TECHNICIAN
thursday november
7
2013
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
GMO debate persists despite SCOTUS decision Ravi Chittilla Staff Writer
Between some researchers and farming advocacy groups, there remains a strong difference of opinion regarding the effects of Genetically Modified Organisms. In addition, many advocacy groups fear the threat of superweeds and they argue the patents on the technology create socioeconomic disparities. Although the scientific implications of GMOs are still being researched (and debated), Keith Edmisten, professor of crop science, said much of the information the public has about GMOs is either framed out of context, or inherently incorrect. Currently, there is debate about whether the use of GMOs has created a new kind of superweed resistant to herbicides. According to a May 2013 edition of Nature, since the
late 1990s, U.S. farmers have used GM cotton engineered to tolerate the herbicide glyphosate, which is sold as the Monsanto product Roundup. The herbicide– crop combination was extremely efficient in managing weed growth until it stopped. Advocates said GMOs have increased agricultural production by more than $98 billion and saved an estimated 473 kilograms of pesticides from being sprayed, Nature reported. In 2004, the herbicide resistant weed grass, Palmer amaranth, was found in one county in Georgia, and by 2011, it had spread to 76, Nature reported. According to Edmisten, contrary to much of public opinion it is not the introduction of GMOs that caused the explosion in weeds but rather the lack of chemistry rotation. “The resistance was in the Palmer amaranth popula-
tion,” Edmisten said. “We selected for [the gene] by using Roundup. It has really nothing to do with cotton per se. Roundup was used on multiple crops, often with multiple applications, so we selected for the resistant individuals.” Edmisten said that opponents who blame massive weed resistance on GMOs fail to understand the chemistry of resistance. He said that if any crop is continually exposed to a single herbicide, as the amaranth was, the crop would become resistant to such herbicides. Viewpoint from Farming Advocacy Groups Roland McReynolds, executive director of the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, an advocacy group for small and organic farms, said large biotechnology companies such as Monsanto have made the playing field that of a “get big or get out” at-
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GRAPH BY AUSTIN BRYAN SOURCE: NATURE
Author plays devil’s advocate in 90 percent of researchers aren’t getting the grant national organic food debate
funding they are seeking
Jacqueline Lee Staff Writer
Sasha Afanasieva Jayson Lusk, the author of Food Police, gave a lecture at Titmus Theatre Wednesday evening to voice his concerns about food policies that would require people and businesses to buy “local food.” Lusk is a Regents professor and Willard Sparks Endowed Chair at Oklahoma State University. He said he supports people buying food from their area, but expressed his concern that “the local food movement” imposes an elitist feeling in the food industry because so many people cannot afford higher priced area foods. He also questioned what he called the movement’s “return to nature” and “romantic foolishness” to do so. Lusk started his talk by asking the audience, “What is the issue people have with the food industry that we need to fix?” He asked attendees to think about their food decisions and where their food comes from. “I thought the talk was a nice counterpoint to a lot of the more popular opinions on this topic,” said Lesley Stewart, a junior in applied nutrition. “It was interesting to look at food from a more biotechnical position versus an emotional one.” Lusk addressed the general public’s concerns about genetically modified organisms, pesticides, food prices, energy efficiency of shipping and growing food, and the impact of area regionally grown food’s on the economy. “Eating only locally restricts the diversity of foods in your diet,” Lusk said. “I am not against buying lo-
Staff Writer
Cuts to research funding as a result of the sequester will affect graduate student admissions at N.C. State and nationwide. In addition, only one in 10 grant proposals are currently obtaining the required funding, according to Terri Lomax, vice chancellor of Research, Innovation and Economic Development. “With less of a budget, it’s more discouraging for researchers when these are the odds,” Lomax said. Sequestration, the series of auto-
matic spending cuts started March 1, was designed to cut spending and save $1.1 trillion between 2013 and 2021. Agencies that fund research had some of the bigger budget cuts with some cuts as high as 7.3 percent in 2013. Lomax said that private funding from industries has helped offset the federal research funding cuts. This year, N.C. State received about 77 percent of its research funding, or $176 million, in research grants from the federal government
FUNDING continued page 3
Peace Corps holds information session for volunteer hopefuls Staff Report
VICTORIA CROCKER/TECHNICIAN
Jayson Lusk, a Regents Professor and Willard Sparks Endowed Chair in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Oklahoma State University, presents the second installment of “The Future of Food” in Thompson Hall, Wednesday. He spoke about pesticides, growth hormones, biotechnology, and his goal to “open the door to alternative ways of talking about food and agriculture.”
cal and I do think it is great, but I am urging caution in policies being proposed that require people to buy
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The Peace Corps at N.C. State held an informational meeting Wednesday for students interested in volunteering on a global scale. Lindsey Brantley, a former Peace Corps volunteer, who now works at the Office of International Affairs at N.C. State, said the entire process is free. Volunteers are paid, their airfare is covered and they get free healthcare while overseas. They also receive a reimbursement of more than $7,000 when they return to the United States, according to Brantley. “[The Peace Corps] is not for everyone, but it is truly a great opportunity with many benefits,” Brantley said.
The Peace Corps is also a two-way learning experience, according to Brantley. “The Peace Corps is important because it helps teach people from other countries about Americans and Americans learn about other countries and peoples they would have otherwise not have known,” Brantley said. The number of volunteers each year varies, Brantley said, and all volunteers have to be United States citizens. There are currently 8,073 volunteers serving, and in total, there have been more than 210,000 volunteers in 139 countries. However, volunteers often serve in
SPORTS Bowl appearance unlikely for Doeren in first season at State See page 8.
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