Biology speaker causes debate

A representative from agriculture giant and genetic modification powerhouse Monsanto Company spoke in Snell Hall last Friday to offer an alternative career path to biology students.

However, the companys presence caused some anguish among the students professors.

Every other Friday, the WKU biology department hosts a guest speaker for their Biology Seminar Series. Last Fridays speaker was Jim Roberts, who holds a doctorate in botany from the University of Georgia and leads an agriculture traits discovery team at Monsanto.

Monsanto, a self-described sustainable agriculture company, is a leading name in pesticides, herbicides and perhaps most conspicuously, genetic modification.

The companys name tends to crop up in debates over the health regulations of genetically modified foods, especially after the company won the Supreme Court case Bowman v. Monsanto and gained legal backing for its patent on its genetically altered soybeans.

As the room filled with students and professors, several members of the biology faculty were noticeably missing from the crowd.

Cassandra Cantrell, the advising coordinator, was among the absentee list. She and her colleagues felt morally uncomfortable about showing support for the company.

Those of us that kind of took a stance against them, our stance was coming from seed-saving and the integrity of our food source, Cantrell said. Its kind of a scary though, you know, someone owning our food sources. They get to dictate who plants what and when, which then means they get to dictate what we eat, when we eat. These are new bioethical considerations that were just now moving into.

Cantrells concerns stemmed heavily from her background as a beekeeper. Shes looked after hives since the early 90s and is affiliated with the WKU beekeeping club. Shes worried about the impact Monsantos products may be having on the global population of honeybees. She pointed to the ban on Monsantos products in the European Union as an example of fears surrounding Monsanto.

What we need to be concerned about are the unintended impacts, she said. We dont know often what those are going to be.

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Biology speaker causes debate