Crops Archives - Minnesota Farm Living

How to Use Critical Thinking Skills Without A Science Background

July 20, 2017 By Wanda Patsche

“Monsanto Fails Farmers Again – Tell USDA to Ban GMO Seeds”

“DNA from GMOs can pass directly into humans, study confirms”

“GMOs are bad. They must be because they are banned in 60+ countries”

How To Critically Think GMOs Without A Science Background — GMO Corn

There isn’t a day that I don’t see headlines such as these in my social media newsfeed. One particular article, “Why I Changed My Stance on Eating Organic Food,” came across my newsfeed and I noticed the author was a dietician. When I think of dietitians, I think of integrity so I was interested to hear what the author had to say about why she changed her stance on eating organic food. When I finished reading the article, there were a number of “red flags” and knew I needed to do some “critical thinking” research on some of her statements. But how do I use critical thinking skills about GMOs without a science background?

Even though I am a farmer, I will admit my science background is not very strong. How does one know what is true and what is merely propaganda? I will show you, step-by-step, on how I used critical thinking skills to examine how valid her claims were.

Statement #1:

“I became a spokesperson for CLIF Bar in Canada, and as their products are at least 70 percent organic, I became better educated about organic farming, seeds, and crops, and their impact on the environment, and on us as the consumer.” Continue Reading

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Are GMOs Safe? Moms Want to Know!

June 5, 2017 By Wanda Patsche

“I think GMOs make my family sick. Not enough research has been done on GMOs to prove they are safe. Europe has banned GMOs, why doesn’t the United States?”

These common statements indicate that moms have concerns about the GMO technology. Simply put, they want to know if GMOs are safe. I had the privilege of attending a GMO conference in St. Louis with other farm moms from all over the U.S.

Donald Danforth Plant Science Center sign — Donald Danforth Plant Science Center

CommonGround and National Corn Growers Association sponsored the conference. CommonGround is a volunteer group of farm moms who talk and answer questions other moms have about how their food is either raised or grown. Our ultimate goal is we want them to make food decisions based on fact and not fear.

Our conference started with a tour of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. With excitement in the air, all 22 of us stepped off the bus looking forward to a day of learning!

My first question was answered almost immediately. Who funds the research at the Danforth Plant Science Center? I was always told, “follow the money” when researching issues. It was so refreshing to hear the Danforth Plant Science Center is an independent research facility. Very little money (about 10%) is contributed from corporations to conduct research.

So where does the money come from? Almost half of their funding comes from the government in the form of grants. Another significant portion of funding comes from renting out portions of the facility to companies and/or universities to conduct their own studies.

I was thrilled to learn that Pam Johnson, past National Corn Growers president, was planning on speaking with us first. Her message was uplifting and empowering. And I loved the personal connection we all felt. We were all “women in ag“, which gives us a special place and purpose in agriculture. Pam told us that we all have “Power and Significance” with our voices.

Our next speaker was Nathan Fields, the Director of Biotech and Economic Analysis from NCGA. Nathan gave us some insight on how to talk with others about biotech. The biggest issue in regards to biotech is the general lack of knowledge of what biotech is and is not. Having conversations can alleviate some of those misunderstandings.

Our third speaker was a scientist, Dr. Martina Newell-McGloughlin. She spoke to us about the research she oversees at the University of California. She is the Director of Biotechnology and Research Education for the entire University of California college system. Our last speaker was Dr. Elizabeth Kellogg, who will be joining the Danforth Plant Science Center in January. Both of these women enlightened us on biotechnology. I am really excited about what is on the horizon in regards to biotechnology.

Here are just a few of the conference highlights.

St. Louis has the most PHD’s residing than anywhere else in the U.S.
In the year 2000, 25% of the corn planted was GMO, in 2011, 88% was GMO
Biotech is HIGHLY regulated. EPA, FDA, USDA and APHIS conduct rigorous research on GMO’s
Biotech allows farmers to produce more crops with fewer pesticides
2 trillion meals containing GMO’s have been eaten with NO case of ill health reported
Over 600 peer-reviewed studies resulting in proving GMO safety
Farmers have used $1 billion fewer pesticides due to GMO technology
Yes, GMOs are safe!

CommonGround women at Danforth Plant Science Center — CommonGround Women who attended Biotech Conference in St. Louis

Our day was not complete until we toured the center. It’s a beautiful building and has so many research areas where scholars from all over the world conduct research. People from over 23 countries work at the Danforth Plant Center. It was very welcoming to see how they recognize the workforce diversity by having each country represented with their employee’s respective country’s flag.

I am so glad I was invited and able to attend. There is nothing better than asking tough questions and learning the answers. We are moms and our families are important to us. And just like other moms, we need to know the food we feed them is healthy and safe.

Here are a few more pictures from the conference.

Tour of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center

Flags representing countries of employees — Flags that Represent each Country of Employees who Work at Danforth Plant Science Center

Corn Plant Research Conducted at Danforth Plant Science Center

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Top 5 Myths About GMO Foods

May 8, 2017 By Wanda Patsche

It seems everywhere I turn, I am constantly reading about how GMOs (genetically modified organism) are going to be the death of civilization. Or at least close to it. Let’s examine five myths about GMO foods. First, let’s start with what GMO technology is.

The term GMO is most commonly used to refer to crop plants created for human or animal consumption using the latest molecular biology techniques. These plants have been modified in the laboratory to enhance desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content.

1. MYTH Foods using the GMO technology make my family sick because they are unnatural.

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“Behind the Scenes” Tour of Monsanto

December 12, 2016 By Wanda Patsche

Do you wonder what it’s like inside Monsanto? Are they the world’s evil-doers? Are they Satan in disguise? Are they out to destroy the world? Well, sit back and have an open mind by taking a “behind the scenes” tour of Monsanto . . . And you may be surprised . . .

Why did I tour Monsanto?

I am a member of the USFRA Digital Voices Council. The council is a small, mixed group of registered dieticians and people representing agriculture. Our newly formed group met in St. Louis for an Immersion session. During our Immersion session, we met and learned a bit about each other and learned about USFRA (United States Farmers and Ranchers Alliance) and . . .

We toured Monsanto!

Traveling to the Chesterfield Monsanto office, we soon realized that our tour would take us to their research facility.

After arriving at Monsanto we were told we could take any pictures or videos that we wanted. And that shocked me. Most companies I have toured do not allow any pictures taken and when you think about the public’s perception of Monsanto, I thought for sure we would not be allowed to take any pictures.

But . . . I was wrong. So I took pictures. Lots of pictures.

This facility employs about 1700 employees.

We visited a number of different areas of the facility and I will highlight a few of those areas.

First, I must say that our tour guide was phenomenal. She is a scientist but her ability to communicate science to non-science people was unbelievable. After the tour, I told her agriculture needed to clone her 900,000 times!

I really loved her explanation of GMO technology. Here is a video of her explaining it.

Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of this research facility is the biotechnology research or more specifically, GMO (genetically modified organisms) research. On our farm, we choose to use GMOs because they work best for us. This does not mean it is the right choice for everyone, but it is for us.

The pictured display case below contains three soybeans, two of which are non-GMO and one which is GMO . . . and some insects. It’s fairly easy to see which plants are GMO and non-GMO. Notice the party the insects are having on the non-GMO soybean plants.

And here is how our tour guide explained the GMO soybeans.

So let’s talk a bit about biotechnology or GMOs. Why do we need them? Well, part of the answer is to feed a growing and hungry world. In 2011, the world population hit 7 billion people. The world population by 2050 is projected to hit 9 billion people. That’s a lot of mouths to feed. And thankfully, Monsanto along with many other biotech companies are stepping up to the plate and helping agriculture feed these mouths. Biotechnology is just one tool in the toolbox to feed our growing population.

We can grow more food with fewer pesticides, which makes us all winners.

There were examples of traditional cross-breeding research in their greenhouse. Because corn plants contain both male and female parts, they put these paper bags on the corn plants so they wouldn’t breed. Think of it as a corn “condom.”

Monsanto also uses a seed chipper. And being the non-science person I am, I had not heard about that technology. Basically a seed chipper punches a small chip out of a seed, which is used to extract DNA. Using this method allows scientists to know exactly what the DNA (for research) is immediately instead of waiting for the plant to grow to extract the DNA from plant tissues. Monsanto estimates the seed chipper takes about two years off the process by not having to wait for a plant to grow plant tissue. And the seed is able to grow as if no chip was taken out of the seed.

Despite what people think, Monsanto does care about the environment. Monsanto is not killing honey bees! Honey bee health is being affected by varroa mite, weather and disease. Again, Monsanto has stepped up to the plate and is doing research on honey bee health and providing solutions to improve their health.

The tour was also a good reminder how our foods have changed over many years. Take note of the chart below. Imagine cauliflower, broccoli, kale, cabbage, brussel sprouts and kohlrabi all originating from the yellow mustard plant.

Food evolution — Foods evolved from yellow mustard plant

I, as a farmer, appreciate the research coming from Monsanto. We are not required to plant Monsanto seed, but we want to plant biotechnology seeds because of the benefits of the technology. Biotechnology has greatly improved our efficiencies and productivity as farmers and all with being more environmentally friendly.

Here is their wall lined with patents as a result of their research.