By Tea Jankovic, Checkbiotech

Agricultural technology is a huge, fast growing field. With new scientific studies being published every couple of minutes and current issues being debated by many parties with seemingly incompatible views, wouldn’t it be great if there were one neutral organization that would weed out the misunderstandings? The Agriculture and Biotechnology unit of the US-based Meridian Institute does just that.

It started out modestly - a couple of professionals working together on agricultural issues in the 1980s. Todd Barker, partner with Meridian Institute and one of the original members of the institute, said in an interview with Checkbiotech that the “staff now working at Meridian were responsible for convening and facilitating the Keystone Dialogue on Plant Genetic Resources, which took place in the late 80s and early 90s. Since then, Meridian has worked extensively on issues related to agriculture and food security.”

With Dr. M. S. Swaminathan, President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as its leader, the Keystone group (after the first meeting in 1988 at the Keystone Center in Colorado, USA) brings together representatives from governments, scientific institutes, international corporations and non-governmental organizations, to discuss controversial topics.

Barker added, “In late 1999, senior staff at The Rockefeller Foundation asked us to develop a news service that would help Meridian and Rockefeller staff keep track of the most important news and issues related to food security, agricultural biotechnology, bio-safety, plant genetic resources, intellectual property rights, etc. We were especially interested in these issues from a developing country perspective.”

These are issues brought on by the unique circumstances of our age – having a large and ever increasing human population to feed and the technology to influence the genetics, the very blueprint, of organisms - circumventing evolution.

Interesting questions are bound to arise. Is transgenic food safe? Is tinkering with the genetic material of crops, not to mention animals or humans, ethical? Say, you have created a new kind of plant through genetic engineering – can you patent it?

To some people, these are more than just interesting questions. The answers to them affect entire policies, laws, and therefore human lives. Thus the subject matter must be addressed. Barker noted that is when Meridian steps in.

“Meridian provides convening, mediation, facilitation, and strategy development services. We serve as a neutral third party that brings together representatives from governments, companies, non-governmental organizations, and academic institutions to solve problems and make informed decisions.

“Food Security and Ag-Biotech News is another service we provide – in addition to our mediation, facilitation, and strategy development services – that helps groups make informed decisions about the complex set of issues related to food security and agricultural biotechnology.”

“Most of Meridian’s projects come about when stakeholders, with whom we have existing relationships, are struggling with an issue and turn to us for assistance. We are repeatedly approached jointly by companies, governments and NGOs who recognize the value of bringing in an objective, third party with expertise in helping groups solve problems.”

However, Barker continued, “Before deciding whether to get involved, we carefully review the issues, talk to individuals from all sectors – companies, governments, NGOs. In some case, we decide it would be inappropriate or premature to get involved – information needed for decision-making may be unavailable, a critical stakeholder group refuses to participate, or the incentives for making a decision may be missing.”

It’s the job of the Meridian Institute to bring together all the people with the necessary expertise in order to have a balanced discussion on the one hand, and to inform professionals and the public about new research on the other.

“Our model – from the very beginning – was to pick three or four of the most important developments related to agriculture in the previous 24 hours; these developments were summarized in one paragraph, with a link to additional information. This meant subscribers did not have to search through countless websites, news sources, email lists, etc. to keep track of this rapidly evolving set of issues. “

“The news service has also, from the beginning, strived to present balanced coverage of the scientific developments, public policy issues, legal decisions, public debate, related to food security and agricultural biotechnology. In 2000 and 2001, we slowly began adding Rockefeller grantees and others to the news service. Feedback was so positive that we made Food Security and Ag-Biotech News public in 2002. “

Louisa Roberts, producer of Food Security and Ag-Biotech News, Research Associate and News Service Editor at Meridian Institute said “Every day I scan the Internet and other sources for relevant articles, op-eds, and reports, and write summaries of three items for the news service. The focus is giving subscribers to our news service the most thorough, relevant, and balanced picture of news and issues possible, each and every day.”

Roberts continued, “At the same time, our news summaries are generally only a paragraph in length, so they can be read and understood quickly. This service fits in with Meridian’s overall belief that people who have good information make better, more informed decisions. Accurate, balanced information can also serve to get people thinking on the same page.”

There is so much information on the topics of agricultural biotechnology and its implications for food security in developing countries; the challenge is constructing a comprehensible access to it. Roberts noted, “Some problems are that the information is dispersed through many different outlets and often couched in very different types of language. Sometimes the information is overly general or repetitive for someone who’s familiar with the field. It can also be unclear, lacking in contextualizing details, or slanted to different points of view. “

“With Food Security and Ag-Biotech News, we try to deal with these problems by identifying all the relevant information, whether it’s about a new scientific development or an important current of opinion, and presenting it in a consistent, balanced language and format.”

Barker added, “Meridian is known for its: expert process design and facilitation; understanding of and experience with policy development and implementation; ongoing working relationships with diverse stakeholders; and, in-depth substantive understanding of substantive issues. While we work at the local, national, and international levels, the amount of international work continues to expand. Meridian has 27 staff [members].”

There are few companies like the Meridian Institute, offering mediation services, ways to hold conferences and focus groups via internet and creating a fertile environment for dialogue between very different parties. It is a new kind of company, rising to the needs of a new and increasingly, globalized world.

Additional information at www.merid.org/index.html, the official website of the Meridian Institute

Tea Jankovic is a Science Writer for Checkbiotech and a student at the University of Basel.