5. Summary

For centuries, people have sought to improve the plants and animals that they grow, adapting them to better meet human needs for food and fiber. Until recently, these attempts consisted primarily of selection and conventional breeding to promote desirable traits and suppress undesirable ones.

Modern advances in biotechnology have carried the process further, greatly reducing the time required to bring about genetic improvements and opening the door to transfers between widely diverse species. The processes of biotechnology have made it possible to incorporate genes from species that are too different to be bred by previously available methods. These techniques greatly extend our ability to incorporate useful traits into plant species.

Altering the genetic makeup of living organisms promises tremendous benefits. Some of these are likely to be realized in the near future, but most are a decade or more away. Examples include the development of plants that can better resist pest and disease infestations; crop plants that are better able to tolerate herbicide applications; and pesticides and herbicides that are more selective, less persistent, and safer for the environment.

The most advanced biotechnological methods are so new that we have not yet experienced many of their potential benefits or disadvantages. At present, the majority of our citizens perceive biotechnology as generally beneficial. Food and Drug Administration policies for foods from genetically engineered plants are the same in principle as those for foods derived from conventional means of genetic modification, implying a belief in the relative safety of these new products.

Like all technologies, however, new methods of genetic alteration could have some drawbacks. To prevent unanticipated risks to our health and environment, we must systematically anticipate and assess any potential problems. Concerns have already been raised about the development of resistance in pest and weed populations, the escape of genes to wild species, the impetus that herbicide-resistant plants may lead to increased herbicide use, and the safety of genetically altered plant products as human food. While these and other potential problems have not yet been encountered with the products of biotechnology and genetic engineering, the possibility of their occurrence must be taken seriously.

Biotechnology offers the potential of more efficient food and fiber production with reduced environmental risk. Vigilance, public education, and the free flow of objective information are of critical importance as our citizenry decides about the future of the powerful new biological tools now at our disposal.