Plea for leadership in biotechnology

Timid political will is stopping New Zealand becoming a global leader in biotechnology, farming leader and scientist Dr William Rolleston says.

As scientists work to feed billions more people, opportunities exist for the country to show leadership in biotechnology without causing environmental degradation.

‘‘By any measure New Zealand ought to be a leader. No, it should be the leader. The fact we are not comes back to a timid political will,’’ Dr Rolleston told an international conference on agricultural biotechnology.

‘‘It is time for rational and informed debate about all tools and options, including genetic modification.’’

There could be an extra three billion people to feed by 2050.

‘‘This need to feed the planet could best be described as the food race. It is as important as anything we have done in our history as a species but hinges on a second green revolution.’’

‘‘Science, including biotechnology, can provide us with the tools to achieve these seemingly impossible and contradictory goals,’’ he said.

Dr Clive James, founder of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications, told the conference there were major challenges in feeding the world of tomorrow, and conventional technology alone would not allow food production to be doubled.

There had been a very rapid uptake of genetically modified crops around the world, from 1.7 million hectares in 1996 to 160 million hectares in 2011.

‘‘That’s six times the total land mass of New Zealand,’’ Dr James said.

US State Department senior adviser for biotechnology Jack Bobo said about 70 per cent more food was needed to meet population projections by 2050.

This had to be done using less land, water, fertiliser and pesticides.

‘‘We have to do everything better than what we do today and we have to do twice as much of it.’’

There was also evidence consumers were prepared to buy food produced from biotechnology because it was cheaper.

Biotech policies should be related to what people do rather than what people say they do, Mr Bobo said.

‘‘Science and technology are not the enemy.’’

But these arguments were rejected by GE Free New Zealand spokesman Jon Carapiet.

Allowing GE products into New Zealand was a race to the bottom globally in the production of the most contaminated and least pure products, Mr Carapiet said, and New Zealand’s products currently were in direct contrast to this.

‘‘What we are talking about is protecting New Zealand’s brand identity and protecting New Zealand’s exports to the world. People want clean, green GE-free products.’’