Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Education
“Scientific Communication about Animal Agriculture”
Alison Van Eenennaam, Ph.D.Cooperative Extension SpecialistAnimal Biotechnology and Genomics Department of Animal Science University of California, Davis, USA
Email: [email protected]: @BioBeef Blog: http://biobeef.faculty.ucdavis.eduhttp://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/animalbiotech
Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
http://blogs.egu.eu/network/palaeoblog/files/2012/10/science.jpg
GMOS MAKE LIVESTOCK SICK
PINK SLIME
MEAT IS ALWAYS BAD
FOR YOU
CONVENTIONAL AGRICULTURE DESTROYS THE ENVIONMENT
FARMERS MISTREAT ANIMALS
GRASSFED IS BETTER
EATING MEAT CAUSES GLOBAL WARMING
ANTIBIOTIC USE IN ANIMAL AG IS ALWAYS BAD
SCIENTISTS ARE BAD;ACTIVISTS ARE GOOD
Google image search for “Ideal Farm”Audio from “No Scrub Bulls” (Civil eats)
http://www.wallstickeroutlet.com/Images/oopsy-daisy-ideal-farm-wall-art-2.jpghttp://civileats.com/2015/02/19/no-scrubs-breeding-a-better-bull-audio
Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Education Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Education Canada 4/25/2016
98% US farms family owned and there are no “buildings” on the range
Opinion: Scientists’ Intuitive FailuresMuch of what researchers believe about the public and
effective communication is wrong.
“given the norms of our profession…it is ironic that many of these debates about how to best communicate science with lay populations are driven by intuitive assumptions on the part of
scientists rather than the growing body of social science research on the topic that has developed over the past two decades”
Matthew C Nisbet and Dietram A Scheufele
http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/32384/title/Opinion--Scientists--Intuitive-Failures/
Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Education Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
Part of the problem is that communication styles need to differ
depending upon the audience
Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Education Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
Communication aspect AcademicMain information channel Audio and visualStructure Information is fineMode of response CerebralNeed humor? Not necessarilyLike sincerity? Suspicious of itSex appeal? Potential disasterKnow your stuff? YesEffective elements Information Effective organs Head Preferred voice Robotic
How Academic audiences respondto various aspects of
communication
Olson, R. 2009. Don’t be such a scientist. Talking substance in an age of style. Island Press.
Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Education Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
Communication aspect Academic General PublicMain information channel Audio and visual VisualStructure Information is fine Need a storyMode of response Cerebral VisceralNeed humor? Not necessarily Pretty muchLike sincerity? Suspicious of it AlwaysSex appeal? Potential disaster The ultimateKnow your stuff? Yes No (don’t trust you!)Effective elements Information Humor, sincerity, sexEffective organs Head Heart, gut, gonadsPreferred voice Robotic Human
How Academic versus “General Public” audiences respond to various aspects
of communication
Olson, R. 2009. Don’t be such a scientist. Talking substance in an age of style. Island Press.
Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Education Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
Animal Biotechnology and Genomics Education
This is a picture of D _ A.
B N C L
0% 0%0%0%
1. B2. N3. C4. L
?
Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
Animal Biotechnology and Genomics Education
1. 12. 23. 34. 4
Which do you think is my dog?
1 2 3 4
0% 0%0%0%
1 2
3 4Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Education Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
What is Sustainability?balancing environmental, social,
and economic goals
Animal Biotechnology and Genomics Education
Which sustainability goal is most important to you?
Social
Econom
ic
Environmen
t
0%0%0%
Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
1. Social2. Economic3. Environment
1. Improved product quality and safety.
2. Improved animal welfare and natural behavior.
3. Decreased impact on the environment and efficient use of natural resources.
Illustrations from Stern,S., Sonesson,U., Gunnarsson,S., Oborn,I., Kumm,K.I., & Nybrant,T. Sustainable development of food production: A case study on scenarios for pig production. Ambio 34, 402-407 (2005).
WHICH SYSTEM IS SUSTAINABLE?
Animal Biotechnology and Genomics Education
Which system do you think is the most sustainable?
Food Sa
fety
Animal W
elfare
Decrease
d footp
rint
0%0%0%
1. Improved product quality and food safety; low cost intermediate environmental footprint
2. Improved animal welfare and natural behavior; highest cost and environmental footprint
3. Decreased impact on the environment and efficient use of natural resources; low cost and lowest environmental footprint
Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Education Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
There are almost always goal conflicts between environmental,
social, and economic goals
Each scenario fulfil led different aspects of sustainability, but there were goal conflicts
because no scenario fulfil led all sustainability goals
The authors also wrote that the evaluation and ranking of sustainability goals is mainly a political question. Leaving sustainability goal evaluation to the political process potentially exposes the process to subjective interpretation and political pressure from special interest groups
Stern,S., Sonesson,U., Gunnarsson,S., Oborn,I., Kumm,K.I., & Nybrant,T. Sustainable development of food production: A case study on scenarios for pig production. Ambio 34, 402-407 (2005).
Animal Biotechnology and Genomics Education
As a result of these goal conflicts we have all sorts of marketers profiting off this to suggest THEIRS is the ONLY truly sustainable system!
Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
Sustainable label definition:Sustainable agriculture is a way of raising food that is
healthy for consumers and animals, does not harm the environment, is humane for workers, respects animals, provides a fair wage to the farmer, and
supports and enhances rural communities.
Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Education Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
Google image search for “Ideal Farm”
http://www.wallstickeroutlet.com/Images/oopsy-daisy-ideal-farm-wall-art-2.jpgAnimal Genomics and Biotechnology Education Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
Of the total annual pest losses in crops, weeds account for 37%, insects 29%, diseases 22% and other pests 12%.
Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Education Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
Weeds use water, nutrients and decrease yield per acre
Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Education Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
Sonoma 8/3/2016
Toxicity of pesticides (red line) used in agriculture dropped
dramatically over past 50 years
Fernandez-Cornejo, Jorge, Richard Nehring, Craig Osteen, Seth Wechsler, Andrew Martin, and Alex Vialou. 2014a. Pesticide Use in U.S. Agriculture: 21 Selected Crops, 1960-2008, EIB-124, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, May 2014. http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/1424185/eib124.pdf
Average quality characteristics of pesticides applied to four major crops, 1968-2008
What choice would you make to control agricultural weeds?
Do nothing an
d...
Apply
herbici
d...
Plough th
em un
...
Burn
them
with
...
Use
man
ual lab
...
Cro
p rotat
ions...
Use
integ
rated
...
0% 0% 0%0%0%0%0%
Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016 Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Education
1. Do nothing and lose crop 2. Apply herbicide to kill weeds3. Plough them under (tillage)4. Burn them with propane5. Use manual labor & hoe6. Crop rotations 7. Use integrated pest
management that involves use of variety of approaches which could include all of the above
Pinkeye is caused by bacteria carried by face flies
Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Education Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
What happens to animal welfare when raised antibiotic-free?
Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Education Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
What choice would you make to care for cows with pink eye?
Do nothing
Antib
iotic
the...
Put a patc
h ov...
Not e
nough in
f...
0% 0%0%0%
Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016 Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Education
1. Do nothing 2. Antibiotic therapy3. Put a patch over the eye4. Not enough information
(i.e. need to know the therapy that the peer-reviewed literature has shown to be the most efficacious)
Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Education Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
Plant and animal breeders have perhaps the most compelling sustainability story of all time
https://grist.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/corn-hybrid-yields.jpeg
Chart from Matt DiLeo/USDA
1944: 25.6 million animals; total annual milk production of 53.1 billion kg. 1997: 9.2 million animals; total annual milk production of 84.2 billion kg.
About half of this 369% increase in production efficiency is attributable to genetic improvement enabled by AI
VandeHaar, M.J. and St-Pierre, N. (2006). Major Advances in Nutrition: Relevance to the Sustainability of the Dairy Industry. Journal of Dairy Science 89, 1280-1291.
AI
Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016 Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Education
2014 total production
2014 Amount needed at 1950s rate
Additional needed
Soybeans 3,927,090,000 BU
(235,562,540,000 lb)(106,849,370,802 kg)
82,591,000 Acres
(33,423,392 ha)
180,971,889 Acres
(73,236,725 ha)
~ 98 million Acres
(~40 million ha)
Corn 14,215,532,000 BU
(796,069,979,000 lb)(361,091,268,460 kg)
83,136,000 Acres
(33,643,946 ha)
372,134,346 Acres
(150,597,427 ha)
~ 289 million Acres
(~120 million ha)
Dairy cattle 206,046,000,000 lbsmilk
(93,460,893,469 kg)
9,257,166 head 38,774,181 head ~ 30 million head
Broilers 51,373,100,000 lbsmeat
(23,302,446,000 kg)
8,544,100,000 head
16,679,545,455head
~ 8 billion head+ an additional81.5 billion lbsfeed due to less
efficient FCRAnimal Genomics and Biotechnology Education Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
Genetic improvement (permanent, cumulative) as a solution to animal
disease rather than chemicals
Van Eenennaam 5/18/2016
Animal Biotechnology and Genomics Education
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nbt.3434
Holtkamp et al. 2015. Gene-edited pigs are protected from
porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus
(PRRSV). Nature Biotechnology
Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
Gene Edited Polled Calves
Tan et al. 2013. Efficient nonmeiotic allele introgression in livestock using custom endonucleases. PNAS 110: 16526-31.
Naturally-occurring bovine allele at polled locus
Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Education Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
Breeding Method:Selective Breeding Genomic SelectionMutagenesis (ENU)Gene Knockout (ES) Genetic engineering
Sterile insect techniqueCloning
Gene Editing
Research PetsPharmaproducts
BiomedicalProducts
Pest Control AgricultureMillions of
Mice/Laboratory Rodents/Zebrafish
GloFishMicropigsRabbit -
RuconestGoat – ATryn,
spider silk
Pigs -XenotransplantationCattle – polyclonal human antibodies
AquAdvantage Salmon –fast growth
Polled HolsteinsDisease resistance
Improved product qualityDecrease environmental
footprintSingle gender offspring
Species
Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Education
TseTse fly –sleeping sickness
Mosquitoes –zika/malaria resistance Moths –
agricultural pest control
Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
Animal Biotechnology and Genomics Education
Which of these breeding methods is not a “sustainable” method?
Selectiv
e Bree
...
Gen
omic Sele
ct...
Mutag
enes
is Us...
Gen
e Knock
outs
Gen
etic E
ngine...
Sterile
Inse
ct...
Cloning
Gen
e Edit
ing
More
than
one ...
None o
f the a
b...
0% 0% 0% 0% 0%0%0%0%0%0%
Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
1. Selective Breeding2. Genomic Selection3. Mutagenesis Using Chemicals4. Gene Knockouts5. Genetic Engineering (GMOs)6. Sterile Insect Technique7. Cloning 8. Gene Editing9. More than one of the above 10. None of the above
Animal Biotechnology and Genomics Education
Agricultural breeding programs align with many sustainability goals including improved animal
well-being, increased efficiency of production and reduced environmental footprint of agriculture
• Naturally polled Holsteins• Disease resistant animals• Sex selection for ♀ in
dairy and egg industries
http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/01/29/public-and-scientists-views-on-science-and-society/pi_2015-01-29_science-and-society-00-01/Image from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/06/150129-public-opinion-aaas-health-education-science/
Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Education Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
The problem is the public, not scientists or policymakers
“Scientists have long believed that when the public disagreed with them on matters of policy, public
ignorance was to blame….. But research shows that science literacy has only a limited connection to public
attitudes. Instead, trust, emotion, social identity, and how an issue is framed matter more, putting much of
the burden of effective communication on scientists and their institutions.”
http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/32384/title/Opinion--Scientists--Intuitive-Failures/
Matthew C Nisbet and Dietram A Scheufele
Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Education Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
LOGOSLogic/reason/proof
Appeal to logic
ETHOSCredibility/trustAppeal to ethics
PATHOSEmotions/values
Appeal to emotion
Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle -the available means of persuasion
Background
Supporting details
Results
Sharedvalues and
bottom line
So what?Supporting
details
Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Education Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
LOGOSLogic/reason/proof
ETHOSCredibility/trust
PATHOSEmotions/values
Main techniques Stories/Anectodal information
Inspirational quotesVivid languageScare tactics
They (insert enemy here) worked against everything we’ve worked so hard to build, and they don’t care about (insert shared value
here). Make no mistake, they’re the enemy, and they
won’t stop until we’re all destroyed.
Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Education Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
This is very effective
Animal Biotechnology and Genomics Education Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
Narratives that are based on emotion or fear are difficult to address using logic or reason
Jenny McCarthy – Vaccinations Vani Hari – Chemicals in food
Weeds use water, nutrients and decrease yield per acre
Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Education Van Eenennaam 9/25/2015
Intelligence Squared debate on GM food New York City, December 2014
Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Education Van Eenennaam 9/25/2015http://intelligencesquaredus.org/debates/past-debates/item/1161-genetically-modify-food
Alison Van Eenennaam, Ph.D.Cooperative Extension SpecialistAnimal Biotechnology and Genomics Department of Animal Science University of California, Davis, [email protected]: @BioBeef
http://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/animalbiotechAnimal Genomics and Biotechnology Education Van Eenennaam 9/20/2016
Thanks for inviting me
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