Project: Archive of Agricultural Genetic Engineering and Society Center Interviewee: Greg Jaffe, Director of the Biotechnology Project at the Center for Science in the Public Interest Interviewers: Matthew Booker, Brad Herring, and Alison Wynn Interview Date: October 5, 2015 Location: NC State University, Hunt Library Length: 1:34:55 Learn more at https://go.ncsu.edu/AAGES SEE FULL TRANSCRIPT AT: https://research.ncsu.edu/ges/files/2017/09/Jaffe_Greg_20151005_Transcript_Final.pdf 00:13 - Please tell us your name, institution, and role. 00:30 - And what do you do? Tell us about what you actually do. 01:06 - And so what sorts of activities do you engage in on a daily basis? 02:24 - So this is going to take you back a ways but is that what you imagined you'd be doing when you were a kid? So did you have a vision for yourself as a kid? Do you remember what you wanted to be? 03:23 - So when you were in—when did you begin to move or I should say how did you move from that interest towards specializing in math and science? Did you major in these topics as an undergraduate? 06:46 - Were there mentors who helped guide you in those years as an undergrad or was this really coming out of your own explorations? 07:33 - So then you graduate from undergrad and what happened next? 09:13 - So this is the mid-1980's at this point? 09:54 - And why did you make that decision? Do you—why leave that exciting—with all the opportunities there? 10:42 - So now you're at law school. Where did you go to school and what did you do while you were there? Did you focus on your future? 13:51 - Okay, you've experienced law school. You're done. What then? What did you do? 16:00 - And you didn't consider going into private industry or working for a company or anything like that? 17:06 - So did you begin to specialize in—well, what I'm really going for here is how you began to get interested in genetic engineering in agriculture? Or was this not on your radar yet? Was it part of a broader— 20:54 - So there was a transformation of US policy toward biotechnology in the 1980's, and '90's is I think what you're saying. How did that look from the inside? What was the major transformation? 23:15 - So you said you spent seven years with the Justice Department and over that period do you think your understanding—did your understanding of this regulatory framework advance and why would you leave I guess is where I'm going for. 26:22 - So you described a training for sort of an emergence in the regulatory environments at the federal level—two different areas of that. Why did you leave government work? I assume that's what's next. 27:39 - Did you feel your audience or your public had changed when you went from working for EPA or the federal government directly to working for a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization? 29:20 - So it's 2001, you've just started this new position in this organization. How had the climate or the regulatory concerns around genetic engineering specifically in agriculture but more generally? How had that changed since the last time you had been directly connected to biotech concerns? 31:50 - So did you see your own interests and perspective on biotechnology shifting from the time you had written your thesis to the time you are re-entered the field in 2001? 32:40 - So was there a particular issue that you entered into in 2001 a particular controversy or what—how did you—what did you work on when you came in? 34:40 - And was there a particular controversy in those early years that you think is indicative or typical of the kind of work you've done? Or that allowed you to take that position, that middle ground? 37:36 - So you've described for us the basic regulatory framework around genetic engineering in agriculture. But I wonder if you could spell it out for us a little more clearly. Is the—what is the kind of basic arrangement in federal agencies around how a new crop is regulated—is permitted to pass into the food supply? 50:22 - How if you—if you were able to have complete control over these processes at say the FDA, the EPA, the USDA. How would you change this system to make it not have as many gaps? 53:33 - To what extent do you think the histories of these three agencies that have responsibility for biotech in agriculture broadly speaking—to what extent do you think that their histories play into their efficacy or the problems you just described? 57:53 - So you described a regulatory structure based on enabling legislation in these fundamental federal agencies. But you moved from those agencies into this other position with CSPI. What role do you think CSPI plays in regulation or what is your effort in these 14 years to move the regulatory structure?