Spotlight on "Seeds of Science": How a mind was changed on GMOs

Have you ever wondered why it is so hard to change someone's mind even when you give facts that should make the decision easy?  Maybe even looking back you realize how many times you have not changed your own mind easily on certain topics even when someone presents a logical and fact driven argument. 

My wife and I have had some great debates over acupuncture.  I present to her all this information and science on why I think acupuncture is a hoax.   She presents all this information on why it is helpful.  I don't believe anything she shows me and she ignores my  arguments while making her next next appointment.  In the end neither one of us changes our minds.   In this example we have both succumbed to confirmation bias.  We both formed a strong belief and bias all of our arguments to finding information to support our views.   This is called confirmation bias.  Once we form a belief it becomes part of our identity and changing who we are are is much easier said than done. 

Confirmation bias is real and one that will take advantage of all of us at some point.  Taken from Wikipedia the definition of confirmation bias is "the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses.^[1] It is a type of cognitive bias and a systematic error of inductive reasoning. People display this bias when they gather or remember information selectively, or when they interpret it in a biased way. The effect is stronger for emotionally charged issues and for deeply entrenched beliefs."

Here are some great quotes across history that show confirmation bias is not a new concept:

“What the human being is best at doing is interpreting all new information so that their prior conclusions remain intact.”

— Warren Buffett

“The human understanding when it has once adopted an opinion draws all things else to support and agree with it. And though there be a greater number and weight of instances to be found on the other side, yet these it either neglects and despises, or else by some distinction sets aside and rejects.”

— Francis Bacon

“Beliefs can survive potent logical or empirical challenges. They can survive and even be bolstered by evidence that most uncommitted observers would agree logically demands some weakening of such beliefs. They can even survive the destruction of their original evidential bases.”

— Lee Ross and Craig Anderson

“One of the biggest problems with the world today is that we have large groups of people who will accept whatever they hear on the grapevine, just because it suits their worldview—not because it is actually true or because they have evidence to support it. The striking thing is that it would not take much effort to establish validity in most of these cases… but people prefer reassurance to research.”

— Neil deGrasse Tyson

“The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.”

— Robertson Davies

Confirmation bias is no joke.  I have fallen prey to it many times and it is a bully that prevents us from changing our mind.   I have had countless debates with people who have already made up their mind that GMOs are bad.  In the end I can convince very few of the merits of GMOs with the facts alone.  As a scientist I love the facts, but over the years I have come to realize facts are only part of the equation to convince someone to change their mind.  There has to be some other connection, usually an emotional connection that can enable us to pull off our blinders and look equally and fairly at both sides of an issue.

That is why today I am not going to spout facts, but instead spotlight a book I just picked up called Seeds of Science by Mark Lynas.  I am not going to pull much from the book, but instead encourage everyone to pick it up and give it a read.   It was just released in June of 2018.   The only part I will focus on is some pages from Chapter 2 which is entitled "Seeds of Science:  How I Changed My Mind."

Mark Lynas was a strong anti-GMO advocate and led efforts to go into GM fields and destroy them.   You could almost call him the father of the Anti-GMO movement.  We are not talking about someone who just thinks GMOs are bad, we are talking about someone who was willing to break the law in destructive tirades to get a point across.

As Mark was protesting GMOS, he was also becoming a strong believer in climate change.  He began to dig into the science as well as use its arguments because the science supported his view on the climate.  (Confirmation bias at its finest!!).  As Mark says, "the environmental and scientific communities were closely aligned on the issue."    He started looking at the facts and digging into the data.  It was this emotional connection to the environment and then a realization that science is just more than just one article that started to make Mark think.  

There is an excerpt I love in the book that in my mind defines when Mark came to the realization of what scince really is and why we can trust in it.  

Mark says, " When sifting through contradictory material, I learned to trust my intuition as much as anything, and to understand that single papers advancing unlikely conclusions should not be taken at face value on their own.  I began to see that scientific knowledge is cumulative: it is built up slowly like a house made of bricks.   Sometimes individual bricks need to be relaid or taken out and replaced altogether, but overall the wall generally continues to rise. Only rarely does it get entirely demolished and rebuilt thanks to a paradigm-changing discovery such as plate tectonics or evolution by natural selection.  Accordingly the vast majority of those who claimed, Galileo-style, to have overturned a century of scientific research were mostly cranks."

As Mark started to see the power of science he also started to question his views on GMOs.  There are many more details in the story that make a great read, but finally in 2013 at the Oxford Farming Conference Mark addressed a crowd of farmers with a big statement.

"My lords, ladies and gentlemen.  I wanted to start with some apologies.   For the record, here and upfront, I apologize for having spent several years ripping up GM crops.  I am also sorry that I helped start the anti-GM movement back in the mid-1990s, and that I thereby assisted in demonstrating an important technological option which can be used to benefit the environment.  As an environmentalist, and someone who believes that everyone in this world has a right to a healthy and nutritious diet of their choosing, I could not have chosen a more counter-productive path.  I now regret it completely." 

You can also see the video and read the blog entry from 2013:  http://www.marklynas.org/2013/01/lecture-to-oxford-farming-conference-3-january-2013/

Even after all these years, I am still amazed when I read or hear this.  I am also encouraged.   It is hard enough for any of us to change our minds, and even harder to apologize when you are on such a stage, yet he had the courage to do it.   

There is so much more in this book, but for Mark the seeds that started to change his mind were not from the facts on the safety of GMOs at the start.  They were born from the strong emotions he had for the environment that spilled over into how he thought about GMOs.  When making those arguments for the environment he could use the science because the science conformed to his beliefs.  If he could use science for one, how could he not use it for another topic?  Mark is an example of overcoming confirmation bias.  It took years to see it for what it was, but the story is that it can be done once we realize and understand confirmation bias.

Any technology is just a tool and all tools need to be used responsibly.  The beauty of the world is that we all look at issues through a different lens.  Those lens ensure a checks and balance system so that we do understand an issue from all angles.   It is when we challenge and then concede or challenge and the other side concedes based on sound evidence that we advance as a civilization and do not waste time in gridlock.  

Investing in our agricultural future - 4H Youth Summit

There was a flyer laying on the table at work advertising the fact that Bayer and the 4H were teaming up.  My first experience with that team-up was an awesome..  On a weekend in January I got to go with some of my colleagues to participate in the 4H National Youth Summit Series on Agri-Science in Chevy Chase, Maryland.   This is just a few miles outside of DC although I quickly found out a mile in DC takes a lot longer to travel than in my town.   I thought I would share my experiences including some great time in the city itself.

The teamup with Bayer meant I got to know a little more about the 4H.

The first question I had is what do the H's in 4H stand for:  They stand for head, heart, hands, and health.   I even learned the 4H motto which is "TO MAKE THE BEST BETTER."   Here is a little more about 4H taken from their website, https://4-h.org/

It's headquarters is located in Chevy Chase, Maryland and that was our first stop to get checked in for the weekend.


DAY 1

It was time to drop in to center.

The site was bought by the 4H in 1959 where it had been a women's college.  It now houses meeting rooms, dorm style hotel rooms, and a cafeteria for many 4H events like ours and can house over 800 people.

We had the rest of the day to explore before the keynote speaker that night.   We had done a little pre-planning and scored a tour of the White House.   If you haven't toured the White House, I highly encourage you to do so.  It takes a little up front work, but it is worth it!

Here are just a few of the sites you would see in the white house

Then it was off to the Holocaust Museum and Arlington Cemetery, with a pass by the Washington Monument.  These are some tough places to visit, but a powerful story awaits.

Back to the 4H center the first speaker was Stephen Censky, the US Deputy Secretary of Agriculture.  He gave a positive message to all the kids about agriculture and their future in the Ag industry.  Couple of the things he mentioned were:

“if you want a challenging career, pick #agriscience bc in next 32 years we have to produce as much food as last 10,000 years.”

“Do right and feed everyone.”

DAY 2

The day started off with a career fair.  There were people from multiple jobs in agriculture including, Bayer, the US Park Service, and many others.

The was followed by a speaker from the University of the District of Columbia.  I learned that this university located in DC is actually a land-grant university that caters to urban farming.  If your ever in the area check this place out which houses a large farm on the rooftop.

After these events we all took a field trip down to DC.  During the day we went the Smithsonian, the Botanical Gardens, and a walk past the capitol building.  Some beautiful sights as well as so much knowledge to take in at these amazing museums.

During the night we took a tour of five DC monuments at night.   The stops included the World War II Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, The Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, and the MLK Memorial.  They are beautiful in the day, but the night let's you see them in another perspective. 

Speaking the MLK monument, this is one of my favorite quotes:

DAY 3

The last full day of the youth summit involved multiple workshops all through day.  I attended a couple and then helped run some others.

The first one I attended was "Precision Farming - Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, and You."   This was presented by Luke Zerby from New Holland.   I can tell you that when it comes to technology agriculture is leading the charge.   Your phone has a GPS accuracy of 16.4 Feet.  That tractor going through the field with a GPS system has an accuracy of 6-9 inches.   This is how ag is evolving and I can't wait to see how it plays out.

Speaking of Luke, here was an article I stumbled across after the workshop.  http://precision.agwired.com/2016/04/22/new-holland-prepares-for-the-future-of-precision/

The second workshop that I went to was "The Growing World of Ag Technology" presented by  the Nebraska Extension in Washington County.  The extension educator is Tracy Behnken and she presented this workshop as a train the trainer.   They have some awesome ideas to help show anyone from primary school on up to high school the importance of agriculture and the facts that support the need for continued innovation in the field.   The posters they used can be replicated and for more information the Extension Center has info.

Here is what the program looks like and the extension center would be happy to help get you started.

The second activity from this workshop was how to make butter.  This was a great way to help introduce to groups where our food comes from and is a fun, easy, and hands-on exercise.

I enjoyed myself!

Next the University of Maryland showed off a complete curriculum to help teach STEM to middle schoolers.  Check this free resource out and use it!

https://extension.umd.edu/agsploration

Alright, now it was time to roll up our sleeves and help run some workshops.

The first workshop is one I have talked about before.  The exercise lets students come pick a GMO or gene edited product concept and market it from start to finish.   Product concept 1 was a product that gave pest control and product  concept 2 gave a yield increase.   They make many decisions along the way like whether to research internally or use a 3rd party and how many field trials they would run.  Finally they would come up with their own product name and see how much profit they make based on the decisions they made.

We ran two sessions with 4 groups at each session and here are the 2 sets of product names.

 
The next 2 sessions we ran were some general hands-on and information on GMOs, traditional breeding and gene editing.  First DNA extraction from strawberries ensued with Kurt showing where the DNA in a plant cell is located and how we were going to break it out..

Next we watched a video on trait research which i have shared before.   But if you haven't seen it, it is a great one to watch. 

And then Kurt had some fun showing the kids how GMOs, traditional breeding, and gene editing differ and why we need all these tools.   Kurt even showed off his passion for GMOs !

For added effect Kurt had gotten some GMO Arctic Apples that are a product that does not brown like a traditional apple.   The pictures speak for themselves.  Both of these apples were cut in half at the same time.

Check their website out:  https://www.arcticapples.com/

I work with an amazing team and these events make a huge difference in kids lives.   Great job 4H and Bayer for putting together an amazing weekend.

Understanding Science Acceptance and Rejection

I was reading the news and came across the headlines about the 7 words the administration banned for use by the CDC.    As a scientist I could not believe any of those words are banned, but my mouth hung open a little bit as I scanned the list and saw "science-based" and "evidence-based" on there. 

So of course I had to wear my Science shirt and show my support of science.   Then as it happened I was at the gym listening to "The Skeptics Guide to the Universe" podcast when they referenced a paper on understanding Science Acceptance and Rejection.   I dug the paper out and it was quite interesting and I thought worth sharing especially as this nation seems to be taking a step backwards on the science front in some cases.


SCIENCE FTW!

On one side of the spectrum we all have doubts or questions about many topics especially when it is something we are seeing for the first time or have little personal experience with.   On the other side of the coin we have science as a methodology to answer those questions and either confirm or deny our doubts.    But the question is why do these doubts stay with some of us no matter what  anybody says while others are willing to change their minds based on sound scientific results.  In other words Why do some people readily accept science and other's reject it?  It is a good question and one that in my opinion is relevant.   STEM jobs continue to grow (10. 5% from 2009 - 2015) and will we need our younger generations ready to step into these jobs in the future.  If you are interested in more STEM job info for the US this is nice resource. 

US Bureau of Labor STEM info

So if we are looking at a trend of more STEM type jobs being added and needed, it is important to understand why people do or not believe in science.  A group of scientists decided to answer this tough question and published a nice article on the subject.

The journal article can be found here:  http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0146167217741314

It is quite long and detailed so I am going to try and give the cliff notes. 

THE CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS 

When looking at the science acceptance or rejection question, the authors picked several controversial scientific topics to understand why people agree or disagree with the science on each topic.


1.  Climate Skepticism 

We hear lots of chatter on this one with the two sides firmly entrenched.  One side says climate change is real and things are going to get worse if we don't take some measures soon.  The other side does not believe climate change is real and that we are just in a natural pattern.

2.  Vaccine Skepticism

Vaccines are another hot topic with the "anti-vaxxers" saying vaccines cause other problems like autism even though the science says otherwise.   Some parents say that no one should be able to make them vaccinate their kids.  On the flip side we have seen outbreaks endangering other people at places like Walt Disney World from these decisions.  There is also plenty of science available showing vaccines are a good.

3.  GM skepticism

This one is a daily conversation for me since my job is all about making GMOs.   The biggest concern to the people who do not accept GMOs revolves around their belief that GMOs are unsafe.  On the science side there are more studies than you could read in a day to support their safety.

4.  Science Support 

Science Support has been in the news lately as well.  The march for science was a big even to support science, but there are just as people who think science conflicts with their personal beliefs.


THE PREDICTORS -  TRUST vs DISTRUST OF SCIENCE

The overall findings of the paper linked each of these topics to WHY people do not accept or believe in them.   The parameter they looked at to understand science denial or acceptance were:

1.   Political conservatism

One thing they say never bring up in a conversation is politics, but it can play a big factor in what we believe.  This paper was focused on a US population. 

2.  Religion 

Well the saying actually goes don't talk about politics or religion and here we are bringing both into the equation.  However there are times science and religion seem to conflict with other and so it is no surprise that religion can play a large role in peoples trust or distrust of science.

3.  Morals 

Our morals and values are who we are.   Those values are embedded in us by our life experiences and beliefs.   Morals speak strongly to our consciousness of what is right and wrong.  These do not easily change and thus it also makes sense these influence what we believe and how we process information.

4.  Faith in science 

Is the scientific method inherently a good system you can trust. 

5.  Scientific literacy 

Science is a word most people have heard, but understanding what it is saying can be challenge.  It may be we don't understand what the science is saying because we don't want to hear it, we don't believe it, we haven't taken the time to study it, or we just have not been informed due to lack of communication or availability.

THE RESULTS

A lot of work went into the below graph, but this is the summary of all the work.

What does this mean?   The interesting thing is that even though science attempts to explain every controversial topic here,  the topics can be quite unique in the predictors that determine whether we believe the science or not. 

There are several conclusions we can draw:

1.  Climate skepticism -   Where we fall on the climate debate is almost completely explained by our political attachment.  Usually the more conservative a person is the higher the predictor for climate skepticism.

2.  Vaccine skepticism - The best predictor of whether someone believes in vaccines is their religiosity.   However other factors also help predict including faith in science (which can also be predicted by religiosity), morals , and scientific literacy.

3.  GM skepticism -  Scientific literacy and faith in science is a big predictor of GMO support or not.

4.  Support of Science - The biggest predictor in whether someone supports science or not is their religiosity.   One interesting finding is that men have more faith in science than women.

All of this mean science acceptance and rejection is a complicated topic.   As the authors state, "different forms of science acceptance and rejection have different ideological roots, although the case could be made that these are generally grounded in conservatism."

PERSONAL VIEWS AND GOING FORWARD

I personally really like this study and find some positives and frustrations.  On the subject of climate change which I do personally believe in, it seems that politics will continue to drive or not drive peoples thoughts and actions on climate decisions.   The study is pretty spot on with what we are truly seeing play out with the current US administration not believing in climate change.   This is the type of headlines we see in today's news under the current administration (NY times)

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/20/climate/epa-climate-change.html

However this topic will bounce back and forth depending on the political side in charge.  This one is a bit frustrating in that according to the results scientific literacy is not a driver of scientific acceptance and so education is not really going to have a huge impact on changing minds.

The good news is that GMO skepticism is highly predicted by scientific literacy.  The more someone understands the science, the more they are willing they are to understand and adopt GMOs.   This means that outreach by scientists, universities, governments,  industries,  and consumers on the benefits and safety of GMOs can have an impact.   The science on GMOs is beautiful, but unfortunately people are not getting the information.  This study highlights the need to tackle this topic head on through education.  We have to keep educating and answering questions.   I have numerous posts on GMOs on this blog if anyone reading this has questions and am always happy to answer or find the answer to any question someone wants to ask.  As always a great resource is  https://gmoanswers.com/ 

Religiosity is the biggest predictor of vaccine skepticism.  I personally do not understand the reluctance to vaccinate because by not doing so puts not just one person in jeopardy but all the people around you.  This is a topic that can have a lot of consequences for others.   And I have this stance as  a religious person.   From a Christian point of view Scripture is silent on vaccinations and so we must make our own informed decision.   I personally believe the science on this one and will vaccinate myself and my kids. 

Lastly support of science is also highly predicted by religiosity.   As I mentioned I am religious and I personally co-exist with a strong belief in science.   Because I am a scientist I agree that there are conflicts of interest between science and religion.   However I have never found that the two cannot co-exist for me.    I and friends have had friendly debates on this topic so many times and my argument continues to be that science and religion are answering different questions.   Religion is answering fundamental existence questions that science cannot (at least yet) about the universe such what is my purpose?  who am I?  how should I live and treat others?   what happens when I die?  Science is answering questions about the processes and properties of the universe to make our day to day lives better.   They both are useful in my life. 

 I can only hope that all sides see the benefits of science.   No matter your religious or political affiliation I hope we all see the good that science can do in our world.  Science is not just an opinion, but a systematic method to to answer a question.

2017 FFA Convention: Meet the next generation of leaders and Agvocates

There are some days where we can all use a little inspiration and even hope in our lives.   I look at the headlines and I see war, wild fires, natural disasters, and a whole host of things that make us all worry about the future.   Well I got a transfusion of inspiration and hope at the yearly FFA convention held in Indianapolis, Indiana.   I knew of the FFA (Future Farmer's of America) when I was in high school, but it was an organization I never joined.  However over the course of 3 days I have come see that organization is a force to be reckoned with as it prepares and builds leaders not only for agriculture, but for all aspects of life. 

As I came down the escalator at the airport there was a big sign welcoming the FFA.   This was my hint as to how big this conference was going to be.  The motto for this year is "I CAN, I WLL" which I absolutely love. 

The FFA literally takes over the downtown of Indianapolis for a few days.  Everywhere you look you see blue jackets.    On the back of those jackets is the state along with the high school, county, or other local area each student is from.   I was fascinated all week on studying the backs of hundreds of jackets to see how far and wide the FFA, and our US farms are spread.  Actually all the states and territories were represented at the conference except the US Virgin Islands.   My colleague and I got into a competition to get autographs from all the states.  I lost since she got every single signature (Next time Brittany!).   But I met someone from almost everywhere as well.

I was at the FFA to represent Bayer CropScience with an awesome team.  We had a beautiful booth surrounded by so many other brands.  Tractor Supply company was right beside us doing karaoke and dancing all week so we also had a lively spot.  Carhartt and Wrangler were also right beside us.   And of course Monsanto, Syngenta, Dow and many others were all representing their businesses and showing these future leaders the types of opportunities available for them.

Besides sharing general information about Bayer CropScience we focused on information about bee health.  We also wanted to share how important it is to Agvocate about agriculture in general.  We had a huge Agvocate wall for FFA members to help us fill up.   There were 5 "hands" and each person that visited our booth could choose 1 to throw on the board.  The choices were

MENTOR -  You love to teach!
LISTEN -  You are a great listener!
JOIN - You join communities to share and talk about agriculture!
SHARE - You use all the social media outlets like Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter to Agvocate!
PROVIDE - You use political channels like writing your local government officials to Agvocate!

On day 1 our wall was starting to fill up and when we left on the final day the wall looked awesome.  The trends that showed up were we have lots of Mentors, Sharers, and Listeners.   There was a much smaller group of the FFA that were posting about the political route to talk about how to agvocate and illicit change within agriculture.   I found this intriguing.  From conversations there seemed to be a level of distrust among this generation of the government, but all the more reason to get involved.

Other companies were sharing the same messages about being an Agvocate.  And there were people (future leaders and farmers no less) talking about how good GMOs.   What a refreshing environment to be in!

Through the course of the week, I spoke to so many kids.   They were so engaged and well mannered.  We are talking about over 50,000 kids in Indianapolis and NOT ONCE did a FFA member come through not tell me thank-you or use yes sir.  This is how I was brought up in rural America and I could only smile and feel pride that this tradition of kindness and manners still survives throughout all of America.

As I talked to so many kids I would get involved in so many great conversations.  I asked a few of the visiting FFA kids if they would mind sharing their impact statement or what inspires them.   Here are just a few snippets of the type of leaders we have coming to help lead this country in agriculture and other parts of our society. 


Doster Harper

"I plan to research beekeeping efforts to increase the sustainability of our environment and the world"

By the way at the very end of the conference Doster visited the booth again.  He said his adviser asked each member of his group to go back and get a picture with their favorite booth.  Doster, thanks a lot for making my day when you visited me again!

Allie Julian

"I had an amazing ag teacher and she made all the difference.  She told me I had potential and I believed her!"

Zach Jacobs

"I want to be the voice for farming on capitol Hill and help bring a positive view to agriculture."

By the way, GO HOKIES! Zach!

Graceyn Newland

"An impact I would like to make on agriculture is educating the public about the industry and the people supporting it through social media.  As the reporter of my (FFA) chapter, it is my passion to use the up coming scene of social media for educational purposes.  Social media is the new way to reach and audience and I would love move than anything to seize the opportunity and make a difference to ensure the stability of agriculture as we progress.

Shane Stubblefield

"An impact I would like to make is to close the information gap between producers and consumers to create a better understanding of agriculture and its crucial role in feeding the world."

Dalton Beasley

I would like to alter crop genes to where pesticides are obsolete."

Bailey Morell

"I want to start a career in Ag law in order to promote the Ag industry from a positive perspective and from someone who has a personal tie to the ag industry."

Zannah Tyndau

"Coming from an agricultural family and growing up on my family's farm, I have seen the importance of agricultural advocacy.  I aspire to become a lawyer to voice my opinion in government and stand up for those who work to food on my plate 3 times a day.  I will have an impact on ag by advocating for agriculturalists in government and politics."

Makenzie Snyder

"I've grown up on a farm and seeing our family transition to GMO crops, the impact has been immense.  I've spent so much time looking into GMO processes and impacts on the world.   I want to be part of that impact, making more and more food for our growing world.  I am a strong advocate for GMOs and everything involved."

Aleyana Boothe

"I would like to research and communicate what I learn about things happening in the environment.  I believe that the knowledge is power so if I can teach and make people aware of anything then they can use what they learned to educate others.  I would like to use education and use technology to impact the future of agriculture. 

Grace Holzer

"I hope to communicate to and educate the public about the agriculture industry.  I will do so by utilizing social media and the tools of broadcasting.   My goal is to teach them about the past, present, and future of Ag!"

Lynnsey Winchell

"I hope to bring passion back to the industry.  Many times we are caught up in the money and the politics.  Remember why we continue and why we continue regardless of the struggles, both mental and physical.  We love what we do,  so remember it is worth it.  Stay strong to your beliefs and in the beliefs in the society we live in today.  For I believe that American agriculture can and will hold true because of the passion we hold in our hearts. 

I cannot even begin to describe how impressed I was with the FFA and it members.  This includes the advisers who took the time to help get these kids to their destination.  In the majority of cases large groups were driving.  This was routinely a 6-14 hours drive.   The organization is a really a student led and it was running better and more organized than some bushiness I have seen.  I will forever cherish my time at this convention and the conversations I had with these kids and my other Bayer Colleagues.  I can't wait to try and touch base years from now and see where they are.