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CIAO DATE: 03/02
Volume 4, Number 4, October 1999
Preface
Who could have imagined that research on a little known bacterial plant pathogen, which causes a disease called "crown gall," would revolutionize the future of agriculture? Yet that is what happened. In the early 1980s, research on the plant pathogen Agrobacterium led to the first successful and dependable genetic engineering system for crops.
Since then the science underpinning genetic engineering has come a long way. Genes from any species now can be specifically tailored to function not only in plants, but in certain plant tissues and at defined times. The genetic tools and databases emerging from the rapidly developing field of genomics are making this even easier. Plant breeders now have a vastly expanded reservoir of possible genes for disease and pest resistance, drought tolerance, improved nutritional properties, and other beneficial traits that can be used to improve the profitability of farms, improve consumer health, and protect the environment.
In short, the promise and potential of biotechnology is extraordinary. Yet as promising as agricultural biotechnology is, it has raised concerns on several fronts. For example, some critics contend the current state of knowledge is insufficient to be certain genetically engineered crops will not harm the environment or human health. Others believe wide-scale adoption of genetically engineered crops will shift control of genetic resources away from farmers to large multinational corporations thereby threatening food security for poorer countries.
This issue of Economic Perspectives explores many of the multifaceted policy questions associated with the worldwide debate on agricultural biotechnology. I hope this presentation will inform the reader and shed some light on a highlycharged debate that often lacks a scientific foundation or an appreciation of what will be required of agriculture in the 21st century. You can be confident that the United States will continue to pursue agricultural biotechnology policies based on scientific analysis and a commitment to human health and safety.
— Neal F. Lane
Assistant to the President of the United States
for Science and Technology Policy