21st Century Agricultural Issues Are Focus of Food & Ag Track at BIO 2005 in Philadelphia
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 16, 2005) -- Twenty-first century agriculture is vastly different from that of the 18th century when America’s forefathers founded an agrarian society in Philadelphia. Current issues in food and agriculture ranging from public sector investment, to intellectual property to implementation of trade agreements will be discussed during the BIO 2005 Annual International Convention, June 19-22, 2005, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.
According to Jim Greenwood, president of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), “Growing biotech enhanced crops has long passed the novelty stage – they’re here to stay as evidenced by the more than 8 million farmers, 90 percent of whom are farmers in developing countries, who choose to grow these crops for the benefits of lower costs, increased yields and significant environmental protection. This year, as the industry celebrates 10 years of commercialized plantings, we are redefining the meaning of agriculture.
“In the next decade, biotechnology will expand to new areas such as livestock production and tropical plants. We’ll use our genomics knowledge to explore for public and private benefit the results of mapping maize, sorghum and wheat and the completed sequences of arabidopsis and rice genome,” Greenwood added. “These technological advancements are accompanied by the need for evolving science and regulatory policies, discussion of environmental impact, and intellectual property protection.”
The following sessions on food and agriculture issues will take place over the course of the conference (for complete descriptions go to http://www.bio.org/events/2005/speaker/sessionlist.asp?id=12 ):
Monday, June 20, 2005
Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety: Will National Implementation Allow for Innovation? – 9:30 - 10:45 AM
This session will provide information on how different countries are implementing the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety through national legislation; panelists will provide perspectives of the private sector, public research institutes and governments in developed and developing countries. The session will be chaired by Jocelyn Webster, Ph.D., Executive Director, AfricaBio.
Investing in Healthy Animals – 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM. The goal of this session is to highlight biotechnology-based business opportunities that target the production and maintenance of healthy animals. The session will be chaired by Leslie Hickle, Ph.D., Senior Director, Animal Care, Diversa Corporation.
Organics and Biotech: Won’t You Be My Neighbor? – 2:15 - 3:45 PM
Learn about the rules and thresholds for organic certification, understand the concerns around liability, and hear how farmers growing biotech traits and those growing organically can indeed live in harmony. The session will be chaired by Stephen Kerr, Secretary, Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets.
Assessing Environmental Impacts of Federal Regulatory Decisions – 4:00 - 5:30 PM
The National Environmental Policy Act applies to all federal actions. New regulations for genetically engineered organisms are currently being developed under the Plant Protection Act that will mark the most significant change to the regulation of these products in almost 20 years. This panel will discuss how the environmental impact assessment process works and its potential impact on the regulation of agricultural biotechnology. The session will be chaired by Stanley Abramson, Esq., Partner, Arent Fox.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Ag Biotech IP: Progress and Challenges Ahead – 9:30 - 10:45 AM
Intellectual property considerations are one of the most significant roadblocks to market access facing agribusiness today. Learn about the need for and value of IP protection from the distinctly different perspectives of growers, a plant breeder, industry lawyers and management. The session will be chaired by Richard Gilmore, President & CEO, GIC Group.
Tropical Crop Biotechnology – 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM
The tropical regions of the world are growing in population, wealth and influence. These changes bring new challenges for the supply of increasing quantities of food and, very importantly, increased nutritive value of the food. It is highly probable in the longer term that the greatest impact of agricultural biotechnology will be in the tropics, particularly through pest and disease control and biofortification to increase the quantity and quality of food crops. The session will be chaired by James Dale, Ph.D., Director, Science Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology.
Science and Regulatory Policy Roundtable on Agricultural Biotechnology – 2:15 - 3:45 PM
Research and regulatory policy for agricultural biotechnology in the United States continue to evolve. Speakers will focus on how science policy can better take into account implications for regulatory policy, how regulatory policy can better take advantage of knowledge about scientific innovations, and how linkages between science and regulatory policy can be made. The session will be chaired by Michael Phillips, Ph.D., Vice President, BIO, and Sheila Schuette, Director of Research and Development, Monsanto Company.
The Science, Economic Benefits and Policy of Animal Cloning – 4:00 - 5:30 PM
Scientific advances in livestock cloning will allow farmers and ranchers to provide consumers with better, safer food. This panel will discuss the science underlying livestock cloning, the evidence of food safety and animal well-being, and how cloning could help reduce animal disease and the use of chemicals in livestock husbandry. The session will be chaired by Scott Davis, Ph.D., President, Exeter Life Sciences.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Public Research Sector Involvement in Biosafety Regulations – 9:30 - 10:45 AM
Implementation of the Cartagena Protocol will strongly influence the extent to which biotechnology will be able to offer solutions for sustainable production of food, feed and fiber, address water shortages, improve health care and boost environmental protection. The public research sector was not significantly represented during the negotiations. This session will give an update on an initiative to involve the public research sector in the next Meetings of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and related meetings. The session will be chaired by Willy de Greef, IBRS.
Environmental Impact of Livestock Production—Biotech Solutions – 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM
Large-scale livestock production poses potentially serious environmental issues. High levels of phosphorus found in livestock manure threaten surface and ground water and can block oxygen to fish and other aquatic life. Several biotech products and technologies offer promising methods to mitigate their environmental impact. This session will outline the challenge and unveil sensible biotech solutions. The session will be chaired by
Ronald Stotish, Ph.D., Executive Vice President, MetaMorphix, Inc.
Plant Genome Projects: What We’ve Learned and What the Implications Are – 2:15 - 3:45 PM
From establishing collaborative plant genome sequencing projects to applying the knowledge gained for commercial use, what are the public and private benefits of these enormous undertakings? What have we learned from the work to sequence maize, sorghum and wheat and the completed sequences of arabidopsis and rice genomes? The session will be chaired by Ganesh M. Kishore, Ph.D., Vice President & Chief Biotechnology Officer, DuPont Agriculture and Nutrition.
BIO represents more than 1,100 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and 31 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products.
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