|
Life Sciences Hold Great Potential for Ontario's
Agri-Food Industry
The Ontario government supports the development
of life sciences, which are taking products and services in
exciting new directions that will benefit the agri-food and
rural economy.
What are life sciences?
The practice of developing new or alternative
products and services from renewable biological materials
- animal, plant or biosolid - has roots that reach back thousands
of years. Using yeast to leaven bread and make beer are just
two ancient examples of life sciences in practice.
Now, life sciences hold great potential for
business expansion and job creation in rural areas, in addition
to safeguarding food quality and the environment.
What are life sciences producing these days?
Products and services currently being developed using life sciences
include:
- foods with added nutritional or health benefits;
- fuels or electricity developed from farm products and
waste;
- disease resistant fruits and vegetables; and
- crops that can better fight off harmful insects, reducing
the use of pesticides.
What are the benefits of developing life sciences?
Products developed from life sciences usually
come out of a specific need such as improving human health
and environmental quality, or increasing the hardiness of
agricultural crops. Any new product is approved before being
marketed.
The benefits of life sciences are many, and include the potential
development of:
- improved consumer products;
- new economic opportunities in rural areas, such as the
creation of refineries using plant materials to produce
fuel;
- lower costs for farmers as input costs are reduced and
yields are boosted;
- decreased use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides and
pesticides; and
- cleaner alternative fuels.
What is Ontario doing to support life sciences?
The economic future appears bright for the life
sciences. Forecasts show that by 2010, advances in this area
could be worth $500 billion (U.S.). Ontario currently helps
fund research into life sciences at seven universities and
10 private and public institutes.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food plays a key role in the
development of life sciences by:
- supporting research and the transfer of new technologies
to the agri-food
industry;
- attracting investment, and encouraging the commercialization
of new products;
- enhancing the provincial food regulatory system; and
- fostering environmentally sustainable agriculture.
|
This site is maintained
by the Government of Ontario 
Queen's Printer for Ontario
