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Agriculture and HealthBBSRC perspective
Janet Allen, Director of Research BBSRC
23rd June 2010
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Strategic Plan 2010 – 2015
The Age of Bioscience
Driven by new tools and technologies
….never before have researchers been able to address such a breadth and depth of biological
questions….
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Strategic Plan 2010 – 2015
Food Security Bioenergy and Industrial
Biotechnology
Basic bioscience underpinning health
Three major research priorities
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BBSRC funding of research
• Grants to HEIs– Project and programme (LoLa) grants Responsive Mode, – Training and skills posts (studentships, fellowships)– Industry clubs
• Institutes– John Innes Centre– Rothamsted Research– The Genome Analysis Centre (TGAC)– Institute for Animal Health– Institute for Food Research– Babraham Institute– Roslin Institute (Edinburgh)– Institute for Biological and Environmental Research
(Aberystwyth)
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Broadbalk yields, varieties and Broadbalk yields, varieties and major changesmajor changes
Unmanured, continuous wheat
Continuous wheat: FYM PK+144 kg N
1st wheat in rotation: FYM+spring N Best NPK fertiliser
Red R
ostock
Red C
lub
Squ. Mas
ter
Red Sta
ndard
Squ. Mast
er
Cappel
le D
esp.
Flander
s
Brim
stone
A
pollo
H
erew
ard
Courtesy of Ian Crute Introduction of: liming fungicides fallowing herbicides
Semi-dwarfvarieties
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Yield is not everything
• Maintain the quality of the grain– Protein content (40% of population dependent
on cereals for protein)– Trace elements: Iron, selenium
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Examples where agriculture research impacts health
• Improving quality of cereals and food– Breeding (e.g. protein content and trace elements)– GM (healthy foods: e.g. omega-3, purple tomatoes)
• Reducing dependence on pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers– Breeding resistance– GM resistance traits
• Protecting against food-borne zoonoses– Genetics of host to food-borne pathogens
Campylobacter, salmonella, E.Coli 0157
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RRes have grown several thousand stearidonic acid (SDA)-enriched linseed plants, harvested the mature
seed and cold pressed the oil for subsequent analysis.
Producing novel omega-3 fatty acids in transgenic plants
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Purple tomatoes
• Example of ability to develop foods that are higher in bioactive compounds - increased health benefits
• Scientists at John Innes Centre have expressed genes from snapdragon in tomatoes to grow purple fruits which are high in health-protecting anthocyanins
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Global Food Security
“Food security, nutrition and sustainable agriculture must remain a priority on the political agenda, to be addressed through a cross-cutting and inclusive approach, relevant to all stakeholders at global, regional and national level .”
[G8 statement July 2009]
• Heading for global shortages of food, water and energy
• Food price spikes in 2007-08 plunged millions back into hunger and triggered riots from Egypt to Bangladesh
• Wake-up call….a sign of things to come
“a perfect storm” by 2030 (John Beddington)10
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Global Food Security Programme
Global Food Security is a multi-agency programme
bringing together the research interests of the Research
Councils, Executive Agencies and Government Departments
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Stakeholders and the food supply chain
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Themes map on to Government Strategy and Policy
• Theme 1 – Economic Resilience
• Theme 2 – Resource Efficiency*
• Theme 3 – Sustainable Production*
• Theme 4 – Sustainable, Healthy, Safe Diets
*Sustainable ecosystems are embedded in Themes 2 & 3
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Research is essential to Research is essential to meet the challengemeet the challenge
• Increased production of crops, livestock, dairy and aquaculture e.g. greater resource use efficiency (more food from less input), improved genetics adapted to future climate, pest and disease control (including diagnostics)
• Reduced adverse environmental impacts e.g. lower water and energy use, reduced GHG emissions from agriculture and the supply chain
• Reduced waste throughout the supply chain e.g. tackling post-harvest losses, reduced waste in food processing and the home
• Improved understanding of the many and diverse social and economic factors e.g. international trade & aid, food choice / consumer behaviour, transport, retail, food service sector, resilient supply chains
• Improved human nutrition & food safety e.g. understanding relationship between diet & health, reducing incidences of food-borne disease
… through integrated approaches and multidisciplinary research to address these complex problems & pull research communities together
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