August 3, 2017 8:51 pm

Friday, Neil deGrasse Tyson Dives into GMOs and the Future of Food

Don’t trust what’s in your food? Well, you’re not the only one. The debate on GMOs, Genetically Modified Organisms, has been growing increasingly heated over the past several years and this week on StarTalk Radio we’re here to get the facts.

Friday, Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-host Chuck Nice explore the science behind GMOs and the future of food. With the population predicted to surpass 9 billion by 2050, having enough food for everyone is an issue that must be solved and GMOs are a part of the answer. Joining Neil and Chuck is plant geneticist Pamela Ronald and documentary filmmaker Scott Hamilton Kennedy, co-writer and director of Food Evolution, which Neil narrates.

Here’s the synopsis for Food Evolution:
Amidst the ideological war over how to safely and sustainably feed a global population that is expected to exceed 9 billion people by 2050, Food Evolution uses the controversial GMO debate and scientific inquiry as a lens to look at some of the most urgent questions facing our food system today.

One thing that really interests me is the discussion on funding the film. Funding documentaries is similar in many ways to funding science research. As our early followers know, at the start, StarTalk Radio was funded in-part by a grant from the National Science Foundation. Public view can be skewed depending on what company, group, or person is funding your documentary/research. Food Evolution was funded by the Institute of Food Technologists, which as Scott points out, doesn’t sound great when trying to present a neutral stance on scientific fact and data. However, as Pamela – who is also in the documentary – says, their only goal was to get the science right. You can find out more about the IFT here.

Apart from discussing the film, you’ll hear discussion on many topics under the umbrella of the science of GMOs and the future of food. Topics like where the anxiety surrounding GMOs comes from, genetic engineering, organic farming, sustainable agriculture, and much more.

If you want to learn more about Food Evolution, the film’s website is right here and be sure to go check it out in theaters!

Want to learn more about GMOs? Then please join us tomorrow night for Understanding GMOs and the Future of Food at 7pm EDT right here on our website, as well as on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and TuneIn. And if you’re an All-Access subscriber, you can watch or listen to this episode ad-free at 7pm, too.

That’s it for now. Keep Looking Up!
–Ian Mullen