Welcome to Food for Thought

The Mind That Helped Revolutionize Meat Science 

Dr. Gary Smith, pioneering meat scientist, mentor, communicator, and advocate, dedicated more than six decades to advancing beef quality, safety, and industry innovation. After a distinguished career at Texas A&M, he joined the CSU Department of Animal Sciences in 1990 as the Ken and Myra Monfort Endowed Chair in Meat Science, where he taught, mentored, and led groundbreaking research until 2014. Smith helped launch the National Beef Quality Audit, influenced beef grading standards, and shaped consumer trust in beef through his work on marbling, food safety, and product quality.  

His impact continues through the thousands of students he trained—many of whom are now leaders in research, government, and industry. Read more here.

Wildfire risk is driving up insurance costs for Colorado homeowners  

A new report from the CSU Regional Economic Development Institute, housed in the College of Agricultural Sciences, shows that Colorado homeowners face some of the highest insurance costs in the nation due to rising wildfire risk. The state now ranks as the sixth-costliest, with premiums increasing by 58% from 2018 to 2023.  

Research led by Ph.D. student Caroline Conley Norris highlights the vulnerability of many Colorado families in wildfire-prone areas due to increasing development and underinsurance, raising concerns about recovery, affordability, and long-term community resilience. “Insurance is really the first line of defense after hazard events to bolster communities to be able to recover,” she says. Read more here.

Ep. 230: See it differently — Kim Stackhouse-Lawson on beef supply chain sustainability now 

Animal Sciences Professor Kim Stackhouse-Lawson, who also leads CSU’s AgNext research collaborative, says the heart of sustainability in the beef supply chain is efficiency — something the industry already excels in. In a recent MeatingPod interview, she explored the complexities of measuring sustainability, the challenges of incomplete data, and the politics shaping how the concept is understood and applied across the supply chain. Read more here.

The Reproductive Trail: Exploring the fertility frontier through gameplay  

You’ve heard of the Oregon Trail, now meet The Reproductive Trail™, a board game that transforms the complex journey of sperm through the female reproductive tract into an interactive learning experience. Developed by Animal Sciences Associate Professor Caitlin Cadaret, the game is designed for large classrooms with limited lab access. The game reinforces reproductive physiology concepts through question cards, event challenges, and peer-to-peer interaction. By blending fun with active learning, students develop a deeper understanding of biology in a collaborative and hands-on way. Read more here.

Bread and butter: CSU wheat varieties are standout innovations 

Do you know what CSU’s bread-and-butter is? Bread…literally. Unique wheat varieties generate more annual revenue than any other intellectual property at Colorado State, accounting for over half of the university’s total IP income. Those funds are reinvested directly in the Wheat Breeding and Genetics program, driving research that strengthens Colorado’s multi-billion-dollar agricultural industry.  

“We have a changing climate, with changing pests, changing diseases, and changing weeds in the field, so we develop new varieties to address all those factors,” says Esten Mason, professor and project leader for the program. Read more here.

In the weeds: Using less herbicide to kill more weeds 

Speaking of weeds, weed science Professor Franck Dayan and doctoral student Hudson Takano in the Department of Agricultural Biology have discovered a powerful combination of herbicides that could reduce chemical use while improving weed control. Their globally patented work, supported by BASF, highlights how Colorado State University research drives sustainable solutions in agriculture. “The grand challenge is to find entirely new ways to manage weeds that are both more sustainable and more targeted, so they have less environmental impact,” says Amy Charkowski, research associate dean in the College of Agricultural Sciences. Read more here.

Meet CSU’s innovators 

It’s no secret that CSU is a hub for innovation. Among its active innovators who’ve received patents are Todd Gaines, Associate Professor of Agricultural Biology; Philip Westra, Professor of Agricultural Biology; and Scott Haley, Professor Emeritus of Soil and Crop Sciences.  

Gaines is part of a CSU team using RNA sequencing to identify genes and regulatory mechanisms behind herbicide-resistant Palmer amaranth, which helps slow its spread and protect crop yields. Haley, Westra, and colleagues developed a herbicide-resistance trait that enables farmers to target weeds without harming wheat crops. Many CSU wheat varieties have now been released with this trait. Read more here.

5 takeaways on the world’s seed vaults and why Colorado is part of the story  

The world’s largest crop seed bank is located in Svalbard, Norway, but Colorado State University plays a critical role in preserving plant diversity through the National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation in Fort Collins. Unlike the Arctic vault, which serves only as a backup, CSU scientists actively study and maintain seed collections, including challenging species like apples that require cryopreservation.  

CSU faculty and USDA researchers help safeguard genetic diversity, supporting future crop development and food security, even as federal funding cuts threaten these vital programs. “This is our children’s future in many ways. It needs to be invested in,” says British Canadian plant scientist Geoffrey Hawtin, who helped create the Global Seed Vault. Read more here.

Corpse flower bloom provides rare opportunity for chemistry researchers to study floral emissions 

In May 2024, nearly 9,000 visitors came to Colorado State University’s Plant Growth Facilities to witness the rare bloom of Cosmo, a corpse flower (Amorphophallus titanum) that flowers only once a decade. The event provided Ph.D. candidate Rose Rossell (Chemistry) and postdoctoral fellow Mj Riches (Agricultural Biology) with a unique opportunity to study the plant’s powerful sulfur emissions. Their resulting study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, found that these emissions accounted for approximately 0.4% of its biomass and exhibited a significant shift between the start and end of the bloom.  

“When we think about emissions from plants, we usually think about what they’re constantly emitting, but this project highlighted the difference in scent profiles between the start and end of the bloom cycles,” said Riches. The research was made possible by the CSU Plant Growth Facility team, including manager Tammy Brenner, who cares for Cosmo year-round. Read more here.

Beers Named Campbell Trophy Semifinalist 

Colorado State tight end and DARE integrated resource management master’s student Rocky Beers has been named a semifinalist for the prestigious William V. Campbell Trophy from the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame. A Littleton, Colo., native, Beers is recognized for his excellence on the field, in the classroom, and in the community, and he hopes to one day own a sustainable family farm. Finalists will be announced Oct. 22. Read more here.