GLOBAL FARMING AND YOU
Jenny MacLeod
February 16, 2006
The FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (The Commission), during it's Eight Regular Session in 1999, agreed that the FAO should coordinate the development of a country-driven first Report on the State of the World Animal Genetic Resources.
During its tenth Regular Session in 2004 the Commission approved the completion of the process of the development of the Report. Now we have the result of this work: The E-Conference on Exchange, Use and Conservation of Farm Animal Genetic Resources.
Strategies for conservation and sustainable use of farm animal genetic resources and for the regulation of genetic exchange are the new issue in genetic management of global farm stocks.
The importance of genetic resources conservation and sustainability are well recognized. Domestic animals supply some thirty percent of total human requirements for food and agriculture (FAO 1999).
Livestock keeping contributes to the livelihood of seventy per cent of the world's rural poor (LID 1999) and livestock keepers maintain a tremendous variety of livestock.[1]
Access to animal genetic diversity enables poor people to manage risk and reduce their vulnerability to hard ecological conditions and disease.[1]
During the last century, and in particular over recent decades, livestock production systems and agricultural practices have changed in ways that have impacted on the use, exchange and conservation of animal genetic diversity. A large proportion of global livestock products comes from a relatively small number of livestock breeds and loss of genetic diversity is closely associated with a transition of small-scale, often largely subsistence modes of agriculture to larger-scale industrialized or semi-industrialized forms.[1]
So now we have the Global E-Conference, the newest tool of The Commission. It is designed as a survey and the first stage opened today. It is for not just for farmers. It is a forum where all stakeholders are invited to participate. It is their way of entering into a well-supported, informed decision making process. I entered the process as a writer/researcher.
I believe that anyone with concerns about their nutrition choices, for themselves and for their families, should be allowed to participate.
I especially encourage all those who market, directly or indirectly, organic or free-range meat and egg products to get involved.
I do not believe that free-range and organic food products from genetically diverse smallhold farms should be legislated out of sight for all of us, nor should they be priced out of site in a boutique market.
In this study we are addressing the issues surrounding the international integration of food markets, the urbanization and increased incomes which are expected to double meat and milk consumption in developing countries between 1993 and 2020 as part of the "livestock revolution".
I found it worthwhile just to read the background document. I remind all of you who do go to this e-conference to read this document. The link to it is after the entry link to the survey, so be aware of this. The information on this subject is as complete as any agency could possibly gather.
To add your voice as a "stakeholder" see below:
We invite you to subscribe to the mailing list for this conference, preferably before 10th of February, 2006, by following the procedure below:
Send an Email to mailserv@mailserv.fao.org , leave the subject blank and then enter in the first line of the message the following command:
Subscribe AnGR-Exchange-L
Hoping upon your positive reaction to this invitation, we look forward to a fruitful email discussion.
Sipke J. Hiemstra
Moderator/Project co-ordinator
Centre for Genetic Resources, the Netherlands (CGN)
Wageningen University and Research Centre
PS: If you don't receive a Welcome message after subscription, please send an e-mail to the moderators private e-mail account:sipkejoost.hiemstra@wur.nl
The E-Conference is commissioned by FAO and funded by The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. FAO has established a contract with the Center For Genetic Resources in the Netherlands (CGN) which coordinates an international and interdisciplinary project team to address these questions.
(1) reference: Background Document to the e-conference on Exchange, Use and Conservation of Farm Animal Genetic Resources.
During its tenth Regular Session in 2004 the Commission approved the completion of the process of the development of the Report. Now we have the result of this work: The E-Conference on Exchange, Use and Conservation of Farm Animal Genetic Resources.
Strategies for conservation and sustainable use of farm animal genetic resources and for the regulation of genetic exchange are the new issue in genetic management of global farm stocks.
The importance of genetic resources conservation and sustainability are well recognized. Domestic animals supply some thirty percent of total human requirements for food and agriculture (FAO 1999).
Livestock keeping contributes to the livelihood of seventy per cent of the world's rural poor (LID 1999) and livestock keepers maintain a tremendous variety of livestock.[1]
Access to animal genetic diversity enables poor people to manage risk and reduce their vulnerability to hard ecological conditions and disease.[1]
During the last century, and in particular over recent decades, livestock production systems and agricultural practices have changed in ways that have impacted on the use, exchange and conservation of animal genetic diversity. A large proportion of global livestock products comes from a relatively small number of livestock breeds and loss of genetic diversity is closely associated with a transition of small-scale, often largely subsistence modes of agriculture to larger-scale industrialized or semi-industrialized forms.[1]
So now we have the Global E-Conference, the newest tool of The Commission. It is designed as a survey and the first stage opened today. It is for not just for farmers. It is a forum where all stakeholders are invited to participate. It is their way of entering into a well-supported, informed decision making process. I entered the process as a writer/researcher.
I believe that anyone with concerns about their nutrition choices, for themselves and for their families, should be allowed to participate.
I especially encourage all those who market, directly or indirectly, organic or free-range meat and egg products to get involved.
I do not believe that free-range and organic food products from genetically diverse smallhold farms should be legislated out of sight for all of us, nor should they be priced out of site in a boutique market.
In this study we are addressing the issues surrounding the international integration of food markets, the urbanization and increased incomes which are expected to double meat and milk consumption in developing countries between 1993 and 2020 as part of the "livestock revolution".
I found it worthwhile just to read the background document. I remind all of you who do go to this e-conference to read this document. The link to it is after the entry link to the survey, so be aware of this. The information on this subject is as complete as any agency could possibly gather.
To add your voice as a "stakeholder" see below:
We invite you to subscribe to the mailing list for this conference, preferably before 10th of February, 2006, by following the procedure below:
Send an Email to mailserv@mailserv.fao.org , leave the subject blank and then enter in the first line of the message the following command:
Subscribe AnGR-Exchange-L
Hoping upon your positive reaction to this invitation, we look forward to a fruitful email discussion.
Sipke J. Hiemstra
Moderator/Project co-ordinator
Centre for Genetic Resources, the Netherlands (CGN)
Wageningen University and Research Centre
PS: If you don't receive a Welcome message after subscription, please send an e-mail to the moderators private e-mail account:sipkejoost.hiemstra@wur.nl
The E-Conference is commissioned by FAO and funded by The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. FAO has established a contract with the Center For Genetic Resources in the Netherlands (CGN) which coordinates an international and interdisciplinary project team to address these questions.
(1) reference: Background Document to the e-conference on Exchange, Use and Conservation of Farm Animal Genetic Resources.
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