What is Biotechnology?

For more information on biotechnologyissues, see the other publications in this Explorethe Genetic Frontier series :

“Biotechnology and Cotton—Texas’ Biggest Crop”

“Developing Crops Resistant to Glyphosate Herbicide”

“Labeling of Foods Derived fromBiotechnology”

ReferencesGross, Cynthia S. The New Biotechnology:

Putting Microbes to Work.Minneapolis: Learner Publications Co., 1998.

Institute of Food Technologists. “Expert Report on Biotechnology and Foods.” Food Technology 2000, 54 (8):124-136.

Rainis, Kenneth G. Biotechnology Projects for Young Scientists. Danbury, Connecticut: Franklin Watts, 1998.

Wells, Donna. Inventors and Inventions: Biotechnology. New York: Marshall Cavendish Corp., 1996.

Web sitesAmerican Medical Association:

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/article/2036-4030.html

Institute of Food Technologists:http://www.ift.org

Texas A&M University: http://aged.tamu.edu/projects/agrifood/Bio.pdf

U. S. Department of Agriculture:http://www.aphis.usda.gov/biotechnology

American Dietetic Association:http://www.eatright.org/abiotechnology.html

Student research team at Texas A&M Universityunder the supervision of Andy Vestal (979-458-3406, t-vestal@tamu.edu):

Scientific critique for this publication was provided by :

Carolyn Bednar, Ph.D.—Texas Woman’s University

Fuller Bazer, Ph.D. —Texas A&M University

Philip Lyons, Ph.D. —University of Houston-Downtown

Sharon Robinson, Ph.D. —Texas Cooperative Extension,

The Texas A&M University SystemAkif Uzman, Ph.D.

—University of Houston-DowntownAndy Vestal, Ph.D.

—Texas Cooperative Extension, The Texas A&M University System

Ron Yasbin, Ph.D. —University of Texas at Dallas

This is a joint publication of Texas CooperativeExtension and the Center for Nutrition, Health, andFood Genomics at the Institute of Food Science and

Engineering at Texas A&M University.

• Carole Hawkins• Thomas Hinnant• Kelli O’Neill

Steve Boecker Jaime Edelman Timm Gergini

Educational programs of Texas Cooperative Extension areopen to all people without regard to race, color, sex, dis-ability, religion, age or national origin.

Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension Work inAgriculture and Home Economics, Acts of Congress ofMay 8, 1914, as amended, and June 30, 1914, in coopera-tion with the United States Department of Agriculture.Chester P. Fehlis, Director, Texas Cooperative Extension,The Texas A&M University System.5M, Reprint

L-54074-03

The publications in this series describeprocesses and products developedthrough rigorous scientific research

and testing. Informed citizens are knowledgeable consumers and

decision makers.

parent strains. Farmers manipulated genes bybreeding their finest animals, crosspollinatingplants, and saving their best seeds to plant forthe next year’s crop. In 1917, the term“biotechnology” was given to those tech-niques.

Such selective breeding took years of trial-and-error experimentation. The outcome wasuncertain because unwanted genes often wereinherited along with the desired genes. Plantbreeders might spend a 30- to 40-year careertrying to reproduce one specific trait such asessential amino acid content in a plant. Today,with new biotechnology techniques, they canaccomplish this in 3 to 5 years.

Biotech todayAlthough the basic idea of creating

a superior plant or animal for produc-tion has not changed, the tools andtechniques of biotechnology haveevolved. At one time, scientists andgrowers produced changes in plant oranimal DNA over several generationsof organisms using natural reproduc-tion. Today, however, scientists can dothis in a controlled setting.

For example, in 1973, scientists learnedhow to identify and isolate a superior genetictrait in the DNA of a plant or animal, thenintroduce that trait into the genetic matter ofanother organism. This is known as “recombi-nant DNA” (rDNA). Through the use of rDNA,scientists and plant breeders can predict theoutcome of a single gene replacement and pro-duce a plant or animal with a specific trait.

What are the benefits of biotechnology?

Biotechnology is already helping people by:

• Combating human diseases. The fieldof medicine uses some of the most dramaticforms of biotechnology. In 1982, the pharma-

ceutical industry began to marketrecombinant insulin for diabetics.Scientists can now produce bloodclot-dissolving enzymes forheart attack victims easily andcheaply.

• Improving human nutri-tion. Researchers are creatingways to boost the nutritional valueof foods, such as lowering the fatcontent in cooking oil and enhancingthe nutritional content of foods, to makefoods safer to eat.

• Combating animal diseases.Biotechnology helped produce a vaccine toprotect animals against rabies and a vac-cine for upper respiratory diseases, theleading cause of death in young beef cattle.

• Growing disease-resistant plants.These plants enable farmers to producemore food on existing agriculturalacreage. By using less land for agriculture,farmers can leave natural areas undis-turbed and preserve wildlife habitat.

• Helping the environment by reducingpesticide use. Biotechnology allows farmersto reduce their reliance on insecticides,fungicides and herbicides. New herbicide-resistant plants enable farmers toreplace traditional herbicides withenvironmentally friendly herbi-cides.

What are the concerns?Some people are concerned

about the safety or ethics of usingsome biotechnology practices. The NationalInstitute of Health, the U.S. Department ofAgriculture, the Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA) and the Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) are responsible for

Biotechnology uses scientific processes toenhance or create products to benefit people.These processes include fermen-

tation, selection and breeding,cloning, tissue

culture,genetic engi-neering, and DNA diag-nostics (for example,studying chromosomesto diagnose diseases andfind allergens or toxinsin foods). Althoughbiotechnology has exist-ed since ancient times,

some of the most dramaticdevelopments have

occurred in recent years.

Over the years, traditional breeding andselection techniques have resulted in plantsand animals that are more productive andmore useful to humans. Biotechnology is atool for modifying the DNA of organisms sothat they will produce safe and high qualityfoods, medicines, and other products.Biotechnology also may help farmers producelarger quantities of food for the world’s grow-ing population.

The origins of biotechHumans have always altered their environ-

ment. Centuries ago, people used simple tech-niques that became the basis of biotechnologyas we know it today. For example, microor-ganisms such as bacteria and yeasts have beenused in the age-old arts of fermentingcheese and leavening bread, whichare forms of biotechnology.

Another early form ofbiotechnology was thebreeding of “hybrids.”Farmers crossed separatestrains of plants or ani-mals to produce offspringwith the best traits from the

addressing food safety and environmentalconcerns. These agencies require each newproduct that is produced by biotechnologyto clear a 10-step safety process, over a 7-to 8-year period, before being marketed.Some concerns remain, however, such as:

• Product labeling. The FDArequires labels on all new foods if the

nutritional content is not substantiallyequivalent to like foods already available toconsumers. Labels are also required if thenew food is derived using genes from com-mon allergens, such as peanuts or wheat.

• Food safety. For example, a newproduct might include allergens, substancesthat cause some people to suffer allergicreactions.

• Long-term effects on the environ-ment. Some people believe that productscreated through biotechnology, though ben-eficial in some ways, may be harmful inother ways. For example, weeds that areresistant to chemicals (“super weeds”) mayovertake beneficial crops. Or, disease andinsect organisms sometimes build resistanceto substances such as insecticides.

• Ethical implications (forexample, cloning). Somepeople object to any proce-dure that changes the

genetic makeup of a livingorganism.

• Food prices. Ifbiotechnology were toaffect food production

costs or cause trade restrictionson the international market of productsderived from biotechnology, the farmer orconsumer may experience price increases.Researchers and regulatory agencies areaddressing these concerns.