30 Facts About Kevin Folta

Kevin M Folta is a professor of the horticultural sciences department at the University of Florida.

Kevin Folta has faced controversy over what his critics say are his industry connections.

Kevin Folta completed postdoctoral research at the University of Wisconsin, and joined the faculty of the horticulture department at the University of Florida in 2002.

Kevin Folta assumed the role of Interim Department Chair in 2012 and became the chair in 2013.

Kevin Folta's laboratory has two primary research areas: controlling plant traits using light, and using genomics to identify molecular markers for key fruit-plant traits.

Since then, Kevin Folta has continued this work to explore new findings in how plants grow and move in green-enriched environments, which are the challenging conditions in which plants have to grow while under the shade of other plants, and the unusual effects this produces.

On this, Kevin Folta says that each plant's genetic makeup gives it a certain genetic potential that can be altered by selection or genetic modification, but how this potential is reached depends on environmental conditions that can be manipulated through photomorphogenesis.

Kevin Folta says this depends entirely on how genes that are responsible for controlling the plant's growth are activated or deactivated in response to light.

Kevin Folta believes this research would be of interest to farmers wanting to get the most genetic potential out of their crops without the need for chemicals or genetic modification, and he believes his research involving red and far-red light could be used on postharvest fruits to improve their flavor while stored in grocery stores and home refrigerators.

Kevin Folta was the contributing author in sequencing the strawberry genome in 2011.

Kevin Folta has formal training in communication and has been recognized for his skill by scholarly institutions.

Kevin Folta uses his experience to provide workshops to teach scientists and farmers how to communicate science effectively, and engages with the public through outreach programs, the internet, and other means.

In 2016, Kevin Folta was awarded the Borlaug CAST Communication Award by the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, named after fellow agricultural biologist and 1970 Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Borlaug.

Payne wrote that Kevin Folta "wants to replace fear with fact" to counteract misinformation about biotechnology and its use in food production.

Kevin Folta has been active in the public discussion of politically controversial topics such as evolution, climate change, vaccines, and agricultural biotechnology since 2002.

Kevin Folta has compared the scientific consensus regarding the safety of genetically modified foods to those regarding global warming and vaccines.

Kevin Folta is an outspoken critic of food blogger Vani Hari's claims about the alleged dangers of certain food additives that regulators generally recognize as safe.

Kevin Folta operates the Talking Biotech podcast which is billed as "A science-based assessment of new technology and the future of food", in which he interviews agriculture scientists and experts in the fields of science and communication to discuss the genetic improvement of plants, animals, and microbes and other issues in biotechnology.

Kevin Folta has created the Science Power Hour podcast, which is a parody of an AM talk radio show hosted by Folta's alter ego "Vern Blazek".

Kevin Folta describes the show as an attempt to deliver science communication in an entertaining way that would appeal to a more general audience, and as a way to convey serious topics using humor.

Kevin Folta has been a guest on numerous other podcasts such as SHARKFARMER, Talk Nerdy, Heartland Daily Podcast, Food and Farm, Science for the People, Vegan Chicago, The Joe Rogan Experience, and The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe.

The university released documents which indicated that Kevin Folta had not committed any scientific misconduct.

Kevin Folta told Science that he was willing to comply, but was concerned with how USRTK would use the information and how his emails could be taken out of context and used to "smear" him.

Kevin Folta denied these claims, and wrote that the accusation was based on a few dozen emails, three professional direct interactions over thirteen years, and a reimbursement of customary travel expenses by Monsanto for $719.76, covering airfare, a rental car, 2 hotel nights, and parking for one event to speak to farmers in Colorado in September 2014.

Kevin Folta has maintained that he has always communicated information consistently according to his research and understanding as a scientist working for a public institution.

Kevin Folta reported that the University of Florida had received a $25,000 grant from Monsanto to be used at the university's discretion which was earmarked for an established biotechnology communication program.

Kevin Folta submitted expense reports to use the biotechnology communication fund to pay for travel expenses, a small projector, coffee and food.

Kevin Folta has promised a complete accounting for his research and extension activities, which he says "defines a new standard of transparency and a new tool to cultivate trust" he hopes other scientists and advocates will adopt.

In 2018, Kevin Folta sued The New York Times for defamation, following the Times' coverage of Kevin Folta's connections to agriculture companies.

Kevin Folta trained and competed in karate for many years, and he won a bronze medal in kumite at the 2012 USA National Karate-do Federation national tournament.