Universities and Research Institutions Join Forces on Biotechnology Study
A consortium of research institutions and universities are currently working together to study the impact of biotechnology on the general public.
The University of Tennessee, Virginia Tech, North Carolina State University, Virginia State University, and the International Rice Research Institute are among the institutions taking part in the “Participatory Assessment of Social and Economic Impacts of Biotechnology”, a four-year, collaborative research project funded by the Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems (IFAFS) (Using Biotechnology to Improve the Yield and Quality of Rice, Southwest Farm Press, 7/20/05) that is focusing its efforts on the benefits of tobacco and rice.
According to the project, researchers chose to study tobacco because of extensive biotechnology studies currently underway regarding the use of the crop in creating new pharmaceuticals that could be used to replace currently expensive drugs that help in the treatment of a variety of diseases. Drugs for some devastating diseases, for example, could run over $100,000 per patient per year. Research shows that through biotechnology, tobacco may be able to product the same drugs at a fraction of the cost. Tobacco produces biomass very quickly, is a prolific seed producer, and yet can process complex proteins. Tobacco is also one of the easiest crops to genetically engineer and is not regulated as a food.
Researchers chose to use rice for the research project because it is the subject of one of the largest biotechnology programs in the world, with significant implications not only for United States producers, but producers and low income consumers throughout the developing world. Scientists predict that the world’s population will increase over the next 30 years, thereby increasing the demand for all crops. Rice would be in particular demand because it is a significant source of calories for half of the world and can be grown under a wide range of conditions from fertile, irrigated lowland plots to saline or drought-prone fields that are deficient in essential plant nutrients like zinc.
According to researchers, centuries of selective breeding by agriculturalists has resulted in a wide number of varieties that are adapted to the local growing conditions and the cooking preferences of each area. The traits that are bred into rice by plant breeders can then be transferred to these local varieties. Technologies for these genetically engineered rice crops including pest and insect resistance, disease and herbicide resistance, and nutritional enhancement are currently under development in the United States, Europe and Asia.
Scientists and researchers hope this project will provide policy makers and the general public with information on the benefits, costs, risks, and tradeoffs associated with biotechnology research. Despite concerns over the possible negative impact of genetically engineered crops, the “Participatory Assessment of Social and Economic Impacts of Biotechnology” project could open up the door to other similar collaborations between universities and research institutions in order to further biotechnology research and acceptance of genetically-modified organisms and foods by the public in the future.
