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"Biotechnology's been around almost since the
beginning of time. It's cavemen saving seeds of a high-yielding
plant. It's Gregor Mendel, the father of genetics, cross-pollinating
his garden peas. It's a diabetic's insulin, and the enzymes in your
yogurt."
—Former U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman
March 13, 1997
The rate of biotechnology development and adoption continues to
accelerate, with colored cotton, anti-cancer tomatoes, and bananas
with diarrhea vaccine all in the pipeline. These products are complemented
by other commodities bred to withstand disease, insects, and herbicides,
thereby increasing yields to keep pace with a burgeoning and increasingly
prosperous world population.
But with growth spurts come growing pains, and a food marketing
system already struggling to keep up with niche and value-added
products now faces demand for systems and processes that differentiate
biotech from nonbiotech products. Farmers must weigh the immediate
prospects of higher yields and reduced input costs against uncertain
world acceptance of biotech products. And a research community used
to incremental advances in technology must recast intellectual property
rights to capture profit without preempting collaboration.
ERS has been monitoring the advance of agricultural biotechnology
since 1991, and now collects its findings in a new briefing room devoted
to the subject. Here you can access a
wealth of information on…
And Just Released…
Economic Issues in
Agricultural Biotechnology—This report explores some implications
for grades and standards for genetically engineered products, as
well as the extent of biotechnology adoption by U.S. farmers and
some of the farm-level effects. Other topics include important advances
in biological science, the roles of public and private research,
and recent changes in input industry structure.
Concentration and
Technology in Agricultural Input Industries—Recent data
on mergers, acquisitions, and strategic collaborations in the agricultural
biotechnology industry, as well as the emergence of "life science"
conglomerates, indicate some level of consolidation. However, the
move by some companies to divest their seed operations calls into
question the long-term viability of these conglomerates
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