Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
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Governing Risk in GMAgriculture
AnIntroduction
Michael Baram andMathilde Bourrier
BiotechnologyandtheTransformation of Agriculture
Biotechnology is generating the knowledge and skills for modifying all
forms of life - plant, animal, human, and microbial. It is enabling re-
searchers to map the genetic composition of organisms and identify the
functions of their genes, and to determine the roles that selected genes
play in creating proteins that, in turn, establish the physical and biolog-
ical traits of the organisms. With this knowledge, researchers are then
able to conceptualize modified versions of selected organisms that would
be endowed with new traits, such as various species of plants, and under-
take a process that subsequently involves splicing new genetic material
into the genomes of the plants to modify their genetic composition and
proteins. If successful, the redesigned plants will have the new intended
characteristics. Thus, the scientific approach to agriculture pioneered by
Mendel and others in the nineteenth century is dramatically amplified by
biotechnology.
Over the past decade, commercial interests have promoted genetic
modification (GM) of basic commodity food crops such as corn, soy, and
rice, and important nonfood crops such as cotton, to endow these species
with traits that will enhance agricultural productivity. Notable achieve-
ments include modified versions of selected crops with superior ability to
withstand the chemical herbicides used in agriculture to eradicate weeds
and to withstand various insect pests, crop diseases, frost, and drought. In
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