A foremost expert on plant genomics and agricultural biotech, Thomas Brutnell holds a PhD from Yale University, where his thesis research encompassed epigenetic regulation in maize. Currently, Thomas Brutnell serves as vice president of Gateway Biotechnology, where he works to develop drugs to prevent and treat noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus. A leading drug candidate for tinnitus is produced from a Chinese medicinal plant, highlighting the as yet untapped potential for drug discovery in medicinal plants.

Agricultural biotechnology is fraught with many misleading myths and misconceptions. One of the most common is the notion that agricultural biotech foods are unsafe to eat. In fact, biotechnology is simply an extension of breeding methods that have been used to cultivate crops for thousands of years. Federal regulatory agencies have required rigorous testing for the safety of these crops for decades. Some of the most prominent scientific institutions in the country, such as the National Academy of Sciences, recognize that biotech-derived crops pose no greater risk to people than any other foods.

Another myth is that biotech foods cause more allergies than non-engineered foods. However, no allergic reactions have been attributed to any crop as a result of biotechnology to date. Many biotech crops actually use advanced engineering techniques to remove allergens from their makeup.