Online Animal Biotech Discourses Cover Market and Public Readiness

The webinar series on Regulatory Approaches for Agricultural and Food Applications of Animal Biotechnology continues on to inform a wide range of audiences about the developments of animal biotechnology research and progress across the globe. The last session focused on moving towards the market and public acceptance.

Session 6 concluded last week with a variety of topics that focused on consumers' perception, business strategies, and market readiness of animal biotech products, with an additional highlight on the role of regulators in building public trust in biotechnology. Among the speakers present were Craig Cormick of ThinkOutsideThe who spoke about lessons and experiences learned in the process of developing GM animals, and Terri Moore of the United States Farm Bureau who focused on consumer perception of animal biotech in agriculture. Mark Walton of AquaBounty US and Jose Fernando Garcia of Beef Vitrine Tecnologica Agropecuaria of Brazil separately gave a developer's perspective on the market readiness for GM animals. Aditi Mankad and Lucy Carter of Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) talked about how the public perceived synthetic biology in poultry, while Tad Sonstegard of Accligen discussed the importance of precision breeding for smallholder dairies and how this can have an impact on their income and future.

Sarah Gallo of Biotechnology Innovation Organization also presented about gaining trust in new innovations and technologies, complemented by a presentation by Maria Dagli and Luiz Sergio Camargo of CTNBio Brazil about the roles of regulators in building the public's trust in animal biotechnology. Lastly, Lynne Frewer of Newcastle University talked about societal perspectives on gene technologies and animals in agriculture. Session 6 was moderated by Mark Tizard of CSIRO and Mahaletchumy Arujanan, ISAAA Global Coordinator.

The webinar series is organized by ISAAA, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, US Department of Agriculture, and Virginia Tech. The next session will be held on the last week of November 2020 and will consist of breakout groups for five regions across the world for a more in-depth discussion about animal biotechnology, which primarily aims to tackle the benefits and concerns of countries similar in the economic, environmental, and agricultural scenario.

To know more, contact mkarembu@isaaa.org.