| |
|
N.C. gets mixed grades in development
Business-friendliness a help for economy, study reportsCraven Community College embarks on 'new era' in Havelock
In an crowded hangar filled with veterans and active duty military, state, county city and military leaders gathered Tuesday afternoon to herald a new chapter in Havelock history.Colleges see more students enrolling
The cost of college continues to rise, but that fact does not seem to be turning people away from the state's public universities.ACC plays down Irish talk
Swofford says conference is satisfied with its 12 membersReport: Notre Dame Looking At Potential ACC Membership
Three New Schools To Join ACC In Upcoming YearsEditorial: Putting on a cap?
University of North Carolina system officials might have anticipated a bit of a storm over a proposal to raise the cap on out-of-state students at all member campuses.
N.C. gets mixed grades in development
Nov. 14, 2003
Winston-Salem Journal
By Richard Craver, staff writer
© Copyright 2003 Winston-Salem Journal
North Carolina has received mixed grades for its economic-development efforts for the fourth consecutive year, according to the 2003 Development Report Card for the States released yesterday.
The Corporation for Enterprise Development, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, conducts the study.
The group ranks each state in three indexes - economic performance, business vitality and development capacity - and grades them according to their national position.
The state received an A grade for its business vitality, a significant improvement from the C that it received in 2002. The study found that North Carolina was among the top 10 states in generating jobs from new businesses and has "a relatively diverse industrial base."
The grade for economic performance dropped from a C to a D, primarily because of losses in manufacturing jobs. The state received a C for the fourth consecutive year in development capacity, a category that includes its education levels.
Some economists surveyed view the state's report card as a positive indication of how much progress North Carolina has made in its economic transition. Others said that the economic disparity within North Carolina makes it hard for most national studies to offer an accurate snapshot of its viability.
"I think the report actually presents a bullish forecast for North Carolina," said Michael Walden, an economics professor at N.C. State University. North Carolina ranks high on factors that are "forward looking," such as elementary math scores, entrepreneurial factors and investment.
"Our low scores are based partially on the severity of the recent recession, the restructuring that has been ongoing for decades and has resulted in big urban/rural differences, and on subjective measures of quality of life."
The state's report card can be viewed at http://drc.cfed.org. The top performing states were Massachusetts, Minnesota and Virginia, which earned A's in each index.
"Unemployment, wage disparity and manufacturing investment continue to be significant problems for the state, which contributed to the below-average grade for performance," the study found.
"North Carolina positively shines in business vitality, with a business-friendly climate that is paying off. The entrepreneurial-energy grade highlights the conduciveness of the state's environment to new ventures," it said.
In the development-capacity category, the state received high marks in financial resources, loans to small businesses and venture-capital support.
"It's clear North Carolina will continue to see its manufacturing-employment base chipped away at, as is happening in other states, and the economic disparity between urban and rural North Carolina is likely to continue to grow," said Bill Schweke, a research director for the corporation,
"We believe North Carolina is better prepared than most states to make it through this economic transition because of its entrepreneurial focus," Schweke said.
"But it must raise the educational and technical level of its work force going forward, especially in retraining initiatives, to best serve its citizens," he said.
On a national level, Schweke said, most states are being stressed by higher unemployment, a growing dependence upon lower-wage jobs, slower pay growth and declining employer-provided health coverage.
"It is a mistake to measure the economic success or stability of American families only with indicators like the gross domestic product," he said. "For working people, economic success is clearly about a quality standard of living."
Craven Community College embarks on 'new era' in Havelock
Nov. 11, 2003
Havelock News
By Tom Boné, staff writer
© Copyright 2003 Havelock News
In an crowded hangar filled with veterans and active duty military, state, county city and military leaders gathered Tuesday afternoon to herald a new chapter in Havelock history.
The grand opening of the Havelock Campus of Craven Community College, featuring the Institute of Aeronautical Technology and Havelock-Craven County Library, drew many of the military, civic, educational and political leaders who worked in front of and behind the scenes to make the dream become a reality.
The 23-acre campus will be ready for occupancy in January, just three years after ground breaking ceremonies in October 2000.
Havelock mayor George Griffin told the assembled audience the event was a major milestone.
“Other than the Marine Corps choosing to come here in the 1940s, this is the most significant day in the history of Havelock,” said the mayor.
Griffin was joined on center stage by Dr. Scott Ralls, Craven Community College president; Maj.Gen. Robert M. Flanagan, commander of Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and Marine Corps Air Bases East; Martin Lancaster, president of the North Carolina Community College System; County Commissioner Lee Kyle Allen; Earline Williams, Chair of the Craven Community College Board of Trustees; and North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Beverly Perdue.
Each had words for the occasion, but it was Perdue who reminded everyone the concept was initially started as an effort to fortify the position of the Naval Aviation Dept at Cherry Point.
Perdue singled out Lancaster and former CCC president Dr. Lewis Redd as key supporters in the project, which eventually received funding through a combination of her effort when she was a state senator from Craven County, and a financial boost from a state special appropriation, a statewide education bond and Craven County government and municipalities in the region.
Highlights of the campus unveiling ceremonies included honors for three individuals whose names will forever be linked to parts of the complex.
Former Craven Community College President Dr. Lewis S. “Steve” Redd now has his name affixed to the main campus building filled with classrooms, labs and administrative suites. Redd, the second president of the college, was credited as a driving force behind the campus and IAT project.
Roger Bell, who served for 30 years on the Craven County Board of Education, and already has a Havelock elementary school named in his honor, will now have his name on the Roger R. Bell Learning Resources Center in the Redd Building.
The third honored individual, Patricia Jane Erb, died in 2001 while serving as vice chair of the college board of trustees. A long-time Havelock resident with a long history of community service specifically in the interests of education, Erb will be memorialized with her name on the student patio outside the Redd Building.
Craven Community College president Dr. Scott Ralls called the dedication of the Lewis S. Redd Building “well deserved.”
“It was his vision, and his push that provided the impetus,” he said. “Without him it would have never have come to fruition.”
Dr. Redd, who retired last year and has been spending free time in his woodworking shop at his home in Trent Woods, donned suit and tie to attend the luncheon and ribbon-cutting, but even before both events started he was busy deflecting credit from himself.
“This has been an unbelievable collaboration,” he said. “The number of city, county, federal and military people who were deeply involved is astounding.”
For his part, Redd prefers to single out Lieutenant Governor Beverly Perdue.
“The one person who did more to solidify this project than anyone is then Senator Perdue,” he said. “Bear in mind the whole project depended heavily on initial funding from the state. Once she helped make that happen, all the other pieces started falling into place.”
Redd says he recalls Perdue “sticking with this even during the hard financial times.”
The state funding provided $5 million to the project through a General Assembly special appropriation. That support has been credited with laying the groundwork for subsequent funding from Craven County, a statewide bond, and local municipalities.
Perdue, who called the day, “a new chapter in the history of Craven County, The Naval Aviation Depot and the community college,” says the Havelock Campus, with the Institute of Aeronautical Technology (IAT) at its center, is a boost in favor of the NADEP in upcoming Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) hearings.
“NADEP has been a fixture in our community for years, and it has supported our area and the generations of families who have worked there. This new training facility illustrates that we will do whatever it takes to protect the depot and make North Carolina the most military friendly state in the country,” said Perdue.
Ralls and Redd describe the close tie between the campus and NADEP as a perfect matching of supply and demand.
“I’m not an expert on the BRAC process,” said Redd. “But from the very beginning the concept of an IAT was to help solidify position of NADEP. Common sense dictates that NADEP has an uninterrupted supply of certified entry-level aviation technicians; they can assure their ability to maintain production levels now and in the future. That is a positive thing.”
Ralls says “entry level” is not the limit. “Today we’re announcing a new partnership with the college of Engineering at North Carolina State University,” he said.
“Through this partnership students can come to the New Bern campus the first two years, then come to the Havelock campus and take courses from NC State, either with instructors or long distance education technology. They will be able to achieve a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering without ever leaving Craven County.”
The education complex will not be limited to community college offerings and aviation specialties.
When the new general classroom building opens on the Havelock Campus, Job Link from the N.C. Employment Security Commission will be there. The Small Business Center of Craven Community College will also operate out of the campus in Havelock. The center’s primary mission will be to help and sustain small businesses in the community.
The center offers free-of-charge business seminars that will be conducted on campus and at the Havelock Chamber of Commerce, to help prospective business owners develop their ideas, write business plans and find funding. Existing business owners will also find the center offers valuable free counseling and seminars focused on current business management topics.
In addition to seminars and counseling, the center will also offer free resources where business people can make use of computer equipment, software and reading material to help start and maintain their business planning and management ideas.
NEW CAMPUS Facts and figures Here are some facts and figures about the Havelock campus of Craven Community College, including the new Institute for Aeronautical Technology:
Lewis S. Redd Building
$2.9 million
21,000 square feet
The building includes:
13 classrooms
Five computer labs
Science lab
Snack bar
Learning laboratory for basic skills students
Academic Skills/Career Center
Small Business Center
Job Link Office
Five instructor offices
Administrative suite
Institute of Aeronautical Technology
$5 million
23,000 square feet
The centerpiece of Craven Community College’s new Havelock campus is the Institute
of Aeronautical Technology, a 21,000 square foot facility with a 12,000 square
foot hangar.
The IAT building and training program are designed to meet the Federal Aviation Agency’s (FAA) standards. The program will provide training in aircraft technology. Students will be able to earn an Associate in Applied Science degree, certificate, or diploma in Aviation Systems Technology.
The institute includes:
Four maintenance labs/shops
Systems shop
Avionics/electrical shop
Airframe/sheet metal shop
Powerplants shop
General classroom
Technical library
Administrative suite
Four small offices
Havelock-Craven County Library
$1.1 million
9,000 square feet
The library will be a stand-alone building, with its own parking area, and
will serve the community college campus and well as the the Carteret, Craven,
Pamlico Regional Library system. Expected to open January 2004.
Colleges see more students enrolling
Nov. 14, 2003
Greensboro News & Record; Charlotte Observer
By John Newsom, staff writer
© Copyright 2003 News & Record
CHAPEL HILL -- The cost of college continues to rise, but that fact does not seem to be turning people away from the state's public universities.
The number of students attending the 16 UNC system schools rose by 3.6 percent this year, making it the seventh straight year of enrollment gains. Total system enrollment, including undergraduate and graduate students, stands at 183,347, according to a report released Thursday.
N.C. A&T, UNCG and 13 other state schools added students this year. Only the N.C. School of the Arts in Winston-Salem saw a decline of 25 students.
That students continue to flock to UNC schools comes as no surprise to system officials, who have watched in recent years as the state's high schools have graduated record number of students.
What is surprising is the rate of increase. In 2001, the UNC system predicted that enrollment would come close to 180,000 this fall.
System officials missed the mark by more than 3,000 students.
"We're running well ahead of the plan," Alan Mabe, the UNC system vice president for academic planning, told Board of Governors members Thursday. "But we're fully meeting whatever obligation we have. ... We're in good shape for 10 years out."
Though the General Assembly has cut millions of dollars in recent years for university programs, it continues to pay for enrollment growth. That means state schools can add new faculty and staff members to meet the demands.
The $2.6 billion higher education bond issue that N.C. voters approved in 2000 means the universities are building more dorms and classrooms to hold all of these new students.
While professors are being hired and new buildings are being built, the students keep showing up on campus every fall. So, where are all of them coming from?
• The nation's baby boomlet, known to demographers as the baby boom echo. The grandchildren of the original baby boomers, who were born between 1946 and 1964, are starting to enter college.
• The state's public and private high schools, who because of this baby boomlet continue to break new graduation records each year. Last year, 70,494 students got their high school diplomas. That number is expected to increase by 19 percent by 2010, when the number of high school graduates levels off. Thirty-one percent of the class of 2003 went to a UNC school this fall, a rate that has held steady since the mid-1990s. (The rest go to a private college, an out-of-state school, a community college or no college at all.)
• The ranks of adults. The number of graduate students statewide rose by 8.2 percent this year, and the number of students between ages 25 and 34 grew by 4.6 percent. By comparison, the number of college students between ages 18 and 24 rose 3.3 percent. Mabe said the increase in older students is probably because of the region's recent economic slump, which often leads adults to try to make themselves more attractive job candidates.
All of these factors combined, Mabe added, suggest that the university system's enrollment could climb to as high as 235,000 students in the next decade.
"That's a long way out," Mabe said. "There are a lot of things that could affect this," such as tuition increases or changes in admissions policies, two things the Board of Governors will consider early next year.
Contact John Newsom at 373-7312 or jnewsom@news-record.com
COLLEGE ENROLLMENT
For the seventh
straight year, total enrollment at the state's 16 public universities has
grown, and most local colleges are adding
students at a fast rate. The fall 2003 enrollments at local public and private
colleges and the percentage change from fall 2002 and fall 1999 to this year:
1-year 5-year UNC schools Students change change N.C. A&T 10,030 10.0 31.9
N.C. State 29,854 0.7 6.6 UNC-Chapel Hill 26,359 1.3 6.9 UNCG 14,870 2.9 11.6
Winston-Salem State 4,102 17.4 47.1 UNC system total 183,347 3.6 13.9 1-year
5-year Other schools Students change change Bennett College 429 -11.7 -33.0
Elon University 4,584 3.4 15.7 Greensboro College 1,217 1.0 22.8 GTCC 9,007
3.1 32.5 Guilford College 2,101 16.7 68.8 High Point University 2,902 5.5 2.5
Wake Forest University 6,451 0.6 6.1 Note: Enrollment figures include undergraduate
and graduate students as well as those enrolled in distance learning programs,
in which courses are taken by computer off campus. Source: UNC system, individual
schools
Nov. 14, 2003
News & Observer
By Lrenzo Perez, staff writer
© Copyright 2003 News & Observer
ACC and Big Ten officials spent Thursday distancing themselves from reports that Notre Dame football, the independent crown jewel of expansion dreams, finally was interested in joining a league.
Citing two unnamed ACC officials, USA Today reported Thursday that Notre Dame recently approached the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big Ten about giving up its independence in football and joining a league.
The ACC released a statement Thursday from Commissioner John Swofford that indicated the conference's appetite for expansion had been sated by the additions of Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College this year.
"We are very satisfied with where we are as a 12-member conference," Swofford's statement said. "We have received some informal inquires [sic] concerning potential membership, but our schools are not pursuing any institution for membership at this time."
A spokesman for the Big Ten offered a similar comment Thursday, maintaining that "at this time, the Big Ten is not looking into expansion." But the officials' comments did not contradict the report that Notre Dame had approached their leagues.
"I would also emphasize that the conference has not initiated discussions with anyone regarding further expansion," Swofford's statement concluded.
A member of the Big East Conference in other sports, Notre Dame has maintained more than 100 years of independence in football. It's the only independent with a tie-in with the lucrative Bowl Championship Series.
But the current BCS contract will end after the 2005 season, and Notre Dame's future in the series as an independent is not guaranteed.
The conclusion of the 2005 season also marks the end of Notre Dame's exclusive multimillion-dollar television contract with NBC, another uncertainty in the Fighting Irish's future that remains to be negotiated.
Notre Dame athletics director Kevin White said in a statement released by the university that Notre Dame remained committed to staying the course with the Big East.
"We are continuing to monitor the landscape," the statement said.
"That, in essence, is what we've been telling everyone for some time," said John Heisler, Notre Dame's associate athletics director for media relations.
Barry Frank, a television consultant hired by the ACC to renegotiate its football television contract with ABC/ESPN, said he had heard nothing about Notre Dame possibly joining the ACC.
Clemson President James F. Barker, who heads the ACC's Council of Presidents, said last month after Boston College accepted a bid to join the conference that "we would never say never" to future expansion.
A Clemson spokeswoman said Thursday that Barker and the other ACC member schools' presidents and chancellors were referring all questions to Swofford.
N.C. State Chancellor Marye Anne Fox, a Notre Dame trustee and member of the BCS presidential oversight committee, was unavailable for comment.
N.C. State athletics director Lee Fowler said he learned about Notre Dame's reported interest when he heard a radio report about the USA Today story. When ACC athletics directors met in September, Fowler said, there was no discussion of Notre Dame.
The Saturday before those league meetings, ACC presidents and chancellors voted unanimously to require any new members to participate as full members in athletics competition. That muted speculation that the league could lure Notre Dame, which consistently had maintained its interest in keeping its football independence. The ACC offered membership to BC two weeks later.
"It has always been that [Notre Dame] would have to bring everything if they wanted to join the conference. It was in their court," Fowler said. "Until they said it would be all-inclusive, there was nothing to talk about. ...
"Of course, anyone can change their minds, but if they have, I don't know about it. ... We never discussed having 13 or 14 teams. That's not to say we couldn't do it, but it was never discussed."
Last summer, Florida State AD Dave Hart said the ACC had had "multiple conversations" with Notre Dame, and FSU President T.K. Wetherell clearly expressed his support for pursuing Notre Dame. But that was before the ACC found its 12th member -- Boston College.
Georgia Tech AD Dave Braine said that if there was any truth to the report of Notre Dame's new interest in joining a league, "it's news to me."
Report: Notre Dame Looking At Potential ACC Membership
Nov. 13, 2003
Associated Press; WRAL-TV
By staff writer
© Copyright 2003 Associated Press
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- For now, Notre Dame is retaining its independence in college football and the Atlantic Coast Conference is holding at 12 schools.
Responding to a USA Today report that the school had inquired about full membership in the ACC, athletic director Kevin White said the university would "continue to monitor the landscape."
The newspaper cited unidentified officials within the ACC in reporting that Notre Dame was inquiring about joining the conference. One official said the school also contacted the Big Ten.
Lee Fowler, athletic director at N.C. State University, said he would not be surprised if Notre Dame is considering an all sports conference.
"They bring a lot more to the table than most people that are independent, They bring national TV. They bring a very powerful name, promotions and everything else," he said.
ACC Commissioner John Swofford says the league has not initiated discussions with anyone regarding further expansion. He says the ACC is happy as a 12-member conference.
The ACC expanded to 11 schools in June by adding Miami and Virginia Tech from the Big East Conference for the 2004 season. Boston College is also leaving the Big East for the ACC, but perhaps not until 2006.
Nov. 14, 2003
News & Observer
© Copyright 2003 News & Observer
University of North Carolina system officials might have anticipated a bit of a storm over a proposal to raise the cap on out-of-state students at all member campuses. What they got was a series of thunderbolts. Now the system's Board of Governors has made a prudent decision to delay action on the idea of raising the cap from 18 to 22 percent. The idea -- which has some merit -- can germinate, and the university can make its case to taxpayers, many of whom have expressed the fear that raising the cap will lower opportunities for in-state students.
The proposal was generated by UNC-Chapel Hill, where a credible argument from officials says that raising the cap to admit more academically gifted students (out-of-state students typically are top applicants in terms of qualifications) would enhance the campus for everyone. That makes sense; such students do bolster the diversity on campus and many of them gain leadership roles.
Yet the timing for the proposal was less than ideal -- taxpayers three years ago approved $3.1 billion in higher education bonds, a considerable investment, largely on the premise that a construction push was needed to accommodate North Carolina's rising number of high school graduates. And, some legislators have reacted negatively, perhaps reflecting the views of constituents who want their children to have a better chance for admission to the flagship campus. UNC leaders say that in fact they want to offer more spots for both in-state and out-of-state students.
There are some legitimate questions here. For example: Even if the change did make the Chapel Hill campus more prestigious, how would that translate into tangible benefits for North Carolina and its citizens? What happens when the flagship campus simply can't grow anymore -- would a higher out-of-state cap have the effect of making it less accessible to in-state students? The university system needs to address such points as it makes its case.
Delaying action now gives UNC system officials and those from UNC-CH time to go around the state and make clear their reasoning. That would help the public understand the issues, and would give those from the university a chance to get feedback, up close and personal.
Ancient farmers modified corn genes
Nov. 14, 2003
Associated Press; MSNBC; SiliconValley.com; CBS News; Los Angeles Times; NEPA News, PA; CNN; CNN International; Wichita Eagle, KS; Grand Forks Herald, ND; Newsday; Belleville News-Democrat, IL; ABC News; Penn Live, PA; Bradenton Herald, FL; Yahoo News; Akron Beacon Journal, OH; Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, IN; Kansas City Star, MO; Centre Daily Times, PA; Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, GA; Aberdeen American News, SD; Biloxi Sun Herald, MS; Sacramento Bee; Albuquerque Tribune; Oklahoma City Oklahoman; St. Louis Post-Dispatch; Des Moines Register; Indianapolis Star; Tulsa World; Louisville Courier-Journal; Hartford Courant; Harrisburg Patriot; Buffalo News; Gainesville Sun; Youngstown Vindicator; Bradenton Herald; Seattle Post Intelligencer; Red Nova; phillyBurbs.com;
By Paul Recer, staff report
© Copyright 2003 msnbc.com
WASHINGTON , Nov. 13 — Ancient Americans were changing corn genes through selective breeding more than 4,000 years ago, according to researchers who say the modifications produced the large cobs and fat kernels that make corn one of humanity’s most important foods.
IN A STUDY THAT compared the genes of corn cobs recovered in Mexico and the southwestern United States, researchers found that three key genetic variants were systematically enhanced, probably through selective cultivation, over thousands of years.
The technique was not as sophisticated as the methods used for modern genetically modified crops, but experts said in a study released Thursday that the general effect was the same: genetic traits were amplified or introduced to create plants with improved traits and greater yield.
“Civilization has been built on genetically modified plants,” said Nina V. Fedoroff of Pennsylvania State University.
The ancestral plant of corn, teosinte, was first domesticated some 6,000 to 9,000 years ago in the Balsas River Valley of southern Mexico, the researchers said in this week’s issue of Science magazine. At first, teosinte was a grassy-like plant with many stems bearing small cobs with kernels sheathed in hard shells.
By cultivating plants with desirable characteristics, farmers caused teosinte to morph into an increasingly useful crop. The researchers said by 5,500 years ago the size of the kernels was larger. By 4,400 years ago, all of the gene variants found in modern corn were present in crops grown in Mexico.
The plant and its grain were so changed by the directed cultivation that it evolved into a form that could not grow in the wild and was dependent on farmers to survive from generation to generation, the study found.
The study was conducted by researchers at the Max Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany; the U.S. Department of Agriculture at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C.; the Smithsonian Institution in Washington; the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom; and the University of Wisconsin. It was financed by the Wellcome Trust, the U.S. National Science Foundation, the German Ministry for Education and Research, and by the Max Planck Society.
Fedoroff, a plant geneticist who was not part of the research team, said the study shows that it is unlikely the changes in corn were by chance.
The early farmers, she said, “might have been more sophisticated than we think.”
“The differences between maize (corn) and teosinte come down to just a few genes, but with big effect,” said Fedoroff. She said ancient farmers probably spotted these differences and then planted seeds from those cobs to encourage the improvements to continue.
“They might have collected
the seeds and may have known that if they grew them close together then they
could
catch (the
beneficial changes)
in the
next generation,”
she said. “It was like someone found the right combination
and it was so much better that people shared it with their
friends
and relatives
and
then it got
widely propagated.”
THREE GENETIC CHANGES IN SHORT PERIOD
Three genes that dramatically improved corn came together
within a short time and the farmers were sophisticated enough
to propagate
seeds
from
those plants
in following seasons, it’s believed.
One gene changed the architecture of corn from a plant with many branches to one with a single stalk with a male tassel at the top and female cobs growing along the side.
Another genetic change softened the outer hull on the kernel. Before the change, the plant depended on animals to spread its seeds. After animals ate the corn, the tough outer shells would allow the kernels to pass unharmed through the gut.
With a softer hull, the kernels would not survive passage through the gut of an animal. As a result, the plant became dependent on farmers to spread its seeds.
Another genetic change caused the kernels to stick more tightly to the cob. And still another change modified the starch of the grain.
This final change, the authors wrote, made the corn more suitable for making tortillas, and, thus, may have been an early variant encouraged by the farmers.
Scientists now change plants by transferring specific, identified genes from species to species in sophisticated labs. Some advocacy groups have claimed this technique is dangerous. As a result, some European and African countries forbid the import of “GM crops.”
But Fedoroff said that, actually, the whole world eats genetically modified foods. She said that over thousands of years, rice in China, wheat in the Middle East and corn in Mexico were all genetically altered through selective cultivation. The effect, she said, was like “a prehistoric Green Revolution.”
The same process is under way now, she said, but with modern scientific techniques.
“People are fearful of the food they eat,” said Fedoroff, “but civilization has been built on genetically modified plants. We wouldn’t have civilization without it.”