Dr Maarten Stapper -latest recruit to NSF
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Dr Maarten Stapper -latest recruit to NSF
Dr Maarten Stapper, ex CSIRO, has helped set up the second Local Chapter of the NSA. Called the Upper Murrumbidgee Local Chapter of NSA the group will function out of the ACT.
Meanwhile, Maartens work in soil biology and sustainable farming can be viewed at http://stapperonsoil.blogspot.com/
I recommend the site to all who have an interest in agriculture.
Meanwhile, Maartens work in soil biology and sustainable farming can be viewed at http://stapperonsoil.blogspot.com/
I recommend the site to all who have an interest in agriculture.
There is an upcoming ABC 'Australian Story' I would like you all to watch. It is on this coming Monday and is about Dr Maarten Stapper. Maarten is an aquaintance of mine and is a member of the NSA Upper Murrumbidgee team.
The Maarten Stapper story is on Australian Story on ABC 1 (TV) at 8.00pm Monday night 1st June and the program will be introduced by Peter Andrews. i.e., Maarten is a former CSIRO soil/plant scientist.
He got into great trouble with the CSIRO when he would not go along with the party line on genetically modified crops. In the end he was forced into a position where he had to resign because he just refused to cave in and surrender his scientific principles. He would not go along with the conventional wisdom the CSIRO was promoting. Since then he has established a successful private environmental consultancy.
I haven't seen a preview of the program but I know Maarten and I know the story. I find the most interesting thing about this case is that even an august organisation like the CSIRO can become locked into inflexible belief position and refuse to discuss the science on a dispassionate basis. Maarten's argument with the CSIRO was based fully on science and the scientific method but the organisation had already made up its mind and, from that point forward, would not even listen to a counter view. This is really alarming. When science is firmly locked into a belief system it cam no longer be called pure science.
It is alarming on two fronts. Firstly, because we are supposed to be able to put our faith in the CSIRO as an honest seeker of scientific truth. Secondly, the story presents a case study about the way a 'career' can prostitute a person's values. Once someone is on the treadmill of income security, social acceptability, status and promotional prospects offered by a career the person will often put the career first and the truth second when faced with a moral dilemma of the type that faced Maarten.
Anyway, I hope you can make time to watch it and I hope you enjoy it.
The Maarten Stapper story is on Australian Story on ABC 1 (TV) at 8.00pm Monday night 1st June and the program will be introduced by Peter Andrews. i.e., Maarten is a former CSIRO soil/plant scientist.
He got into great trouble with the CSIRO when he would not go along with the party line on genetically modified crops. In the end he was forced into a position where he had to resign because he just refused to cave in and surrender his scientific principles. He would not go along with the conventional wisdom the CSIRO was promoting. Since then he has established a successful private environmental consultancy.
I haven't seen a preview of the program but I know Maarten and I know the story. I find the most interesting thing about this case is that even an august organisation like the CSIRO can become locked into inflexible belief position and refuse to discuss the science on a dispassionate basis. Maarten's argument with the CSIRO was based fully on science and the scientific method but the organisation had already made up its mind and, from that point forward, would not even listen to a counter view. This is really alarming. When science is firmly locked into a belief system it cam no longer be called pure science.
It is alarming on two fronts. Firstly, because we are supposed to be able to put our faith in the CSIRO as an honest seeker of scientific truth. Secondly, the story presents a case study about the way a 'career' can prostitute a person's values. Once someone is on the treadmill of income security, social acceptability, status and promotional prospects offered by a career the person will often put the career first and the truth second when faced with a moral dilemma of the type that faced Maarten.
Anyway, I hope you can make time to watch it and I hope you enjoy it.
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Re: Dr Maarten Stapper -latest recruit to NSF
Dr Maarten Stapper now has his own official site - http://www.biologicagfood.com.auduane wrote:Meanwhile, Maartens work in soil biology and sustainable farming can be viewed at http://stapperonsoil.blogspot.com/.
You can check up on when he next speaking or read though a back catalogue of reports and articles.