Saturday Breakfast Women’s Panel: Healing the Community with Good Food with Beautycounter
New studies come out every day — often on things we care about like our family’s health, good food, clean air and water and safe places for our kids. But how do we know which studies are credible? Which findings are legitimate, and which are skewed by industry interests or funded by a corporate front group? Unless we are scientists ourselves, parsing the details and methodology of a study can be challenging — but it’s critical, especially when we want to promote the study or use it to support advocacy efforts.
You want to say something about a new study. You’ve got a deadline. So how do you make sense of it all? It can be a bit overwhelming. This panel discussion will provide tips and tools for determining the legitimacy of scientific studies — and help you assess valid science from skewed science.
In the panel you’ll hear from experts on the frontlines of communicating scientific information, engaging the public and influencing policy decisions. They’ll share their insights and help you hone your skills so you can be more empowered when sharing and promoting research on a range of issues, from human health to toxics to food and farming. We’ll discuss:
- What you can and can’t say about a study’s findings;
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How to look for credibility in the researcher;
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How to look for credibility in the study;
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How to identify industry tactics intended to undermine the validity of independent science; and
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When a finding is strong enough to change policy or shift public opinion.
How we talk about the research matters. A lot. We’re informing readers, yes, but also helping to shape how an issue plays out in public conversation — and ultimate influences policy decisions. Not only is our credibility at stake, but so is the credibility of others in our movement advocating for similar outcomes. Our collective work is stronger when we all lean on strong, independent and peer-reviewed studies.
Opponents of the Good Food movement or stricter toxics regulations are often backed by corporations motivated by their bottom line. We’ve seen their attempts to spin science time and again, from pro-cigarette campaigns to DDT propaganda. And they are well funded and focused on dismantling our credibility. Overstating the findings from just one study is quick bait for them to say: “That one thing they said is untrue, therefore they’re all full of it.” Topics like GMOs, pesticides, children’s health and organic food have all been hot button issues in recent years; and there’s no way around it, these are complicated matters. Join our workshop to become more comfortable talking about the studies we all look to for credibility and veracity in our fight for healthy food and healthy living.
Kristin Schafer — Pesticide Action Network’s Policy and Program Director, — will facilitate a panel with researchers and advocates working in the areas children’s health, public health and the environment.
We’d love to hear your questions and thoughts on this topic. Tell us a bit more about how we can make this panel super helpful.
Panelists
Kristin Schafer, MA, is Policy and Program Director at Pesticide Action Network, where she provides strategic leadership for PAN’s campaign work. She has been lead author on several PAN North America reports, including Chemical Trespass: Pesticides in our Bodies and Corporate Accountability (2004) and Nowhere to Hide: Persistent Toxic Chemicals in the U.S. Food Supply (2005) and co-authored A Generation in Jeopardy (2012). Before joining PAN, Kristin worked for the World Resources Institute’s Sustainable Agriculture program, as a communications specialist for the U.S. EPA, and as an agro-forestry extension officer with the Peace Corps in Kenya.
Andrea M. Hricko, MPH, is Professor of Clinical Preventive Medicine and Director of Community Outreach and Engagement for Southern California Environmental Health Sciences Center. Her interests include translating research findings into public health and policy initiatives; developing community-university partnerships on environmental health; informing policymakers and the public about the effects of air pollution and other environmental exposures on human health; and empowering community-based organizations to educate their communities and local policymakers about these issues.
Emily Marquez, Ph.D, is a staff scientist at Pesticide Action Network, where she manages PAN’s Grassroots Science Program, including community monitoring of air and water for pesticide exposure and helps communicate current research, as she did with co-authoring PAN’s report on children and pesticides: A Generation in Jeopardy (2012). She also regularly responds to media requests and has been quoted in The Nation, Scientific American and The Washington Post. Emily earned her doctorate in Biology from Boston University and has done research in the areas of comparative endocrinology, reproductive development and endocrine disruption.
Virginia Zaunbrecher, J.D. is Program and Outreach Director at UCLA’s Sustainable Technology and Policy Program, a joint venture between the Law School and the Fielding School of Public Health. The program advances public health and environmental protection by integrating science, law, and engineering to promote prevention in public and private decision-making. Virginia has her BS in Molecular Biology and History and her law degree from UC, Berkeley.
Virginia Zaunbrecher, J.D. is Program and Outreach Director at UCLA’s Sustainable Technology and Policy Program, a joint venture between the Law School and the Fielding School of Public Health. The program advances public health and environmental protection by integrating science, law, and engineering to promote prevention in public and private decision-making. Virginia has her BS in Molecular Biology and History and her law degree from UC, Berkeley.
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