Meet Joe Regenstein, a Super-Busy Scientist Juggling Several Hats Very Well

Food scientist, college professor, researcher, author, public speaker, editor, world-wide traveler--these sound like careers undertaken by several different people, but they all describe the accomplishments of  just one person--Dr. Joe Regenstein, who, we're proud to say, serves on  the  Shelf Life Advice Advisory Board  and has made countless contributions to this site.  We recently learned that he is the co-author of a book about GMOs, a hot topic these days.  Shelf Life Advice readers will, I believe, enjoy reading about a scholar who's unafraid to express his thoughts about controversial food science issues of the day.

The email interview below begins with a question about a GMO book entitled  Genetic Modification and Food Quality: A Down to Earth Analysis, written by Robert Blair and Joe M. Regenstein and published in 2015.  Blair is a professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.  Regenstein is a professor emeritus at Cornell University in New York State. One review of the book describes it as "well written and easy to read" with "short but clear descriptions of the processes involving GMOs." [Editor's note: "GMO" stands for "genetically modified organisms."]

Amazon sells the Blair-Regenstein book new for $138 and describes the book as "the first comprehensive text on how GM production methods influence the quality of foods and feeds, based on a complete and unbiased assessment of the scientific findings. It presents a balanced analysis of the benefits and drawbacks of gene-modified food sources in the human diet.... Assessing the nutritive value as well as the health and safety of GM foods, this book is a reference for anyone working in the food production industry,... trade associations and consumers who are looking for an objective, balanced study of this contentious issue."

Just in case an entire scholarly book on GMOs is more than you want to consume on this topic, Regenstein has provided Shelf Life Advice with a 35-slide PowerPoint presentation--"Industrial Farming and GMOs"  which is a fascinating, concise discussion of the topic.

Onward to the email interview with Dr. Regenstein.

What do you hope your book about GMOs will accomplish?

"I feel very strongly that this is an important and useful technology that consumers need to be taught more about so that they can accept it comfortably.  The few papers that are negative about GMO's food science (health and safety) aspects have been thoroughly discredited."

What are some facts you'd like consumers to know about GMOs?

"The use of GMOs provides many benefits, and there are no harmful effects in terms of food science. I consider the prior art, particularly the use of radiation and mutagens to mutate seeds, a much more dangerous technology, and it has been completely ignored by consumers and regulators."

How are the GM salmon doing?  Are they being sold in the U.S. yet?

[Editor's note: One of Dr. Regenstein's areas of expertise is fish, so he contributed to the Shelf Life Advice article on salmon.  GM technology was used to make these salmon grow faster. This was the first use of this technology on animals rather than plants. Here is Regenstein's update on the GM salmon situation.]  "The government (specifically, the FDA) tried to delay making a decision about this product. It took forever for the agency to admit that the product was safe. But then the FDA turned around and said this salmon cannot be imported into the U.S., and the few growing sites for it are outside the U.S.  So I still have not been able to enjoy this more environmentally sustainable salmon."

Are you working on any other writing  or new research now?

"I am currently working on fish gelatin, which uses by-products of the fishing industry and makes an ingredient that kosher and halal cuisines can use to replace beef and pork gelatins, which are generally unacceptable because of religious restrictions. We are also working on trying to improve the animal welfare aspects of the religious slaughter of animals." 

Why do you consider GMOs important?

"To me, the sustainability of life on planet Earth is paramount.  As we look at population increases, the decrease in available land, the potential degradation of that remaining land, and the impact of global warming, we have a lot of challenges; GM technology is a part of the answer.  It can help us feed a rapidly growing world population.  However, GM technology, while needed, cannot do the job alone."

Although you are a professor emeritus, I know you're still teaching "Halal and Kosher Food Regulations" at Cornell University.   Why are these two types of cooking grouped together?

"I'm teaching kosher and halal foods as a single course that also has a diversity component to meet our college’s requirements to be listed as a diversity course.  Both are systems of religious law that control what one eats.  Both have allowed and prohibited certain animals, with kosher being a little more restrictive than halal, and both have unique and mostly overlapping slaughter requirements.  Halal prohibits alcohol and other mind-altering drugs, while kosher requires a separation of meat and milk and has special rules for the week of Passover [a Jewish holiday]."

[Editor's note: The Hebrew word "kosher" means "right" or "proper." When applied to food, the term means that an item is fit for consumption according to Jewish religious law.  It is sometimes used more generally to refer to matters not related to food. "Halal" is an Arabic word meaning "permissible." Halal food is that which adheres to Islamic law, as defined in the Quoran.]

When you go to China a few times a year, what do you do there?

"I am the editor-in-chief of the first English language peer-reviewed journal in food science sponsored by China.  I also do a lot of guest lecturing both about science and about how to publish in a peer-reviewed journal.  I also enjoy spending time with the graduate students, which gives them an opportunity to practice their English as they show me their food culture. We also do some sightseeing."

Can you tell us a little about your family?

"My wife Carrie was originally trained as a Spanish teacher, but most of her career was managing IT. By the time she retired, she was co-directing the computer services for Carnegie Mellon University (in Pittsburgh) and had an Associate Vice-Provost title.  We have two sons, Elliot (the older) lives in Chicago. He and his wife Emily have a daughter Zoe (13); her brother Jamie is 9.  Our younger son Scott and his wife Amanda live in the Boston area and have two sons: Spencer (5) and Landon (21 months)." 

Dr. Regenstein's contributions to Shelf Life Advice:

I can't conclude the article without thanking Dr. Regenstein for the many jobs he's taken on for Shelf Life Advice, for example, answering my monthly questions about a huge range of food-related topics, editing text for the site, suggesting subject matter that SLA should cover, even suggesting what I should NOT write about., firmly advising me not to turn my site into an advocacy blog.

Among many other articles, Dr. R. has also contributed to  Shelf Life Advice (and elsewhere)  his views on organic food, strongly expressing his convictions that conventional food is just as safe to eat as organic and that organic farming is sometimes harmful to the environment.

To learn more about his background and accomplishments, read the piece I posted about him in  2011--"Joe Regenstein: A Scientist in Perpetual Motion," probably the year he started contributing to Shelf Life Advice.  

It's been a pleasure and an education to work with Dr. Regenstein, a gifted educator of food science.

Source(s):

Joe Regenstein, Ph.D., Cornell University, Dept. of Food Science