Summerland, BC<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Neal Carter, President, Okanagan Specialty Fruit, joins AndNowUKnow to share the details of his recent TEDx presentation on agricultural biotechnology and what he believes it can offer the agriculture industry and the global community.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Mr. Carter explains that biotech foods are typically defined as having recombinant DNA so they are being produced through the use of genetic engineering. The difference is that they have gene sequences in the food or DNA sequences that aren't normally found in that crop. The value of biotech crops really is in the fact that you can do things that you couldn't do in conventional breeding. Mr. Carter tells us that a great example of that is the papaya developed in Hawaii when the industry in Hawaii was being decimated by the Ringspot virus that really threatened the papayas to extinction. They were able to develop a Ringspot virus resistant papaya cultivar to save the industry.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The TEDx presentation was about sharing information and educating people about some of the stories they never hear. There is a lot of negative publicity about GM crops and biotech crops, Mr. Carter tells us, and education will be key in the case of people embracing biotechnology. He notes that it is going to be a challenge getting the real information into people's hands because there is so much misinformation out there. Credible sources like World Bank, FAO and American Medical Association can be found that speak very strongly in favor of Ag biotech.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">TEDx Presentation<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Okanagan Specialty Fruit <hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
