I am a plant scientist: a geneticist and molecular biologist.  I have had the good fortune to be a participant in developing the field of plant molecular genetics.  I have watched with excitement and wonder as our ability to improve plants using molecular techniques has developed over recent decades.  I have participated in the government’s oversight of the applications of this technology, serving on the NIH Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee in the 1980s, as well as with groups convened by the Environmental Protection Agency, the US Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Academy of Sciences. 

I have watched the growing world-wide controversy about GMOs -- with increasing dismay.  In order to become a more effective spokesperson, I learned a lot about the history of genetic modifications of crops.  I learned as much as I could about the concerns that people were raising.  With the able collaboration of an excellent science writer, Nancy Marie Brown, I wrote Mendel in the Kitchen.  In it, I try to share the most important things I’ve learned.  My most important message is this:  keep an open mind, keep asking questions and keep seeking reliable information.