Dr Don Batten

Biography

Don received both his B.Sc.Agr. (First Class Honours) and his Ph.D. from the University of Sydney. He worked for 20 years as a research horticulturalist with the NSW Department of Agriculture. His research included environmental adaptation of tropical/subtropical fruits such as mango, lychee and custard apple (Annona), floral biology, floral induction, breeding, environmental physiology (especially water requirements, effects of water deficits), plant taxonomy, and mineral nutrition. His research on floral induction of lychee and mango overturned long-held ideas which had been an impediment to the scientific understanding of these plants, as well as causing economic loss due to inappropriate management of these crops. He conducted a number of research projects that were externally funded, publishing his results in science journals.

Don joined the ministry in Brisbane, Australia in 1994 and has spoken around the world on the creation issue, showing the errors in the evolutionary ideas he was taught. He is co-author of The Creation Answers Book, One Blood, Answers to the 4 Big Questions, 15 Reasons to Take Genesis as History, and author of various booklets, including What about carbon dating? and What about arguments for evolution? Don is one of the three rotating editors of Creation magazine, and has written many articles for Creation as well as the in-depth Journal of Creation.

Dr Batten was the CEO and Managing Director of CMI-Australia from 2015 to 2022. He is now Senior Scientist, focusing on research, writing, and speaking.

See a sample video of Dr Don Batten:

Research Projects Funded by External Agencies

1. Study tour of India and Taiwan on lychees and mangoes, 1980 (CESG)

2. Provision of controlled-temperature glasshouse for propagation of tropical/subtropical fruit 1983–84 (RCDF).

3. Control of fruit set and retention in lychee, 1987–91 (RIRDC)—with C.A. McConchie, CSIRO Div. Horticulture, Brisbane.

4. Overcoming problems related to poor root health in custard apple and lychee, 1990–92 (RIRDC)

5. Regulation of cropping in lychee, 1991–1994 (RIRDC)—with C.A. McConchie, CSIRO Div. of Horticulture, Brisbane.

Education

• 1969–72: B.Sc.Agr. (First Class Honours)—University of Sydney

• 1973–76: Ph.D.—University of Sydney, Department of Agronomy and Horticultural Science. Thesis: Induction of adventitious root formation in mung bean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek)

Employment/Positions

• 1976–90: Research Horticulturist, NSW Agriculture, Tropical Fruit Research Station, Alstonville.

• 1991–1994: Senior Research Horticulturist, NSW Agriculture, Tropical Fruit Research Station, Alstonville (resigned January 1994).

• 1994–: Creation Ministries International, Brisbane, Australia + private horticultural consultant.

Publications

Scientific Journals for which papers have been refereed

• Annals of Botany, Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture

• Australian Journal of Agricultural Research

• New Zealand Journal of Crop Science

• Scientia Horticulturae

• Tree Physiology (Canada)

• Advances in Horticultural Science

• Indonesian Journal of Crop Science.

Refereed papers published in science journals

1. Batten, D.J. and Mullins, M.G. (1978). Ethylene and adventitious root formation in hypocotyl segments of etiolated mung-bean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek) seedlings. Planta 138 (3):193–8. (doi:10.1007/BF00386810)

2. Batten, D.J. and Goodwin, P.B. (1981). Auxin transport inhibitors and the rooting of hypocotyl cuttings from etiolated mung-bean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek) seedlings. Annals of Botany 47(4):497–505. (Abstract)

3. Peak, C.M., Fitzell, R.D., Hannah, R.S. and Batten, D.J. (1986). Development of a microprocessor-based data recording system for predicting plant disease based on studies on mango anthracnose. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 1(3):251–62.

4. Batten, D.J. (1989). Maturity criteria for litchis (lychees). Food Quality and Preference 1(4/5):149–55. (doi:10.1016/0950-3293(89)90002-5)

5. Batten, D.J. (1990). Effect of temperature on ripening and post-harvest life of fruit of atemoya (Annona cherimola Mill. x A. Squamosa L.) cv. ‘African Pride’. Scientia Horticulturae 45(1-2):129–36. (doi:10.1016/0304-4238(90)90075-P)

6. McConchie, C.A. and Batten, D.J. (1991). Fruit set in lychee (Litchi chinensis Sonn). Variation between flowers, panicles and trees. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 42(7):1163–72. (doi:10.1071/AR9911163)

7. Batten, D.J., Lloyd, J. and McConchie, C.A. (1992). Cultivar differences in stomatal responses in lychee (Litchi chinensis Sonn.). Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 19(3):317–29. (doi:10.1071/PP9920317)

8. McConchie, C.A., Batten, D.J. and Vithanage, V. (1994). Intergeneric hybridisation between litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) and longan (Dimocarpus longan Lour.). Annals of Botany 74(2):111–118. (doi:10.1006/anbo.1994.1100)

9. Batten, D.J., McConchie, C.A. and Lloyd, J. (1994). Effect of soil water deficit on gas exchange characteristics and water relations of orchard lychee (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) trees. Tree Physiology 14 (10):117–1189. (PDF of paper)

10. Batten, D.J. and Lahav, E. (1994). Base temperatures for growth processes of lychee, a recurrently flushing tree, are similar but optima differ. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 21(5):589–602. (doi:10.1071/PP9940589)

11. Fitzell, R.D., Batten, D.J. and Vimpany, I. (1994). Investigation into the cause of poor root health in custard apple. Plant Protection Quarterly 9(1):2–5.

12. Batten, D.J. and McConchie, C.A. (1995). Floral induction in growing buds of lychee (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) and mango (Mangifera indica L.) Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 22 (5):783–791. (doi:10.1071/PP9950783)

13. Duret, P., Waechter, A.-I., Hocquemiller, R., Cavé, A. and Batten, D. (1996). Annotemoyin-1 and -2: two novel mono-tetrahydrofuranic-lactone acetogenins from the seeds of Annona atemoya. Natural Product Letters 8:89–95.

Postgraduate Theses, Books and Book Chapters

1. Batten, D.J. (1976). Induction of adventitious root formation in mung bean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek). Ph.D. thesis, University of Sydney.

2. Batten, D.J. and Goodwin, P.B. (1978). Phytohormones and the induction of adventitious roots. In Letham, D.B., Goodwin, P.B. and Higgins, T.J.V. (eds.). Phytohormones and Related Compounds—A Comprehensive Treatise Vol. II pp 137–145. (Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press).

3. Batten, D.J. (1982). Litchi. Crop No.550 in Hackett, C. and Carolane, J. (Eds). Edible Horticultural Crops—a Compendium of Information on Fruit, Vegetable, Spice and Nut Species 3 Vols. Academic Press, Sydney

4. Batten, D.J. (1984). Fruit Crops. In J.R. Cook (Ed.). Jojoba, Guayule or What? New Crops—Factors for Survival Aust. Inst. Agric. Science Occasional Publication No.16.

5. Batten, D.J. (1984). Myrtaceae–guava (Psidium guajava L.). In Tropical Tree Fruits for Australia pp. 113–20. Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Brisbane.

6. Batten, D.J. (1984). Myrtaceae—feijoa (Pineapple guava) Feijoa sellowiana O. Bert. In Tropical Tree Fruits for Australia pp. 121–24. Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Brisbane.

7. Batten, D.J. (1984). Rutaceae—white sapote (Casimiroa edulis Llave). In Tropical Tree Fruits for Australia pp. 171–4. Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Brisbane

8. Batten, D.J. and McConchie, C.A. (1991). Is lychee particularly drought sensitive? In Smith, M.M (ed.) Australian Lychee Yearbook Vol. 1 pp. 108–110. (Australian Lychee Growers Association, Brisbane).

9. McConchie, C.A., Batten, D.J. and Vivian-Smith, A. (1991). Pollination in lychee. In Smith, M.M (ed.) Australian Lychee Yearbook Vol. 1 pp. 93–96. (Australian Lychee Growers Association, Brisbane).

Proceedings of Society Meetings and Other Technical Conferences

1. Batten, D.J. (1977). Rootstock improvement. Proc. Aust. Avocado Research Workshop, Binna Burra, Oct. 1977, pp. 46–48.

2. Batten, D.J. (1980). Tropical/subtropical fruit and nuts. Proc. Conf. on the Development of Coffs Harbour Botanic Gardens, Coffs Harbour Technical College, May 1980. (University of New England Press). (Invited paper)

3. Moncur, M.W., Rattigan, K., Batten, D.J., and Watson, B.J. (1984). Mangoes in Australia—where? Proceedings of the First Australian Mango Research Workshop, Cairns, Nov. 26–30, 1984 pp. 71–76.

4. Batten,D.J. (1986). Towards an understanding of reproductive failure in lychee (Litchi chinensis Sonn.). Acta Horticulturae 175: 79–83.

5. Batten, D.J. (1986). Lychee Harvesting. In The Potential of Lychee in Australia (Proc. 1st National Lychee Seminar, Nambour, February 14–15^th, 1986). pp. 73–76 (Invited paper).

6. Batten, D.J. and Firth, D.J. (1987). Effective chilling temperatures. Proc. First National Low-Chill Stonefruit Conf., Lismore pp. 30–38 (Invited paper).

7. Batten, D.J. (1988). Custard apples. Australian Special Rural Research Council Workshop “The Development of Exotic Fruit Export Industries”, Kooralbyn Valley, Qld, Nov 20–22, 1988 (Invited paper)

8. Batten, D.J. (1989). The effect of tree age on chilling requirements of low-chill stonefruit. Proc. Australasian Conference on Tree and Nut Crops, Lismore, August 14–20, 1988 (ACOTANC88) pp. 274–6

9. Batten, D.J. (1989). Custard apple splitting. Proc. ACOTANC88 pp. 116–20

10. Price, G.H., Menzel, C.M., and Batten, D.J. (1989). Leaf and soil nutrient levels in lychee orchards. Proc. ACOTANC88 pp. 137–41

11. Batten D.J. and Lloyd, J. (1989). Effect of possible increases in global temperature on distribution of deciduous crops in Australia. Australian Society of Plant Physiologists National Symposium and IGBP Workshop on Global Climate Change, July, 1989, Brisbane Abstract #155

12. McConchie, C.A. and Batten, D.J. (1989). Variation in the fruit set of lychee flowers, panicles and trees. Australian Society of Plant Physiologists Horticulture Symposium, Brisbane, July 5, Abstract #72

13. McConchie, C.A. and Batten, D.J. (1989). Floral biology and fruit set in lychee. Proc. 2 ^nd National Lychee Seminar, Cairns, 21–23 Sept pp. 71–74

14. Batten, D.J. (1989). Improving custard apple storage life. AIBC Custard Apple Workshop, Maleny, Qld, Oct 26–27

15. Batten, D.J. and Vimpany, I. (1992). Woodiness defect in custard apple fruit. High Quality Horticulture—Australian Society of Horticultural Science Regional Technical Meeting, Brisbane, August 29, 1992. pp. 77–79.

16. Batten, D.J. and McConchie, C.A. (1992). Pollination in lychee. Proc. Third National Lychee Seminar, Bundaberg, September 25–27. Australian Lychee Growers Association. pp. 23–28.

17. Batten, D.J. and McConchie, C.A. (1995). Floral induction in growing buds of lychee and mango. Australian Society of Plant Physiologists Conference, Broadbeach, Qld, September 27–30, Abstract #187.

Major Reports and Editing

1. Winks, C.W., Batten, D.J. and Burt, J.R. (1984). Report on the subtropical horticulture mission to the People’s Republic of China, August 6–21, 1983. Commonwealth Dept. of Primary Industries, Canberra.

2. Batten, D.J. (Editor) (1988). Proceedings of the Fourth Australasian Conference on Tree and Nut Crops, Lismore, 15–19 August, 1988 (ACOTANC88) (488 pp.)

3. Batten, D.J. (1993). Overcoming problems related to poor root health in custard apple and lychee. Final report to the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) for Project number DAN 54A (40 pp.)

4. Batten, D.J. and McConchie, C.A. (1993). Fruit set, maturation and breeding in lychee—report on a visit to China under the Australia / China Agricultural Exchange Agreement (ACACA), 28 March to 18 April, 1993 (17 pp.)

5. Batten, D.J. (Editor) (1995–97). Living Lychee, publication of the Australian Lychee Growers Association.

Books

• Batten, D.J. (contributing editor), Catchpoole, D., Sarfati, J.D. and Wieland, C., (2006). The Creation Answers Book, (available in Albanian, Dutch, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Japanese, Macedonian, Russian and Spanish). See index of online chapters and free chapter study guides.

• Batten, D.J. (contributing editor), Catchpoole, D., Sarfati, J.D. and Wieland, C., (2006). Answers to the 4 Big Questions (out of print)

• Ham, K.A., Batten, D.J. and Wieland, C., One Blood, Master Books

• Batten, D.J. and Sarfati, J.D., (2006). 15 Reasons to Take Genesis as History (available in Dutch, German and Russion).

• Batten, D.J., What about carbon dating?  (booklet)

• Batten, D.J., What about arguments for evolution?  (booklet)

• Batten, D.J., and Bates, G., Are we being visited by extra-terrestrials? (booklet)

• Batten, D.J., and Sarfati, J., Does God exist? (booklet)

• Batten, D.J., and Walker, T., What about Continental Drift? (booklet)

• Batten, D.J., and Wieland, C., How did all the different ‘races’ arise? (booklet)

• Wieland, C. and Batten, D.J., How can we see distant stars in a young universe? (booklet)

Selected Creation magazine articles

• Kid’s stuff

• Zeal lost and found—Don Batten chats with pastor/musician Joe Vermeulen

• Suicide ‘bomber’ termites

• The wonder of flying fish

• Bird tracks before birds existed?

• The baobab: The strangest tree on Earth

• Faith tested

• Exit God, enter death culture

• The magnificent ‘flying’ frog

• The waiting time problem

• Taking a stand—Don Batten interviews high-profile Singapore researcher Dr Samuel Gan

• Countering indoctrination

• God speaks!

• A new cancer treatment thanks to Darwin?—it actually speaks against Darwinism

• Termites—to the glory of God!

• Radicalizing young people

• The age of arches

• Countering blockers and knockers—15 bad reasons for rejecting creation ministry

• Science reinforces faith in God

• Antibiotic resistance: Evolution in action?

• Sea Pens: ‘Extreme’ living fossils shout ‘after their kind’

• Recent origin of species

• Aesop’s fables, anyone?

• ‘Star witnesses’ to a young creation

• Liberation!

• The importance of the age of things

• Evolutionary dilemma

• DNA repair mechanisms ‘shout’ creation

• Creationist contributions to science

• Jesus the Creator

• Pollen problem

• Secularism is atheism

• Medical pioneer: creation ‘foundational’

• Dazzling DNA

• Do you really believe God?

• Moon madness

• Alligator ancestor antics

• Evolutionists can’t dodge ‘Living Fossils’

• Adam and Noah: two beginnings

• Rodhocetus and other stories of whale evolution

• Fragile Faith: Four keys to avoiding the evidentialist roller coaster

• Evidences for a young earth and universe

• The lingering death of junk DNA

• Why do atheists hate God?

• Are look-alikes related?

• Where are all the people?

• Human/chimp DNA similarity: Evidence for evolutionary relationship?

• Ligers and wholphins? What next?

• Reading between the lines

• Frankenstein foods? Genetically modified foods and the Bible

• Cheating With Chance

• Darwin’s Contribution?

• Did Noah need oxygen above the mountains?

• Genesis 1 and 2: complementary not contradictory

• Genesis means what it says according to Basil of Caesarea

• It’s in your blood

• Red-blooded evidence: Refuting the evolutionary ‘sea-water’ argument

• Modelling the size of Noah’s ark

• Sandy Stripes: Many layers don’t mean many years

• Some questions for theistic evolutionists (and progressive creationists)

• WHAT! … No potatoes?

• Message Mania Deciphering the human genome: what does it mean?

• A Who’s Who of Evolutionists

• Which is the recent aberration? Old-Earth or Young-Earth Belief?

• ‘Instant’ stalagmites!

• ‘Soft’ gap sophistry

• A cat with four ears (not nine lives)

• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dinosaur?

• ‘That’s nice for you, but it’s not for me’

• Revival? What is missing?

• “They’re killing the church by degrees!”

• End-times and early-times

• Physicists’ God-talk

• A lady of distinction: Anything different about this woman?

• Eat your Brussels sprouts!

• A Personal Word (Dr Batten’s testimony of the importance of creation to his Christian walk, nine years before he joined (the then) Creation Science Foundation, the former name of Creation Ministries International

• The creation music man (who makes dinosaurs): Interview with with singer/sculptor Buddy Davis

• Creation in the research lab: Interview with leading Australian molecular biologist and microbiologist Ian Macreadie

• Prize-winning Professor rejects evolution: Interview with Prof. Brian Stone

• Jumping ship: Dr Jim Allan, a geneticist, tells of his ’double conversion’

• The Creation Couple: Whether challenging secularists on creation or abortion, this dynamic duo packs a powerful punch

• Standing firm: A leading scientist’s life shows how ’radical’ ideas can lead to the greatest breakthroughs.

• Love is more than skin deep: A chat with Dickson and Cynthia Unoarumhi

• Seeing a way through the forest

• Separation of faith and reality

• Significance versus insignificance

• Rooted in God’s truth

• Who created God?

• Supercomputer to brain-storm the human brain

• A vase of flowers—by special arrangement!

• Familiarity breeds … respect?

• Probing the earth’s deep places

• Human evolution: oh so clear?

Selected Journal of Creation (formerly Creation Ex Nihilo Technical Journal and TJ) articles

• Review of W.J. ReMine’s book The Biotic Message

• A brief response to anti-creationist books

• Mad Cows and Evolution

• A Whale of a Tale? (Ambulocetus)

• ‘Simple’? Whole Bacteria Genome Sequenced

• Y-Chromosome Adam?

• Junk DNA (again)

• Punctuated Equilibrium: Come of Age?

• Gould grumbles about creationist ‘hijacking’

• Australopithecus ramidus —‘the missing link’?

• Weasel, a flexible program for investigating deterministic computer ‘demonstrations’ of evolution

• The adaptation of bacteria to feeding on nylon waste

• Genetic algorithms and robotic folly

• Yet another way of getting more from less

• Haldane’s dilemma has not been solved

• C ₄ photosynthesis—evolution or design?

• Review of Michael J. Behe’s book The Edge of Evolution: The Search for the Limits of Darwinism

Other articles

• 40 failed predictions of Evolution

• Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW): a biblical and scientific approach to climate change

• Whence the craziness enveloping the once-Christian ‘West’?

• Rusty cars and Christian institutions

• Is the human body badly designed?

• Refusing to be muzzled

• Nice theologians leading the church away from the truth

• Did humans evolve from apes?

• Nylon-degrading bacteria: update

• The importance of creation in evangelism

• Five atheist miracles (or materialists believe in magic)

• Faith and facts

• The myth of 1%

• Responding to atheistic opposition

• Whale evolution in question

• Karl Giberson unmasks himself

• Arguments evolutionists should not use

• Is faithless education possible?

• Creation evangelism in Japan

• Origin of life

• Gender confused children

• The biological classification of humans: Is it legitimate for Christians to classify mankind as a mammal?

• Staying the course at university

• Eye wiring clarified

• Big-eye brain-less Neandertal nonsense

• Time, eternity, and the creation of the universe

• Sitting on the fence

• Physicist: Evolution more scientific than quantum mechanics?

• How evolution has harmed science and society

• Seekers and scoffers

• Why do Christians want to defend evolution?

• Age of the earth: 101 evidences for a young age of the earth and the universe

• Interpreting the early chapters of Genesis

• Thinking biblically about termites and lizards

• Atheism—no objective morality?

• Objecting to a biblical age for the earth

• Genetic entropy and human lifespans

• The limits of Neo-Darwinism

• Billions of years? Appraising the dangers

• What do the atheopaths have to hide?

• ‘Acellular’ first life?

• Does inbreeding always decrease genetic variety?

• Does the Bible promote injustice?

• The mental furniture of ‘deep time’

• Mutations, epigenetics and the question of information

• Living fossils and evolution, and does it matter if ‘junk DNA’ have functions?

• Hox (homeobox) Genes Evolution’s Saviour?

• How did fish, invertebrates and plants survive the Genesis Flood?

• New plant colours—is this new information?

• Did cells acquire organelles such as mitochondria by gobbling up other cells?

• Robotic folly

• How is information content measured?

• Genetic algorithms—do they show that evolution works?

• Tree ring dating (dendrochronology) (available in Spanish)

• Australian university moves to crack down on Christian freedoms

• ‘Pillars of the Earth’— Does the Bible teach a mythological cosmology?

• ‘It’s not science ’ (available in Spanish)

• A-l Milano mutation—evidence for evolution?

• Misunderstandings about One Blood: The Biblical Answer to Racism

• ‘But it’s divisive!’

• ‘Junk’ DNA, asteroid impacts and supernovas

• Notes on the Farmer vs Wieland debate

• ‘Evolution in action’ or ‘Evolution inaction’?

• ‘Time Magazine’ Christians?

• Humans walking on all fours: return of the ape-man?

• New archaeological find affirms Old Testament historicity

• ‘Evolution in a Petri dish’?

• Bacteria ‘evolving in the lab’? (Refutation of Lenski’s evolutionary hype on citrate-digesting E. coli)

• Is Richard Dawkins an atheist?

• Atheists to do religious education in schools

• A skeptic falsely accuses creationists of lying about human and ape similarities

• Hitler, the Dalai Lama, sin and salvation; and the religion of North Korea

• Can Christians believe “dogmatically” that the earth is 6,000 years old?

• Monkeying with probability

• Should CMI ignore the atheists? Plus human vs ape skin

• Is it ‘unjust’ that the whole creation should suffer because of Adam’s sin? and Is long-age creationist a misnomer?

• Bring on the hecklers?

• Bacterial mutations plus biblical geology

• Question evolution campaign

• Do creationists have to resort to secular ideas to explain geology and astronomy?

• The importance of correct history and theology

• ‘Lucy’ walking upright, and atheism and science

• Atheism, plants, and gas giants

• Are Christians ‘atheists’ with respect to other religions?

Feedback

• Sex abnormalities and transgender

• CMI’s response to the ‘electric universe’

• Molecular motors show incredible design

• A knocker answered

• Plant breeding is not evolution