>                               The GM Debate to decide if the UK will allow the commercialisation of GM crops is well underway and will report to Government in the autumn. The following Lecture provides an opportunity for you to hear in depth about one example of successful integration of farming practice with research using GM technology.
>
>                               19:00 on Tuesday 8th April, 2003 in the Reception Room, The Novartis Foundation, 41 Portland Place, London
>
>                               "The Successful Introduction of Transgenic Bt Cotton in Australia"
>
>                               by Dr Jim Peacock, Chief of CSIRO Plant Industry, Australia
>
>                               with an introduction by Professor Chris Lamb, Director, John Innes Centre, Norwich
>
>                               Biotechnology saved the cotton industry in Australia. Cotton is primarily grown for its fibre but in Australia the seed oil is used in the food chain for cooking oils and margarine, and the meal is used for animal feeds. It is an important crop worth $1.6 billion per year in export income. The industry presents a special case of the successful integration of research with farming practice. In 1980 there was less than 100,000 hectares in eastern Australia but is now over 500,000 hectares and Australia has the world> '> s highest yields in cotton cropping with more than 3 million bales produced annually. The major limitation in production is insect pests and the major pest, Lepidopteran moths. 80% of pesticides applied to cotton are applied against the Lepitopterans. There are also mirids, mites and other pests. A big problem in Australia has been the use of chemical insecticides in ways which have led to the build-up of resistance in the pests to most of the affordable !
and environmentally acceptable pesticides. The industry would have disappeared by now had it not been for the introduction of a new biotechnology.
>
>                               To find out more about the Australian Bt cotton experience register by replying to this mail
>
>                               Please feel free to circulate this mail to others you think may be interested but please note numbers are limited to 65
>
>                               Jim Peacock is Chief of CSIRO Plant Industry in Canberra Australia, one of the world's leading plant research institutes. His Division is recognised internationally in the field of plant molecular biology. In the Australian Day Honours, 1994, he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia for his contribution to the nation. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, The Royal Society of London, and Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering. In 1990 he was elected as a Foreign Associate of the US Academy of Sciences and a Foreign Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy. In 2000 he was a co-recipient of the Inaugural Prime Minister's Science Prize. In February 1988 he was awarded the BHP Bicentennial Prize for the Pursuit of Excellence in Science and Technology. In December 1989 he was awarded a CSIRO Medal for his leadership of CSIRO Plant Industry. He is a Director of the Gene Shears biotechnology company, a Director of BARLEYPLUS !
Pty Ltd, Director of the Cotton Research & Development Corporation, Board Member of the Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Cotton Production, and Scientific Adviser to a major Australian company. He has been a member of the Scientific Council of the Rice Biotechnology Program of the Rockefeller Foundation.
>                               > Jim Peacock has active research programs in the induction of flowering, a major developmental decision in plants; in the molecular genetics of seed development; in plant haemoglobin; and in the molecular biology of stress responses in plants. He is prominent in the interfacing of plant science with modern agribusiness. He drives innovative communication efforts to extend research results and educate key-decision makers and the general public as to the outcomes and value of modern science, particularly gene technology. He has brought the excitement of biological research to a broad cross-section of the community and to a large population of Australian school students. Recent appointments include Chairman of the Na> tional Science Forum, member of the Biotechnology Consultative Group to the Biotechnology Taskforce, and a member of the Steering Committee on Genetics and Biotechnology for the International Council of Scientific Unions.
>
>
>                               Dee Rawsthorne
>                               John Innes Centre
>                               Norwich Research Park
>                               Colney
>                               Norwich NR4 7UH
>                               UK
>
>                               Tel: 44 (0)1603 450528 (Internal Ext. 2528)
>                               E-mail [log in to unmask]
>                               Fax: 44 (0)1603 450025

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