Lectures are free and open to the public and will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Native American Forum, Room 162 of the Behavioral and Social Sciences Building.
Ray Seidler kicks-off the speaker series Aug. 29 with “The Truth About GMOs.” Seidler spent 16 years as a professor of microbiology at Oregon State University and 17 years as senior research scientist and team leader at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He has authored or co-authored over 155 peer reviewed publications and three books. While at the EPA, Seidler also wrote the first GMO biosafety research plan and conducted extensive research on GMOs.
On Sept. 5, Michael Hansen presents “Are Genetically Engineered Foods Safe to Eat? What Are the Risks, and Who Ensures Safety?” Hansen is a senior staff scientist at Consumers Union, a national non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the rights of consumers and the publisher of Consumer Reports magazine.
Hansen has been responsible for developing Consumers Union positions on safety, testing and labeling of genetically engineered food and mad cow disease. Since 2003, he has worked on a multi-state effort to ban the use of food crops to produce pharmaceutical drugs and industrial chemicals.
Ignacio Chapela delivers “GMOs: Who Wins, Who Loses?” on Sept. 12.
Chapela has held various research posts in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway and the United States. Before joining the faculty at UC Berkeley, Chapela worked in the agro- and pharmaceutical industry, academia and policy-making institutions. In addition to working on microbial ecology, he has also researched the access, ownership and stewardship of genetic resources.
For more information on the Genetically Modified Organism Speaker Series, contact Noah Zerbe, chair of the Department of Politics, at (707) 826-3911 or noah.zerbe@humboldt.edu or Bill Schaser of GMO Free Humboldt at (707) 443-5323 or wkshaz@yahoo.com.