Documentary “Food Evolution” to play in Ostrander Auditorium
Kaitlyn Jorgenson
Staff Writer
Does the acronym GMO leaves you feeling scared, angry, anxious, or worried? If so, come on down to the Ostrander Auditorium at 6 p.m. on Tuesday night!
This upcoming Tuesday, September 18th the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance and the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council will be hosting an event to help you better understand the controversy surrounding GMO’s.
Reception starts at 5:30 p.m., with the showing of the Movie “Food Evolution” at 6 p.m., followed by an open discussion featuring multiple panelists, many of whom are MNSU Alumni!
Food evolution is a documentary produced by Academy Award-nominated director Scott Hamilton Kennedy, which asks the heavy questions of; Are GMO foods bad for your health?
And, how do we feed the world yet protect our environment and its people? This film is narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson and features many icons such as Mark Lynas, Andrew Kimbrell, Robert Fraley, Marion Nestle and Bill Nye (yes, the science guy).
The discussion panel will begin immediately following the film, and all are welcome to participate.
Our Panelists feature: April Graff, licensed and registered dietician, Dr. Shane Bowyer, the assistant professor of Management at MNSU, Jason Bruns, the Director of the Minnesota State Engineering Center of Excellence and lastly, Angela Guentzel who is a corn and soybean farmer, and co-owner of Guentzel Family Farms near Mankato.
One of our featured panelists, Dr. Shane Bowyer, states that, “It is my hope that we can listen to each other, and be able to have a professional and critical conversation around what can sometimes be an emotionally charged issue.”
Dr. Bowyer also predicts that there are going to be many opportunities for employment in agriculture.
He states that “I see many of my students graduating and going on to pursue careers in agriculture whether they recognize it or not. Many work for companies such as Land O’ Lakes, Sparboe and Hormel doing office jobs. The agriculture career field holds many opportunities. They need writers, businessmen, HR, accounting & etc.”
James Massie, Marketing Manager for the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance, who helped make this event possible states that: “The effects of GMO’s are just beginning to become a debate in society and in the media, and this controversy is only expected to grow in the future. Through this panel we hope that we can wade through a lot of misinformation, look at the issue from a scientific standpoint, and hopefully, be able to answer any questions you might have.”
This event is open to both students and members of the community.
Feature photo courtesy of Flickr.