Individual Listing

3110 BATCHELOR HALL, KEEN HALL
University of California
Riverside, CA 92521

McHughen, Alan

CE Plant Biotechnologist

College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Botany & Plant Sciences


Biography

Alan McHughen is a public sector educator, scientist and consumer advocate. After earning his doctorate at Oxford University, Dr McHughen worked at Yale University and the University of Saskatchewan before joining the University of California, Riverside. A molecular geneticist with an interest in crop improvement and environmental sustainability, he helped develop US and Canadian regulations covering genetically engineered crops and foods. He served on recent US National Academy of Sciences panels investigating the environmental effects of transgenic plants, and a second investigating the health effects of genetically modified foods. He is now Past President and Treasurer of the International Society for Biosafety Research (ISBR). Having developed internationally approved commercial crop varieties using both conventional breeding and genetic engineering techniques, he has firsthand experience with the relevant issues from both sides of the regulatory process. As an educator and consumer advocate, he helps non-scientists understand the environmental and health impacts of both modern and traditional methods of food production. His award winning book, 'Pandora's Picnic Basket; The Potential and Hazards of Genetically Modified Foods' (Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-850674-0), uses understandable, consumer-friendly language to explode the myths and explore the genuine risks of genetic modification (GM) technology.

Former Institution

 Professor, Crop Development Centre, University of Saskatchewan

Degrees

B.Sc(Hons) Biology/biochem 1976

Dalhousie University

D.Phil. Plant Science 1979

Oxford University

Awards

Book of the year award, 2001, Canadian Science Writer's Association
Distinguished lecturer, 2001, US Environmental Protection agency (EPA)


Research Area

Cooperative Extension Specialist - Biotechnology for sustainable agriculture. Policy development and public education.

Publications

Representative recent Publications:

McHughen, A. 2008. The science of fear, by Dan Gardner. Nature Biotechnology 26: 1226 (book review).

McHughen A. 2008. Undermining scientific credibility . GENETIC ENGINEERING & BIOTECHNOLOGY NEWS Volume: 28 Issue: 15 Pages: 6-+ SEP 1 2008

Beachy, Roger N., Nina V. Fedoroff, Robert B. Goldberg, and Alan McHughen. 2008. The burden of proof: A response to Rosi-Marshall et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. February 19, vol. 105 no. 7 E9

Smyth S, McHughen A. 2008. Regulating innovative crop technologies in Canada: the case of regulating genetically modified crops. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL Volume: 6 Issue: 3 Pages: 213-225 Published: APR 2008

McHughen A, Smyth S. 2008 US regulatory system for genetically modified [genetically modified organism (GMO), rDNA or transgenic] crop cultivars. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Pages: 2-12 Published: JAN 2008

Chassy B, Moses V, McHughen A, and V. Giddings. 2007. GM soybeans - revisiting a controversial format – Response. NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY Volume: 25 Issue: 12 Pages: 1356-1358 Published: DEC 2007

McHughen, A. 2007. Global governance of food and agriculture systems. Reba Carruth. Journal of Commercial Biotechnology. 13:311-312. (Book review)

McHughen, A. 2007. Fatal flaws in agbiotech regulatory policies. Nature Biotechnology. Vol. 25: p.725-727.

McHughen, A. 2007. Toppling the organic house of cards. Alex Avery. Nature Biotechnology. Vol. 25: p.522-523. (Book review)

Marshall, A. 2007. GM soybeans and health safety- a controversy reexamined. Nature Biotechnology. Vol. 25: p.981-987.

McHughen, A. 2007. Public perceptions of biotechnology. Biotechnology Journal. 2:1105-1111.

McHughen, A. 2006. Problems with the Cartagena Protocol. Asia Pacific Biotech. 10: 684-687.

McHughen, A. 2006. The limited value of measuring gene flow via errant pollen from GM plants. Environmental Biosafety Research. 5:1-2.

McHughen, A. 2006. Plant genetic engineering and regulation in the United States. Agricultural biotechnology in California series, University of California, ANR, publication 8179. 5p.

McHughen, A. 2006. Genetic engineering and testing methodologies. Agricultural biotechnology in California series, University of California, ANR, publication 8190. 5p.

Book chapters:

McHughen, A. 2008. Regulations and Biosafety. Pp 291-310. In: Neal Stewart, ed. Plant Biotechnology and Genetics. Wiley

McHughen, A. 2008. Learning from mistakes: missteps in public acceptance issues with GMOs. In: David, K. and Thompson, P.B. (eds) What Can Nanotechnology Learn From Biotechnology? Elsevier: Burlington, MA.

McHughen, A. 2007. Public Science in Liberal Democracy: The Challenge to Science and Democracy. Pp. 194-204. In: Porter and Phillips, eds. University of Toronto Press.