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NCGA
Talks Biotech, Bushels and Benefits at BIO 2001 (6-28-01)
The Biotechnology
Industry Organization's (BIO) 2001 conference in San Diego came off
without a hitch, attracting more than 15,000 participants ranging from
producers to scientists to consumer groups.
The National Corn
Growers Association (NCGA) was invited to the international conference
to discuss all aspects of biotech with regulatory and consumer groups.
NCGA Corn Board Chairman Lynn Jensen, a farmer from Lake Preston, S.D.,
represented the interests and viewpoints of the nation's mainstream
corn growers on various panels.
NCGA Director of
Industry Relations Tom Slenucka, who also attended the event, said while
agriculture is an important part of biotech, "it was eye-opening
to find of all the companies represented at the conference, ag was only
a small part the spectrum."
Finding common ground
with the non-agricultural groups represented at the meeting is important
to biotech's future said Jensen. "We wanted to open discussion
with some of the regulatory and consumer groups to find out what our
differences are and what we have in common," said Jensen. "I
discovered there was quite a bit of commonality between our goals and
theirs."
Jensen carried a
message that biotech could open the doors to addressing the problem
of global poverty. "Critics of biotech contend there is plenty
of food in the world," he said, "and while that may be true
right now, the population is growing at a staggering rate and traditional
methods won't sustain that kind of growth."We have to look at alternative
and, in some cases, better methods of food production," continued
Jensen.
He further noted
that biotech advantages for producers include new uses for corn, especially
in the area of pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and industrial applications.
"There are many opportunities available with biotech being used
for non-food products," said Jensen. "These possibilities
will require huge amounts of corn usage as well a large amount of acreage,
and will open up a lot of new markets for growers."
Last
reviewed June 27, 2001
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