Monsanto rep engages Skeptic Society

Around the world there are “Skeptics in the Pub” events that gather folks from the local community who are interested in issues of science, technology, health, and sometimes explore the more ephemeral things like the paranormal – ghost busting and Bigfoot sorts of discussions might ensue.

Earlier this year I asked if the Boston Skeptics would be interested in hearing about GMOs – but from the Monsanto side. Like good skeptics, they were open to hearing this side of a controversial topic, even if they didn’t quite agree on the issues. I had met a neighbor of mine who works at the Cambridge, MA, Monsanto labs, Larry Gilbertson. And he was willing to present at the pub. With all agreed, we set it up for an evening of conversation.

The format would be thus: Larry would present some of his backstory in science, and some information about Monsanto. And then I would join him up front for a question-and-answer segment.

Beforehand, I collected questions from social media from skeptics, from several places.

I noted that the skeptics’ questions boiled down to some main themes, including: biodiversity, patents and legal issues, monopoly and reputation, agreements like the technology agreement and the academic research licenses, new crops and new technologies, and transparency of testing.

If there’s stuff you wanted more clarification from the video, or something else to ask, feel free to chime in below. We’ve been asked to reprise this for upcoming local skeptics groups (Cape Ann Skeptics, Granite State Skeptics), so if you are local to them–keep an eye out for the dates. We are also open to ideas on ways to improve this. Constructive comments welcomed.

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: Skeptics Ask Monsanto

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