Public forum looks at genetically modified food
Hardly a day goes by without news breaking on the question of genetically modified food. The issue is no farther from most people than their next meal; an estimated 60 to 70 percent of all foods currently produced in the United States contain genetically modified ingredients. It is a safe bet that almost every American has eaten some form of a genetically altered food over the last few years without even knowing it.
Therein lies the immediacy and relevance of the Wisconsin Academy’s Fall Forum, “Genetically Modified Food: Risks, Rewards and Realities,” to be held at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center in Madison Nov. 3.
The Wisconsin Academy is convening players from all sides of the genetically modified food debate: nationally renowned scientists, ethicists, consumer groups, policy makers, farmers, business people, retailers and communicators-for a forum aimed at both experts and the general public. The academy’s goal is to help educate the public and enable people to better evaluate the risks and rewards of biotechnology in food and agriculture.
Speakers include:
- Ben Brancel, secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
- Jeff Burkhardt, an agriculture ethicist with the University of Florida.
- Robert Goodman, a professor of plant pathology with the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
- Mark Ritchie, president, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Minneapolis.
- Carl Gulbrandsen, managing director, Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.
- Brandon Scholz, president, Wisconsin Grocers Association.
- Gary Goldberg, CEO, American Corn Growers Foundation, Tulsa.
The lunchtime speaker is National Public Radio science writer Dan Charles, who is writing a book on the history of genetically modified foods.
The Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters is an independent, nonprofit membership organization founded in 1870 with the mission of gathering and sharing knowledge for the benefit of the people of Wisconsin. It is funded by grants, private endowments, and its members. The Wisconsin Academy runs a number of valuable programs and projects in the sciences and humanities, including an art gallery featuring a different Wisconsin artist every month and a quarterly magazine, the Wisconsin Academy Review.
People wishing to attend the conference and related field trips Nov. 2 should register online or call (608) 263-1692. Registration costs $50, lunch is $15.
Agenda and complete list of speakers