Science AMA Series: I’m Derek Stewart, I’m a Professor of plant and food
chemistry at the James Hutton Institute, Dundee and Heriot Watt
University Edinburgh. I do research on making the way we grow our food
more sustainable. AMA!
Abstract
Reddit-ors! As someone who started off as a drug designer in the
pharmaceutical and chemical industries I have always had a keen interest
in natural products. Consequently I have worked for many years in the
use of plant and natural products for things like improving human
health, colours, food ingredients, shelf life extension etc. Over the
last decade or so I have become passionate about fully utilizing crops
and plants and am leading efforts into promoting and realizing a
circular economy approach to agriculture and industry. A circular
economy is an alternative to a traditional linear economy (make, use,
dispose) in which we keep resources in use for as long as possible and
get the most use out of them, then recover and regenerate products and
materials at the end of each service life. Can we take this forward in
plant and crops science, and industries? I think sustainability is key
to our continued survival and lifestyles. I am on the Sense About
Science’s Plant Science Panel, where you can put questions and opinions
for response from researchers. The Panel is made up of over 50
independent plant science researchers. You can ask questions to them on
Twitter (@senseaboutsci #plantsci) Facebook or using this online form.
Answers are sent back within a couple of days and posted online. The
Panel has answered close to 400 questions over the last three years and
it’s a great want to cut through the noise around what can sometimes be
a really polarised debate. I will be back at 12 am EDT (5 pm GMT, 9 am
PST) to answer all your questions.