John Frelka
He/Him
I am gay and I am a food scientist. //
I’ve always loved science and food and have luckily been able to combine the two to better understand the research behind the foods we eat every day. As a postdoc at UC Davis I’m working on improving the safety of tree nuts, taking me from the orchards on campus to the roasting facilities of the California central valley. I’m also an amateur food-science communicator along with a group of my fellow young food scientists through “Don’t Eat the Pseudoscience” on Facebook. With all of the misconceptions surrounding food, it’s important to help people understand the food on their plates. As a gay man, visibility is so important to me in the STEM community. I have friends who are also members of both the LGBT and science communities who I can relate to so much. I can only think that if I had known all these people when I was starting out on my journey, I could have had the confidence and self-assurance I have (or like to think I have) now.
Follow me Twitter: @madfoodscience and my group Twitter: @DontEatPseudo.