Presenter: Robert Rountree, MD
Format: Video of slides with synchronized audio

Learn about the contrast between the blockbuster model of product development versus the long-tail model.  While the blockbuster model is currently appearing in popular art in the form of music and books, the focus of this lecture will be on pharmaceuticals and crops where the result is an increasingly small number of very expensive drugs along with the loss of cheap generics, and the increasing use of genetically modified crops that are designed to be used in combination with pesticides.  In parallel with this is the loss of microbial diversity in our gut microflora as a result of the overuse of antibiotics and disinfectants.  All of these phenomena are trending together.  The solution I will propose is to cultivate biodiversity—in our lifestyles, our diets, our gut microflora, and with the use of botanical medicine.

Learning Objectives:
- Discover the contrast between the blockbuster and long-tail models of product development that results in an increase in expensive drugs, a decrease in generic drugs, and an increase in the use of genetically modified crops
- Learn the relationship between the above phenomena and the loss of microbial diversity in our gut microflora
- Learn how to cultivate biodiversity through botanical medicine