Meeting Report of the National Symposium on “Advances in Transgenic Technology and Its Impact on the National Economy” held 23rd April 2010 at Allahabad, UP, India

Abstract

The National Symposium on ‘‘Advances in Transgenic Technology and its Impact on National Economy’’, stressed the importance of transgenic technology for overcoming the growing problem of food scarcity. The intention was for participants to consider the application of transgenic technology outside their own specific field of research, and examine the different attitudes, demands, questions and challenges of transgenic development in India. Besides highlighting the newest scientific developments the presentations focused on commercial and legal aspects of transgenic technology. The controversy attached to genetically engineered food and cloned organisms has led to much discussion within the scientific community and the public on how these advances impact the food supply, Medicare, legal system, our economy—our daily lives. Although transgenic research will have a bearing on many disciplines, forums where a diverse range of experts from the various stakeholder communities are rare and across these disciples there is limited exchange of their research results, ideas or questions. The brain storming symposium was opened by the Honourable Vice Chancellor (RBL co-author) of the host venue SHIATS and set the stage by describing animal biotechnology as an ancient human activity. The first session started with a talk by Ashok Pandey (National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, CSIR) on the topic ‘‘GE crops: Status and Perspectives—What is good for India’’. He highlighted the relevance of biotechnological tools to meet the demands of the escalating world population. Based on the statistics of the WHO, by the year 2050 there should be a three times increase in food productivity to feed the growing population. The global agricultural growth had decreased from 3% in 1960 to 2% in 2003. Even though conventional breeding and good farm practices have been employed for increasing crop productivity it is still unable to meet the current food demand. The increasing population of the country has to rely on a small percentage of farmland for its food supply, a major problem that will increase in the future. Pandey deliberated on a range of significant issues such as, How to produce and store the quantity of food the world requires today and would require in near future?; the potential benefits of genetically engineered (GE) crops; Social and environmental issues related with GE crops and; the status of GE crop grown in India. Emphasized that even with good M. Devasahayam E. P. Koshy V. K. Morya Jacob School of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, SHIATS, Allahabad, UP 211007, India