" I heard it through the AgLine"

February 1, 2010

 

 

·        Monsanto joins Dole with N. Carolina produce lab

·        FAO seeking $700 million for Haitian ag industry

·        India in turmoil over introduction of GM crop

·        Bayer selects partner for seed breeding programs

·        United to feature food safety, research demo center

 

 

Monsanto joins Dole with N. Carolina produce lab

 

(salisburypost.com) KANNAPOLIS — Monsanto Co., best known for the agricultural herbicide Roundup, will join the N.C. Research Campus this summer to develop better-tasting and more nutritious fruits and vegetables.

 

The St. Louis-based company announced Thursday it will open a 9,000-square-foot laboratory and office in June with 10 to 12 employees and two or three visiting Monsanto scientists each year.

 

Monsanto's move to Kannapolis could entice other companies to join the biotechnology hub, officials said.

 

The $1.5 billion campus lost two major tenants last year when Pharmaceutical Product Development left, citing slow development of the campus, and Pepsico pulled out of a much-publicized agreement to open a 4,000-square-foot research and development lab.

 

"With our presence here, some of those companies may reconsider and return," said Dr. Robb Fraley, chief technology officer for Monsanto.

 

Monsanto has signed a long-term lease.

 

Campus founder and Dole Food Co. owner David Murdock would not name specific companies he's courting but said development of the campus is moving faster than he anticipated a few months ago.

 

"Things are changing quickly," Murdock said.

 

He said he's talking with a number of companies that were "very close" to coming to Kannapolis but backed off when the recession hit.

 

Murdock said he still is committed to constructing the large medical office building that fell behind schedule and caused the departure of Pharmaceutical Product Development.

 

During a news conference in the proteomics laboratory, one of several state-of-the-art facilities that helped seal the Monsanto deal, Murdock said he doesn't like the term "genetically modified."

 

Monsanto is the world's largest producer of genetically modified crops.

 

Later, Fraley said he agreed with Murdock's aversion to the term.

 

While Fraley acknowledged that Monsanto will manipulate plant genes in Kannapolis, he said the company also will engage in traditional plant breeding techniques aided by cutting-edge equipment in the Core Lab, which allows scientists to study molecules in more detail than ever before.

 

"You can understand the plant at a more precise level," he said. "Once you have that information, you can breed more effectively."

 

He estimated that consumers would see results from Monsanto's efforts in Kannapolis in seven or eight years, including products like better-tasting broccoli and lettuce with higher nutritional content.

 

Monsanto already has a longstanding relationship with N.C. State University, one of eight universities researching health, nutrition and agriculture in Kannapolis.

 

Monsanto helped N.C. State develop the largest and best plant breeding program in the country, said Dr. Steve Leath, formerly of N.C. State and now the vice president for research for the University of North Carolina system.

 

"They get their great science into the hands of consumers very effectively, something we haven't done well," Leath said.

 

Monsanto is the largest producer of seed in the world.

 

UNC will learn from Monsanto's commercial success and become "far less restrictive" with intellectual property, Leath said.

 

Leath said he wants to make UNC the easiest university system in the country for business partnerships.

 

With the addition of the Kannapolis site, Monsanto will employ about 100 people in North Carolina, Fraley said. The company also has a presence in Research Triangle Park and several growing fields, he said.

 

While the company is known for developing higher-yield row crops like corn and soybeans, Monsanto several years ago began focusing on vegetables like lettuce and peppers, trying to make them healthier and better tasting.

 

"There are a lot of cool things we've been working on," said Fraley, a molecular biologist.

 

The company is developing new varieties of broccoli, tomatoes and onions, as well as a soybean that produces an oil similar to olive oil, he said.

 

Last year Monsanto announced a five-year collaboration with Dole Food to develop vegetable varieties with consumer-focused attributes such as flavor, texture, aroma and nutrition.

 

"We want to be a partner, and a good partner," Fraley said. "We want to be a part of the community and a part of the social fabric of Kannapolis."

 

The international company eventually could employ hundreds of people in Kannapolis, a spokesperson for the campus said.

 

Return to Top

 

 

FAO seeking $700 million for Haitian ag industry

 

(Bloomberg) -- An investment plan to restore Haiti’s agriculture industry and secure food production will require $700 million in international aid, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said.

 

The plan, designed by the Haitian government and supported by FAO and the Inter-American Institute for Agriculture Cooperation, calls for an immediate investment of $32 million to buy seeds, tools and fertilizers so Haitian farmers can start planting in March, FAO said in a statement.

 

“The food situation in Haiti was already very fragile before the earthquake,” said Alexander Jones, FAO Emergencies Response Manager in Haiti, according to the statement. “With people moving back to the rural areas, growth in Haiti’s agricultural sector is now an urgent priority.”

 

The 18-month investment plan is part of the Haitian government’s efforts to rebuild the Caribbean nation after the Jan. 12 earthquake that killed more than 150,000 people and left an estimated 800,000 residents homeless. About 250,000 people have left the capital Port-au-Prince for the countryside, according to the UN.

 

FAO said the plan will start with the repair of a sugar refinery and the acquisition of cereal and vegetable seeds, tools and fertilizers.

 

16 Million Meals

 

Food prices in the capital are falling as relief shipments add to the city’s stocks, said David Wimhurst, a UN peacekeeping mission spokesman, on a videoconference yesterday from Haiti. Oxfam International said it had started distributing cash rather than food because local markets are well stocked, while many residents lack money to buy food.

 

The U.N. World Food Programme forecasts that 2 million Haitians will require regular food aid until December, at a cost of $279 million. It has delivered about 16 million meals to almost 600,000 people since the earthquake hit.

 

“Urgent” relief operations in Haiti are ending as aid deliveries are satisfying most immediate needs, United Nations and U.S. aid officials said yesterday.

 

“We are out of the urgent phase,” Dr. Henriette Chamouillet, head of World Health Organization operations in Haiti, told reporters on a videoconference yesterday.

 

International efforts are shifting toward helping sustain the population. About 250,000 people have already left the city for the countryside, and locally grown food is beginning to arrive in the capital, David Wimhurst, a UN peacekeeping mission spokesman, said yesterday.

 

Return to Top

 

 

India in turmoil over introduction of GM crop

 

(Calcutta News Net) – Bt Brinjal, a genetically modified version of the common vegetable (eggplant), and its proposed introduction in India has become a topic of debate not only among scientists but politicians as well. A look at what the issues at stake are:

 

Bt Brinjal is a trans-genic brinjal created by inserting a gene (Cry 1Ac) from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) into brinjal.

 

The insertion of the gene into the vegetable is said to give the brinjal plant resistance against insects like the brinjal fruit and shoot borer (Leucinodes orbonalis) and fruit borer (Helicoverpa armigera). Upon ingestion of the Bt toxin by the insect, there would be disruption of its digestive processes, ultimately resulting in its death.

 

The government's Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), which cleared Bt Brinjal for commercial release in October, said it will reduce the farmers' dependence on pesticides and enable higher yields.

 

That point of view has been supported by Science and Technology Minister Prithviraj Chavan, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Director General Samir Brahmachari and Department of Biotechnology Secretary M.K. Bhan, among others. They have all said Bt Brinjal is safe for human consumption.

 

Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has said the government has no role to play once GEAC has given its approval.

 

But the rules say final approval has to be given by the environment ministry, as its minister Jairam Ramesh pointed out in a letter to Pawar last week.

 

Ramesh is now holding public meetings on the issue in various cities of India. At meetings in Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Nagpur and Ahmedabad, there was vociferous opposition to the introduction of Bt Brinjal in India.

 

The governments of eight states that between them produce most of the brinjal in the country -- West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh -- have stated they will not allow introduction of Bt Brinjal.

 

Opponents to the introduction of the genetically modified food crop are principally worried on two counts -- one, what happens if there is accidental cross-pollination between Bt and ordinary brinjal? Will the modified gene get into the normal brinjal? What will the consequences be?

 

Two, what are the long-term effects of Bt Brinjal on human health, given that long-term trials have not been held ? The product is too new for that.

 

The GEAC approval was not unanimous. Supreme Court appointee to the committee Pushpa Bhargava had alleged that all necessary tests had not been carried out before the committee gave its approval.

 

GEAC had kept its test reports under wraps, saying developers of the seed -- US firm Monsanto and Indian firm Mahyco -- wanted the information kept confidential in the 'research and development stages'.

 

This week, Bhargava -- founder director of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biolgy and a 1986 Padma Bhushan awardee -- claimed at a seminar in Jawaharlal Nehru University that Ramesh was under pressure from the Prime Minister's Office to clear Bt Brinjal. Ramesh promptly denied any such pressure.

 

The one genetically modified crop cultivated in India now is Bt Cotton. It has had mixed reviews, but there is such a large area under its cultivation that India is now the sixth largest country growing genetically modified crops.

 

The European Union has banned all genetically modified crops, while many other countries ban genetically modified food crops.

 

After Bt Brinjal, there are many more genetically modified food crops awaiting GEAC approval -- 25 kinds of rice, 23 kinds of tomatoes, many types of groundnut, pigeon peas, potato, mustard, sugarcane, soy and okra.

 

Return to Top

 

 

Bayer selects partner for seed breeding programs

 

(GenomeWeb News) NEW YORK – Bayer CropScience will use Fluidigm's integrated fluidic circuit (IFC) technologies in its molecular breeding program, Fluidigm said in a press release.

 

The agricultural branch of Bayer will use Fluidigm's IFC tools under a global, multi-year agreement, for field and vegetable crops, South San Francisco-based Fluidigm said.

 

Fluidigm's technologies for high-throughput SNP genotyping in molecular breeding projects include the BioMark and the EP1 systems, and its microfluidic-based Dynamic Array.

 

Traditional breeding experiments required growing new crops, selecting traits, cross-breeding, and growing seeds again to maturity to check results, a process that could take years and even decades, said Fluidigm. But molecular breeding enables breeders to "dramatically decrease cost and timelines to select the best seeds for the market place," the firm said.

 

Even the capacity of molecular breeding has been limited, the company noted, adding that its technologies increase output more than 10-fold and lowers the cost-per-data point compared with using 384-well plates for genotyping.

 

Financial terms of the agreement were not released.

 

Return to Top

 

 

United to feature food safety, research demo center

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United Fresh Produce Association will feature a showcase of the latest in food safety technology and practices this spring at United Fresh 2010, April 20-23 at the Sands Expo & Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nev.

 

The new Food Safety and Research Demo Center will join last year’s successful Traceability Demo Center (expanded this year to include logistics and other supply chain solutions) on the United Fresh 2010 show floor.

 

As the produce industry’s only dedicated exhibit area focused exclusively on food safety solutions for all points in the fresh and fresh-cut produce supply chain, the Food Safety and Research Demo Center will help attendees answer pressing questions in this all-important industry field.

 

“Given the importance of food safety within the fresh produce industry, the Food Safety and Research Demo Center became a must at this year’s show,” said Dr. David Gombas, United Fresh senior vice president of food safety and technology. “Visitors to the center will be able to learn about advances in best practices, audit harmonization, pending legislation and more, all in one stop.”

 

The vision for the Food Safety and Research Demo Center would not have been possible had it not been for the level of success enjoyed by its traceability counterpart at last year’s United Fresh show.

 

“We had such a resounding turnout and reception at last year’s center that its return in 2010 was a natural decision,” said United Fresh Vice President of Supply Chain Management Dan Vaché. “With the progress that the industry is making on traceability, including the fulfillment of the first three milestones of the Produce Traceability Initiative, we have seen a tangible need for the solutions provided in the demo center and we look forward to what 2010 has in store.”

 

The demo centers are a key part of United Fresh 2010’s theme of ‘Winning is Everything.’ United Fresh 2010 looks to highlight the skills, products and technologies needed to build and maintain a successful, winning produce business, focusing on specialized programming for all segments of the fresh and fresh-cut produce industry.

 

New features at United Fresh 2010 include a Food Safety & Research Pavilion showcasing food safety solutions for growers and retailers and the Global Conference on Produce Sustainability, hosted immediately following United Fresh 2010 by United’s new Center for Global Produce Sustainability.

 

For more information, or to register for United Fresh 2010, visit www.unitedfresh.org or call 202-303-3400.

 

Return to Top

 

End Transmission