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1st
EMBL/EMBO Joint Conference 2000 |
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Session
IV |
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Biotechnology at the beginning of the third millennium Facts and global trends |
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Manfred Kern, Professor, Science and Public Policy, Belfer Centre for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University, USA
Sustainable agriculture and sustainable intensification of agricultural
systems are the challenges of the future. Sustainable agriculture
is defined as the production of food to meet the needs of today
without hindering the ability of future generations to meet their
needs while maintaining a sustainable healthy environment.
World food supplies will have to more than double by 2025 to ensure
sufficient quantity and quality, not only to meet increases in population,
but also as a result of greater urbanization and spending power.
In the past, world agriculture was in a position to produce enough
healthy food for the growing population by gradually introducing
yield-increasing technologies such as high-yield seeds, crop protection
products, fertilizers, and improved irrigation systems and introducing
more land to agriculture. Despite this, about 800 million people
throughout the world are still undernourished. Full utilization
of all technologies in crop production, including modern biotechnology,
will play a decisive role in increasing yield to maintain sustainable
global self-sufficiency in food.
In 1999 over 70 genetically modified [transgenic] varieties of
crops were registered for commercial cultivation worldwide. These
include varieties of cotton, chicory, potato, pumpkin, corn, soybean,
rape, papaya, tobacco, tomato and clove. More than 15,000 field
trials have been undertaken globally. New genetic modifications
of more than 100 plant species are growing in laboratories, greenhouses,
or in the field of experimental purposes.
The first wave of biotechnology crops is being grown commercially
in the field, providing farmers with new agronomic traits, particularly
herbicide tolerance and pest resistance that enable them to grow
these crops more easily and more profitable. In 1999 the global
area under genetically improved crops was a 40 million hectares,
mainly of corn [maize], soybean, cotton, canola [rape-seed] and
potatoes. Eighty five per cent was grown in the USA, Canada, Australia,
France and Spain and approximately 15 percent of the area was in
developing countries, notably Argentina, China, Mexico and South
Africa. The private sector accounts for more than 80 percent of
international biotechnology research. During 1997-99 transactions
by the biosciences companies in the seeds industry have reached
about US$ 18 billion. These investments were made to have access
to the different crops and markets.
The second generation of genetically improved crops coming to
commercialization over the next five years will include both other
commodity and specialty crops, and also the introduction of new
traits to improve the quality and nutritional value of the crops.
There is also increasing interest in using crops to produce medically
and/or industrially important compounds, such as vaccines in potatoes
and biodegradable plastics in corn.
Biography
Manfred Kern studied zoology, physiology, biochemistry, microbiology
and genetics at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz. He graduated
on the subject "Brain aging in insects" in Mainz. After a follow-up
at the Southern Methodist University Dallas/Texas, USA in 1982 he
joined the biological research center of the Hoechst AG/Frankfurt
in 1984 where he was responsible for insect resistance management,
selectivity, and integrated crop management. When AgrEvo GmbH was
formed, he changed to the biological research department to focus
on applied insect physiology/pharmacology, product support, integrated
crop production and genetically modified plants. He assumed the
leadership of the project in 1995 for a comprehensive study; Safeguarding
of world food supply "Vision 2025/2050".
From 1998 to 1999 he was in charge of the group Scientific Communication
and Integrated Crop Management with AgrEvo. Since the beginning
of 2000 Dr. Kern has headed Global Technology Communication within
the unit of Technology Strategy & Resources of Aventis CropScience
in Frankfurt. Research trips have led him to Brazil, Thailand, China,
Ukraine, Israel, Hong Kong, Chile, Argentina, Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan,
USA, Turkey, Dominican Republic, India, Russia, Australia, and other
EC-countries. He has produced more than ninety publications. |
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