Past Conferences

"The Use of Genetically Modified Crops in Developing Countries"

Tuesday, October 12

12:00-1:30 P.M.

Copley Formal Lounge

Georgetown University

A light lunch will be served

Sponsored by:

The Life Science and Society Initiative,

Georgetown Public Policy Institute

Science and Technology in International Affairs,

School of Foreign Service

Kennedy Institute of Ethics

RSVP: lmh8@georgetown.edu

For further information click on the report

Dr. Sandy Thomas, Director of the Nuffield Council of Bioethics

“The Use of Genetically Modified Crops in Developing Countries”

October 12, 2004

12:00-1:30

Copley Formal Lounge, Georgetown University

Do genetically modified crops hold the promise of alleviating problems of hunger and malnutrition in the developing world, or do they advantage the corporations that produce them more than the small farmers who grow them? Are GM crops safe for consumers and the environment in the developing world? What impact does the US/EU dispute over GM crops have on their use in the developing world?

Dr. Sandy Thomas will address these and other questions in a luncheon presentation, followed by Q & A, on October 12 th at 12 noon in Copley Formal Lounge at Georgetown University. Dr. Thomas will discuss the conclusions of the Nuffield Council Discussion Paper on GM crops in the developing world, which was published in January, 2004 (www.nuffieldbioethics.org). The report analyzes the role of GM crops in the broad context of agriculture in the developing world and considers their potential impact on food security. In addition, it investigates issues of regulation, intellectual property, food safety, biodiversity, and international governance. Dr. Thomas will explain how the Council came to the conclusion that “there is an ethical obligation to explore these potential benefits (of GM crops) responsibly, in order to contribute to the reduction of poverty, and to improve profitable agriculture in developing countries.”

Dr. Thomas trained as a scientist at the University of London (B.Sc Botany & Zoology, M.Sc Crop Protection, Ph.D (Plant genetics). After lecturing in genetics at the University of London, she became Research Fellow at the Science Policy Research and Technology Unit at the University of Sussex, where she specialised in policy research in the life sciences and biotechnology. In 1997 she was appointed Director of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics. Dr. Thomas is on leave from the University of Sussex, where she holds the position of Senior Fellow, Science Policy and Technology Research Unit (SPRU). Over the past decade, Dr. Thomas has published widely on the development of public policy for biotechnology, particularly in the area of intellectual property rights and the development and application of genomics. Under her leadership, the Nuffield Council has published reports and discussion papers on key issues at the intersection of science and society today, including the ethics of clinical and healthcare research in the developing world, the ethics of patenting DNA, and the ethical issues surrounding stem cell research. .

RSVP: lmh8@georgetown.edu

Directions: http://explore.georgetown.edu/maps/