Another great meeting at the International Poultry and Processing Expo (IPPE) this year. I calculated that I have been coming to this meeting for 30 years. Doesn’t seem that long ago I was here presenting my own data as a graduate student.

It’s a great place to meet and catch up with meat and poultry peeps and learn about new technology and science. The science discussions with friends and exhibitors are one of the main reasons why I come to this meeting. I can find out about the most up-and-coming and innovative research.

Science is what gives us the products and processes to make sure we can all provide a safe and high quality food supply. However, it can also be a misunderstood and overused word. I think of all the times I have read the term “science-based” and then as I dig deeper, I realize that there is very little scientific method used to gather and conclude the findings. What is science and what does science-based mean? Science means knowledge. However, it’s how we gather that knowledge matters. Scientific knowledge is gathered through a systematic method to test explanations and predictions in a very rigorous way.

Science-based means the experimental method was used to investigate the relationship of variables to determine their causal relationships.

In order to properly run an experiment, you must have a testable hypothesis, consider the variables and determine which you you can manipulate to have a cause/effect relationship, design an experiment with repeatability and reliability, and use statistical analyses to properly determine conclusions.

There is a reason why scientists are trained in these methods. It’s not easy.

In order for people to trust the science, these methods have to be implemented. Would you trust an accountant that has never learned accounting methods? I sure wouldn’t use them to do my taxes! So, why trust science that hasn’t been rigorously vetted? There are many shoddy research studies out there or studies that claim to be science-based. The way to differentiate shoddy from real and trustworthy is to ask questions. Conclusions are great, but the process to get to the conclusions is most important. How was the study conducted? Was it repeatable? What were the variables? How much variation existed, and do the results make sense?

So my caution to all of us as we make corporate decisions in efficiency, sustainability, food safety and quality is this: Just because someone has done an experiment and made conclusions doesn’t mean it’s science! Ask the questions. Dig into the methodology. And let’s keep science real.

Keep the Science Real

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