BIOTECHNOLOGY FINISHING SCHOOL

Alessandro Nicolia1*, Alberto Manzo2, Fabio Veronesi1, and Daniele Rosellini1
1Department of Applied Biology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy and 2Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Policies MiPAAF), Rome, Italy
Abstract
The technology to produce genetically engineered (GE) plants is celebrating its 30th anniversary and one of the major achievements has been the development of GE crops. The safety of GE crops is crucial for their adoption and has been the object of intense research work often ignored in the public debate. We have reviewed the scientific literature on GE crop safety during the last 10 years, built a classified and manageable list of scientific papers, and analyzed the distribution and composition of the published literature. We selected original research papers, reviews, relevant opinions and reports addressing all the major issues that emerged in the debate on GE crops, trying to catch the scientific consensus that has matured since GE plants became widely cultivated worldwide. The scientific research conducted so far has not detected any significant hazards directly connected with the use of GE crops; however, the debate is still intense. An improvement in the efficacy of scientific communication could have a significant impact on the future of agricultural GE. Our collection of scientific records is available to researchers, communicators and teachers at all levels to help create an informed, balanced public perception on the important issue of GE use in agriculture.

Laura DeFrancesco
Disputes over how to assess a foodstuff's safety continue to play into public fears about transgenic crops.
Transgenic crops are the most highly regulated foods in the world. In recent years, there have been calls in the United States to relax some of the rules for their oversight. And yet controversies over the safety of transgenic food products continue to rumble, particularly in Europe, Africa and now further afield in the Far East. Despite the fact that numerous national and international scientific panels have concluded that food derived through transgenic approaches is as safe as food produced in other ways and that foodborne pathogens pose a much greater threat to human health1, scare stories continue to appear in the media and questions continue to be asked about the adequacy of current regulatory systems to determine the safety of our food, transgenic or otherwise.

H-BFC: It would be great if all BTFS faculty and students across all institutions / domains go camera crazy to shoot to capture moments of BTFS for records. Also the best 3 photos capturing the most intriguing moments of BTFS program will win prizes.

H-BFC: Faculty and students across all BTFS institutions are encouraged to find novel way to interact with each other for collective learning

H-BFC: BTFS student discussion forums are critical for knowledge acquisition, transfer and innovation