Canberra Skeptics proudly presents:

Talking plain about GMOs

Date: Tuesday, 12 March 2019

Time: 6:00 to 7:30pm

Speakers: Jose Barrero and Marina Trigueros

Venue: Belconnen Community Service, 26 Chandler Street, Belconnen ACT 2616 (Entry on Swanson Court)

Cost: Free

Humans have been using breeding for thousands of years to genetically modify plants and animals since domestication started, but as human population rapidly heads towards 8 billion people, the challenge of feeding ourselves is becoming greater. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) is an essential technology to safely increase yields while minimising the use of resources such as land or water, and reducing the need for fertilisers and pesticides. However only a handful of GMOs are currently approved and used in agriculture. General public opposition to GMOs is delaying the development and legalisation of multitude of beneficial GMOs and Biotechnological applications. This opposition is partly due to powerful misinformation campaigns performed over the years by some groups and the existing general lack of knowledge of the outstanding benefits of GM products to the people and the environment. In this seminar we will explain the GMOonly approach to normalize GMOs and we will go over several of the common anti-GMOs myths. It has been proven extremely difficult to change someone’s opinion on hot topics like this, so we will try to provide to the favourable audience with arguments to use in discussions regarding the use of GMOs.

About GMOonly: GMOonly (www.gmoonly.com) is an initiative of a small team of experienced Plant Scientists and Science Communicators to promote GM products. We are concerned about the public’s opposition to GMOs that is delaying the development and legalisation of beneficial GM plants. In this frame, we came with the idea of creating an independent brand to promote GM products that could reach to the general public. From T-shirts with punchy messages to cultural events, our vision is to promote the image that GMOs are high-tech products good for the people and the environment. We are the first brand proud to show upfront the benefits of using GMOs. All our messages are based in scientific publications proving that GMOs are high-tech instruments that are good for you and for the environment. GMOs are the key for the next Green Revolution.

About the speakers: Jose Barrero is a professional scientist and one of the GMOonly founders. He has a PhD in Plant Genetics and has worked in several Research Organizations for the last 15 years using GM technology as a key tool of his research.

Marina Trigueros is a professional science illustrator and 3D animator at Cariboo Design and one of the GMOonly founders. She has a PhD in Plant Molecular Biology, has worked for more than 10 years in several research organisations using GM technology and has extensive experience in science communication.”

Dinner will follow the lecture (venue TBC). To RSVP for the dinner please email canberraskeptics@gmail.com.

Canberra Skeptics Inc. is a non-profit association incorporated in the Australian Capital Territory for the purpose of promoting critical thinking. For further information about Canberra Skeptics, please visit our website: http://www.canberraskeptics.org

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Twitter: @cbrskeptics

Event announcements: 
Meetup: http://meetu.ps/c/clpg/mmVvH/a
Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/o/canberra-skeptics-18628458762