Focus Commentary Facts and Figures Information Resources An Electronic Journal of the U.S. Department of State, Vol. 4, No. 4, October 1999
Focus Commentary
Facts and Figures Information Resources
BIOTECHNOLOGY: FOOD SECURITY AND SAFETY
FOCUS
BIOTECHNOLOGY: FINDING A PRACTICAL APPROACH TO A PROMISING TECHNOLOGY
By Alan P. Larson, Acting Under Secretary of State for Economics, Business and Agricultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State
A poorly informed and often emotional public debate risks disrupting global agricultural trade in biotechnology products. Thoughtful discussions are essential in defining the issues and in resolving the controversies.BIOTECHNOLOGY: RESHAPING GLOBAL AGRICULTURAL MARKETS
By Timothy J. Galvin, Administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Advances in the use of agricultural biotechnology in food production have become sweeping economic and trade policy issues in the last half of this decade, forcing governments to rethink how to manage trade and at the same time ensure food safety.REGULATING THE PRODUCTS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
By Sally McCammon, Science Advisor to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Advances in biotechnology -- being able to determine what has actually happened at the molecular and biochemical levels -- have increased the ability of U.S. regulators to scrutinize product safety and the effect of product modification upon safety.
COMMENTARY
FROM GREEN REVOLUTION TO GENE REVOLUTION
By Ismail Serageldin, Chairman of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research and Vice President of Special Programs, The World Bank
The demands for food to meet the expanding global population are growing faster than the ability of food producers to meet those demands. Increases in food production will have to come from increasing biological yields, and not from area expansion and more irrigation -- systems already overburdened.WHY U.S. FARMERS ARE ADOPTING GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS
By Janet Carpenter, Research Associate, and Leonard Gianessi, Senior Research Associate, National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy
Genetically modified crops that have employed the innovations offered by agricultural biotechnology have provided growers with higher yields, lower costs, and ease of management.THE BIO-PATENT REVOLUTION: ENCOURAGING CREATION OF LIVING INVENTIONS
By Harold C. Wegner, former Professor of Law and Director of the Intellectual Property Law Program at the George Washington University Law School and a member of Foley & Lardner
Rapid advances in biotechnology have generated questions about the protection of intellectual property rights and the potential conflict that may result over those seeking to make broad use of the new developments.SAFETY AND CHOICE: KEY CONSUMER ISSUES FOR GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS
By Lisa Y. Lefferts, Consultant on Food and Environmental Health
Research indicates that around the world consumers are generally not opposed to genetically modified foods, though they are against allowing such foods to be sold without adequate labeling.PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS AND UNDERSTANDING OF AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY
By Thomas J. Hoban, Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, North Carolina State University
Consumer perceptions and understanding of agricultural biotechnology have been strongly influenced by the type of information provided by the media, confidence in governmental safeguards, and cultural preferences.
FACTS AND FIGURES
FACT SHEET: MONARCH BUTTERFLIES AND BT CORN: A REVIEW OF THE RESEARCH
INFORMATION RESOURCES
KEY CONTACTS AND INTERNET SITES
ADDITIONAL READINGS ON BIOTECHNOLOGY: FOOD SECURITY AND SAFETY
An Electronic Journal of the U.S. Department of State
Volume 4, Number 4, October 1999
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