Convened in cooperation with North Dakota State University, this conference focused on the ways in which nutritional value within the food supply impacts different segments of the population with distinct phenotypes. The recognition that the variability of phenotypes within a population causes individual groups to respond differently to the nutritional values in foods has become an important part of both scientific research and, more recently, public policy.
Food Security and Diet-Linked Public Health Challenges announcement
This conference is part of the ISGP’s Food Safety, Security, and Defense (FSSD) conferences on Nutrition, Sustainable Agriculture, and Human Health (NSAHH).
The ISGP conference 21st Century Borders/Synthetic Biology: Focus on Responsibility and Governance, convened in partnership with the University of Arizona, was held at the Hilton El Conquistador Hotel, Tucson, Arizona, United States, on Dec. 4–7, 2012.
Biographical information of scientific presenters
This ISGP conference addressed topics involving prevention issues related to Emerging and Persistent Infectious Diseases (EPID) as well as aspects of Food Safety and Security (FSS) and Synthetic Biology (SB) related to infectious diseases.
Download the conference report
View biographical information of scientific presenters
The Institute on Science for Global Policy (ISGP), in partnership with Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society and Ursinus College, convened a conference focused on linking scientifically credible information to the formulation and implementation of sound, effective domestic and international policies about food safety issues.
Ursinus is the first undergraduate college to hold a conference on this topic. Ursinus students are full partners in science-policy discussions that include internationally recognized scientists and policy-makers from government, the private sector, and the community. Participating students are taking a special class on the topic this semester.
The presenters are internationally recognized experts in the fields of biology, agricultural sciences, veterinary medicine and government. They addressed risk perception in food safety policies, the moral and ethical dilemmas of technological safeguards (such as the use of antibiotics in animal agriculture), and policies that will proactively address the threat of food fraud.
Conference Speakers
- Robert Buchanan,Director and Professor, Center for Food Safety and Security Systems, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Maryland, “Risk Perception: A Challenge to the Development of Risk-based Food Safety Policy”
- Karen Everstine, Research Associate with the National Center for Food Protection and Defense, a Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence based at the University of Minnesota, “Policies to Proactively Address the Threat of Food Fraud”
- H. Morgan Scott, Professor, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, “Technological Safeguards for the U.S. Food Supply: Moral and Ethical Dilemmas”
The ISGP-Ursinus College conference broke new ground by opening the conference’s critical debates and caucuses to the public and the press. The ISGP-Ursinus partnership made it feasible for Ursinus students to organize and convene ISGP-styled conferences for their institution and members of the local community, without the restriction of the Chatham House Rule (not for attribution). Under the control of Ursinus students, this ISGP-styled conference addressed a topic of important scientific and technological concern to societies worldwide.
Conference speakers:
- Dr. George W. Korch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
- Dr. Stephen S. Morse of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
- Dr. Kasisomayajula “Vish” Viswanath of the Harvard School of Public Health
The Institute on Science for Global Policy (ISGP), in partnership with Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society and Eckerd College, convened a conference on food production and sustainability focused on linking scientifically credible information to the formulation and implementation of sound, effective domestic and international policies.
The critical debates and caucuses at the ISGP/Sigma Xi Eckerd Conference were open to the public and press and organized in conjunction with Eckerd students and faculty. This conference was designed to provide a forum in which the scientific and technological issues facing societies worldwide can be view through the personal life choices and communitywide decisions facing the St. Petersburg area.
The ISGP-Eckerd partnership made it feasible for Eckerd students to organize and convene ISGP-styled conferences for their institution and members of the local community without the restriction of the Chatham House Rule (not for attribution). Under the control of Eckerd students, this ISGP-styled conference addressed some of the most important scientific and technological issues facing societies worldwide, and emphasized the importance of clear communication among the scientific community, policy makers, and the public.
Presenters and Topics:
Lee R. DeHaan, Ph.D.
Plant Geneticist, The Land Institute, Salina, Kansas, U.S.
“Perennial Crops Are a Key to Sustainably Productive Agriculture”
Rachel Goldstein, M.B.A.
Global Sustainability Manager, Scientific and Regulatory Affairs, Mars, Inc.
McLean, Virginia, U.S.
“Value Chain Efficiency and Sustainable Production: The Role of Uncommon Collaboration”
Alison Van Eenennaam, Ph.D.
Biotechnology Specialist, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, U.S.
“Regulatory Oversight of New Plants and Animals Varieties in the United States”
A publication summarizing the debates of these three papers, and the areas of consensus reached by conference participants, will be available online and in print in summer 2015.
Biographical information of scientific presenters
Conference Materials
This international ISGP conference specifically addressed the social, economic, and ethical considerations of the largely scientific and technological recommendations that emerged from four earlier ISGP conferences focused on Emerging and Persistent Infectious Diseases (EPID). Aspects of Food Safety and Security (FSS) and Synthetic Biology (SB) related to infectious diseases were also addressed at this conference.
It is important to clarify the relationship between the initial four ISGP conferences focused on EPID, FSS, and SB and this conference. The specific areas of consensus and actionable next steps emerging from the initial four conferences offered primarily scientific and technological options to be considered by those responsible for formulating and implementing policies, both domestic and international. Since the effectiveness of such policy decisions depends fundamentally on the degree to which they are accepted and endorsed throughout a wide range of societies and cultures, it is essential to evaluate these recommendations with respect to their foreseeable societal, economic, and ethical impact. The public support required to effectively implement these largely scientific and technological recommendations depends directly on the societal, economic, and ethical consequences that can influence public acceptance.
The ISGP invited eight highly distinguished subject-matter experts working on social, behavioral, economic, and ethical topics to prepare the policy position papers debated at this ISGP conference. To aid these authors, the ISGP prepared a new document that condensed all the previous recommendations into four areas of consensus and their related actionable next steps. This document, (which can be found following the introduction in the conference book below), was shared with each of the presenters as a guideline for their individual policy position papers.
Biographical information of scientific presenters