Benefits of Plant Biotechnology November 2002

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Benefits of Plant BiotechnologyNovember 2002
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Plant biotech 101

• What is plant biotechnology?
• Products on the market
• Benefits of biotechnology
• Safety and regulation

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Thomas Fairchild
What is plant biotechnology?
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Fairchilds mule gave birth to many of todays
hybrid flowers
What is plant biotechnology?
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We have recently advanced our knowledge of
genetics to a point where we can manipulate life
in a way never intended by nature. We must
proceed with the utmost caution in the
application of this new-found knowledge.
Luther Burbank
What is plant biotechnology?
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• Burbank was a pioneer in the development of
  several hybrid plants in
  the late 1800s and early 1900s

• plums
• berries
• prunes
• peaches
• potatoes

What is plant biotechnology?
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Selective breeding led to higher-yielding
varieties.
What is plant biotechnology?
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Teosinte
Modern corn
What is plant biotechnology?
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Gregor Johann Mendel
What is plant biotechnology?
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What is plant biotechnology?
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Plant biotechnology definition

• A precise process in which scientific techniques
  are used to develop useful and beneficial
  plants.

What is plant biotechnology?
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No conceptual distinction exists between genetic
modification of plants and microorganisms by
classical methods or by molecular techniques
that modify DNA and transfer genes.

• National Research Council

What is plant biotechnology?
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Products on the market
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More than 50 biotech food products have been
approved for commercial use in the United States

• Canola
• Corn
• Cotton
• Papaya
• Potato

• Soybeans
• Squash
• Sugarbeets
• Sweet corn
• Tomato

Products on the market
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Four crops accounted for nearly all of the global
biotech crop area in 2001
Source International Service for the Acquisition
of Agri-biotech Applications
Products on the market
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Four countries accounted for 99 percent of the
global biotech crop area in 2001
Australia, Bulgaria, Germany, Indonesia, Mexico,
Romania, South Africa, Spain and Uruguay
accounted for the remaining 1 percent of biotech
crop acres.
Source International Service for the Acquisition
of Agri-biotech Applications
Products on the market
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Global plantings of biotech crops increased
nearly 20 percent in 2001
Global Area of GM Crops
Million Hectars
Source International Service for the Acquisition
of Agri-biotech Applications
Products on the market
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Adoption rates for transgenic crops are
unprecedented and are the highest for any new
technologies by agricultural industry
standards.
Clive James, Chair of the International
Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech
Applications
Products on the market
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Benefits of biotechnology
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More food
Net economic impact
Pesticide reduction
Yield increase
Current cultivars 4 billion pounds 1.5
billion 46 million pounds Potential cultivars 10
billion pounds 1 billion 117 million pounds
Total 14 billion pounds 2.5 billion 163 million
pounds
Benefits of biotechnology More food
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More food

Source National Center for Food and Agricultural
Policy
Benefits of biotechnology More food
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Products in the pipeline
Agronomic benefits

• Pest- and disease-resistant cassava

Benefits of biotechnology More food
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Agricultural yield increases are declining
Source C.S. Prakash, Center for Plant
Biotechnology Research, Tuskegee University,
Alabama
Benefits of biotechnology More food
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By 2025, there will be another 2 billion mouths
to feed
United Nations Population Fund
Benefits of biotechnology More food
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Distribution of world population growth to 2010
Former Soviet Union 0
Europe 0
North America 5
Asia 51
Africa 35
South America 8
Benefits of biotechnology More food
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Distribution of world income growth to 2010
Former Soviet Union 4
Europe 24
North America 27
Asia 32
Africa 6
South America 9
Benefits of biotechnology More food
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More food will be needed to feed a growing
global middle class
Benefits of biotechnology More food
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Farmers will need to at least double production
over the next 25 years to meet increased demand.
Consultative Group on International
Agricultural Research
Benefits of biotechnology More food
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Without an increase in farm productivity, an
additional 4 billion acres of arable land will
need to come under the plow by 2050.
C.S. Prakash, founder and president of the
nonprofit AgBioWorld Foundation
Benefits of biotechnology More food
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Better food
Benefits of biotechnology Better food
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Products in the pipeline
Enhanced nutritional qualities
Benefits of biotechnology Better food
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Products in the pipeline
Enhanced nutritional qualities
I think in the long term we will have foods
that are less hazardous because biotechnology
will have eliminated or diminished their
allergenicity.
Steve Taylor, Ph.D. Department of Food Science
and Technology, University of Nebraska
Benefits of biotechnology Better food
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Products in the pipeline
Functional foods
Benefits of biotechnology Better food
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Better for the environment
The results clearly show that soil, air and
water quality are enhanced through the
responsible use of current biotechnology-derived
soybean, corn and cotton crops.
Teresa Gruber, executive director of the
Council for Agricultural Science and Technology
(CAST)
Benefits of biotechnology Environment
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Conservation tillage improves wildlife habitat,
water quality
Nearly three-fourths of no-till soybean acres and
86 percent of no-till cotton acres were planted
with biotech varieties.
Benefits of biotechnology Environment
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Better for the environment
We have wildlife on the farm today that my
dad has never seen before, and hes over 90
years old.
Iowa farmer Roy Bardole
Benefits of biotechnology Environment
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Government Regulation
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(No Transcript)
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World Health Organization

• American Dietetic Association

• American Medical Association

• Institute of Food Technologists

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The College supports the use of biotechnology to
develop food crops that contribute to global
food security and enhance the safety and
nutritional value of the food supply.
American College of Nutrition Statement on
Crop Biotechnology
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There is no reason to suppose that the process
of food production through biotechnology leads
to risks of a different nature than those ...
created by conventional breeding.
Society of Toxicology Statement on the Safety
of Foods Produced Through Biotechnology
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Biotechnology experts believe that the current
regimen of tests has been adequate for ensuring
that GM foods marketed to consumers are as safe
as conventional foods.
General Accounting Office
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Indeed, the use of more precise technology and
the greater regulatory scrutiny probably make
them biotech foods even safer than
conventional plants and foods.
European Commission research report
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USDA report says impact of Bt corn on
butterflies is negligible
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Increasing production on existing land preserves
forests, enhancing biodiversity
U.N. report says biodiversity will be threatened
on 72 percent of global land area in 30 years.
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Biotech foods are labeled when they are
significantly different from their conventional
counterparts
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USDA Organic Seal program provides consumers with
choices
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Hybrid wheat gave birth to agriculture and some
say civilization itself.
Jacob Bronowski, author The Ascent of Man
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Plant biotechnology represents the next leap
forward
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Making progress

• India approves planting of biotech cotton
• U.N. report says GMOs could be breakthrough
  technology for developing countries
• African scientists call biotech a major
  opportunity to enhance the production of food
  crops

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Making progress

• Biotech crops boost farm income, yields
  Reuters
• Biotechnology tastes sweeter and sweeter
  Omaha World Herald
• Biotech crops, an environmental ally Akron
  Beacon Journal
• Biotech food great for farmers, eaters The
  Spokesman Review
• Biotech crop report cites benefits for food
  production, environment Feedstuffs
• Genetic crops could help reduce pesticides
  UPI
• Biotech holds great promise for beets Grand
  Forks Herald

CBI
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We are increasingly encouraged that the
advantages of genetic engineering of plants and
animals are greater than the risks. ... We
cannot agree with the position of some groups
that say it is against the will of God to
meddle with the genetic make-up of plants and
animals.

• Bishop Elio Sgreccia, vice president of
  the Pontifical Academy for Life

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If they can give us a better tomato, Im for
it.

• Julia Child

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The more people know, the more they support
biotechnology
Percentage who support biotechnology to...
Develop new varieties of crops
Genetically modify foods
Jul. 02
CBI
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Council for Biotechnology Information
www.whybiotech.com

• Helping improve peoples understanding of the
  products of agricultural and food biotechnology.

CBI