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This book reviews the literature on communication about biotechnology. Other books deal with this topic, however this book with the use of case studies, looks at public opinion data, communication theory, and international examples; to provide a complementary overview of how the public sees this controversial topic. ... Read more

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Worldwide energy and food crises are spotlighting the importance of bio-based products – an area many are calling on for solutions to these shortages. Biocatalysis and Agricultural Biotechnology encapsulates the cutting-edge advances in the field with contributions from more than 50 international experts comprising sectors of academia, industry, and government research institutes, a virtual Who’s Who among biocatalysis scientists.

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Genetic-based animal biotechnology has produced new food and pharmaceutical products and promises many more advances to benefit humankind. These exciting prospects are accompanied by considerable unease, however, about matters such as safety and ethics. This book identifies science-based and policy-related concerns about animal biotechnology - key issues that must be resolved before the new breakthroughs can reach their potential. The book includes a short history of the field and provides understandable definitions of terms like cloning. Looking at technologies on the near horizon, the authors discuss what we know and what we fear about their effects - the inadvertent release of dangerous microorganisms, the safety of products derived from biotechnology, the impact of genetically engineered animals on their environment. In addition to these concerns, the book explores animal welfare concerns, and our societal and institutional capacity to manage and regulate the technology and its products. This accessible volume will be important to everyone interested in the implications of the use of animal biotechnology. ... Read more

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Scientists in China’s laboratories have developed hundreds of transgenic crops, but only one is insect-resistant cotton and planted widely on farms. This apparent paradox has inspired the writing of this book Agricultural Biotechnology in China: Origins and Prospects. Against the backdrop of ongoing global controversy over the safety and benefits of transgenic crops, this book focuses on two key questions: 1) What historical as well as recent economic, political and social developments account for China’s sizeable investment in research on transgenic crops and the apparent mismatch between laboratory and commercial activity?; and 2) What are the chances that transgenic crops will be introduced on a large scale in China, and if so, what are the potential benefits, drawbacks, and constraints associated with widespread adoption? These questions are particularly timely as China’s regulators may soon approve transgenic rice for commercial planting, making it the first food crop to be grown on a large scale in China. China’s investment in transgenic crops is driven as much by a broader science and technology development agenda as by the needs of its agricultural sector. Therefore, China’s policymakers can securely pursue the first goal while postponing adoption decisions, which are likely to depend on the technology’s greater global acceptance and the strength of regulatory oversight, extension mechanisms, and demonstrated need in China’s rural areas. The authors begin by describing the origins of China’s earliest agrarian civilizations and how agricultural technology historically contributed to the emergence, rise, and fall of states and dynasties. The book then focuses on how post-industrial advances in chemistry and biology led to the development of technologies (including high-yielding seeds, pesticides, and fertilizers) that ushered in a period of expanding global harvests in the mid-20th Century known as the Green Revolution. The political, economic, and social factors that influenced the patterns of adoption as well as the successes and shortcomings of Green Revolution technologies in China are then explored in detail. The authors then introduce transgenic crops — the origins, tools and techniques, and initial patterns of market acceptance or rejection worldwide — describe in depth why, where, and how research on transgenic crops first began in China. This section evaluates the effectiveness of policies that promoted science and technology development as part of the post-1978 reform agenda, and suggests why support for agricultural biotechnology—and transgenic crops in particular—was included alongside land and market reforms. The authors move on to questions related to adoption of transgenic crops in China, looking first at how structural changes in the seed industry and the introduction of value-added varieties are changing age-old relationships between farmers and seed providers. In the final chapters, the authors present how well suited transgenic crops may be to meeting persistent and emerging challenges facing China’s agricultural sector today. ... Read more

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There are currently many controversial socioeconomic issues concerned with the development and implementation of agricultural biotechnology. This book presents selected revised and edited papers from the fourth and fifth meetings of the International Consortium on Agricultural Biotechnology Research, held in Italy in 2000 and 2001. ... Read more

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The development of agricultural biotechnology offers the opportunity to increase crop production, lower farming costs, improve food quality and safety, and enhance environmental quality. This new book describes the economic, scientific, and social factors that will influence the future of biotechnology in agriculture. The supply of biotechnology innovations and products will be affected by public policies and by expectations of producer and consumer demand for the products. The demand for biotechnology by farmers and food processors is derived from the expected profitability of using the technology as an input to production. Ultimately, the use of biotechnology in the farm sector will depend on consumer demand for the biotechnology-derived agricultural products. ... Read more

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Genetically modified (GM) agricultural crops which are approved as safe in North America (Canada and the United States) are facing significant regulatory hurdles in gaining access to the European Union. The development and commercialization of GM crops illustrate a complex challenge facing trade diplomacy - the challenge of regulatory regionalism created by social regulatory barriers. ... Read more

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This book examines how government, industry and society interact to reach a level of regulation that is deemed satisfactory for the newly-emerged transformative technology that is agricultural biotechnology. It considers issues of risk and trust surrounding genetically modified plants for the production of food and pharmaceuticals. It describes how regulations have been produced to manage, or in some cases ignore, the risks from GM products. The scope is international and the book makes a significant contribution to the literature in this growing field of interest. ... Read more

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Scientists are becoming progressively more involved in developing methods for increasing agricultural productivity and designing plants with certain qualities. As such, genetic engineering has given plant breeders a means to exercise property rights over different varieties of plants. This has created many implications and given way to much controversy, with most objections being raised against the idea of owning life. With the use of comparative studies, this book discusses the legal, agribusiness and public policy issues that connect intellectual property protection with advancements in agricultural biotechnology. ... Read more

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Obtaining world food security and food self-reliance for the developing nations is a complex and difficult task, but with increased research and education, agricultural production in developing countries can be improved. Biotechnology applications, integrated into traditional systems, hold much promise in this respect. Realizing the positive impact of biotechnology will depend upon the ability of developing countries to access and generate technology which is suitable to their needs. However, government policies may not encourage investment in public sector agricultural research and the private sector is often underdeveloped. This book is the product of a conference, held in California in April 1997, under the auspices of the Agricultural Biotechnology for Sustainable Productivity (ABSP) project. It provides a broad overview of the latest research and applications and policy requirements for biotechnology in developing countries. The issues of food security, capacity building, intellectual property rights, technology transfer, biosafety and the need for private sector enterprise are addressed. This book is essential reading for policy makers, researchers in agricultural biotechnology, economists, and extension workers. ... Read more

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Based on ISNAR seminars, this book provides information and case studies distilling information on policies for development and implementation of new agricultural biotechnologies. It covers key managerial and policy issues that research directors, program managers and policymakers face when building capacity and competency in biotechnology. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

a very well done book
This book is a must for those who do not understand how much work actually goes into agriculture and how time consuming and inefficient it can sometiemes be.Living in the midwest sorrounded by farm land this book really showed me what a great need there is for more effecient means of agriculture. ... Read more

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Many developing countries are exploring whether biotechnology has a role in addressing national issues such as food security and environmental remediation, and are considering whether the putative benefits of the technology - for example, enabling greater agricultural productivity and stability in the food supply - outweigh concerns that the technology might pose a danger - to biodiversity, health, and local jobs. Some policy leaders worry that their governments are not prepared to take control of this evolving technology and that introducing it into society would be a risky act. Others have suggested that taking no action carries more risk, given the dire need to produce more food.This book reports on an international workshop held to address these issues. Global Challenges and Directions for Agricultural Biotechnology: Mapping the Course, organized by the National Research Council on October 24-25, 2004, in Washington, DC, focused on the potential applications of biotechnology and what developing countries might consider as they contemplate adopting biotechnology.Presenters at the workshop described applications of biotechnology that are already proving their utility in both developing and developed countries. ... Read more

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Biotechnology offers tremendous potential for improving crop production, animal agriculture, and bioprocessing. It can provide scientists with new ways to develop higher-yielding and more nutritious crop varieties, to improve resistance to disease, or to reduce the need for inputs of fertilizers and other expensive agricultural chemicals. This book explores the United States' ability to solve important agricultural problems, effectively use funds and institutional structures to support biotechnology research for agriculture, train researchers in new scientific areas, efficiently transfer technology, and regulate and test recombinant DNA organisms in the field. ... Read more

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Here is a new single-volume guide that provides complete discussion of the use of electrophoresis in studies of agricultural pests.It includes contributions from many noted experts in this field, giving the latest information on the study of populations, structure and familial relationships, migration and gene flow, taxonomy, evolution, biotype discrimination and host adaption, resistance to pesticides, the use of electrophoresis to assess parasitism of insects by Hymenopterous parasitoids in biological control programs, and the diets of insect predators.This unique reference covers a wide range of pest organisms from insects, slugs and birds to mammals, and offers insights into such techniques as conventional slab electrophoresis of proteins and enzymes, isoelectric focusing, 2-D electrophoresis, and electrophoresis of DNA, including DNA fingerprinting techniques. ... Read more

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"Quality Control for Foods and Agricultural Products" is a single, complete, and practical reference to the wide variety of techniques for quality control in the production of food products.The book may also serve as a guidebook to other industries that are initiating or reviewing their quality control procedures.

This title provides an overview of the tools available for quality control in the food industry. Among the quality control measures discused are practical methodology, sampling methods, measurement devices, sensors, computer analysis, data interpretation, reference materials, and standardization. "Quality Control for Foods and Agricultural Products" allows the reader to compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages associated with a particular quality control method.Armed with this knowledge, the best possible quality control method may be chosen for a given product. ... Read more

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Plant Biotechnology And Plant Genetic Resources, which boasts a truly international list of contributors with a variety of expertise, thoroughly explores all the major contemporary concerns. It discusses the strategies for the best use of modern biotechnology and precious plant genetic resources to alleviate components associated with global constraints in hunger, environment and health. This book is a valuable resource for scientists and policy makers as the world faces unprecedented challenges in the sustainability and productivity of the global food and fibre system. ... Read more

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Most estimates of the total loss of worldwide agricultural production to pests, pathogens and weeds suggest figures of between 20 and 40 percent. A major goal therefore in current plant biotechnology is the modification of plant genomes to producecrops with enhanced resistance to pests, pathogens and herbicides. This will permit crop protection with reduced levels of application of chemical insecticides and fungicides, and the more selective use of herbicides. This book reviews our current knowledge of this rapidly advancing field and will be of great interest to plant biotechnologists and genetic engineers, as well as workers in plant pathology or agricultural entomology wishing to keep abreast of the subject. ... Read more