www.checkbiotech.org ; www.raupp.info ; www.czu.cz

Advances in biotechnology are having a beneficial effect not only in
providing enough food for the world?s ever-increasing population, but also
in protecting the environment, said biotechnology expert Andrew Benson in a
November 9 Internet chat, 11 2005 by Tim Receveur.

Benson, the vice president of international relations for the
International Food Information Council (IFIC), said the United States is
cooperating with government agencies and research institutions in the
developing world, including countries in Africa, on a number of
biotechnology initiatives.

?Promising research work is being undertaken in Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria,
Burkina Faso and a number of other African counties, working on crops that
are resistant to major insect infestations and to African plant viruses that
regularly decimate or destroy crops and harvests,? he said.
?Drought-resistant properties are another very important area of research
and future potential.?

Benson, who is responsible for the development and implementation of IFIC's
international programs on food safety and nutrition, saidmore than one third
of biotech crops grown around the world today are in developing countries --
a trend he expects to see continue.

Among the environmental benefits of biotechnology cited by Benson were
reduced levels of pesticides, reduced tillage, less soil erosion and less
water runoff of herbicides and pesticides into streams and the water supply.

?Growing more food on the same amount of land will also help us preserve
natural resources for future generations,? he said.

Attitudes and policies towards biotechnology are beginning to shift, Benson
said.

?While there is clearly some consumer reticence, and the EU imposed an
?unofficial? moratorium, that moratorium has now been lifted and there has
been a series of official approvals of varieties of biotech maize [corn] and
soy,? he said.

?The scientific authorities in the EU, including those in international
organizations like FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations] and WHO [World Health Organization], have all attested to the
safety of these products,? Benson said. He believes that as Europeans
discover more about the benefits and safety of biotechnology, their
attitudes slowly will start to change.

In the United States all new food products must meet the standards of the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before they can be sold to
consumers. In addition to FDA testing, Benson said the U.S. National
Academies of Science also has researched biotech plants and has found that
the ?process of genetic engineering is no more likely to produce harmful
effects than other forms of plant breeding.?

?Biotech foods have been eaten by 280 million consumers in the U.S. for the
last nine to 10 years with no negative consequences,? he said.

The IFIC is a nonprofit organization that communicates sound science-based
information on food safety and nutrition topics to health professionals,
journalists, government officials and consumers, according to its Web site.
IFIC's programs are supported by the broad-based food, beverage and
agriculture industries. Additional information is available on the
organization?s Web site.

For a thorough examination of the biotechnology and related public policy
issues, see the U.S. Department of State?s electronic journal entitled The
Promise of Biotechnology.

[usinfo.state.gov]

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