Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam, faculty member and Cooperative Extension Specialist at the University of California-Davis was awarded the 2014 Borlaug CAST Communication Award by the Council for Agriculture Science and Technology (CAST). She received the honor during this year’s World Food Prize taking place in Des Moines, Iowa. This year’s award was sponsored by DuPont Pioneer who announced they will also be sponsoring next year’s award.

Recipients of this annual award are science/ag experts who demonstrate an ability to communicate by written material, public presentations and various forms of media. Van Eenennaam is known for her communication skills and praised for her understanding of biotechnology, her enthusiasm for agricultural education, and her abilities to use novel ideas to get important messages to policymakers and the public alike.

Van Eenennaam spoke about “The Livestock Revolution” and other issues of interest to the agriculture community during the award ceremony. She also encourages people to ask the question, “What do the facts say?” She has given more than 250 presentations around the world and made appearances on the Dr. Oz Show, Animal Planet, and NPR. She uses her creative and humor to communicate information about science and agriculture.

With her many talents, Dr. Van Eenennaam represents the true nature of the award inspired by Norman Borlaug. One of her colleagues summed up her impact this way: “Her creativity and personal talent to engage and communicate have enabled her to illustrate the importance of technology to a broad audience including students, non-scientists, livestock producers, government officials, policymakers, regulators, and scientific peers. This is not only rare; it is truly remarkable.”

Following her remarks, Van Eenennaam participated in A Food Dialogues session hosted by U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance that focused on GMOs – a topic of which she is no stranger.

Congrats to Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam!