There should be "a national conversation" on the implications of biotechnology and GM foods within Irish society, with scientists meeting the public much more often, Prof David McConnell of TCD said.
Some experts believed promotion of such dialogue should involve spending £600,000 a year from the Government's Technology Foresight Fund, he told the conference.
He paid tribute to the consultation process of the Minister for the Environment, which signalled strongly to the public that biotechnology was very important and essentially "a safe technology", as safe as conventional technology.
But the public had to be made aware of this, there had to be a lot more public consultation, and credible and effective regulation had to be in place, Prof McConnell said.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland and the Irish Medicines Board had done an excellent job in evaluating biotechnology,
while the Environmental Protection Agency had performed an important role though it needed extra resources and staff, he said.
People should not fall for "over-hype" about the risks surrounding GM foods, and realise biotechnology would have a beneficial impact on their lives, according to a Teagasc biotechnology specialist, Dr Jim Burke.
A common misunderstanding, he said, was that biotechnology was all about GM foods, when they were just a small part of it.
It was now possible in some cases to extract DNA from a tumour and develop a vaccine unique to the patient by growing it in a plant, and doing it within six weeks. This process would normally take years to develop.
There would be tangible gains in conventional farming from biotechnology and GM foods. Tillage crop varieties with higher yields, enhanced nutritional values and disease resistance were emerging.
Moreover, biotechnology offered the possibility of more environmentally sustainable farming, he said. Better grass varieties using biotechnology had the potential to benefit Irish farmers by up to £200 million a year.
