BIOTECH-ROOM2-L Archives

Moderated conference on GMOs in the pipeline, hosted by the FAO Biotechnology Forum in 2012

Biotech-Room2-L@LISTSERV.FAO.ORG

Options: Use Classic View

Use Monospaced Font
Show Text Part by Default
Condense Mail Headers

Topic: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]

Print Reply
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Date: Thu, 8 Nov 2012 14:51:14 +0100
Reply-To: Biotech-Mod2 <[log in to unmask]>
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Message-ID: <[log in to unmask]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Sender: "Moderated conference on GMOs in the pipeline, hosted by the FAO Biotechnology Forum" <[log in to unmask]>
From: Biotech-Mod2 <[log in to unmask]>
Parts/Attachments: text/plain (75 lines)
Dear Participants,

This is the 18th e-mail conference hosted by the FAO Biotechnology Forum since it was launched in 2000. Each of these conferences takes a specific subject related to agricultural biotechnologies in developing countries and opens it for discussion for a limited time period (usually 4-5 weeks). 

These topics have included biotechnologies in the crop sector (conference 1), in forestry (conference 2), livestock (conference 3) and the fishery sector (conference 4); their implications for hunger and food security (conference 5); the impact of intellectual property rights (conference 6); gene flow from genetically modified (GM) to non-GM populations (conference 7); the role of biotechnologies in the agricultural research agenda (conference 8); regulation of GMOs (conference 9); and the use of molecular markers for genetic improvement in developing countries (conference 10). More recent conferences have dealt with public participation in decision-making about GMOs (conference 12) and the role of biotechnologies in food processing (conference 11); for characterization and conservation of genetic resources for food and agriculture (conference 13); in coping with water scarcity (conference 14); and for production of bioenergy (conference 15). The last two conferences have dealt with successes and failures with agricultural biotechnologies in developing countries (conference 16) and, finally, strengthening partnerships in agricultural biotechnologies for the benefit of smallholders in developing countries (conference 17). The background and summery documents for these conferences as well as the e-mail messages that were posted are all available at http://www.fao.org/biotech/biotech-forum/. 

This current conference focuses on 'GMOs in the pipeline'. Like the other conferences, it does not cover the whole GMO debate. Instead it addresses two main topics. First, what new GMOs are likely to be commercialized in developing countries within the next five years (i.e. before the end of 2017) in the crop, forestry, livestock, aquaculture and agro-industry sectors? Second, what are the likely implications of these new GMOs for developing countries? 

It does not focus on whether GMOs should or should not be used per se or the general attributes, positive or negative, of GMOs per se. Also, it is not about GMOs which are already commercially available in developing countries (instead, the focus is on GMOs in the pipeline). 

Since the conference began on Monday, I have received messages focusing on issues such as the promise of GMOs and whether they can help to feed the developing world; whether they are safe or not and their impact on the environment; and the consumers right to choose regarding GMOs. All of these kinds of topics are important. However, they are not the focus of this particular e-mail conference to which you subscribed. 

Before preparing future messages for the conference, we therefore kindly ask you to carefully read the Background Document which was sent to you on 30 October, in particular Section 4 which provides specific guidance about the topics that are to be discussed in the conference (reproduced below). People sending messages should also follow the 'Guidelines for Sending Messages' contained at the end of the Welcome Text that you received when you subscribed to the conference. Among other things, the Guidelines note that participants should not simply re-post material that they or someone else has already published elsewhere (such as press releases). 

Finally, for those who have not already done it, we encourage you to subscribe to the FAO Biotechnology Forum. On doing so, you will receive a Welcome Text that provides more information about the Forum and, in the future, you will receive information about other e-mail conferences. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to [log in to unmask] with only the following one line in the body of the message (i.e. leave the subject line blank and have no other text, such as an e-mail signature, in the message):
subscribe Biotech-L firstname lastname

Firstname and lastname refer to the person's first and last name. For example, if the subscriber's name is John Smith, then the line should be:
subscribe Biotech-L John Smith

********************
[FROM THE BACKGROUND DOCUMENT - http://www.fao.org/docrep/016/ap109e/ap109e00.pdf ]

4. Specific points about this e-mail conference

This is the 18th e-mail conference to be hosted by the FAO Biotechnology Forum (http://www.fao.org/biotech/biotech-forum/en/) since it was launched in the year 2000. As with each conference hosted by the Forum, the focus is on applications in developing countries. 

There are two main topics that people are asked to address in the conference:

4.1 What new GMOs are likely to be commercialized in developing countries within the next five years (i.e. before the end of 2017) in the crop, forestry, livestock, aquaculture and agro-industry sectors?

Specific questions that can be addressed regarding these new GMOs include: 

4.1.1 Which species will they be?
4.1.2 Which traits will they have?
4.1.3 Will they be developed by the public sector, the private sector or through public-private partnerships?
4.1.4 Will they be produced in the developing countries themselves or, alternatively, will they be developed elsewhere (and then imported by developing countries for commercialization purposes)? 
4.1.5 What kind of intellectual property management options will be exercised by the bodies commercializing these new GMOs?

4.2 What are the likely implications of these new GMOs for developing countries?

Specific questions that can be addressed regarding this topic include: 

4.2.1 What are the likely implications of these new GMOs on food security and nutrition in developing countries? 
4.2.2 What are the likely implications of these new GMOs on socio-economic conditions in developing countries?
4.2.3 What are the likely implications of these new GMOs on sustainable management of natural resources in developing countries?
4.2.4 What are the likely implications of these new GMOs on adaptation to climate change in developing countries?

4.3 Topics not covered by the conference

Each conference of the FAO Biotechnology Forum takes one particular theme that is relevant to agricultural biotechnologies in developing countries and opens it up for debate for a limited amount of time. This conference focuses on GMOs in the pipeline - those that are not yet released but which may be commercially available in developing countries within the next 5 years.

This conference does not include discussions on:

i) whether GMOs should or should not be used per se or the general attributes, positive or negative, of GMOs per se. 

(Instead, the goal is to discuss the specific kinds of GMOs that are in the near pipeline - which ones are likely to be commercialized in developing countries within the next 5 years and what their implications may be for developing countries).

ii) GMOs which are already commercially available in developing countries 

(If they are already commercially available, they are not in the pipeline).

iii) GMOs that are imported to developing countries just for consumption, i.e. for food, feed and processing. 

(Instead, the conference focuses on the commercial release of the GMOs for use (cultivation/production) in the crop, forestry, livestock, aquaculture and agro-industry sectors in developing countries).

iv) The kinds of GMOs that are likely to be commercialized in developed countries within the next 5 years and what their implications may be for developed countries. 

(The focus of the FAO Biotechnology Forum, and each of its conferences, is on applications in developing countries).

########################################################################

To unsubscribe from the Biotech-Room2-L list, click the following link:
https://listserv.fao.org/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=Biotech-Room2-L&A=1

ATOM RSS1 RSS2