Plant Breeding: Before and After Genetic Engineering

Speaker: Prof Emerita Paula Jameson.

Abstract: A major consequence of an increasing global population is the requirement to provide food, forage, fibre, and fuel in ever-increasing amounts while recognising the need for sustainable production methods operating within a changing global environment. In this talk I will cover some of the older and some of the more recent technologies used in plant breeding – hybridisation, mutagenesis breeding, genetic engineering, gene editing. I will discuss the arguments we hear against genetic engineering in relation to technologies that have been used for many decades, as well as discussing relevant New Zealand legislation.

The Banks Memorial Lecture is a free lecture open to the public.