1991 - Directions - 2001

Biotechnology: A Tool for Change

Throughout history, human beings have feared the wrath of the apocalyptic Four Horsemen: Famine, Pestilence, War, and Death. Those engaged in agriculture have always attempted to balance the years of plenty with those of famine - to grow enough to feed their people even after insects, animals, and bacteria had claimed their shares. The battle was always close-fought: the effort to avoid famine and death was successful only part of the time.

During the twentieth century, science and technology have permitted immeasurable gains in the battle for human survival. Food production at levels far beyond reasonable predictions has resulted from crossbreeding plants or animals for increased vigor and growth, the advent of artificial insemination, and other advances in plant and animal agriculture; losses to pests have been reduced to a fraction of former years; plant and animal diseases have been overcome or reduced; storage of food in a healthful state has improved remarkably; and the life-span of most human beings has been extended significantly.

These gains have not been without problems, however. We are now raising serious questions about the effects of pesticides, preservatives, and growth enhancers on the safety of our food, water, and environment. Issues of decreasing genetic diversity, global temperature changes, and preservation of natural habitats cause us to wonder whether we can provide nutrients for a growing world population while protecting the environment for future generations.

And the needs of the world's people will continue to grow. Today, nearly 5 billion people inhabit the earth. By the year 2030, that number is expected to double.

Recent issues of Illinois Research have addressed questions of conservation, sustainable agriculture, and quality of life. This issue is devoted to a new level of science, the molecular level, that could have sweeping effects. Plant and animal biotechnology promises newer, potentially safer solutions to continuing problems. New "biological controls" of diseases and pests could reduce our dependence on antibiotics and pesticides while enhancing our progress in health and conservation. The technologies described in this issue have the potential to increase our quality of life while alleviating or reversing many factors that may contribute to environmental problems.

In the final analysis, however, biotechnology is a tool, a powerful tool with remarkable potential for change. But with biotechnology also come the dilemmas that are always invoked by change. Will it be appropriately regulated? Will it be safe? Is it ethical? What will be its economic impact? Should we take the risks associated with new technologies or eschew their benefits to avoid the unknown? This issue of Illinois Research addresses those questions.

John Milton's 1667 classic, Paradise Lost, suggested that "fear of change perplexes monarchs." If we can overcome that fear and embrace change, biotechnology can be a useful tool.

W.R. Gomes, Dean of the University of Illinois College of Agriculture


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