In the contentious arena of livestock breeding and biotechnology, Dr. Alison L. Van Eenennaam has emerged as a tireless advocate for getting the science right.
Whether she’s conducting research in her role as a cooperative extension specialist in the Department of Animal Science at the University of California, Davis, where she runs the Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Laboratory, or crossing the globe to talk about the implications of her work, Van Eenennaam is committed to ensuring that scientific facts inform both her work and the surrounding conversation.
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Anti-progress groups have repeatedly attempted to silence her powerful voice by threatening her scientific reputation through libelous websites maligning her work, hit pieces in fringe media and repeated FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests of her email correspondence for years.
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Though she’s been engaged in the discussion for more than two decades, Van Eenennaam remains somewhat perplexed by the antipathy that her field of expertise elicits in some critics.
“We seem to adopt technology in all aspects of our life, but there’s a hesitation when it comes to agriculture,” she said. “To me, it’s the area where we should most be applying technology, to try to advance our capability to provide sufficient food for the people of Earth, while minimizing our impact on the environment.”
Read full, original article: Profile: Science advocate Alison Van Eenennaam
