GADVASU Conducts Workshop on ‘GM Crops in Animal Nutrition: Science & Safety Aspects’

Department of Animal Nutrition, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary & Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana in association with Animal Nutrition Society of India (ANSI) and Biotech Consortium India Limited (BCIL), New Delhi conducted a workshop on 'Genetically Modified (GM) crops in animal nutrition: science and safety aspects'.

The workshop was attended by more than 100 participants from faculty of different veterinary universities, KVKs, dairy & poultry feed millers, and farmers. Dr. Udeybir Chahal, President ANSI welcomed the guests and highlighted the importance of genetically modified (GM) crops.

Dr. Vibha Ahuja, Chief General Manager of BCIL in her keynote address revealed the safety and regulatory aspects of GM crops as animal feed.

Dr. Inderjeet Singh, Vice-Chancellor, GADVASU in his presidential address informed that more than 95% of animals used for meat and dairy in the USA consume GM crops. As the demand of animal products increases day by day, crops with high yields and free from pests, etc must be developed to sustain animal production. He emphasized clear the myths related to GM.

Deliberations on GM crops were made by Dr. Ani Bency Jacob, from the Department of Animal Husbandry GOI, and Dr. Parveen Chhuneja, Director, School of Agricultural Biotechnology PAU, Ludhiana.

Dr. Dharampal Chaudhary, from ICAR- Indian Institute of Maize Research, discussed GM maize with a focus on animal feed. Dr. Milind Ratnaparkhe, from ICAR- Indian Institute of Soybean Research, Indore highlighted the nutritive value of GM soybean.

Dr. Pawan Kumar from US Soybean Export Council explained the tools for checking the feed quality. Sh. Amit Sachdev, Regional Consultant- South Asia, US Grains Council delivered a talk on global feed availability and the role of GM crops.

An interactive session with scientists, feed millers, dairy and poultry farmers regarding the opportunities and challenges in animal nutrition was coordinated by Dr. APS Sethi, Secretary, ANSI, and Dr. Parminder Singh, Principal Scientist.

Industry and academia had healthy discussions regarding the price, availability, and quality issues related to animal feed. Dr. SS Dahiya, Vice President, ANSI proposed the vote of thanks and emphasized the need of organizing more such meetings to clear the doubts regarding GM.