Climate-proof food systems: the role played by new breeding techniques – globally and in Europe

Grain Club/Verbände der Agrar- und Ernährungswirtschaft

Time: Friday, 22. January 2021, 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. (CET), subsequent deep dive 9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.

Languages: German, English

Summary:
The expert panel discussion No 16 of the GFFA 2021 was focused on the role of new plant breeding techniques in adapting food systems to climate change. The discussion showed that new methods are indispensable when securing the global food supply and creating a more sustainable agriculture.

Climate change was named as one of the central challenges facing agriculture, however, new plant breeding techniques can speed up the adaptation of agriculture to changed climatic conditions and the development of more resistant plant varieties. Further, it was highlighted that the consequences of climate change are hitting the countries of the Global South particularly hard, resulting in a special responsibility of favourable regions towards the rest of the world.

The experts also referred to the relevance of international agricultural trade for the security of supply and the balancing of regional bottlenecks. Here, the ECJ ruling of July 2018 was critically questioned: There is no legally reliable detection method for products obtained from genome editing. Continuing the current regulation might lead to the isolation of Europe from international markets.

Conclusion of the expert discussion: The societal debate on genome editing must be open, fact-based and involve most recent scientific findings.