New Strategies in Communicating Biotechnology to a Concerned Public

Kevin M. FoltaProfessor and Chairman

Horticultural Sciences Department

kfolta.blogspot.com@kevinfolta

kevinfolta@gmail.com

www.talkingbiotechpodcast.com

>70 Public personal contact points in biotech discussion/education• Seminars• Training• Webinar• Radio• Television• Podcast

Bio-talk-knowledgeyArizona State (33)Research Triangle (88)Iowa State University (~200 evening lecture,

~90 registered training)University of North Carolina (34, + classroom)University of Florida (188 reg, +>100 streaming)

Since lastvisit in 8/2014

Here’s what I have learned.

100% anecdotal

No hard metrics

No evidence

Limited data

It is working.

Reminding them that they are warm and competent, Trusted.

Biotechnology Communication

Dietitians and Physicians

Farmers and Producers

Scientists and Students

Emphasize their role as a human contact point.

Emphasize that they share their priorities of health and fitness with audience.

Remind them that science-based applications will drive their reputations.

Emphasize their role as the expert in the seed/inputs

Remind them that they are not fairly represented in social media space.

Remind them that someone else is telling their story, and may affect long-term options.

Emphasize their role as the experts in science

Remind them that their projects are DOA without communication.

Remind them that funding options will change if they fail to participate in the discussion

Biotechnology Communication

Dietitians and Physicians

Farmers and Producers

Scientists and Students

Appeal to the need for new health solutions

Talk about new products that could make their jobs less difficult.

Inability to deploy their solutions.

They are taking over your literature

Their bad science decreases the value of your good science.

Common Threads ? March 6 meeting in Yuma

Robyn Stryker, University Arizona-- how to talk to those that disagree with you, changing minds

Charlie Arnot, Center for Food Integrity-- Statistical breakdown of consumer concerns

Kevin Folta, University of Florida-- 15 years of public biotech outreach

Vance Crowe, Monsanto Corporation-- Effective communication in electronic media

How do we change the perception?

Identify the problem. Own it. It is OUR fault.

Starting with Reminding Everyone we have itPretty Good

Our food supply in the USA has never been more diverse, safe and plentiful.

Food costs, as a function of annual income, have never been lower.

The fact that 99% of the country does not have to produce food, means there’s plenty of time for other innovations, leisure, etc.

Free Time + Internet Connection = Instant Experts!

Never before in history have humans enjoyed such immediate access to bad information.

Activists have invaded your literature.

One-off studies with limited power are over-interpreted

Why is there even a problem?

We need to understand

food, farming and technology!

We’re actually farmers, producers and scientists, but

we’re too busy.

How can we help you? We’re sorta

farmers, producers and scientists.

Here’s how we fix it.

1.Understand your audience2.Dispel the appeal to nature3.Establish your shared values4.Identify recombinant DNA successes5.Simplify the science, know the core concepts6.Emphasize missed opportunities

Rel

ativ

e nu

mbe

r in

pop

ulat

ion

Relative scientific understanding

Nonexperts

Farmers, scientists,

Etc.

MOST PEOPLE!!!!

FEAR FACTS

IdeaMap test.

>450 random participants

Compensated for time, select for feeling and willingness to buy

Identify triggers of negative perception

Trait – Food item – Who did it – method

Other control questions:

Idea Map

Trait product Who? How?

You have a friend visiting and are preparing a meal. They have requested various fruits/vegetables, and you are making those

purchases.

Plant produces its own insect protectionWatermelon

University of ChicagoCross a plant with a wild relative

FAVO

RABL

EU

NFA

VORA

BLE

10

0

-10

-20

-30

strawberries

Plant Product

lettucegrapes

applescorn

carrotsalmonds

tomatoes

soybeans

plant has a higher amount of vitamin A, folate, and other nutrients

plant produces anti-cancer compounds

Trait

plant requires less water and fertilizer

plant is resistant to all pests, bacteria, insects, and fungi

plant requires less pesticide

plant produces antibodies against flu virus

plant removes toxic compounds from soil

plant is resistant to herbicides

plant consumes greater amounts of CO2 (carbon dioxide) from the air

Developed by

State University of Campinas, Brazil

Scientist sponsored by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

University of California - Davis

Bayer CorporationUSDA Laboratory, Beltsville MD

Harvard UniversityMonsanto Corporation

European Commission Funded LaboratoryManitoba Specialty Crops (4 full time employees)

traditional breeding and selection

splicing in a gene from the same species

changes of a plant's DNA due to naturally-occurring random mutations

taking out a gene with genetic engineeringsplicing in a gene from a plant, but not the same speciesadding a gene by crossing to a wild plant species never used in agriculture

addition of a bacterial gene using genetic engineering

adding an insect gene using genetic engineering

lab-induced mutations in the plant's DNA with radiation

Improvement Method

Turbyfill et al., unpub’d

K-Cluster Analysis-- Analyze all data together and pull out trends that contribute to, or correlate with, specific outcomes.

25-45 year old, college educated white females

Middle class>affluent> others

The results of these analysis suggest that our most effective efforts might be spent in colleges.

What are college female values?

How do we demonstrate how safe technology can enhance them?

GMOLOL, Facebook groups (350)

Folks against the tech. (2)

YOUR AUDIENCE

NOT YOUR AUDIENCE

1. Understand your audience

WHO IS YOUR AUDIENCE?

The center of the curve is composed of people that don’t know about food production, farming, and science.

They are concerned about food.

Be a teacher. Don’t be a condescending scientist.

Lead with personalization.

2. Dispel the appeal to nature

Remind audiences that genetic improvement of food is a continuum.

Almost none of the plants we regularly consume originated in North America. Almost all were brought here by humans.

None of the food you eat is like its “natural” form

GM technology is simply the most precise version of an age-old practice of breeding and selection.

Humans have always manipulated crop genetics

All existing crops and animals have been radically reshaped by humans, to enhance performance that has aided the human condition.

3. Identify and Appeal to Shared Values

FACTS DON’T MATTER.

You have to start from SHARED VALUES.

What are some common themes shared by those that embrace the technology and those that deplore it ?

The human brain responds to stories. Tell yours.

Shared Values? Millennial Priorities

FarmersDeveloping World

The NeedyFood Safety

Environment

Consumers

Animal Welfare

4. Identify Recombinant DNA Successes

This is not “new and weird”

Discuss unfamiliar legacy examples- like insulin and cheesemaking enzymes that have rDNA origin

Papaya. Industry saved from Papaya Ringspot Virus

In agriculture, the technology has allowed farmers to produce the same yields with fewer inputs… less insecticide and lower impact, lower toxicity herbicides

The most criticized technology is the most precise and predictable one

5. Simplify the Science, Know a Few Core Concepts

Humans have always participated in plant and animal genetic improvement.

Transgenic technology (familiar “GMO”) is a precise extension of conventional plant breeding.

“The techniques used pose no more risk (actually less risk) than conventional breeding.” (NAS, AAAS, AMA, EFSA many others)

In 18 years of use in plants, there has not been one case of illness or death related to these products. No approved animals.

In the USA there are several traits used in only 8 (- +) commercial crops

GM Crops Available Now

10

potato

apple

What are the Three Main Traits?

Virus Resistance

Insect Resistance

Herbicide Resistance

(how the traits work lecture online – (google “ UF biotechnology literacy day”)

Glyphosate resistant and insect resistant crops, while helpful to farmers, do not warm the hearts and minds of the general public

These are not “Big Ag”– these are solutions we have in public universities, solutions the public paid for, can’t be used.

Talk about how your science, your colleagues’ science, your field can satisfy your shared values

6. Emphasize missed opportunities.

When Talking to Farmers

•Legacy traits are ancient•Precision farming needs precision genetics•New products drive on-farm profit•Proposed products could do more

• Drought-guard• Anti-nematode• Anti-Fungal• Pest resistance• Better yields• Uniformity in products• Better post-harest quality

When Talking to Scientists

•Discovery•Solutions•Failure to implement•Wasted resources

Golden Rice

X

Farmers

Consumers

Environment

Needy

Opposition to golden rice cost $2 billion to farmers in developing countries and 1.4 million human years – Wesseler et al., 2014

Cassava

Virus Resistant Cassava (VIRCA)

Biocassava Plus (BC Plus)

250 million depend on cassava

50 million tons lost to virus.

X

X Farmers

Consumers

Environment

Needy

Episode 003

Allergy-Free Peanuts

Peanut – RNAi suppression Ara h2

X

Farmers

Consumers

Environment

Needy

Stopping Citrus Greening

90% of groves infected

No clear solution from breeding, nutrition, insect control

Industry crashing

Biotech solutions look promising.

Earliest deregulation is 2019

Episode 013 (planned)

X

Farmers

Consumers

Environment

Needy

X

X

GE chickens do not pass on Avian Influenza

Episode 007

X

Farmers

Consumers

Environment

Needy

X

X

X

X Animal welfare

AquaBounty Salmon – attains market weight in less time. Salmon may be farmed on inland pools, generating high protein food on fewer inputs.

Episode 008

X

Farmers

Consumers

Environment

Needy

X

X

X

X Wild populations

Thanks Alison Van Eenennaam for the slide!

Farmers

Consumers

Environment

Needy

X

Low Acrylamide, non Browning Potatoes

X

X

Farmers

Consumers

Environment

Needy

Non Browning ApplesSilencing a gene that leads to discoloration

X

X

Farmers

Consumers

Environment

Needy

Small Business!X

X

X

Farmers

Consumers

Environment

Needy

X

Fungicide-Free Strawberries?

Silva et al., 2015

When Talking to Physicians/Dietitians

•Current successes in health space (insulin)•Health Solutions, not used•Critical needs, proposed solutions•Reality of solutions•The cost of not taking action

Biofortification- Engineering metabolism so that plants can produce needed compounds

Beta caroteneMicronutrient deficiency

Folate

Anthocyanin

High oleic soy oils

Allergy-Suppression

Using technology to remove potential allergens and anti-nutrients

Decreasing toxic compounds

Low acrylamide potatoes

Decreased presence of acrylamide, a naturally-forming compound upon frying/high heat cooking

Low gossypol cotton seed

Cotton seeds contain high protein, but are not used in the human diet because of gossypol. Transgenic plants have been made with low gossypol levels.

Better performance from standard varieties

Non-browning apple

More likely to be eaten, can be used in wider recipes and food service application

Non-browning potato

More potatoes from the same amount of farm inputs

Avoid these Mistakes

Avoid “feed the world” rhetoric– Provide specifics.

Always discuss strengths and limitations

Don’t ever claim biotech as a single solution, described it as part of an integrated plan.

Never get backed into the “science no”“Can you guarantee that these are absolutely safe?”

Who will talk to the concerned consumer?

Science

Reason

Truth

Facts

How do we measure progress?

This is the challenge for 2015-2016

How many are engaging in public fora?Farmers?Dietitians?etc.

Incorporate surveys, etc. ???

Where do I get good information?

Warm welcome Cold facts

kfolta@ufl.edu

GMOanswers.com

Biofortified.org

geneticliteracyproject.com

GMOLOL On Facebook

Illumination

Thank you,Get involved!

kfolta.blogspot.com@kevinfolta

kevinfolta@gmail.com

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