Media Advisory: Thornton-Massa Lecture on Sunday, Nov. 7, to Feature Experts on Organic Farming, Future of Food

What/when:

Pamela Ronald and Raoul Adamchak, a husband-and-wife team from the University of California-Davis, will talk about “Tomorrow’s Table: Organic Farming and the Future of Food” at the 11th annual Thornton-Massa Lecture on Sunday, Nov. 7, at Colorado State University. The event is sponsored by the College of Agricultural Sciences and College of Natural Sciences.

The event, from 3- 4:30 p.m. in the Lory Student Center North Ballroom on the Fort Collins campus, is free and open to the public.

After the talk, the couple will be available to sign copies of their book, "Tomorrow’s Table: Organic Farming, Genetic and the Future of Food,” where they explore the juncture where their methods meet to ensure environmentally sustainable production. Books are not available for sale at the event.

Details:

Ronald, a professor of plant pathology at UC-Davis, studies the role that genes play in a plant’s response to its environment. Her laboratory has genetically engineered rice for resistance to diseases and flooding, which harm rice crops in Asia and Africa. She serves as Vice President for the Feedstocks Division and Director of Grass Genetics at the Joint Bioenergy Institute, and writes an award-winning blog on food, farming and genetics.

Ronald will also visit faculty and graduate students and host a traditional research seminar at 4 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 8, in Room 108 of the Natural Resources Building on the Colorado State campus.

The Thornton-Massa Lecture honors the late Dr. Emil Massa of Denver and the late Bruce and Mildred Thornton, who shared a common interest in biodiversity, plant genetics, agriculture and horticulture. These commonalities led them to endow an annual public lecture through the Colorado State University College of Agricultural Sciences and College of Natural Sciences.

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