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Symposium: A New Look at Transgenic Plants… Looking to 2040
This symposium on plant biotechnology reflects the beneficial theme of the George Bush Conference Building on 30 years of China-US Relations: Looking Ahead and will demonstrate the rapid progress made by China and the U.S. in addressing the urgent need for major enhancements in agricultural productivity.
8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Plant Science Building, Peking University Campus, Beijing, China
Organizers
Dr. Hongya Gu Peking University
Dr. Tim Hall Texas A&M University
Dr. John Yu USDA-ARS, Texas A&M University
Financial support from Monsanto, Peking University and the Office of the Vice President for Research, Texas A&M University, is gratefully acknowledged
The current world population of 5.77 billion is growing at 1.11% annually and is expected to reach 9 billion by year 2040 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population). To put this into perspective: this year’s increase (64 million) is equivalent to the addition of more than 6 cities the size of Los Angeles! All these new people need to eat and agricultural efficacy must grow at the same rate as the population if widespread famines are to be avoided. However, increased crop production requires the use of vast tracts of previously untilled land together with the provision of huge amounts of water and plant nutrients. This raises new difficulties as the world’s water supply is already limited and the addition of plant nutrients and pesticides damages soil structure and leads to eutrophication, ultimately reducing plant productivity. The escalation of energy requirements needed to support the predicted population growth is also daunting. In the years to come, China and the U.S. will play dominant roles in the world’s food, feed and fiber. As we enter the 30th year of China-U.S. relationships, what agricultural collaborations are needed for the next 30 years?
Deployment and expansion of transgenic crops has been at the forefront of modern agriculture. Transgenic plants can alleviate some of these impending disasters. Crop plants having improved resistance to diseases, herbicides, plants with higher salt and temperature tolerances already exist. Over 90% of world soybeans, 70% cotton and 60% corn are now transgenic with several agronomic traits, and with no evidence of harmful effects on users or consumers. Other crops, including rice and wheat, will surely join ranks. With the developmental pipeline taking a decade to release new varieties, how much can we expect to achieve by 2040?
This symposium will address the future of transgenic crop plants as we look towards the next 3 decades of food, feed, and fiber production in China, the U.S. and the world in general. With the advent of plant genomics and biotechnology, many important yield and quality genes are being identified in existing germplasm and they will be transferred into elite cultivars of crop plants.”
More than 20 distinguished scientists, representing academic, industrial and governmental interests, will address issues relating to the role of transgenic crops for food, feed and fiber production. Presentations will focus on the big picture, and the future potentials as well as limitations of the technology, and how it can be integrated into current agricultural practices for sustainable agricultural development.
A panel discussion will follow the formal presentations. One objective is to spawn new concepts for joint research between China and the U.S. Another is to derive a consensus statement of recommended actions acceptable to society that will overcome the present barriers to rapid and economically sound development and release of genetically modified plants. Thus, bold ideas are welcome.
