MEDIA CONTACT: Megan Fellman at (847) 491-3115 or fellman@northwestern.edu

March 16, 2004

Conference to Explore Genetically Modified Food

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Genetically modified (GM) food is not the rare exception to the rule many of us assume it is.

Last year roughly 75 to 80 percent of the soybeans and 30 to 35 percent of the corn grown in the United States were genetically modified. Despite the spread of GM crops in the nation’s fields, a key question persists: Are genetically modified foods good for us?

A distinguished panel of experts will discuss -- in plain English, for nonscientists -- the scientific, ethical and legal issues surrounding genetically modified food at an outreach program, “Biotechnology and the New Nature of Food,” Saturday, April 3, at Northwestern University.

The free conference will be from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Owen L. Coon Forum, 2001 Sheridan Road, Evanston. Doors open at 9:30 a.m. (The conference also will be Webcast live.)

Proponents of GM food argue for the agricultural benefits of modified plants, such as their higher crop yields and reduced need for pesticides and herbicides. Other advocates of biotech agriculture envision plants programmed to produce therapeutic drugs or vaccines. Opponents argue that inserting foreign genes into plants -- a process “nature” never intended -- could disturb the environment in unpredictable ways, threaten biodiversity, or yield substances that could harm the health of humans or farm animals.

Designed to help nonscientists, students and the average citizen think about and better understand this controversial and important topic, the Northwestern conference will examine questions such as how plants are engineered to produce genetic modifications, who benefits from these modifications, what the economic impact of GM food is and how GM food is regulated for safety. The audience will have an opportunity to pose their own questions to the panel.

The specific topics and speakers follow:

“Biotechnology in Agriculture,” Martina Newell-McGloughlin, director, University of California Systemwide Biotechnology Research and Education Program

“Why Designer Foods Are Unlikely to Solve Nutritional Health Problems and Might Create More of Them,” Gary Nabhan, director, Center for Sustainable Environments, Northern Arizona University

“Safety Assessment of Pesticidal Proteins in Food Crops,” Chris Wozniak, biologist and biopesticide specialist, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

“New Science and the Myths of Agricultural Biotechnology,” Charles Benbrook, agricultural, regulatory and biotechnology policy consultant

A panel discussion will follow the individual presentations.

“Biotechnology and the New Nature of Food” is the fourth in a series of annual public outreach programs focusing on developments in the life sciences. The conference is organized by Northwestern’s department of neurobiology and physiology.

For additional information, call (847) 491-5521 or visit the conference Web site at http://www.northwestern.edu/science-outreach, which includes speaker bios, information on the live Webcast, and directions to the event.