AgriBIOTECHNZ

PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES

Our core purpose is to help create a more sustainable and productive primary sector in New Zealand underpinned by biotechnology. To do this we:

Connect

• Bringing together the people, organisations, agencies and industry bodies that are passionate about the potential for the New Zealand bio-economy.

Promote

• Promoting the importance of biotechnology for the sustainability and productivity of the New Zealand primary sector.
• Collaborating to help raise the public’s awareness of the importance of biotechnologies such as gene editing for New Zealand’s future.
• Highlighting the opportunities of Agri-Biotech to a new generation of students and innovators.

Advance

• Helping lift government understanding about the importance and safety of agri-biotechnologies.
• Working with the government to help update regulation around gene editing and other biotechnologies to enable a more sustainable and productive New Zealand primary sector.

CURRENT ACTIVITIES

• Consulted on and submitted to the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (Hazardous Substances Assessments) Amendment Bill (closed). – Followed up presenting to the Environmental Select Committee, 4th November 2021.
• Submitted on Help us innovate and shape the future of biodiversity regarding on how emerging technologies can help New Zealand’s biodiversity thrive (closed).
• Consulting on and submitting to the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan to highlight importance of biotechnologies to help our response to climate change.
• Consulting on and submitting to the Government’s Waste Reduction Strategy.
• Proposal P1055 – Definitions for gene technology and new breeding techniques (foodstandards.gov.au) -Consultation will close on 3 December 2021,
• Lifting the conversation around gene editing, its safety and its potential for supporting a sustainable and productive bio-economy in New Zealand.

LATEST UPDATES

• Biotech driving the future of clean food
• NZ should move to low nicotine cigarettes
• Fear of GMOs goes up in smoke | NBR,
• European Scientists Call For Better Legislation on Genome-Edited Crops- Crop Biotech Update (November 3, 2021) | ISAAA.org
• Study Highlights Economic Loss Caused by Barriers of GM Crop Commercialization- Crop Biotech Update (November 10, 2021) | ISAAA.org

AgriBioTechNZ Working Group Chair

• Greg Pringle – Senior Commercialisation Manager – Plant and Food Research

AgriBioTechNZ Working Group Co-Chair

• Zahra Champion – Executive Director – BioTechNZ