
that may reinvent our ability to improve
biological systems?
While we can describe the remarkable
power of this new scientific tool that has
the capacity to make precise changes in
the DNA of living cells, we also need to
hear from people who may be impacted by
the new technology. This includes doctors
and their patients, research scientists,
consumers, environmentalists, farmers
and the rest of the business community.
We are in the early days of understanding
how CRISPR is going to be regulated by
government, which will be determined
in part by the opinions of citizens.
CRISPRcon proved to be a good start to
this needed dialogue.
The second event was the University
of Alberta Agricultural, Life and Envi-
ronmental Sciences faculty’s screening
of a new documentary film entitled
Food
Evolution
. I highly recommend watch-
ing it. We hosted the showing at the
Garneau Theatre in Edmonton. Nar-
rated by Tyson, the movie attempts to
distinguish between the emotional and
evidence-based arguments being made
in the genetically modified organism
(GMO) debate. The faculty hosted a
panel of speakers who took questions
from the audience about why science
is no longer trusted and how trust can
be restored. Encouragingly, 450-plus
people with diverse backgrounds actively
engaged in thinking about the issue of
trust and technology.
My third experience was chairing the
recent Public Trust Summit organized
by the Canadian Centre for Food Integ-
rity (CCFI) in Calgary. The aim of this
conference was to identify the issues our
industry faces and examine potential
solutions. CCFI president Crystal Mackay
outlined survey results from 1,300 Canadi-
ans illustrating that opinions about trust
in the Canadian food system currently
vary widely between various demographic
groups. The theme of the meeting was
“tackling transparency,” which resonated
through the talks of many speakers. We
all know that food is a topic at the heart
of debates where science, technology and
citizens meet. To quote speaker Jason Clay
of the World Wildlife Fund, “there are
7.4 billion food experts who exist on the
planet today.”
We live in an extraordinary time in
which new ideas have the potential to dra-
matically improve food availability, nutri-
tion, quality, affordability and enjoyment.
At the same time, there is a rising tide
of concern about science, which at times
becomes active distrust or denial and
generates accusations of elitism. We in
the agri-food sector need to keep working
with citizens to show that we are acting
with integrity and transparency, and that
our focus is on the greater good. If we are
successful, society will recognize that we
are not in opposition but rather share the
same values.
Stan Blade, PhD, is dean of the Faculty of
Agricultural, Life and Environmental
Sciences at the University of Alberta.
GENERATINGSUPPORT FOR AGRICULTURAL INNOVATION
Winter
2018
Grains
West
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