Challenges for Agricultural Research

Foreword......Page 5
Acknowledgements......Page 6
Table of contents......Page 7
Abbreviations......Page 13
Executive Summary......Page 17
Report from the CRP Reflection Group meeting on “Vision for the Future”......Page 21
Coping with Pressures on Natural Resources (Water and Soil)......Page 29
Balancing Global Agricultural Water Supply and Demand......Page 33
More food......Page 34
More water because of changing diets......Page 36
Scenarios of future water for food demand......Page 37
Productivity improvements in irrigated areas......Page 38
Challenges......Page 39
Effect of Reduced Water Supplies on Food Production Economies......Page 45
Importance of “new” challenges for agricultural water availability......Page 46
Role of agricultural productivity......Page 49
Conclusions......Page 51
Global Soil Resource Base: Degradation and Loss to Other Uses......Page 55
World population and soil resources......Page 56
Determinants of soil degradation......Page 57
Processes of soil degradation......Page 58
Cause of soil degradation......Page 59
Assessment of soil degradation, land degradation and desertification......Page 60
Soil degradation by land misuse and soil mismanagement......Page 63
Conversion to other land uses......Page 64
Strategies to reverse soil and land degradation trends......Page 65
Conclusion......Page 67
Soil Resources: Science-Based Sustainability......Page 73
Myth 3: Organic farming can be done anywhere......Page 74
Myth 4: We know quantitatively the effects of soil use on food production, environmental degradation and climate change......Page 75
Delivering Agriculture for Food and the Environment......Page 77
Managing Agricultural Landscapes for Production and Biodiversity Outcomes......Page 81
Introduction......Page 82
The ongoing declines in biodiversity......Page 83
Current approaches to managing interactions between agriculture and biodiversity......Page 84
Conclusion......Page 86
The Role of Genetically Modified Plants in Sustainable Crop Protection......Page 91
Crop losses by pests and food security......Page 92
Sustainable crop protection: the concept of IPM......Page 93
Pest-resistant plants and sustainable crop protection......Page 94
Pest-resistant plants in an IPM perspective......Page 95
Challenges to use GM plants in sustainable crop protection......Page 102
Science-Based Policy Issues to Enable Sustainability on the Ground......Page 111
Rich country agriculture is extremely efficient and thus sustainable......Page 112
Africa has no chance......Page 113
Competition in Agriculture for Food, Fibre and Fuel......Page 117
Economic Balance on Competition for Arable Land between Food and Biofuel: Global Responsibilities of Food, Energy and Environmental Security......Page 119
Food security......Page 122
Biofuels......Page 125
Challenges......Page 134
Environmental security......Page 136
Genetic Technology, Sustainable Animal Agriculture and Global Climate Change......Page 147
Pigs and phosphorus pollution......Page 148
Enhancing phosphorus utilisation and reducing P output in pork production......Page 149
The EnviropigTM: a genetic technology for meeting the global environmental challenge......Page 150
Challenges and Opportunities for Further Improvements in Wheat Yield......Page 155
Can we breed for yield potential with benefits in realistic growing conditions?......Page 156
What physiological traits may be useful in future improvements of wheat yield potential?......Page 157
Replacement of Fish Meal in Aquaculture Diets with Plant Ingredients as a Means of Improving Seafood Quality......Page 167
Human health advantages resulting from seafood consumption......Page 168
Fish meal replacement......Page 170
Fish oil replacement......Page 173
Research needs to facilitate wider/larger use of plant ingredients in aquafeeds......Page 174
Food Safety Today and Tomorrow: the Challenges in Changing Food and Farming Practices......Page 177
Major Trends in Mycotoxin Research......Page 179
Major mycotoxins......Page 180
Research and development priorities......Page 182
Conclusions......Page 185
Food without Zoonotic Agents: Fact or Fiction?......Page 191
Control of infectious diseases......Page 192
(Re)emerging infectious diseases......Page 193
International co-operation and communication......Page 194
Conclusion......Page 195
Altering Foods Derived from Animals for the Future?......Page 199
Decrease production and consumption of animal-derived foods or alter their composition?......Page 200
Gross composition of animal products......Page 201
Fatty acid composition of animal-derived foods......Page 202
Side-effects of improved fatty acid composition......Page 204
Conclusions and additional considerations......Page 205
Plants for the Future......Page 211
Biotechnology as a coherent answer to these challenges......Page 212
Policy framework priorities......Page 214
Public perception and regulatory framework......Page 216
Genetic Resources as the Building Blocks for Breeding: Current Status and Challenges......Page 223
Introduction......Page 224
Current status......Page 230
Challenges ahead......Page 232
Conclusions......Page 237
Regulatory Challenges......Page 243
Animal Biotechnology in the United States: the Regulation of Animal Clones and Genetically Engineered Animals......Page 245
Regulation of animal clones......Page 246
Regulation of genetically engineered animals......Page 251
Summary......Page 255
Animal Cloning and Transgenesis......Page 257
Animal cloning......Page 258
Animal transgenesis......Page 267
General conclusions......Page 275
The Biotechnology and Biosafety Activities at the OECD......Page 283
Environmental risk/safety assessment of transgenic organisms......Page 284
Risk/safety assessment of foods and feeds derived from transgenic organisms......Page 287
Conclusions......Page 288
Biosafety Assessment of the EFSA GMO Panel......Page 291
The role of the scientific panel on GMO......Page 292
Risk assessment of GMO......Page 293
Legal background for the risk assessment of GMOs, GM food and GM feed at European Community level......Page 295
Outlook......Page 300