MAINSTREAM agriculture is under assault with the public's view of farmers being skewed by activist groups.
It was a passionate and forthright message from American guest speaker Jon Entine at the 2016 National Horticulture Convention on the Gold Coast in June which included the above statement.
The award-winning journalist and University of California Institute for Food and Agricultural Literacy senior fellow is the founder of the Genetic Literacy Project, a non-government organisation aimed at educating the public on the intersection of human and agricultural genetics.
He took to the stage at the convention in defence of "big ag" while also providing examples of campaigns from around the world that are attacking conventional farming practices.
"You have a great commitment to feeding the planet but that's not the way the industry is being seen," Mr Entine said.
He updated the audience on United States government plans to enforce labelling of products containing genetically modified organisms (GMO).
He said part of the push was brought on by the organics industry in order to be able to label their products "non-GMO" which in itself could become a marketing tool.
"There is an attempt to label anyone growing GMO crops, to lump them in as part of a corporate culture," he said.
"I'm not here to throw aspersions on the organic community but the organic sales have been driven over recent years on the back of the demonisation of conventional agriculture."
He showed a 2015 YouTube video called "New MacDonald" by the group Only Organic which shows a school group presenting a school musical to the music of Old MacDonald Had a Farm.
In it, the group sings about Old MacDonald having cows with a "hormone here and a hormone there" and spraying crops "with some GMOs here and a pesticide there".
It then presents the children singing about New MacDonald who embraces free-range grazing and non-chemical production.
"It doesn't matter if you use GMOs or not- you will be seen as a proxy to 'big agriculture'," Mr Entine said.
"Yield matters, not just from a productivity point of view but from a sustainability point of view."
Among the information presented was a statement from the US National Academy of Sciences which concluded in a detailed report that genetically engineered crops have not caused increases in cancer, obesity, gastrointestinal illnesses, kidney disease, autism or allergies, and that there are "no differences that would implicate a higher risk to human health from eating GE foods than from eating their non-GE counterparts".
Mr Entine made the point that while the term GMO has drawn a stigma, gene editing presents a new front with huge potential.
Ultimately, if you do not tell your story, someone else is going to tell it for you and it's not going to go well.
- Jon Entine, Genetic Literacy Project
Genome editing is a type of genetic engineering in which DNA is inserted, deleted or replaced in the genome of an organism using engineered nucleases.
Mr Entine said gene editing has lower barriers for innovation and is much less expensive than full genetic modification.
Presently, it appears gene-edited products will not require labelling in the US.
Mr Entine was involved in the development of the non-browning apple strains, known as Arctic apples.
The trait is created by silencing the enzyme that causes apples to brown when bitten, sliced or bruised.
Apple varieties such as Golden Delicious and Granny Smith can be enhanced with the technology.
He said it was an example of gene editing that experienced few hurdles from the public or government.
"That sailed through the US regulatory action," he said.
He encouraged the audience to become spokespersons for their industries.
"Social media now sets the tone on how we perceive things. We are often reported in social media and reflected on in main media," he said.
"I really urge you to think about framing the stories that you know are true, the sustainability benefits that you offer, the yield benefits, the productivity benefits, the concerns for world food and hunger issues- and communicate them directly.
"Actively go out and try to tell your story elsewhere, through the media and so forth.
"Ultimately, if you do not tell your story, someone else is going to tell it for you and it's not going to go well."
When asked about the best way to go about doing that he said to think carefully about how the story is told.
"Write from the perspective of a wife, a husband, a person- not a farmer. And don't disparage people who are critical of it," he said.
Ashley Walmsley
Ashley Walmsley is the editor of ACM's only national, fresh produce magazine, Good Fruit & Vegetables, while also covering horticulture stories for the agricultural papers and websites. He also writes the weekly, The Ringer, column in the Qld Country Life.
Ashley Walmsley is the editor of ACM's only national, fresh produce magazine, Good Fruit & Vegetables, while also covering horticulture stories for the agricultural papers and websites. He also writes the weekly, The Ringer, column in the Qld Country Life.
