From peaches to potatoes and the planet: my path to use science for the greater good
By Andres Reyes Gaige, Senior Manager of Product Development, North America
As a kid, I was easily distracted. I tried activities like martial arts, soccer, tennis, and even car repairs, but nothing seemed to stick.
I grew up in Lima, Peru, one of the biggest cities in the Americas, and from an early age I remember my parents encouraging me to try new things in the hopes I might find something I liked. Despite my protests, my parents persisted. They raised me in an environment where it was OK to fail, but not to give up.
Towards the end of high school, my path became clearer. I was selected for the International Baccalaureate, an educational program that fosters critical-thinking and curiosity. This program opened up the world of science to me, and lit a spark.
One of my assignments was a research essay in which I studied and compared the amount of beta-carotene, the precursor of Vitamin A, in golden rice. I designed and executed my first science experiment, using equipment at the local university to compare the levels of beta-carotene in peach, sweet potato, and carrot to golden rice’s reported levels. I grew fascinated by science’s potential to help people through improving crop yields, quality, and nutritional value.
After this project, I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. In college I focussed on plant-pathogen interactions, which taught me new scientific techniques and launched my career. Since then I have been working in agriculture, a career that has seen products launched for major companies, patents filed, papers published and happy customers.
But 2020 forced a shift in my perspective. It was a year that showed how fragile humanity really is and the enormous impact one virus can have. The fact COVID was tackled by the best and brightest scientists and policymakers demonstrated what we can achieve if we work together. It also showed how small doses of misinformation and disagreements can derail progress. At the same time, studies were showing parts of the Amazon rainforest were producing more carbon dioxide than they were absorbing. All of this made me reconsider what is important and how I could better use my skills.
As luck would have it, I saw a job come up at Soil Carbon Co and immediately applied. Now I work as a Senior Manager of Product Development for the North American operation. I test and analyze the power of our microbial strains to remove CO2 when applied to different crops in greenhouse and field settings.
Working at a start-up means I get to be involved in the whole process. During winter and early spring, I managed greenhouse trials at three different locations. I led the planting and inoculation of all crops, directed water and fertilizer use, led sampling throughout the season and harvested the final seed. I also do a lot of project management, data tracking and analysis, protocol write-ups and field visits.
In our US operations, we have 13 trials in 10 different states across three different crops during summer and one crop in winter. I just visited four of those sites in Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Minnesota. I am excited to start receiving and analyzing the soil data to really see how our microbes work.
I am proud to help bring these products to market soon, and cannot wait to see the positive impact we can have on a global scale. I am confident that SCC will be one of the leading and most important players in tackling climate change.
An exceptional scientist who can also make graphs for layman
It comes off as extremely arrogant to speak about public policy surrounding COVID in this way. There is no objective standard as to what 'progress' is on these matters. What you consider 'progress' is medical tyranny to many people. Who are you are you to deny the lived experience of millions of people and dismiss their closely held personal beliefs as 'misinformation?'
If you think the 'best and brightest' scientists and policy makers were at the forefront responding to COVID, I don't really know what to tell you... You have no idea what a bright scientist is. You are greatly lacking in discernment and demonstrate an obsequious deference to those claiming authority. You sound like you are pledging loyalty to a Gnostic cult or a Hermetic religion not a profit making enterprise. You write like a critical theorist. You write like a technocrat. You do not write like a scientist; not in the above text. This entire enterprise reads like merely a simulacrum of scientific research.
Why don't you come out and admit that you are in favor of a global carbon tax? Why don't you come out and admit you ultimately seek to make rentier claims on the Earth's soil biome as your corporation's privately held intellectual property?