Ag Biotech Summit to Explore Future of Food

Photos: Shutterstock.com

By Barry Teater, NCBiotech Writer

What will food be like 30 years from now, and what new technologies and trends today will bring us that future?

“Food’s journey from mind to mouth” in the coming years is the theme of this month’s Ag Biotech Summit at the Friday Center in Chapel Hill on Sept. 27 and 28. The conference, organized by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, will focus on emerging and converging technologies and their likely impact on the food value chain.

More than 200 people from throughout the state and beyond are expected to attend the event. They will hear more than two dozen speakers from universities, food companies, ag biotech corporations, start-up companies and nonprofit organizations discuss the newest food and ag technologies now wending their way from the lab to the farm to the dinner table.

“This is a must-attend event for anyone in industry or academia who wants to know what’s next in ag biotech and what’s coming down the food value chain,” says Scott Johnson, vice president of agricultural biotechnology at the Biotechnology Center. “The Summit will explore some of the innovative research and emerging technologies in development today that will help feed a growing global population tomorrow and into the future.”

Participants can register for the Summit for $175 through Sept. 21.

Day One

After a welcome by Doug Edgeton, president and CEO of the Biotechnology Center, the program will begin with a lunch keynote presentation sharing a vision of what the world will look like in the next 25 to 30 years. Lowell Catlett, a consultant and retired professor of agricultural economics, will give his perspective on the future social, political, economic, and demographic environment and how it will impact food and agriculture.

That will set the stage for a panel discussion on “cellular agriculture” – new food products made from cell culture, not from animals or plants. Speakers will include:

• Paul Mozdiak, professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at N.C. State University
• Ryan Pandya, co-founder and chief executive officer of Muufri, a company that is developing synthetic milk from yeast cultures
• Hultz Smith, principal scientist at Tyson Foods
• Moderator Isha Datar, chief executive officer of New Harvest, a non-profit research institute that funds research in cellular agriculture.

A presentation by Jennifer Kuzma, co-director of the Genetic Engineering Society Center and professor of public and international affairs at NCSU, will address the social, policy and ethical requirements of innovation in food and agriculture. 

Benjamin Reading, an assistant professor in NCSU’s Department of Applied Ecology, and Vera Bonardi, a scientist with Novozymes BioAg, will highlight advanced genetic tools for improving plant and animal products and production techniques.

Three speakers will discuss technologies and innovative processes in animal agriculture
that avoid invasive production practices and minimize disease risks:

• Dan Moser, president of Angus Genetics and director of performance programs at the American Angus Association
• Giles Shih, chairman and chief executive officer of BioResource International
• Tad Sonstegard, chief scientific officer of Acceligen

Four presenters will summarize new and technologies that exploit the properties of non-traditional plant sources for sustainably produced, unique products:

• Tom Wedegaertner, director of cottonseed research and marketing at Cotton Incorporated
• Ralph Dewey, Philip Morris professor of crop science at NCSU
• Omoanghe Isikhuemhen, professor of natural resources and environmental design and mushroom specialist at N.C. Agricultural and Technical State University
• Cedric Pearce, founder and chief executive officer of Mycosynthetix

Closing Remarks will be given by Becky Boston, interim assistant director of the N.C. Agricultural Research Service and William Neal Reynolds distinguished professor in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology at NCSU.

A networking reception will conclude the day’s program.

Day Two

The Summit will continue with a breakfast networking reception and a keynote presentation by John Wichtrich, president of Wichtrich Consulting, former president of Bayer BioScience Americas, and former chief operating officer of Aventis CropScience. Wichtrich will discuss lessons learned from how technologies have impacted the food value chain and how they must mesh with a food system that is low-margin, high throughput, and creates multiple products from a single commodity or animal.

Two speakers will summarize innovations in tools, processing and packaging for food: Leonard Williams, director and professor of food safety and microbiology at N.C. A&T, and Josip Simunovic, co-founder of Process Innovation and research associate professor in NCSU’s Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences.

Amy te Plate-Church, a senior consultant at the Center for Food Integrity, will address the importance of demonstrating transparency and engaging consumers with shared values regarding farm and food production practices and new technologies.

Three presenters will discuss how the intersection of innovation, traditional products and public acceptance creates hurdles for converging technologies:

• Ron Sotish, chief executive officer, president and executive director of AquaBounty Technologies
• Joe, Guenthner, emeritus professor of agricultural economics at the University of Idaho
• Neal Carter, president of Okanagan Specialty Fruits.

A keynote presentation by a speaker not yet named will address how to manage new technologies and consumers' ever-changing preferences. The talk will include how large food companies focus on meeting consumer demand while protecting their brand.

A summation and closing remarks will be given by Shirley Hymon-Parker, a member of the N.C. AgBiotech Advisory Council and interim dean and research director of the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at N.C. A&T.

The Summit’s program and speakers are subject to change. Participants can check the event’s web page for updates until the day of the conference.

To view an array of photos of the Summit, visit this Image Gallery.