Gary Marchant is the Lincoln Professor of Emerging Technologies, Law, and Ethics at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. He is also a Professor of Life Sciences at ASU, and Executive Director of the ASU Center for the Study of Law, Science and Technology. Professor Marchant has a PhD in Genetics from the University of British Columbia, a Masters of Public Policy degree from the Kennedy School of Government, and a law degree from Harvard. Prior to joining the ASU faculty in 1999, he was a partner in a Washington, DC law firm where his practice focused on environmental and administrative law. At ASU, Gary teaches environmental, food, genetic, and drug law, and has studied the legal aspects of risk assessment, biotechnology, and nanotechnology.

Are genetically engineered foods safe? Should biotechnology products have special labels? Under what circumstances can nations restrict imports of GE foods? Should genes and organisms be patented? The law ultimately decides these and other difficult questions about biotechnology. Gary’s Food for Thought lecture examines how and if these decisions can be made in a fair, scientifically credible, and socially acceptable manner.

Outreach in Biotechnology’s Food for Thought Lecture Series brings together internationally recognized experts to talk about the best (and worst) ways to use biotechnology for food and fuel. For more information, go to http://OregonState.edu/OrB

A study guide to this lecture is available at http://oregonstate.edu/orb/food-for-thought

Recorded 15 Nov 2007