MODERN BIOTECHNOLOGIES IN AGRICULTURE · ⇢ Janusz Bujnicki, Professor of Biology ... Property Law...

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Health and Food Safety MODERN BIOTECHNOLOGIES IN AGRICULTURE PAVING THE WAY FOR RESPONSIBLE INNOVATION 28 SEPTEMBER 2017 09.30-18.00 BRUSSELS, BELGIUM #BIOTECHEU

Transcript of MODERN BIOTECHNOLOGIES IN AGRICULTURE · ⇢ Janusz Bujnicki, Professor of Biology ... Property Law...

Health and Food Safety

MODERN BIOTECHNOLOGIES

IN AGRICULTURE PAVING THE WAY FOR

RESPONSIBLE INNOVATION

28 SEPTEMBER 2017 ⇢ 09.30-18.00 BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

#BIOTECHEU

FOREWORD by Commissioner Andriukaitis

Dear Participant,

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the high level confe-rence on “Modern Biotechnologies in Agriculture - Paving the way for responsible innovation”.

I organised this conference to stimulate an open and informed debate with all stakeholders on how the EU can benefit from innovative human intervention in the food and agriculture sectors.

Continuous developments and innovation in these areas offer promising opportunities to address a number of social challenges. We need to strengthen European Union leadership in research and deve-lopment of animal and plant breeding techniques and translate it into social and economic gains. Our innovation strategies must be in line with public needs and values, while at the same time addressing ethi-cal, environmental, health and safety concerns.

The key questions we will examine at this conference are how to promote innovative interventions in the EU and how to ensure their safe use to benefit the society at large in the near future. We, as policy ma-kers, industry stakeholders, representatives of civil society, scientists, and government experts can play an essential role in building this pro-ject.

The European Commission White Paper on the future of Europe opened a debate on how the EU should evolve in the years to come, recognizing that every voice should be heard. I look forward to hearing your voice today, as we discuss the future of innovative human inter-vention in agriculture in the European Union.

Vytenis AndriukaitisEuropean Commissioner for Health and Food Safety

08.30 Registration and welcome coffee

09.30 Opening remarks ⇢ Vytenis Andriukaitis, EU Commissioner for Health

and Food Safety

Message from the Presidency ⇢ Tarmo Tamm, Minister of Rural Affairs of Estonia

Presentation on the SAM explanatory note on “New techniques in agricultural biotechnology” ⇢ Janusz Bujnicki, Professor of Biology at the International

Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology

10.20 Coffee Break

10.45 Introductory remarks by Director John BellPanel 1: Fostering Responsible Research and Innovation in Modern Biotechnologies – How to reap the benefits in the EU.Moderated by Quentin Cooper ⇢ Martin Häusling, Member of the European Parliament⇢ John Bell, Director, European Commission⇢ Janusz Bujnicki, Professor of Biology⇢ Julian Kinderlerer, Emeritus Professor of Intellectual

Property Law⇢ Roald van Noort, Chairman of CRV Holding B.V. ⇢ Ricarda Steinbrecher, Board Member of ENSSER⇢ Arjen van Tunen, CEO of KeygeneFollowed by Q&A

12.30 Walking Buffet Lunch

PROGRAMME

14.00 Introductory remarks by Commissioner Phil HoganPanel 2: Modern Biotechnologies in Agriculture and Societal Challenges – Realising opportunities and addressing concerns.Moderated by Quentin Cooper ⇢ Phil Hogan, EU Commissioner for Agriculture & Rural

Development⇢ Paolo De Castro, Member of the European Parliament⇢ Angélique Delahaye, Member of the European Parliament⇢ Iris Bouwers, Vice President of the European Council of

Young Farmers⇢ Guy Kastler, European Coordination Via Campesina⇢ Nigel Moore, President of European Seed Association⇢ Jan Plagge, Vice President IFOAM EU⇢ Camilla Udsen, Senior Food Policy Adviser at Danish

Consumer CouncilFollowed by Q&A

15.45 Coffee Break

16.00 Introductory video message by Commissioner Karmenu VellaPanel 3: Finding a Common Way Forward – How to promote innovation and ensure safe use of modern biotechnologies in the EU.Moderated by Ladislav Miko⇢ Vytenis Andriukaitis, EU Commissioner for Health & Food Safety ⇢ Jytte Guteland, Member of the European Parliament⇢ Jan Huitema, Member of the European Parliament⇢ Teresa Babuscio, Secretary General of COCERAL⇢ Humbert Delgado Rosa, Director, European Commission⇢ Christine Noiville, President of the French High Council

for Biotechnology⇢ Jorgo Riss, Director of Greenpeace European UnitFollowed by Q&A

Closing remarks⇢ Dagmar Roth-Behrendt, Special Adviser to Commissioner

Vytenis Andriukaitis

18.00 Networking Cocktail

OBJECTIVES OF THE PANELS

Panel 1: Fostering Responsible Research and Innovation in Modern Agricultural Biotechnologies – How to reap the benefits in the EU.

The Panel should explore how responsible research and innovation in the field of agricultural biotechnologies could be further strengthened in Europe. It should also discuss the role of scientists and regulators (on national and EU level) in ensuring responsible research including ethical issues.

Panel 2: Modern Biotechnologies in Sustainable Agriculture and Societal Challenges – Realising opportunities and addressing concerns.

The Panel should discuss opportunities and limitations of the use of mo-dern biotechnologies in agriculture in the context of current and future demands for farming. These should be explored and illustrated by concrete examples of innovations and their implications along the whole chain from the seed markets, farming systems and food chain through to consumption. Moreover the Panel should discuss how safety and environmental concerns can be addressed.

Panel 3: Finding a Common Way Forward – How to promote innovation and ensure safe use of modern biotechnologies in the EU.

The Panel should explore the way forward on how to ensure safe inno-vation in the field of agriculture in the light of rapid scientific and technological advances. It should debate the role and responsibility of all stakeholders to enable the safe use of modern biotechnologies in the EU while taking into ac-count current societal and ethical concerns. It should also discuss the societal acceptance of these technologies in the agri-food sector.

MODERATORS

⇢ SCIENCE JOURNALIST

Quentin Cooper is a science journalist with extensive experience in moderating high-level conferences in the EU and beyond. He works regularly for the BBC and hosted Britain’s most listened to science show, the live weekly ‘Material World’ on BBC Radio 4. He has worked for organisations such as the Nobel Foundation, the Karolinska Institute and the European Space Agency and has recently been working as Creative Director of Science Oxford. He holds honorary doctorates from two universities in recognition of his contribution to public understanding of science and engineering.

⇢ DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL FOR FOOD SAFETY IN DG HEALTH & FOOD SAFETY, EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Ladislav Miko has been Deputy Director-General for Food Safety since January 2011. His portfolio covers issues of food safety throughout the whole food chain, including plant and animal health, pesticides, biotechnology, food hygiene, nutrition, and food sustainability.

During the Czech EU Presidency in 2009 he was appointed as Minister of Environment of the Czech interim government. He holds a doctorate in zoology and ecology and he is Associate Professor of Prague University of Life Sciences and Guest Professor at the University of Antwerp.

LADISLAV MIKO

QUENTIN COOPER

SPEAKERS & PANELLISTS

⇢ EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER FOR HEALTH AND FOOD SAFETY

Commissioner Andriukaitis was born in 1951 in Siberia, where his family was deported from Lithuania. He practiced as cardiac surgeon for 20 years and was a Member and Deputy Speaker of the Lithuanian Parliament for six terms. He is the co-author of the Independence Act of Lithuania and of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, and one of the founders of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party. He was Minister for Health for two years and then became Commissioner in 2014.

⇢ SECRETARY GENERAL OF COCERAL, THE EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION REPRESENTING THE TRADE IN GRAINS AND PRODUCTS THEREOF

Teresa Babuscio has been the Secretary General of COCERAL since 2010 and Vice President of the International Grain Trade Coalition. She holds a PhD in Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Law with a focus on Food Safety. She has been a researcher and University lecturer in Italy and the US.

As Secretary General, she is in charge of Adventitious Presence of GMOs, the general management and coordination, internal affairs, the budget and relations with Members.

TERESA BABUSCIO

VYTENIS ANDRIUKAITIS

SPEAKERS & PANELLISTS

⇢ DIRECTOR FOR THE BIOECONOMY IN DG RESEARCH & INNOVATION, EUROPEAN COMMISSION

John Bell is Director for the Bioeconomy in DG Research & Innovation. He is responsible for leading the definition, implementation and investment of EU Research & Innovation policy and programming across the Bioeconomy; from agriculture and food systems, oceans, marine and maritime issues to investment in new sustainable bio-based industries.

A native of Dublin, Ireland, he was educated at University College Dublin and completed his Doctorate in Cultural Nationalism in Northern Ireland at St John’s College, Oxford University.

⇢ YOUNG FARMER AND VICE PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL OF YOUNG FARMERS (CEJA)

Born in 1993, Iris Bouwers is Vice President of CEJA and a young farmer. Together in a partnership with her parents she is growing starch potatoes, sugar beets, onions, malting barley, oats and valerian on a farm in the Netherlands. They also have 1250 fattening pigs. She has been actively involved in national and EU agricultural policy, being the international representative of the Dutch young farmers association. Moreover, she is involved in local politics as an elected councillor.

IRIS BOUWERS

JOHN BELL

SPEAKERS & PANELLISTS

⇢ PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY AT THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MOLECULAR AND CELL BIOLOGY

Janusz Marek Bujnicki is Professor of Biology, and head of a research group at the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw and at Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań. His research combines bioinformatics and experimental molecular biology. His scientific achievements include the development and application of methods for computational modeling of protein and RNA structures. He is a member of the High Level Group within the Scientific Advice Mechanism for the European Commission.

⇢ MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Paolo De Castro has an agriculture degree from the University of Bologna and was professor at Washington State University, University of Sassari, and University of Bologna. Besides his academic career, he has been engaged in agricultural policy making, including as Minister of Agriculture of Italy (1998-2000 and 2006-2008). Since 2009 he has been a Member of the European Parliament representing the S&D Group. He was Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and is currently its First Vice-Chairman.

JANUSZ BUJNICKI

PAOLO DE CASTRO

SPEAKERS & PANELLISTS

⇢ MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Angélique Delahaye was elected to the European Parliament in 2014 (EPP group) and is a member of the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI).

She is a vegetable farmer and was president of the French Federation for Vegetable Producers (FNLP) between 2001 and 2012. She also served on the regional Council of Centre-Val de Loire and as mayor of Saint-Martin-le-Beau.

⇢ DIRECTOR FOR NATURAL CAPITAL IN DG ENVIRONMENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Humberto Delgado Rosa is director for Natural Capital in DG Environment. He has relevant experience in European and international environmental policy. He served as Secretary of State for the Environment of Portugal from March 2005 to June 2011. In 2007 he was EU lead negotiator for the UN Climate Change Conference. Between 1995 and 2002 he was advisor for environmental matters to the Prime Minister of Portugal. He holds a PhD in Evolutionary Biology, and was a professor and researcher at the University of Lisbon, with experience in animal biology, biodiversity and life science ethics.

ANGÉLIQUE DELAHAYE

HUMBERTO DELGADO ROSA

SPEAKERS & PANELLISTS

⇢ MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Martin Häusling is a German Member of the European Parliament for the Greens/EFA group and their spokesperson on the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and a substitute member of the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety. He is working on biotechnology politics as well as on patents on conventional breeding of plants and animals and the consequences on the agricultural sector and the food production. Besides this, he runs an organic farm in Hesse.

⇢ MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Jytte Guteland has been a Member of the European Parliament (S&D) since 2014. She is a member of the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety.

She is the S&D negotiator on the ongoing reform of the EU Emissions Trading System and Rapporteur for the reform of the Energy Efficiency Directive.

Previously, she has served as chairwoman of the youth league of the Swedish Social Democrats and has worked for the Swedish Ministry of Finance and the independent think tank Global Challenge.

JYTTE GUTELAND

MARTIN HÄUSLING

SPEAKERS & PANELLISTS

⇢ COMMISSIONER FOR AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Commissioner Hogan grew up on and helped manage a farm in rural Kilkenny, Ireland. From 1989 until he became Commissioner in 2014, he represented the Carlow/Kilkenny constituency in the Irish Parliament. Between 2011 and 2014, he served as Minister for the Environment and Local Government and successfully implemented a broad-ranging agenda, including a big reform of local government. He has also occupied various senior posts at local, national and European level and holds a BA in Economics and Geography from University College Cork.

PHIL HOGAN

⇢ MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Jan Huitema (1984) is a member of the European Parliament (VVD/ALDE) and a dairy farmer in the Netherlands. After completing his study at Wageningen University he worked as an advisor in the European Parliament. In May 2014 he was elected to the European Parliament on preferential votes. He is a full member of the Agriculture Committee and a substitute member of the Environment Committee. He focusses his work on innovative agriculture and entrepreneurship.

JAN HUITEMA

SPEAKERS & PANELLISTS

⇢ FARMER AND REPRESENTATIVE OF EUROPEAN COORDINATION VIA CAMPESINA

Guy Kastler represents the European Coordination Via Campesina. He is a farmer in the south of France, member of “La Confédération Paysanne” in France, and represents La Via Campesina in different international bodies and meetings related to seeds and biotechnologies under the umbrella of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV).

⇢ EMERITUS PROFESSOR OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW

Julian Kinderlerer is a member and former president of the European Group of Ethics in Science and New Technologies. He is emeritus professor of Intellectual Property Law at the University of Cape Town and was Director of the Sheffield Institute of Biotechnological Law and Ethics. In 2000 he was seconded to the United Nations Environment Programme as Director for Biosafety. He was involved in the negotiation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, and assisted over 100 countries to develop policy for the use of modern biotechnology.

JULIAN KINDERLERER

GUY KASTLER

SPEAKERS & PANELLISTS

⇢ PRESIDENT OF EUROPEAN SEED ASSOCIATION (ESA) AND HEAD OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION KWS SAAT SE CEREALS

Nigel Moore is the Head of Business Administration with KWS SAAT SE Cereals business unit and is also the current president of the European Seed Association. Following his university education in plant breeding, genetics, physiology and agronomy, he has been a ‘seedsman’ for his entire career, working in private sector plant breeding companies throughout North West Europe engaged in breeding, registration and marketing of all major agricultural crops.

NIGEL MOORE

⇢ PRESIDENT OF THE FRENCH HIGH COUNCIL FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY (HCB)

Christine Noiville has a PhD in law and is director of research at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). She specialises in the interplay of law and science. She is president of the High Council for Biotechnology (HCB), an independent body with the mission to inform and advise the French government on biotechnology issues.

CHRISTINE NOIVILLE

SPEAKERS & PANELLISTS

⇢ VICE PRESIDENT INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE MOVEMENTS EU (IFOAM EU)

Jan Plagge has been vice president of IFOAM EU Group since 2016. Before that, he co-founded the IFOAM EU Farmers Group and was its Chairman. Since 2011, he has been president of Bioland, the leading association for organic farming in Germany and South Tyrol. He converted his own horticultural farm to organic in 1992. Having been a consultant for organic agriculture and horticulture for 15 years and head of the nationwide network Bioland, he has a long experience with the practice of organic farming.

⇢ DIRECTOR OF GREENPEACE EUROPEAN UNIT

Jorgo Riss is a political scientist and environmentalist who worked as a journalist and academic before joining Greenpeace where he has directed the organization’s European Unit since 2003. Greenpeace is present in 55 countries worldwide and funded by 2.8 million individual supporters. He and his team analyze the work of the EU institutions, expose deficient policies and laws, and challenge decision-makers to implement progressive solutions in such areas as climate change, energy, forests, oceans, chemicals and sustainable agriculture.

JORGO RISS

JAN PLAGGE

SPEAKERS & PANELLISTS

⇢ SPECIAL ADVISER TO COMMISSIONER ANDRIUKAITIS

Dagmar Roth-Behrendt is Special Adviser to Commissioner Andriukaitis with a focus on the executive agencies of DG Health & Food Safety. She served five terms in the European Parliament, between 1989 and 2014, including as Vice President with particular responsibility for personnel matters.

She played a key role in the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) and was involved in setting up the European Food Safety Authority and the European Medicines Agency.

DAGMAR ROTH-BEHRENDT

⇢ BOARD MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN NETWORK OF SCIENTISTS FOR SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY (ENSSER)

Ricarda Steinbrecher is a doctor of biology and molecular genetics, working on GMOs, their risks and impacts on agriculture, environment, and health since 1995. She is now working on synthetic biology and the new genome editing techniques. She is involved in UN-led processes, especially the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and international expert groups on the risk assessment of GMOs and synthetic biology. She is based in Oxford, UK, and works closely with civil society and small-scale farmers’ groups worldwide.

RICARDA STEINBRECHER

SPEAKERS & PANELLISTS

⇢ MINISTER OF RURAL AFFAIRS OF ESTONIA

Tarmo Tamm started his career as workshop manager of Põlva Agro. From 1993-1999, he served as the Mayor of Põlva Municipality, and from 1999 until 2011, he served as the Mayor of Põlva. Between 2014 and 2016, he was a member of the Parliament of Estonia, serving as Vice Chair of the Constitutional Committee and the Finance Committee.

He is a member of the Estonian Centre Party and since 2016 has been the Minister of Rural Affairs. He is an agrarian economist with a degree from the Estonian University of Life Sciences.

⇢ SENIOR FOOD POLICY ADVISER AT DANISH CONSUMER COUNCIL

Camilla Udsen has been a Senior Food Adviser in the Danish Consumer Council since 2001. She has an MSc in food technology and nutrition and a PhD in molecular microbiology. Her areas of expertise are: consumer-related EU food policy, food labelling, nutrition, and biotechnology. She represents consumers in several Danish food-related committees. She is a member of the food expert team and the food reference person groups of the European Consumers’ Organisation (BEUC) and Interim EU Co-Chair of the Food Policy Committee of the Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD).

TARMO TAMM

CAMILLA UDSEN

SPEAKERS & PANELLISTS

⇢ CHAIRMAN OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OF CRV HOLDING B.V.

Roald van Noort graduated from Wageningen University after studying tropical animal husbandry, animal nutrition and economics for developing countries, after which he joined BP Nutrition, currently known as Nutreco.

He held various management positions within Nutreco and became CEO of Nutreco’s Animal Breeding Division “Euribrid” in 2001.

Since September 2007 he has been Chairman of the Executive Board of CRV Holding B.V.

ROALD VAN NOORT

⇢ CEO OF KEYGENE

Arjen van Tunen graduated as MSc in medical biology in 1986 and PhD in genetics in 1991, from the University of Amsterdam.

He worked 10 years for Plant Research International, starting out as Group leader, then as Head of the Cell Biology department and finally as Director. In 2001 he became Director of the Swammerdam Institute for Life Science of the University of Amsterdam. In 2004 he joined KeyGene as CEO and as president of KeyGene USA.

ARJEN VAN TUNEN

MODERN BIOTECHNOLOGIES

IN AGRICULTURE

PAVING THE WAY FOR RESPONSIBLE INNOVATION

28 SEPTEMBER 2017 ⇢ 09.30-18.00 BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

#BIOTECHEU

Health and Food Safety

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MODERN BIOTECHNOLOGIES

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28 SEPTEMBER 2017 ⇢ 09.30-18.00 BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

#BIOTECHEU

Health and Food Safety

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MODERN BIOTECHNOLOGIES

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PAVING THE WAY FOR RESPONSIBLE INNOVATION

28 SEPTEMBER 2017 ⇢ 09.30-18.00 BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

#BIOTECHEU

Health and Food Safety

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MODERN BIOTECHNOLOGIES

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PAVING THE WAY FOR RESPONSIBLE INNOVATION

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#BIOTECHEU

Health and Food Safety

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MODERN BIOTECHNOLOGIES

IN AGRICULTURE

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#BIOTECHEU

Health and Food Safety

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Health and Food Safety

THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING

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