A Short Course on BiotechnologyPage 1
December, 1999
A Short Course on Biotechnology
December, 1999
(1)Background #1 begins here
text - A Short Course on Biotechnology
I'm here today to talk with you for a few minutes about biotechnology--especially as it relates to growing the foods we all eat.
As you may be aware, biotechnology has received a fair amount of attention in the news lately. There's been some confusion over what this science is; and whether or not there's cause for concern.
And unfortunately, there has been a good deal of misunderstanding spread by some very vocal but severely misinformed people.
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text - Facts
Why biotech products are safe
Why they're better
Why they offer so much promise for our future
So, what I'd like to do today is to present some facts to help explain why biotech products are safe, why they're better, and why they offer so much promise for our future.
First though, we should start with a quick lesson in genetics, an explanation of what biotechnology is, and some common examples of biotechnology.
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(photos - Mendel, garden peas)
Agricultural biotechnology is a science that has evolved over hundreds of years.
Some of you may remember from high school science class the work done by Gregor Mendel in the 1860s. Through experimental cross-breeding of garden peas, Mendel discovered the basic laws of genetics--that there is a recombination of parental traits in offspring.
Mendel's work with peas also led to an explanation of dominant and recessive hereditary traits.
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(photo - biotech research)
text - Agricultural biotechnology is a precise scientific process, including genetic engineering, that is used to modify or improve plants, animals, or microorganisms.
Today, agricultural biotechnology--or genetic-enhancement, as it's often called--is a continuation of the work that Mendel and others began.
Agricultural biotechnology is defined as "a precise scientific process including genetic engineering, used to modify or improve plants, animals, or microorganisms."
It provides powerful tools to help us combat human diseases, to promote human health, to combat animal diseases, to fight hunger, and to protect the environment.
Now, how does biotech work?
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(photo - tall red carnation and short white carnation)
To give you a simple example, developing a genetically-enhanced product is like starting with two carnations; one that's tall and red; and the other one short and white.
But what you want is a tall white carnation.
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(photo - variety of different carnations)
Using traditional breeding methods and a lot of time, you might chance upon your tall white carnation, but it's a slow and inexact process.
And you'd end up with lots of variations. Medium-height white, medium-height red, tall pink, short pink--you get the idea!
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(photo - tall white carnations)
But if you used today's genetic-enhancement technology you could very precisely select just the tall genetic information from the red carnation and add it to the white carnation.
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(photo - biotech research)
That's what biotechnology allows us to do with important agricultural products and human health care--to move specific desirable traits from one organism to another.
It's gives us the tools to make better, more healthful plant products; and to fight human diseases more effectively.
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(photo - insulin vials and syringe)
text - Fighting disease
Insulin, used in the treatment of diabetes, is the product of one of the first genetically-enhanced organisms. Researchers found that they could generate a consistent, reliable, inexpensive source of insulin by inserting a human gene into the genetic code of a bacterium.
Insulin has been successfully produced this way since 1982.
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(photos - insulin vials and syringe, hospital patient)
text - Fighting disease
Similar biotechnology research has led to the production of interferon for the treatment of cancer, and treatments that can aid people with anemia or heart disease.
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(photo - assortment of grains, fruits, and vegetables)
text - Promoting human health
Biotechnology also allows us to boost the nutritional values of foods.
In the not-too-distant future, many grains, fruits, and vegetables may be genetically-enhanced to deliver higher percentages of proteins, vitamins, and minerals than their conventional counterparts.
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(photo - Beef cattle in feed lot)
text - Combating animal disease
Through recent developments in biotechnology we're able to control "shipping fever," the biggest killer of beef cattle in feed lots.
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(photo - knee-high soybeans)
text - Increasing yield
In the farm field, herbicide-resistant soybeans improve yield while reducing the need for chemical application, as well as lowering production costs, and reducing the need for soil tillage--which means less soil erosion.
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(3 photos - corn, cotton, potatoes)
text - Safer crops
And, insect-protected corn, cotton, and potatoes result in better-quality crops with less reliance on insecticides.
In fact, in 1998, 3.5 million pounds less pesticide were applied to American-grown corn and cotton through the use of insect-protected varieties produced through biotechnology.
(15) Background #2 begins here
text - Why Biotech Products Are Safe
Now, why are biotech products currently on the market safe?
Although it's impossible to say with certainty that anything in this world is 100% safe, the facts indicate that biotech products are safe, and that the benefits they provide far outweigh the risks.
The research and development process for genetically-enhanced foods is extremely precise, heavily regulated, and carefully controlled work.
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(photo - research in greenhouse)
text - Research & Development
Early on, genetically-enhanced plants are grown in isolation greenhouses.
The soil that the hybrids are grown in is sterilized before and after use.
And once grown, all plant material is incinerated.
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text - Food & Drug Administration
United States Department of Agriculture
Environmental Protection Agency
Furthermore, the whole process is heavily regulated by US government agencies that require extensive field and safety tests.
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graphic - FDA logo
The FDA ensures that any foods derived from new plant varieties are safe to eat, holding them to the same high standard of safety as any traditional food product.
Foods derived from biotechnology must be labeled only if they differ significantly from their conventional counterparts. For example, if the nutritional value or the potential to cause an allergic reaction is altered.
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graphic - USDA logo
The USDA is the US government's lead agency regulating the safe field-testing of genetically-enhanced new plant varieties.
In order to receive permission to test a new biotech plant, an applicant must provide information about the plant, including all new genes and gene products, their origin, the purpose of the test, how it will be conducted, and specific precautions that will be taken to prevent the escape of pollen or plant parts from the field test site.
Impact on the environment, on endangered or threatened species, and on "non-target" species are all considered.
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graphic - EPA logo
The EPA has authority over all new pesticides, including genetically-enhanced plants which produce their own protection against pests.
In deciding whether to register a new product, the EPA considers human safety, impact on the environment, effectiveness on the targeted pest, and any effects on other "non-target" species, including endangered or threatened species.
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(photo - biotech research)
From the time research starts on a new genetically-enhanced plant until it receives final clearance (or rejection) for retail sale, often takes 10 to 15 years.
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(photo - biotech research)
There's nothing haphazard about the process of bringing a new genetic variety to market!
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Safe to eat
(photo - little girl eating ice cream cone)
Foods made from current biotech products are safe to eat.
They receive much greater scrutiny by the FDA, the USDA, and the EPA than conventional products.
Thorough testing assures that all biotech products have the same or better nutritional characteristics than conventional varieties.
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text - Safe for the environment
(photo - farm chemicals)
Biotech products are also safe for the environment.
Because of their built-in characteristics, genetically-enhanced crops may require fewer pesticides than are required to grow their conventional counterparts.
Which means less chemistry is being handled by farmers and entering the environment.
(25) Background #3 begins here
text - Why Biotech Products Are Better
Why are biotech products better?
Well, they're very often higher quality, more nutritious, and more plentiful than their conventional counterparts. Because they use fewer resources, they're more friendly toward the environment.
And keep in mind that biotechnology is another step in a long evolutionary process of improving the quality of the foods that we eat.
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(photo - Egyptian tomb with hieroglyphics)
For instance, six thousand years ago Egyptians learned that they could use yeasts to make bread dough rise, and to ferment grape juice to make wine.
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(photo - Louis Pasteur, milk)
In the 1860s, Louis Pasteur learned that he could improve the wholesomeness of milk by gently heating it to kill off harmful bacteria.
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(illustration - early maize, photo - today's corn)
When settlers first came to this continent, native Americans taught them to grow maize.
That maize just barely resembles the corn that we grow today. But over a long time and through much experimentation and cross-breeding, growers were eventually able to produce stronger, healthier plants with bigger, better-tasting ears of corn.
As you can imagine, early plant breeding involved a lot of chance. It was a hit or miss process!
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text - Benefits to both the grower and the consumer
(photos - corn harvest, grocery cart)
Today, biotechnology offers incredible possibilities and benefits to both the grower and the consumer.
Growers harvest higher-yielding, higher-quality crops; and consumers get more, better, and healthier choices from their grocery stores' produce departments throughout the year.
Let's look at a few examples. . .
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text - Bt corn
(photo - healthy green corn and infested corn side-by-side)
One of the first major biotech products made available to farmers was Bt corn.
This product was introduced in 1996 to give corn resistance to the European corn borer, which causes approximately $1 billion in crop loss annually.
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text - Bt corn
(photo - CU spout of combine dumping into wagon)
Not only does corn borer resistance lead to higher yields, cost-savings, and environmental benefits--but, it also contributes to a healthier final product.
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(photo - diseased and healthy ears of corn side-by-side)
That's because a healthy ear of corn is a lot less likely to become diseased.
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text - Greater efficiency
(photo -cultivating)
And, growing biotech products is much more efficient for the farmer, because these crops require much less attention during the growing season than do their conventional counterparts.
So, the farmer spends less time and uses less fuel driving his equipment back and forth, and back and forth, and back and forth across his fields.
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text - Greater efficiency
$10,000 savings for one season's production
(photo - father and kids in soybean field)
A recent news article provides a good example of this efficiency.
The article cited a Nebraska farmer who saved $20 per acre by growing herbicide-resistant soybeans.
For an average-sized farm in Nebraska that works out to a $10,000 savings in production costs for just one growing season!
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text - Income spent on food
Americans - 11%
Europeans - 30%
(photo - shopper in grocery store)
Farming efficiencies like that--as well as modern food production efficiencies in this country--help keep what American families spend on food to just 11% of disposable household income versus the 30% spent by European families.
So, foods made from genetically-enhanced products offer better value too.
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text - A better way to make cheese
(photo - tacos)
Another example: Tacos!
The shredded cheddar cheese that we put on tacos is a product of biotechnology.
The food enzyme rennet is used to curdle milk in the production of cheeses. Historically, rennet has been taken from the stomach linings of calves.
Some years ago however, by isolating the gene that produces rennet, researchers found a way of having common bacteria generate the enzyme. This lets us produce rennet through a much simpler fermentation process.
Today, 75% of all cheeses are made using bioengineered rennet.
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(photo - red, green, yellow bell peppers)
Genetic-enhancement has also created bell peppers that are sweeter and firmer. . .
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(photo - tomatoes)
tomatoes with better flavor, color, and texture; and that stay fresh longer. . .
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(photo - vegetable oil)
cooking oils that are lower in saturated fats. . .
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(photo - strawberries)
text - Frost-resistant
and, strawberries that resist frost.
These are just a few examples of the benefits and improvements that biotechnology is bringing to the foods we eat.
(41) Background #4 begins here
text - Biotech's Promise For Our Future
Biotechnology offers even greater promise for our future.
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(photo - bicycle commuters in China)
Six billion people live on the earth today.
According to the United Nations, that number may double by the year 2050, and 95% of that population growth will probably occur in some of the world's poorest regions.
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(photo - kids walking down sidewalk)
This might not affect you or me, but it will definitely affect our children and our grandchildren.
As this incredible population growth is occurring, we're already using much of the earth's farmable land. By increasing the productivity of farmland now in use, biotechnology offers the potential of protecting other areas--including rain forests and wetlands--from conversion to food production.
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(photo - undernourished child)
One of the greatest challenges facing our world is keeping ourselves fed and healthy.
According to the Rockefeller Foundation, "If the proportion of the population of the developing countries mired in permanent or intermittent hunger remains at current levels, by the year 2020 the number of undernourished could exceed one billion."
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(photo - greenhouse research)
Through biotechnology we can develop foods that are higher in protein, vitamins, and minerals; and in sufficient quantities to feed our constantly expanding population.
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text - Golden rice
(photo - rice paddy)
Golden rice, which is being developed by the Rockefeller Foundation, is a much more nutritious product than is typically grown in many developing countries, where rice accounts for nearly 80% of all calories consumed.
This new product has the potential for saving many lives, and because it contains beta-carotene, the precursor to Vitamin A, it may help to reduce childhood blindness and learning disabilities.
And, golden rice contains a healthy dose of iron, which will benefit women with iron deficiencies.
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text - Wheat
(photo - wheat and bread)
A genetically-enhanced wheat may soon be able to grow and thrive on land that is currently unfarmable.
And researchers are also finding ways, through biotechnology, to eliminate common allergic reactions to wheat.
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text - Healthier animals
(photos - beef cattle, chickens)
Also in development are new grains that when fed to beef cattle reduce the incidence of harmful E. coli bacteria; and that reduce the incidence of Salmonella toxins in poultry.
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text - Edible vaccine
(photo - bananas)
Another promising development: scientists are working on a banana that will contain an "edible vaccine" to fend off hepatitis, one of the world's most widespread and devastating diseases.
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text - Blight-resistant
(photo - potatoes)
Potatoes that contain genes to resist a new, more virulent strain of the "blight" that caused the Irish potato famine in the 1840s may soon be available.
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text - Biotech Products - Safe, Better, Promise for Our Future
As Americans, we've always led the world with our innovations. And American farmers have always been instrumental in feeding the world.
Through biotechnology, we now have the tools to grow foods for better living and for saving lives.
I hope you now understand a little bit better why biotech products are safe, why they're better, and why they offer so much promise for our future.
I'd just like to close with several quotes that I think are worth considering.
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text - "Ensuring market access for ag-biotechnology: America leads the world in agricultural products developed with biotechnology. These products hold great promise and will unlock benefits for consumers, producers, and the environment at home and around the world."
White House Statement on WTO Objectives
(photo - White House)
The first was released by the White House regarding the World Trade Organization meeting.
"Ensuring market access for ag-biotechnology: America leads the world in agricultural products developed with biotechnology. These products hold great promise and will unlock benefits for consumers, producers, and the environment at home and around the world."
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text - "... Too many opponents of biotechnology too easily dismiss the many safety and regulatory checks that govern whether a new agricultural product is brought to the marketplace as worthless. Unfortunately, they willfully choose to emphasize highly unlikely potential risks rather than recognize the years of experience, research, and regulatory oversight that govern the safe use of these new technologies."
Norman Borlaug, Ph.D., Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
Dr. Norman Borlaug, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his development of sturdy, high-yielding cereal grains for use in developing countries had this to say about biotechnology:
"...Too many opponents of biotechnology too easily dismiss the many safety and regulatory checks that govern whether a new agricultural product is brought to the marketplace as worthless. Unfortunately, they willfully choose to emphasize highly unlikely potential risks rather than recognize the years of experience, research, and regulatory oversight that govern the safe use of these new technologies."