Green genetic engineering - opportunities for sustainability?

What potential do so-called new genomic techniques have for sustainability? And what is their scientific basis? The lecture series "Green genetic engineering - opportunities for sustainability?" will address these questions during the winter semester at the University campus Freiburg. Starting on November 20, 2024, experts from various scientific disciplines will give insights into the possibilities of these technologies for sustainable agriculture in four keynote lectures, shed light on the current and sometimes controversial debates on the topic and lead up to the concluding panel discussion on January 22, 2025.

The CIBSS - Centre for Integrative Biological Signalling Studies at the University of Freiburg, the Faculty of Biology and the Verein zur Förderung der Fakultät für Biologie an der University campus Freiburg e.V. are cooperating with the Studium generale and the Catholic Academy of the Archdiocese of Freiburg for this series of events.

The program

Wednesday, 20.11.2024, 20:15 hrs
Prof. Dr. Thomas Ott, (CIBSS / Chair of Plant Cell Biology, University campus Freiburg): Green genetic engineering - about mutations, gene scissors and transgenes

Wednesday, 04.12.2024, 20:15 h
Prof. Dr. Silja Vöneky (CIBSS / Institute of Public Law, Chair of Public International Law, Comparative Law and Legal Ethics, University campus Freiburg): How adaptive is the EU regulation of green genetic engineering?

Wednesday, 08.01.2025, 20:15 hrs
Prof. Dr. Dr. Urs Niggli (President of the Institute of Agroecology, Aarau/Switzerland): The role of plant breeding in sustainable agroecosystems

Wednesday, 15.01.2025, 20:15 hrs
Dr. Christian Dürnberger (Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna/Austria): Fruits of Wrath? Modern plant breeding in social perception

Wednesday, 22.01.2025, 19:15 hrs
Panel discussion: Green genetic engineering - pros and cons
Discussion: Svenja Augustin (PhD student at the Cluster of Excellence CEPLAS, Progressive Agrarwende & Öko-Progressives Netzwerk e.V.); Prof. Dr.Caroline Gutjahr (Director of the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology Potsdam-Golm); Dr. Martha Mertens (BUND Genetic Engineering Working Group); Dr. Christoph Then (TestBiotech e.V.). Prof. Dr. Stefan Rensing, Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation at the University campus Freiburg, will moderate the event.