Good Day BIO: UN Food Systems Summit kicks off—plus, news from the COVID summit

The UN Food Systems Summit kicks off today, setting the stage for global collaboration to eliminate hunger and build a more sustainable, resilient food supply. To achieve all this, we need science-based innovation.

Why are we talking about food? We’ll need to feed 10 billion people by 2050—so we must ensure our food supply is both nutritious and resilient in the face of climate change. 

But it’s no longer just about food security—it’s also about feeding people in a way that’s environmentally sustainable, since agriculture is responsible for 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions, 70% of freshwater use, and 80% of land-use changes.

Ending hunger and addressing climate change with more resilient food systems requires “leading with science and innovation,” said Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Dr. Jewel Bronaugh at the Pre-Summit in Rome in July.  

BIO has been getting ready for the summit for months—highlighting the importance of science-based innovations like gene editing to reaching these goals.

“Cutting-edge scientific methods, like gene editing, already allow researchers to develop resilient crops that can adapt to environmental pressures and ensure a more sustainable food supply,” wrote ag research experts Neal Gutterson and Barbara Wells in the International Business Times.

These include...gene editing to develop rice that’s more nutritious, salmon which grows to market weight with less inputs, and crops that better tolerate heat and drought, as well innovative farming methods to improve soil health and capture carbon.

BIO joined the U.S. Government’s Coalition of Action on Sustainable Productivity Growth for Food Security and Resource Conservation, which will elevate sustainable productivity growth as a strategic action priority—read more.

Dr. Michelle’s Diagnosis: BIO is proud to support the United States Government’s Coalition of Action on Sustainable Productivity Growth for Food Security and Resource Conservation. Now, more than ever, we must harness the power of science to meet global challenges and make food production more sustainable and secure. Governments across the globe should embrace innovation and provide producers with access to biotechnology tools that equitably deliver benefits to people and the planet. BIO looks forward to working with the coalition’s diverse membership to raise awareness about the role of agricultural biotechnology in building a resilient, climate-centric food system. – BIO President and CEO Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath

More Reading: 

• How biotech can help us use less water in agriculture 
  
• Why we need to act now on ag biotech

More Agriculture and Environment News: 

The New York Times: A low-carbon economy is cheaper than the costs of climate change, a report says
“By the end of the century, more frequent and severe natural disasters could shrink the region’s economy by 10 percent if no new policies to mitigate climate change are introduced, the [European Central Bank] report said. By comparison, the costs of transition would be no more than 2 percent of gross domestic product."

President Biden convened the UN Global COVID-19 Summit yesterday, announcing new commitments towards getting the world vaccinated. Here’s what happened and the biotech industry’s response.

ICYMI: The U.S. will donate an additional 500 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, bringing the total U.S. donation to 1.1 billion doses—donating three doses for every shot administered at home, per the White House. 

Additional U.S. commitments include:

• $370 million in funding for global vaccine readiness and capacity and $383 million to Gavi to facilitate vaccine shipments to regions in greatest need.
• Billions more to address COVID-19 and other diseases, including HIV/AIDS, and strengthen health systems worldwide.
• Expanding production capacity in Africa and India to produce 2 billion doses for developing countries by 2022. 

Disappointingly, however, the White House reiterated support for the proposed TRIPS waiver,which would suspend intellectual property protections for the vaccine technology without helping to expand manufacturing capacity. 

The global biopharmaceutical industry is committed to “working with governments and global health partners to align on a common vision to expand and enhance our shared efforts to defeat COVID-19,” said a joint industry statement led by the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) and signed by BIO.

“[E]ven if governments in G7 countries decide to vaccinate teenagers and adults at a rate of more than 80% and decide to give boosters to at-risk populations, there would still be over 1.2 billion doses available for distribution by the end of this year,” we said. “By June 2022, if there are no major bottlenecks and trade barriers, output will reach over 24 billion.” 

So, the vaccines are available—now, to vaccinate the world, governments and partners need to work together to:

• step up dose sharing,
• continue efforts to optimize production,
• eliminate trade barriers,
• support country readiness, and
• continue to drive innovation.

The bottom line: “To stave off future pandemics, society needs a thriving innovation eco-system alongside a resilient, sufficiently resourced, health infrastructure that will sustain the development, production and deployment of vaccines and therapeutics vital to continued global health progress,” we said.

Read the full statement.

BIO President and CEO Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath prepared a video for the summit—watch:

More Health Care News: 

USA Today: FDA authorizes booster dose of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for people 65 and older, high-risk workers
On Friday, an outside advisory committee to the FDA decided there wasn't yet sufficient evidence to show COVID-19 booster shots for people under 65 are necessary. That was "relatively unusual" said Phyllis Arthur, vice president of infectious diseases and diagnostics policy for the Biotechnology Innovation Organization. "A lot of their conversation was around whether there was enough ability to parse the data out by population... to ensure the data was clear for multiple populations," she said.

Biopharma Dive: FDA green lights booster dose of Pfizer vaccine for older, more vulnerable Americans
“The decision matches the recommendation made Friday by FDA advisers, who opposed offering a third dose more widely to anyone over 16 years old.”

As CEO of LanzaTech, Dr. Jennifer Holmgren has been at the helm of developing innovative technology to recycle waste carbon emissions, forging partnerships with companies including lululemon. Colombian-born Holmgren is a member of the Executive Committee of the Board at BIO and Vice Chair of the Agriculture & Environment Governing Board.

Meet more Hispanic and Latinx scientists and innovators you should know.

President Biden’s Thursday: Quieter day. 

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: The House is expected to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) today, per POLITICO Day Ahead. Meanwhile, agriculture’s on the agenda with a House Agriculture Committee hearing on voluntary carbon markets and a Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee hearing on the nomination of Dr. Homer L. Wilkes for Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment.