Dear Forum Members,

The Summary Document is now available of the FAO e-mail conference on "GMOs in the pipeline: Looking to the next five years in the crop, forestry, livestock, aquaculture and agro-industry sectors in developing countries" that took place from 5 November to 2 December 2012. It was the 18th conference hosted by the FAO Biotechnology Forum since its launch in 2000 (http://www.fao.org/biotech/biotech-forum/).

The 11-page document is entitled "An FAO e-mail conference on GMOs in the pipeline in developing countries: The moderator's summary" and contains the following:

- Executive Summary
- Section 1, provides the background to the conference.
- Section 2, presents the moderator's summary of the main issues that were discussed during the conference.
- Section 3, gives a brief analysis of participation in the conference.
- Section 4, contains references, abbreviations and acknowledgements.

The Executive Summary is provided below. 

The full document is also available on the FAO website, at http://www.fao.org/docrep/017/ap998e/ap998e.pdf (90 KB). We encourage you to let others know about it.

We would like to give a very special thanks to all of the people who posted messages during the conference. All of their messages are available at http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/biotech/docs/conf18msgs.pdf (0.9 MB).

Any comments on the document are welcome.

With best regards

John

John Ruane, PhD
FAO Biotechnology Forum Administrator
E-mail address: [log in to unmask]
Forum website http://www.fao.org/biotech/biotech-forum/ 
FAO Biotechnology website http://www.fao.org/biotech/

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An FAO e-mail conference on GMOs in the pipeline in developing countries: The moderator's summary

John Ruane
Research and Extension Branch, 
UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 
00153 Rome, Italy 

Executive Summary

From 5 November to 2 December 2012, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) hosted a moderated e-mail conference on "GMOs in the pipeline: Looking to the next five years in the crop, forestry, livestock, aquaculture and agro-industry sectors in developing countries". 

A total of 770 people subscribed to the conference and, of these, 59 (i.e. 8%) submitted at least one message. Of the 109 messages that were posted, 36% came from people living in Asia; 26% from Europe; 24% from North America; 10% from Latin America and the Caribbean; and 5% from Africa. The messages came from people living in 24 different countries. The greatest number were from people living in India (31 messages), followed by the United States (25); United Kingdom (eight); Belgium, Brazil, the Netherlands, Peru, Spain and Switzerland (four messages each); and Iran and Nigeria (three messages each). A total of 55 messages (i.e. 50%) were posted by people living in developing countries. Regarding their workplace, 30% of messages came from people working in universities; 18% from participants in non-governmental organizations; 17% from people in research centres; 12% from people in the private sector; 11% from people working as independent consultants; and 8% and 2% from people in Governments and FAO respectively.

This document summarizes the main issues that were discussed by participants during the four weeks of the conference. It was the 18th e-mail conference hosted by the FAO Biotechnology Forum since its launch in the year 2000. FAO traditionally uses a broad definition of biotechnology, so that the term encompasses a large number of technologies that are used for different purposes in crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, and agro-industry. One of these biotechnologies is genetic modification and, unlike the other biotechnologies, there has been considerable controversy and debate about its current and potential benefits and implications.

Genetic modification is therefore much more in the public spotlight and demands far more attention from policy-makers than all the other biotechnologies. It is also an area of major research & development investment and it is predicted that the range of genetically modified traits and species that will be commercially available to farmers in developing countries in the future will be far wider than it is today. For these reasons, this e-mail conference was held to look into the near future in order to inform the debate about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the pipeline. Specifically people were asked to address two main topics in the conference. 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?

As described in the conference background document, the current situation regarding GMOs in food and agriculture is that large land areas are cultivated with GM crops in different countries worldwide; a small number of GM trees are grown in China; no GM livestock or fish have been released for food purposes; and GM micro-organisms are used in food processing, production of food ingredients, animal nutrition and development of vaccines to manage livestock and fish diseases. 

During the conference, most of the messages focused on the crop sector, where participants shared extensive amounts of information regarding GM crops in the pipeline. Whereas almost all of the global GM crop area, both currently and in past years, has involved four crops (soybean, maize, cotton and canola) and two traits (herbicide tolerance and insect resistance), participants thought that the new GMOs likely to be released within the next five years in specific developing countries would involve the same crop species and agronomic traits but also a broad range of additional species by trait combinations. Specific details were provided on the GM crop pipeline in individual countries, including Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Burkina Faso, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa and Uganda. There was also considerable debate about Bt brinjal (eggplant) in India, where a moratorium was placed on its commercial release in 2010.

There was minor discussion about GM trees. Work on high yielding eucalyptus is progressing in Brazil and the goal is to submit a dossier for approval within the next five years. Discussion about GM livestock in the pipeline was also very limited, indicating that there is little likelihood of their commercial release in developing countries for food purposes in the near future. Release of GM livestock for production of human pharmaceuticals was considered likely in at least one country, Iran. Regarding fish, discussions suggested that two kinds of GM fish, both with a growth hormone gene, were candidates for potential commercial release for human consumption within the next five years i.e. a carp in China and an Atlantic salmon whose embryos would be produced in Canada and grown out in central America. New GM fluorescent aquarium fish are expected to be released. Progress in developing GM insects for pest control was described by a participant who predicted they would be available for the control of insect pests in agriculture and human health within the next five years. There were no messages about GM micro-organisms during the conference.

Messages from participants indicated that the public sector, the private sector as well as public-private partnerships will all contribute to development of the new GMOs, albeit to different degrees in different countries. In some developing countries with strong GMO programmes, such as Brazil, China, India and Iran, the public sector is playing a key role.

As mentioned in the conference background document, the topic of GMOs is controversial and has been at the centre of a highly-polarized debate since the 1990s. Many messages in the conference were dedicated to the implications of releasing Bt brinjal in India and the fast-growing Atlantic salmon, two specific GMOs that have been in the pipeline for several years now and which may be commercialized within the next five years. Particularly for Bt brinjal, discussion was intense and detailed regarding the different potential hazards and benefits and participants reached no consensus on any major point. The conference provided no evidence of a reduction in the intensity and polarization of the GMO debate. Apart from these two GMOs, there was little discussion about the likely implications of specific pipeline GMOs for developing countries. At the generic level, it was argued that new GM crops addressing developing country needs and conditions should bring positive impacts to developing countries.

A couple of issues which received minor attention during the conference were how to define a 'GMO' in the pipeline (as distinctions between a GMO and non-GMO can be blurred when new products are developed using non-GM techniques and subsequently crossed with older GM varieties or using new techniques such as cisgenesis) and whether GMOs in the pipeline contain antibiotic resistant marker genes.

From the e-mail conference, a picture emerged of a GMO pipeline that contains a considerable quantity and variety of products that may be commercialized in developing countries within the next five years. As noted in the conference, whether or when they actually will be commercialized depends to a large extent on the GMO regulatory framework in the country. 

In conclusion, the conference indicated that the new GMOs likely to be released in developing countries within the next five years will continue to be dominated by the crop sector, where a broad range of new crop by trait combinations are in the pipeline, but may also see increased focus on new areas such as GM fish, insects and trees. The long-running polarized debate about GM crops is expected to continue and to expand into these areas, further engaging policy makers in developing countries in this high profile subject in the near future.

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