Abstract

Reference: ICSU 2002
Title: Biotechnology and Sustainable Agriculture
Authors:  Persley, G.J., Peacock, J. and van Montagu, M. for the ICSU Advisory Committee on Genetic Experimentation and Biotechnology (ACOGEB).
Publisher: International Council for Science (ICSU), 51, Boulevard de Montmorency, 75016 Paris, France.
Publication details:  ICSU Series on Science for Sustainable Development No 6, 45p.

The focus of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development is on improving the relationship between human society and the natural environment. This document discusses the contributions and consequences of current and future applications of gene technology in agriculture, and the ways that these may affect human health and the environment.

There are many applications of gene technology that can be used to improve the management and efficiency of present agricultural practices. There are also options for the targeted introduction of transgenic strains, genetically modified for one or more specific traits. Although transgenic strains of various species of crops, trees, livestock and fish have been developed experimentally, only transgenic crop varieties are in widespread commercial use in agriculture today.

Broadly, the first wave of genetically modified crops, address production traits; the second wave, address quality and nutritional traits; and the third wave address complex stress response traits and novel products able to be produced in plants. The scientific basis of dealing with each of these groups of traits is increasingly complex. The attractiveness of the new targets is tempered by the fact that they are technically difficult, requiring the expression and control of multiple genes, often involved in different biochemical pathways.

The emerging scientific possibilities also pose new challenges in the assessments of the risks and benefits of potential new products to human health and the environment. The new scientific developments also offer potential means to overcome some of the risks in the cultivation of genetically modified crops. These include limiting the unintentional movement of genes out of the target crop (through gene containment); better food safety assessments of unintended changes in the composition of foods by assessments of the content of whole foods (through metabolomics); and the removal of antibiotic resistant, selectable markers from GM foods.

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