Disagreement on science programmes can provide good story conflict

Here is a link to the article Agricultural mega-programmes 'will not attract funding' on scidev.net.

According to the article in the link, the Gates Foundation has reservations over fuzzy expectations of results in programs proposed by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

Imagine if a disagreement like the one above was between hostile parties, or if an unscrupulous person is willing go to extreme lengths to sway or disrupt a decision or punish opposition to a decision. Such differences between major players in scientific issues can provide conflict for cinema and fiction on an epic and a personal scale. This kind of conflict can provide a grand backdrop to a story focused on a more intimate look at characters caught up in the dispute or its consequences.

A recent real-life example of such a conflict can be found in the article Google: Critics of Vietnam mine face online attack.

This can be a way to provide strong conflict and familiarise an audience with the science and issues forming the basis of the dispute, as well as to a broad range of human behaviour through the characters.