BIOTECH BASICS

• Agricultural biotechnology is a collection of scientific techniques, including genetic engineering, used to create, improve, or modify plants, animals, and microorganisms. Before the development of biotechnology techniques, scientists worked to improve plants and animals for human benefit by using conventional techniques, such as selective breeding.

• Modern techniques now enable scientists to move genes (and therefore desirable traits) in ways they could not before -- and with greater ease and precision.

• "Genetically-modified organisms" (GMOs) is the term used by some countries to identify products produced through modern biotechnology. Since animal and plant hybridization and fermentation have involved genetic modification for over a century, U.S. regulators prefer the term "biotech" products.

• Ten years of experience with commercialization of biotech food products in the United States and related numerous and ongoing findings, show that biotech foods developed to date present no unique food safety risks.

WHAT IT DOES...

• Some of the goals of modern biotechnology include endowing a conventional product with a trait that enhances its nutritional composition or a host plant with a desirable trait (such as pest or drought resistance) that enhances a plant's yield. For example, genes from a common microbe found in the soil and widely-used by organic farmers as a pesticide, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), can be inserted into the DNA of corn or other plants, to make the plant noxious to specific insect pests. The full possibilities of biotech are only now emerging as research continues.

HOW IT IS REGULATED IN THE UNITED STATES...

• For over a decade, U.S. biotech seed developers have submitted new seed varieties to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for review and cooperated with these agencies to monitor environmental impact in field tests.

• The U.S. review process uses a science-based approach to risk assessment. Once they have successfully passed the review, all seeds (biotech and non-biotech) are sold domestically and internationally with identifying transportation and handling documentation for planting and/or crossbreeding (with previously approved biotech and non-biotech varieties).

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture reviews biotech seeds, crops in the field, and animals for slaughter.

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reviews the safety of pesticidal proteins in biotech products.

• The United States Food and Drug Administration reviews foods produced from crops, animals and fish that are products of biotech processes.

• All foods and processed foods in the U.S., including foods from bioengineered plants, have to comply with all the provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, including provisions covering safety and labeling.

• In addition, the Food and Drug Administration has established a process by which companies can consult on food safety and labeling issues on new products before bringing them to market.

• Under U.S. law, biotech foods are not commercialized unless they meet the same rigorous safety standards as their traditional counterparts.

WHERE IT IS USED...

• In 1998, 25 percent of U.S. corn acreage, 38 percent of soybean acreage, and 45 percent of cotton acreage were planted with biotech varieties. This represented a total of over 45 million acres, up 250 percent from 1997 levels. Worldwide, over 69 million acres of biotech crops were planted in 1998 (15 percent in developing countries).

• Field tests are being conducted on over 50 new food, fiber, and feed crops.

POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF BIOTECH...

Consumers

• Biotechnology is expected to increase crop yields by 20% for smallholder farmers profitably without degrading natural resources. Since the world's population is expected to double to more than 10 billion people by 2030, using biotechnology to increase crop yields for land currently in agricultural use will ensure a more secure sustainable agricultural future.

• Traits beneficial to humans could be added to plants. For example, corn, soybeans, canola, and other plants are being modified to reduce the saturated fat content of cooking oils derived from these plants. Potatoes are being modified to absorb less fat while frying. "Nutriceuticals" are being developed, including fruits and vegetables containing higher levels of certain nutrients such as Vitamins C and E, and beta carotene, to help reduce risk of chronic diseases such as some cancers and heart disease. Rice is being produced with an improved protein profile to include higher levels of the essential amino acid, lysine.

• Edible vaccines are under development. For example, the May 1998 edition of Nature Medicine magazine reported on the clinical trial of the first edible vaccine introduced into potatoes (and hopefully bananas in the future). The results showed promise for the treatment of intestinal diseases in developing nations, the article reported.

• Traits harmful to human health can be eliminated, too. For example, allergen-causing proteins can be removed from foods, including rice.

• Biotech foods have the potential to help lower food prices through future advances that can enhance the production, distribution, packaging, and handling of biotech food products.

• Biotech is providing new technologies for traditional production, such as brewing, baking and cheese making. It has already improved products vital to food making such as enzymes, proteins, and vitamins. For example, Rennin, an enzyme used to make cheese traditionally taken from the lining of calves' stomachs after slaughter, has now been reproduced in bacteria.

For The Environment

• Some biotech crops could decrease the need for pesticides and herbicides to control pests, weeds, and plant diseases and allow more selective application of agricultural chemicals. For example, genes from a common microbe found in the soil and widely-used by organic farmers as a pesticide, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), can be inserted into the DNA of corn or other plants, to make the plant noxious to specific insect pests.

• Biotechnology could provide enhanced resistance to natural climatic variations and lessen reliance on water source management. Plants could be made to withstand, for instance, a drop in temperature and frost by modifying their production of linoleic acid.

• Biotech could decrease the pressure on natural resources such as tropical forests by making marginal lands (now fallow owing to salts, metal, acids) productive.

• Biotech crops can potentially preserve the land's ability to support continued farming by reducing the need for tillage, which causes both soil and water runoff and soil nutrient depletion.

For Farmers

• Taking advantage of the advances in the agricultural sciences can increase profitability for farmers. Biotechnology has improved the quality of seed grains and the ability to produce bigger harvests from land currently in cultivation. Increased yields and reduced chemical and labor costs would increase income for farmers.

• Reductions in the use of pesticides and herbicides would lessen farm workers' exposure to toxic agricultural chemicals.

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