The world population faces starvation unless it embraces the path of using genetically modified (GM) foods, the Teagasc Agri-Food Millennium Conference in Dublin was told yesterday.
Dr Martina McGloughlin, the Irish-born director of biotechnology at the University of California, Davis, said the rapid expansion of the world population meant new technologies would have to be applied to agriculture.
"Unless we want to plough up our parks and put the Amazon basin under the plough, there really is no alternative to using biotechnology," she said.
She said that, by using genetic engineering, scientists can enhance yield, disease resistance, nutritional content and many other attributes of food crops.
She said scientists using GM methods had more control over plants than those developed by selective breeding and other traditional methods.
"Many of the conventional foods we eat every day would be banned if they were subjected to the same rigorous standards applied to GM foods," she said.
These included potatoes and tomatoes which contain toxins which have been linked to spina bifida. Dozens of people died each year from cynaogenic glycosides from peach seeds, but none of these foods was labelled as potentially dangerous, she said.
Asked about the possible dangers posed by the system, Galway-born Dr McGloughlin, said there was no such thing as "zero risk" from any system.
In his opening address, Dr Liam Downey, the director of Teagasc, called for the establishment of three applied biotechnology centres to evaluate and adapt the new technologies in agriculture and food.
He said the new world class centres - covering crops, animals and food - could be developed by upgrading existing research facilities.
"The investment would be in the order of £50-£100 million (€63.5E127 million) over the next five to seven years and it would be essential that each of the centres has a critical mass of scientists with first-hand knowledge of ongoing advances in biotechnology.
"The main thrust of Ireland's research in biotechnology must be directed towards the evaluation, adaption and application of technologies, the bulk of which will have been developed elsewhere," he said.
Dr James Burke, of Teagasc Oak Park, said the development of genetically modified grasses had the potential to benefit Irish farmers by up to £200 million a year through lower inputs and better animal performance.
He said the primary aim of scientists in Ireland must be the protection of human health, safety and the environment and, for that reason, credible institutions of the State should keep a dispassionate distance from the companies developing genetically modified food.
