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The Impact of Genetically Engineered Crops on Farm Sustainability in the United States (2010)

Chapter: Appendix C: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2010. The Impact of Genetically Engineered Crops on Farm Sustainability in the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12804.
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Appendix C
Biographical Sketches of Committee Members

David E. Ervin (Chair) is professor of environmental management, professor of economics, and fellow at the Center for Sustainable Processes and Practices at Portland State University. Dr. Ervin also serves on the board of the United States Society for Ecological Economics. He teaches economics of sustainability, business environmental management, and global environmental issues. His research and writing work includes university–industry research relationships in agricultural biotechnology, risk management of transgenic crops, voluntary business environmental management, and green technology. He recently directed a multi– university and multidisciplinary research project on public goods and university–industry relationships in agricultural biotechnology funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). He holds a B.S. and an M.S. from the Ohio State University and a Ph.D. in agricultural and resource economics from Oregon State University.


Yves Carrière is a professor of insect ecology in the Department of Entomology at the University of Arizona. He is an expert on the interactions between insects and transgenic plants, environmental impacts of transgenic crops, and integrated pest management. He is an associate editor of the Journal of Insect Science. Dr. Carrière received a B.Sc. and an M. Sc. in biology from Laval University and holds a Ph.D. in entomology and behavioral ecology from Simon Fraser University.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2010. The Impact of Genetically Engineered Crops on Farm Sustainability in the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12804.
×

William J. Cox, a professor of crop science, joined the Cornell University faculty on an extension–research appointment in 1984. He has served in several capacities, including department associate chairman and extension leader. He recently evaluated the effects of transgenic seed on the yield and economics of corn production. His research also focuses on the environmental, biotic, and management interactions that influence the growth, development, yield, and quality of corn, soybeans, and wheat. He collaborates closely with soil scientists, animal scientists, plant pathologists, entomologists, and plant breeders in an effort to quantify whole-plant physiological responses of the crop to the environmental, biotic, and crop management interactions. He is a senior associate editor of the Agronomy Journal and the electronic publication Crop Management. Dr. Cox holds a Ph.D. in crop science from Oregon State University. He received an M.S. in agronomy from California State University-Fresno and a B.S. in history from the College of the Holy Cross.


Jorge Fernandez-Cornejo is an agricultural economist in the Resource and Rural Economics Division of U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service (ERS). He currently works on the adoption and diffusion of agricultural technologies, agricultural biotechnology, and economics of biofuel production. Since joining ERS in 1990, Dr. Fernandez-Cornejo has researched U.S. farmers’ experience with biotechnology in the first decade of its adoption and the effects of the technology on farmers’ decision-making process. He has also studied the seed industry. He has a Ph.D. in operations research and agricultural economics and a master’s in chemical engineering from the University of Delaware, an M.A. in energy and resources from the University of California, Berkeley, and a B.S. in industrial engineering. Dr. Fernandez-Cornejo has expertise in agricultural economics, farm management, integrated pest management, and farm-level impacts of transgenic seed.


Raymond A. Jussaume, Jr., is professor and chair of the Department of Community and Rural Sociology at Washington State University. His academic appointment includes teaching, extension–outreach, and research. The main thrust of his research has been to contribute to a growing international research agenda on the globalization of agri-food systems and various strategies for improving agricultural sustainability. Most recently, much of his research has been focused on how agricultural sustainability can be enhanced by increasing the extent to which agri-food systems are “localized”. He recently published several journal articles evaluating Washington State farmers’ attitudes toward biotechnology. Dr. Jussaume was a participant at the National Research Council’s Conference on Incorporating Science, Economics, and Sociology in Developing Sanitary and

Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2010. The Impact of Genetically Engineered Crops on Farm Sustainability in the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12804.
×

Phytosanitary Standards in International Trade. He received his Ph.D. in development sociology from Cornell University.


Michele C. Marra is a professor of agricultural economics at North Carolina State University and an extension specialist. A production economist, she has concentrated on economic issues surrounding integrated pest management and the characteristics of agricultural innovations that affect farmer choice. She works on the farm-level impacts of crop biotechnologies and the economics of precision farming. Her recent publications have analyzed the benefits of and risks posed by adopting new agricultural technologies and the effects of agricultural biotechnology on farmer welfare. Dr. Marra is a member of the American Agricultural Economics Association and served as the associate editor of the American Journal of Agricultural Economics from 2004 to 2007. She has a Ph.D. in economics and an M.S. and a B.S. in agricultural economics from North Carolina State University.


Micheal D.K. Owen has a Ph.D. in agronomy and weed science from the University of Illinois. He is associate chair in the Department of Agronomy of Iowa State University. He has extensive expertise in weed dynamics, integrated pest management, and crop risk management. His objective in extension programming is to develop information about weed biology, ecology, and herbicides that can be used by growers to manage weeds with cost efficiency and environmental sensitivity. His work is focused on supporting management systems that emphasize a combination of alternative strategies and conventional technology. Dr. Owen has published extensively on farm-level attitudes toward transgenic crops and their impacts; selection pressure, herbicide resistance, and other weed life-history traits; and tillage practices.


Peter H. Raven is the president of the Missouri Botanical Garden; a George Engelmann Professor of Botany, Washington University, St. Louis; adjunct professor of biology, University of Missouri, St. Louis and St. Louis University; and a member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). He earned his Ph.D. at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Raven was a member of President Clinton’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. He served for 12 years as home secretary of NAS and is a member of the academies of science of Argentina, Brazil, China, Denmark, India, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Sweden, and the U.K. Dr. Raven’s primary research interests are in the systematics, evolution, and biogeography of the plant family Onagraceae; plant biogeography, particularly in the tropics and Southern Hemisphere; and tropical floristics and conservation. The author of numerous books and reports, both popular and scientific, Dr. Raven was a coauthor of Biology of Plants and Environment.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2010. The Impact of Genetically Engineered Crops on Farm Sustainability in the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12804.
×

L. LaReesa Wolfenbarger conducts research on ecological effects of transgenic crops and agricultural practices and on land management for grassland bird conservation at the University of Nebraska, Omaha. Other research interests include the effects of agriculture on grassland ecosystems and the ecology of grassland ecosystems in agricultural landscapes. She has published several articles on the relationship between genetically engineered organisms and the environment and on the ecological risks and benefits related to genetically engineered plants. Her research also seeks to understand the responses of avian communities and reproduction to habitat variation and to management practices on restored grasslands, remnant prairies, and marginal agricultural habitats. Her other work includes synthesizing science on agricultural biotechnology, chairing a committee for a departmental graduate student program, organizing public symposia on environmental issues, and managing a 160-acre prairie preserve. Dr. Wolfenbarger earned her Ph.D. in ecology from Cornell University.


David Zilberman has been a professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics of the University of California, Berkeley, since 1979. His research interests are in agricultural and nutritional policy, economics of technological change, economics of natural resources, and microeconomic theory. He is a fellow of the American Agricultural Economics Association and the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, which have recognized many of his publications on the adoption and regulation of agricultural biotechnology for their quality and value to the field. He received his B.A. in economics and statistics from Tel Aviv University in Israel and his Ph.D. in agricultural and resource economics from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Zilberman has expertise in the intersection of biotechnology and politics and economics and agricultural marketing. He has recently published on biofuels and biotechnology marketing.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2010. The Impact of Genetically Engineered Crops on Farm Sustainability in the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12804.
×
Page 247
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2010. The Impact of Genetically Engineered Crops on Farm Sustainability in the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12804.
×
Page 248
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2010. The Impact of Genetically Engineered Crops on Farm Sustainability in the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12804.
×
Page 249
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members." National Research Council. 2010. The Impact of Genetically Engineered Crops on Farm Sustainability in the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12804.
×
Page 250
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Since genetically engineered (GE) crops were introduced in 1996, their use in the United States has grown rapidly, accounting for 80-90 percent of soybean, corn, and cotton acreage in 2009. To date, crops with traits that provide resistance to some herbicides and to specific insect pests have benefited adopting farmers by reducing crop losses to insect damage, by increasing flexibility in time management, and by facilitating the use of more environmentally friendly pesticides and tillage practices. However, excessive reliance on a single technology combined with a lack of diverse farming practices could undermine the economic and environmental gains from these GE crops. Other challenges could hinder the application of the technology to a broader spectrum of crops and uses.

Several reports from the National Research Council have addressed the effects of GE crops on the environment and on human health. However, The Impact of Genetically Engineered Crops on Farm Sustainability in the United States is the first comprehensive assessment of the environmental, economic, and social impacts of the GE-crop revolution on U.S. farms. It addresses how GE crops have affected U.S. farmers, both adopters and nonadopters of the technology, their incomes, agronomic practices, production decisions, environmental resources, and personal well-being. The book offers several new findings and four recommendations that could be useful to farmers, industry, science organizations, policy makers, and others in government agencies.

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