By Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation
Smithsonian National Museum of American History
Inventive Minds: Inventing Green features the stories of historic and contemporary inventors whose work on socially-responsible technologies creates profound change for the common good.
Protective jumpsuit and spray canister (1987)Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation
Genetically Modified Organisms
Behind the debates about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and genetically engineered (GE) crops is a rich history of discovery and experimentation.
Although humans have bred plants and animals for centuries, the first authorized release of GMOs into the environment took place in California in 1987.
The canister pictured here contained naturally occurring bacteria that had been genetically modified to enhance their frost-fighting ability.
Amid protests and extensive monitoring by government agencies, plant pathologist Julie Lindemann put on this suit and sprayed the altered bacteria onto a field of strawberries.
- Protective jumpsuit and spray canister, Advanced Genetic Sciences, Inc., 1987.
The questions raised then about the safety, environmental impact, and potential benefits of GMO/GE crops continue today.
- This marketing souvenir was used to promote the release of Roundup Ready soybeans in 1996. These soybeans, resistant to the weed killer Roundup, were the first widely successful genetically engineered crop. While expensive, the new seeds made cultivating (plowing weeds) or hand-weeding unnecessary solving a major labor problem for farmers. In 2000, only four years after introduction, over fifty percent of American soybean acreage was planted in GMO beans and by 2007 the figure was 91 percent. While most scientists thought the biotech seed posed no greater danger to the environment than conventional seeds, some members of the public worried about the safety of the new product.
More than 30 years ago, teams of scientists in university and corporate labs pioneered techniques to alter plant genes. One group at Monsanto experimented with the ancestor of the petunia pictured here. Dried petunia plant derived from Monsanto’s first genetically-engineered petunias, 1983. 2014.3114.01
The fall of 2016 marked the 20-year anniversary of the first large-scale harvest of a genetically engineered food crop—herbicide-tolerant soybeans. To discuss the significance of this milestone, the National Museum of American History and the Lemelson Center convened a panel with two of the scientists who helped start the GE revolution—Mary-Dell Chilton and Robert Fraley. The event was part of the Lemelson Center’s “Innovative Lives” series.
Organic Gardening
Richard Adlard (1915-1997) had a lifelong interest in agriculture. He grew and sold fruits and vegetables during high school, worked in his university’s greenhouse, and held positions at agricultural agencies. He also spent several months in China as an exchange student in agriculture.
Rice Paddies and Terraces, Phillipines (1935/1940) by Richard AdlardLemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation
He later wrote, “What I had learned of traditional Chinese agriculture was all but forgotten during many years of my working life."
- Richard Adlard notebook page, rice paddies and terraces, Philippines, late 1930s. Richard Adlard Collection, 1936-1998.
Vegetable Production, China (1930/1940) by Richard AdlardLemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation
"In the late 1960s, however, the environmental movement and the growing interest in organic food production recalled them to my mind, and I realized that much of modern organic practice was what I had observed in China under an agricultural system that has been used for 4,000 years.”
- Richard Adlard notebook page, "Vegetables," China, late 1930s. Richard Adlard Collection, 1936-1998.
Sedge used in rope manufacture in China (1935/1940) by Richard AdlardLemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation
- Richard Adlard notebook page, "Sedge . . . used in the mfg. of rope," China, late 1930s. Richard Adlard Collection, 1936-1998.
Inventive Minds: Kim JordanLemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation
SUSTAINABLE CRAFT BEER BREWING
Kim Jordan, co-founder and former CEO of New Belgium Brewing Co. in Fort Collins, Colorado, dedicated the brewery to environmental stewardship from its outset.
Food
Story by Joyce Bedi and Alison Oswald
of the
Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation
at the
National Museum of American History
Presentation by
Marc Bretzfelder
<a href="https://www.si.edu>Smithsonian Institution</a><br>Office of the Chief Information Officer</p>
