Science battles against the multi-headed hydra
OPINION: I have been searching for a word which accurately describes my feelings about regenerative agriculture (RA).
This has again come to light, with a number of taxpayer funded organisations - including Landcare Research - currently releasing a number of 'research' projects on RA.
The problem is that Landcare has failed to properly deal with the real or perceived conflict of interest of its key researcher involved with this project - soil ecologist Dr Gwen Grelet.
The problem for Landcare Research, and the other science organisations associated with this project, is that Grelet happens to be on the board of and 'science advisor' to Quorum Sense - a private trust set up by RA proponents to promote this farming practice - which has been granted around $2 million of MPI funding to "undertake RA extension work".
