CSPC 2017

Panel Organizers: Ihor Boszko, Ontario Genomics and Mario Thomas, University of Guelph

Across the globe, innovations are transforming the economy and society, and creating change at an unprecedented and unpredictable pace. The potential for innovations in food systems is huge. The promise is no less than more nutritious, safer food produced at a lower cost, with fewer inputs and with less environmental impact. Emerging technologies arising out the digital revolution and the field of genomics and synthetic biology, such as CRISPR gene editing, are rapidly changing the global agriculture industry. This promise is set against a backdrop of a growing skepticism with current political and economic structures. Divergent responses by governments across jurisdictions, and the pace of policy development and regulatory responses that do not keep up with the speed of technological changes, add to the uncertainties and may further hamper the successful adoption of innovations. Innovators may be reticent to invest in new products because they have difficulty anticipating the commercial regulatory path. At the same time, regulators want to understand what products innovators are working on to be proactive about regulation. This panel brings together diverse representatives from industry, government and academia to share their expert perspectives on the dynamic relationship between regulation and innovation, and how to better design science policy to bring new and existing scientific knowledge to bear on Canadian challenges and opportunities in agri-food. Policies that power innovation in agri-food systems will grow Canada’s competitiveness.