The future of food technology: Gene-edited rice

Presidency University hosted academics, scholars, and researchers at a symposium on gene-edited rice. The issue of gene-edited rice becomes pertinent today in the face of biodiversity changes and the rapid decay of natural resources. The symposium was held at P.C. Mahalanobis Auditorium, and the welcome address was given by the Honorable Vice Chancellor, Presidency University: Prof. Nirmalya Narayan Chakraborty, after the lamp lighting ceremony. Avishek Banik (Institute of Health Sciences), Niloshree Bhattacharya (Department of Sociology), and Malay Das (Department of Life Sciences) were the organisers of the event and addressed the gathering as such.

Malay Das said, “The advent of the first gene-edited rice in India opens up a new horizon for us. We are a predominantly rice-dependent nation, and this achievement will help us in attending targeted genetic modifications and facilitate smoother regularity in commercial use. The Indian government is supporting these initiatives a lot. We are such a large population, we have to be very careful while navigating our resources.” The one-day seminar focused on four central themes: Biotechnology in Agriculture, State, Science, and Policies, Agriculture, Food and Environment, Agroecology and Food Sovereignty. Speaking on Agroecology was Anupam Paul, Former Additional Director of Agriculture(P), Directorate of Agriculture, West Bengal. The questions remains whether the research on gene-edited rice become sustainable in the larger economic demographic?

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Niloshree Bhattacharya said, “We have to know what the importance of a new technology is. Barring Bengal, there are thousands of indigenous rice grains all over India that are capable of feeding people and are climate resilient. So why do we suddenly need gene-edited rice is a question we need to answer as researchers.” Avishek Banik said, “We have a severe need to think about our food security. We are slowly moving from food security to nutritional security. This will bring acceptance among the farmers. Even the bio-engineers know their inventions have a life span. They test it accordingly.” Prof. K.C. Bansal reassured that this is indeed a well-tested technology. The future of gene-edited rice seems hopeful, and achievements in this field can help immensely in the balance of ecological loss and climate chang