Experts Examine the Truth about GMOs at the Aquarium

February 8, 2016

The Food and Drug Administration recently approved the first bioengineered animal, a genetically modified salmon, as safe for human consumption. What is next? What are the advantages and disadvantages of genetically modified foods? What future role could biotechnology play in aquaculture or fish farming? Can genetically engineered crops allow us to grow more nutritious crops on less land using less water, fertilizer, and pesticides to feeding a growing population without further damage to the environment? What are the benefits and disadvantages to labeling genetically modified organisms (GMOs)? Leading experts will separate the facts from the fiction and provide the latest information about these and other GMO topics in the Aquarium of the Pacific’s four-week Aquatic Academy course for adults 18 and older.

This educational series, entitled Genetically Modified Organisms: Separating Fact from Fiction, will feature experts on animal genomics, biotechnology, the environment, and sustainability and will include highlights from a soon-to-be-released study on genetically engineered crops by the National Research Council of the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering and the Institutes of Medicine.

WHEN: Four-week course: March 2, 9, 16, and 23, 2016 / 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

COST: $40 per person ($35 per Aquarium member). An additional $10 for CEU credit with California State University, Long Beach (CSULB).

SPEAKERS:
March 2: Course overview and an introduction to GMOs and the issues

• Dr. Jerry R. Schubel, president and CEO, Aquarium of the Pacific
• Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam, cooperative extension specialist in the Department of Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Science, UC Davis
• Dr. David Zilberman, chair of the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, UC Berkeley

March 9: GMOs: What Does the Science Tell Us?

• Peter Kareiva, director, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, UCLA
• Dr. Neal Stewart, professor of plant sciences, The Stewart Lab, University of Tennessee

March 16: GMOs and Aquaculture, The Promise and the Peril

• Dr. Yonathan Zohar, chair of the Marine Biotechnology Department, University of Maryland
• Dr. Ronald Stotish, executive director, president and CEO, AquaBounty Technologies

March 23: A Panel Discussion: Putting all the Pieces Together / The Case For and Against GMO Labeling

• Mark Lynas, British author, journalist, and environmental activist
• Nathanael Johnson, food editor, Grist, and author
• Dr. Alan McHughen, CE biotechnology specialist and geneticist, UC Riverside