Cork, Ireland
August 25, 2008
Source:
Teagasc
A major international conference
on agricultural biotechnology attended by over 450 delegates
opens in University College Cork, today, Sunday, 24 August.
Billy Kelleher, TD, Minister of State at the Department of
Enterprise, Trade and Employment, performed the official opening
of ABIC 2008.
Having this conference in Ireland, hosted by primary sponsor
Teagasc, provides an
opportunity for Ireland’s best and brightest researchers,
academics, and industry personnel to deepen their understanding
of the most recent developments in the agri-biotechnology sector
from the global leaders in the field. With biotechnology already
integrated into all aspects of agriculture, food safety, dairy
science, marine, bioenergy, crop and animal science around the
world, developing the understanding and knowledge of Ireland’s
participants in the sector will better position Ireland to
assess and evaluate the positive contributions that
biotechnology can make.
Prof Jimmy Burke, from Teagasc, Chairman of the ABIC 08
conference told the opening session that “Biotechnology has
revolutionised 21st Century agriculture and food production
systems worldwide in a way not foreseen a mere 30 years ago.
Various national reports have rightly identified biotechnology
as one of the core technologies which Ireland and Irish industry
must now embrace.’’
“The science of biotechnology is good for society and the
agricultural industry and we should take confidence from the
fact that public health is protected by a very rigorous approval
system,” he said. “We now know from 30 years of international
research and development that modern plants and food produced
using biotechnology are safe,” he concluded.
Professor Patrick Fitzpatrick, Head of College of Science,
Engineering & Food Science in UCC said, “The conference is
timely bringing together a distinguished array of world leaders
from leading public and private sector institutions to discuss
agricultural biotechnology and its impacts on global food, feed,
fibre and fuel production. The theme of the conference,
”Agricultural Biotechnology for a Competitive and Sustainable
Future” will deal with a broad range of urgent research and
development priorities, from meeting the growing demand for food
and feed production, to the development of sustainable
biofuels.”
Dr Charles Spillane, ABIC 2008 Programme Committee Chair and
local UCC organiser stated that “Internationally , a
biotechnology revolution is currently sweeping through the
agri-food research sector, impacting on the food, feed, fuel,
fibre, animal, fish, nutrition and pharmaceutical sectors. A key
issue is that global food production needs to double by 2050. By
2020 we will need to produce 36% more food with less water, less
fertiliser, less chemicals, not much more land and more extreme
weather patterns, we are not on target, and will need to harness
every available technology, including GM and other
biotechnologies, if we are to even approach such food production
targets.“
Professor Burke furthermore said, “Foods containing genetically
modified ingredients are already on our supermarket shelves, and
livestock here are being fed genetically modified feeds. New
technology that imparts resistance to herbicides and insect
attack, are providing cost and yield improvement for farmers
around the world, and giving a competitive advantage to those
using this technology.’’
Prof Burke went on to say “Irish cereal farmers are the most
productive in the world, partly because they have access to
excellent varieties of wheat, produced by classical plant
breeders and if they are to hold on to this record farmers and
the industry generally must be able to use the most appropriate
and competitive technology in the future. In this regard new
biotechnological techniques such as marker assisted selection
are already making a difference.” |
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