Biotechnology meet from today

By G. Venkataramani

BANGKOK, JULY 9. An international conference on ``New Biotechnology Food and Crops: Science, Safety and Society'' is being organised here from July 10 to 12 by the United Kingdom and the OECD in cooperation with the FAO, WHO, UNEP, Convention on Biological Diversity and the Government of Thailand. This conference will further the international debate on the safety of new biotechnology food and crops.

``The aim of the conference is to explore how to integrate public concerns and the best scientific knowledge available into national and international consensus-building,'' said the Earl of Selborne, Chairman of the conference, during an informal meeting with the media.

The conference will be inaugurated by Mr. John Prescott, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and a Thai Deputy Prime Minister. The Deputy Director General of OECD, Mr Herwig Schlog, Dr. Hartwig de Haen, Assistant Director General of FAO and Ms. Ann Kern, Executive Director for Sustainable Development and Healthy Environments at WHO, will be attending the conference.

More than 25 speakers and panelists - all experts on national and international aspects of new biotechnology and genetically modified food and crops - will be participating in discussions on the scientific assessment of their safety, how that assessment is used by national and international decision- making bodies, and how civil society contributes to the debate. Speakers and panelists include representatives of inter-governmental organizations, Governments, consumer groups, environmental NGOs, industry and farmers from five continents. About 200 participants will be attending this global meet.

A key aspect of the meet will be that it will serve as a major platform for all the stake-holders from both developed and developing countries to share their views and to highlight their concerns and needs, including those specific to particular geographic regions.

The recommendations of the conference will be presented to the G- 8 Summit of Heads of State and Government in Genoa in July to support their discussions on new biotechnology.

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Section  : International
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