Commentary: Why Science Does Not Matter Anymore and Why That is a Problem for Agriculture

oday, everybody is an expert on science and can pronounce judgement on scientific research and advancement. In our world that judgement carries just as much weight as stacks of peer reviewed, research results. Take, for example, the decision on the safety of glyphosate that is being decided in a California courtroom not a laboratory. Alex Berezow, noted science writer, said scientific credentials that used to mean something no longer count in the court of public opinion, “In 2018, we live in a thoroughly postmodernist society. In a world in which we can no longer distinguish truth from lies and science itself has been redefined, non-scientists can claim to be scientists. And I’m the Queen of England.”This is a serious concern for agriculture where much of our current production technology and more of our future advancements are rooted in science. During a recent Corteva media field day I attended, all the talk was about science. These people took science seriously, and were investing hundreds of millions of dollars into research to increase food production safely and sustainably. It will be difficult, however, to get public acceptance of this science in our current anti-science world.