NABC White Papers
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Item Biotechnology and North American Specialty Crops:Linking Research, Regulation, and StakeholdersHardy, Ralph W.F. (NABC, 2014)This summary captures the status and key guidance issues that emerged from NABC 25, hosted by Texas A&M AgriLife Research for researchers, government regulators and industry representatives.The discussion covered: the dearth of biotechnology specialty food crops; opportunities for crop improvement and human-food and -health benefits; Case studies of products in development; the regulatory process and technology-access barriers; and strategies for commercialization of specialty food crops in the United States and Canada.Item Agriculture and the changing climateHardy, Ralph W.F. (NABC, 2011-11-01)This paper summarizes the information on agriculture and climate change. Global climate change is occurring with temperature rising more rapidly in the last 100 years than in the previous recent times. Anthropogenic CO2 is the major GHG contributing to climate change, but CH4 and N2O—originating mainly from agriculture—also contribute. Thus, agriculture is a signifcant contributor, but also will be impacted. Many opportunities are identifed for mitigation and adaption by agriculture. Agriculture’s record in mitigation over the past 50 years is spectacular with global research investments to increase agricultural productivity while decreasing carbon emissions at low cost.Item Agricultural Water Security: Research and Development Prescription for Improving Water Use Efficiency, Availability and QualityHardy, Ralph W.F. (NABC, 2010-12-31)Water is essential for agriculture which uses 70–80% of withdrawn fresh water. By 2050 the global need for increased food/feed production for 3.0 billion additional humans will greatly expand agriculture’s need for water. Climate change also will impact water and agriculture. The effects of crop and animal production on water quality—nutrient and pesticide contamination and soil salinization—need to be reduced to meet quality standards. Expanded agronomic, engineering and genetic research and implementation thereof are essential to improve water-use effciency, availability and quality as prescribed here for agricultural water and food security.Item Food and agricultural research:Innovation to transform human healthHardy, Ralph W.F. (NABC, 2009-03-06)Delivery of healthcare is a pressing social, economic, technical and political challenge, 75% of health care expenditure in the US are for diet-related chronic diseases, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, etc. Emphasis has been on therapeutic and surgical treatments after disease development instead of prevention through food and diet. We need a structure that integrates food and agricultural research as a full partner in the national health-research mission.Item Recommendations for Management Practices for Field Trials with Bioengineered PlantsHardy, W.F; Pueppke, Steven G.; Slack, Steven A. (NABC, 2005-12-31)Recommendations for best paractices for field trialing of bioengineered plants at research institutions.Item Agriculture and Forestry for Energy, Chemicals and Materials: The Road ForwardHardy, Ralph W.F. (NABC, 2007-02-05)A call for a national mobilization—by academe, government and industry—to move the United States economy from mainly petroleum-based to more sustainably biologically-based, with 100+ billion gallons annually of transportation fuel and value-added chemicals and materials produced from biomass. Traditional plant-based agricultural and forestry commodities and new value-added markets can be simultaneously served without long-term negative impacts on each other, provided there is major biosource and bioprocess innovation for biobased industrial products. Benefits will be far-reaching, from self-sufficiency in transportation fuel, more sustainable industries, revitalization of rural economies and improved balance of payments, to mitigation of environmental problems. Targets for biosources, processes and costs are proposed as well as an integrated structure for success by 2025.Item Labeling of Biotechnology ProductsDunn, Peter E.; Korwek, Edward L.; Harlander, Susan K.; Bruhn, Christine M.; Newsome, Rosetta L.; Martin, Marshall A. (NABC, 1994-02-15)Speakers t this symposium presented issues surround the issue of labeling of biotech products and the right of the consumer to know about the ingredients of the food they eat.Item Report of the NABC Ad-Hoc Committee on Ethicsmembers of the NABC ethics committee (NABC, 1996)This is the report of the NABC subcommittee on ethics, charged to investigate issues of ethics surrounding agricultural biotechnology.Item Vision forAgricultural Research and Developmentin the 21st CenturyHardy, Ralph W.F. (NABC, 1998-12-14)Agricultural research and development (AR&D) will take the lead in providing the technology for a biobased economy in the 21st century. In contrast with our present fossil-based economy, the biobased economy will use renewable resources such as plants instead of non-renewable fossil sources. With the biobased industry now emerging, AR&D has a greatly expanded role beyond the traditional areas of food, feed, and fiber.Item Ethics and Patenting of Transgenic OrganismsVarner, Gary E.; Hettinger, Edwin; Thompson, Paul B.; McGregor. Martin L.; Stallmann, Judith I.; Albrecht, Don E.; Comstock, Gary (NABC, 1992-09-30)In this symposium the authors presented talks on issues surrounding the ethics of patenting transgenic organisms including economic effect of regulation and the public perception of the issues.