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Advisory / BIOTECHNOLOGY

Benefits of Agricultural Biotechnology

Agricultural biotechnology improves crop plants by providing built-in protection against diseases and insects, and by instilling herbicide tolerance, which creates opportunities to produce more and better foods in a sustainable way. Following are some of the current benefits of biotechnology, and opportunities for the future. 

Fewer Pesticides 
Agricultural biotechnology promotes the sustainability of natural resources. The built-in protection against disease and insects reduces the need to apply conventional insecticides, thereby reducing handling, exposure and potential spillage. For example, Bt cotton has reduced pesticide usage by an estimated two million pounds since its introduction. Herbicide-tolerant plants also reduce usage of older, less efficient soil-applied herbicides. 

Reduced Soil Erosion 
The use of crops produced through biotechnology can contribute to a decrease in erosion because harmful weeds are controlled while the crop thrives, thereby promoting no-till and conservation tillage systems. These tillage systems are effective for helping to save the soil, conserve soil moisture and nutrients, preserve earthworm populations, and reduce sediment runoff into watersheds. 

More Food, Lower Costs 
Through biotechnology, varieties of crops can be enhanced to enable farmers to produce more food at lower costs. Enhanced crops make it possible to obtain higher crop yields by effectively controlling disease, insects and weeds that cause extensive crop loss and damage. Higher yields of biotechnology crops have been reported by a number of respected sources, including the World Bank, Nuffield Council on Bioethics, and a joint consultation of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health organization (WHO). 

More Efficient Use of Farmland 
By easing crop damage and disease, improved pest controls allow for the more efficient use of farmland, which is critical to the protection of natural habitat for biodiversity. According to the House Subcommittee on Basic Research, which conducted comprehensive hearings on agricultural biotechnology, "Crops that can withstand drought conditions, high salinity, or toxic materials, for example, could enable populations living in currently non-arable regions to farm their land, reducing the pressure on other regions of the world, such as rainforests, that are currently being converted to farmland." 

Fight Disease, Better Nutrition 
Biotechnology crops can improve the nutritional value of foods, which can fight disease and malnutrition. Agricultural biotechnology has created opportunities to develop plants-called plant-made pharmaceuticals-that can deliver medicines and vaccines. Also, scientists have developed a new strain of rice that naturally produces the protein that creates Vitamin A and iron. In addition to its effectiveness against maladies such as Vitamin A-induced blindness, which affects an estimated 200 million people, this product could be used to cure anemia and other ills that afflict hundreds of millions of people. 

Nutrition, Quality and Health Benefits


Better Nutrition and Quality
Soybean, corn and canola oils used to make processed foods are given beneficial traits through biotechnology. Some of these oils stand up better at higher temperatures, helping to cut back on the amount of processing of some foods. Some also have lower levels of saturated fat. Delayed-ripening traits allow fruits and vegetables to vine-ripen for better flavor and to remain fresh longer for better shipping and storage. This increases availability of nutritious fruits and vegetables and improves their taste and quality. Tomatoes are available now, and strawberries, raspberries, bananas and pineapples are on the way. Increased solids give tomatoes superior taste and quality for tomato paste and sauces. Not yet to market, potatoes with increased starch solids will absorb less oil when cooked for better tasting, reduced-fat french fries! 

Health Benefits
You may have heard of the "edible vaccine," which biotechnology makes possible. Researchers are enhancing fruits and vegetables such as bananas and potatoes to contain vaccines against deadly and debilitating diseases such as hepatitis, cholera and malaria. These edible vaccines will be especially effective in developing countries where infectious diseases are rampant especially among children. It will be possible to grow and distribute the foods containing edible vaccines locally at relatively low cost. These same countries often lack the resources and medical infrastructure to provide traditional vaccines. Of interest to everyone, fruits and vegetables are also being genetically modified to offer higher levels of anti-oxidant vitamins that help ward off cancer and heart disease, and vitamin A to prevent blindness. As other phytochemicals in plants are discovered to have disease-fighting nutritional value, their levels may also get a genetic boost.