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Washington, DC
September 6, 2001
Harvest on the Horizon
Future Uses of Agricultural Biotechnology
The first report to describe the
wide-range of potential agricultural biotechnology uses
NEWS RELEASE
Bullet proof vests made from
goats’ milk, plants that can clean up toxins from soil and foods
that can target specific vitamin and nutritional deficiencies
could be a few of the next wave of products in the agricultural
biotechnology pipeline, according to a new report, Harvest on
the Horizon: Future Uses of Agricultural Biotechnology (full
report in PDF), released today from the
Pew Initiative on Food and
Biotechnology.
The report is the first independent effort to catalogue selected
current research and development efforts in agricultural
biotechnology. “This report shows that biotechnology is a
powerful technology with the potential to create remarkable new
products,” said Mike Rodemeyer, executive director of the
Initiative. “However, many of these products are likely to
generate significant public debate over their relative risks and
benefits. In addition, the broad scope of the research profiled
in this report raises important questions, including whether the
regulatory system will be ready for the next generation of
biotechnology products.”
“By describing what’s in the biotechnology R&D pipeline, Harvest
on the Horizon is intended to stimulate debate and help the
public and policymakers better understand both the potential and
the risks of the next generation of biotechnology products,”
said Rodemeyer. Other activities of the Initiative will focus on
the controversies surrounding the technology, which are not
addressed in this report.
Highlights of biotech research underway include:
- Nutrition: Research is
being undertaken to add vitamin E, an anti-oxidant with a
possible preventive relationship to cancer, to vegetable oils;
to reduce the undesirable saturated fats of cooking oils; to
increase protein quantity and quality in vegetable staples;
and to reduce
the allergenic properties of milk, wheat, and other products
to make them available to those who are ordinarily sensitive
to them. There is also research on ways to add nutrients such
as vitamin A and iron to rice, a staple part of the diet in
many developing countries.
- Food vaccines: Foods
such as bananas are being genetically modified to produce
vaccines for illnesses ranging from Hepatitis B to traveler’s
diarrhea to tooth decay. The advantage to using foods to
deliver vaccines is that it permits the vaccine to be consumed
directly by humans or animals as food or feed, and eliminates
the need for purification of the vaccine strain, refrigeration
and the hazards associated with injections.
- Environmental clean-up:
Researchers are creating TNT-sensitive bacteria that could be
useful in landmine detection as well as engineering zebra fish
that can detect pollutants such as dioxin or PCBs. Scientists
are also working with a number of plants to enhance their
natural ability to absorb and store toxic and hazardous
substances that could assist in the cleanup of contaminated
soils and chemical leaks.
- Medical treatments:
Scientists are investigating ways to bioengineer animals to
produce human medical treatments, such as genetically modified
sheep that produce fibrinogen, a major component in blood
clotting that is used in wound treatment. Researchers are also
genetically modifying animals to be able to use their organs
for transplantation into humans; for example, one day,
scientists may be able to transform pigs so that humans won’t
reject their organs, a current problem with animal-to-human
transplants.
- Endangered trees:
Genetic engineering is being used to help recover trees
threatened by disease, such as the American chestnut, a
hardwood that was destroyed by a blight that killed 3.5
billion trees in the first half of the 20th century.
- Disease containment:
Research is being conducted to reduce the ability of
mosquitoes to spread diseases such as malaria. For example,
engineering mosquitoes to be resistant to the malaria
parasites they host could reduce their ability to transmit the
disease -- which strikes some 300 to 500 million persons in
the developing world annually.
- Decorative plants and
grasses: Scientists are working to genetically engineer
grass that needs little watering. Research is also being
conducted on ways to engineer flowers and potted plants with
different shades of color and intensity than would normally be
found in nature, as well as ways to change their size and
shape (e.g. dwarf plants). Biotechnology techniques are
already being used to extend the shelf life of cut flowers.
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY of the report
Introduction
The increasing use of modern biotechnology in agriculture has
generated significant debate, much of which centers on the
rapidly growing use of food crops that have been genetically
modified to make them more resistant to pests or chemical
herbicides. As a result, the debate has not usually addressed
the potential products of agricultural biotechnology that are on
the horizon. While technology developers believe that these new
products will offer benefits in meeting needs for food, fuel,
and fiber, as well as for novel industrial and pharmaceutical
uses, some of these future products are also likely to raise
environmental and other concerns that will need to be addressed
by the regulatory system.
Harvest on the Horizon: Future Uses of Agricultural
Biotechnology (725k .pdf) is intended to enrich both the
knowledge and dialogue surrounding agricultural biotechnology by
profiling some of the genetically engineered products being
developed by industry and university scientists. The report
reviews some of the current research on large-scale crops like
corn and soybeans, but it also outlines ongoing research on a
much broader range of plants, trees, grasses, animals, insects
and fish. While not a comprehensive inventory, Harvest on the
Horizon reveals the breadth and scope of current research
activities and gives a snapshot of how industry and university
researchers are thinking about potential future agricultural
biotechnology products.
The report should not be viewed as an endorsement of
biotechnology or any of the potential future applications
discussed. Indeed, many of the applications noted in the report
are likely to generate strong public debate over their relative
risks and benefits. The report deliberately does not address
these policy issues in order to provide a clear picture of the
breadth of current agricultural biotechnology research and
development efforts, an understanding of which is also critical
to the public debate.
Nor should the report be construed as a forecast of which
products will be successful and brought to market. Much of the
research cited is at an early stage, and many of the
applications face significant technical, economic, marketing and
regulatory challenges before they can be
commercialized. This report does not attempt to delve into those
challenges. Instead, Harvest on the Horizon simply focuses on
the research underway to use agricultural biotechnology to
create new products. By demonstrating what could be the “next
generation” of products created from agricultural biotechnology,
the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology hopes to facilitate
and enhance the ongoing public debate about this technology.
The Context of Biotechnology
While biotechnology falls within the tradition of improving
crops and livestock to better meet human needs, it also greatly
expands the ability to move genes within and across species and
creates a new ability to move genes across distantly related
species and biologic kingdoms. It is this attribute of
biotechnology that makes it a potentially powerful tool for
modifying nature but which also raises ethical, health, and
environmental issues.
While the public is not widely knowledgeable about biotechnology
and genetically modified food, consumer awareness appears to be
growing. When the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology
compared the findings of two polls, respectively conducted in
January 2001 and June 2001, it found consumer awareness of
genetically modified foods sold in grocery stores had increased
by 11 percent between the polls. At the same time, use of the
technology is also increasing in American fields, with farmers
planting more genetically modified soybeans and cotton this
year, according to a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture
survey. The government’s report also notes that currently
68 percent of soybean acreage, 69 percent of all cotton acreage,
and 26 of total corn acreage planted is genetically modified.
Food Crops
Making Food Production Easier
To date, much of the focus of industry research has been on the
development of products to reduce crop losses to pests and
disease while maintaining yields. The first applications of
biotechnology, now on the market for several years, include
staple crops such as corn and cotton that are bioengineered to
make toxins capable of killing insect pests. Other crops such as
squash, potatoes, wheat, papaya and raspberries, engineered to
resist common plant diseases, have recently become commercially
available or may soon reach the market. Genetically modified
soybeans, corn, canola and cotton have been developed with
resistance to the herbicide glyphosate and are widely used in
the United States. Scientists are continuing to work on other
methods to directly improve crop yields and on ways to help
crops grow in difficult environments such as those that have
limited water supplies or soils that lack nutrients.
Food Quality and Nutrition Improving crop yields and reducing
crop losses to pests are important to farmers, but they do not
necessarily deliver obvious benefits to consumers. Biotechnology
research is proceeding on ways to develop products with direct
benefits to consumers, such as improved food quality and
nutrition. In particular, scientists are using biotechnology to
add nutrients to foods traditionally lacking in those nutrients.
For example, research is ongoing on ways to add vitamin A to
rice, a staple part of the diet in developing countries, to
increase the nutritional quality of diets in these regions.
Similar research is being undertaken to add vitamin E, an
anti-oxidant thought to prevent cancer, to vegetable oils; to
reduce the harmful saturated fats of cooking oils; to increase
protein quality in vegetable staples; and to reduce the
allergenic properties of milk, wheat, and other products to make
them available to those who are ordinarily sensitive to them.
The report does not address the likelihood that these products
will be as beneficial as some proponents believe, an issue of
current policy debate.
Trees, Turf and Decorative Plants
The applications of biotechnology in agriculture are not limited
to food and feed crops: some research on forestry and trees is
currently underway. Researchers are exploring ways to make trees
grow more quickly and to be more disease and stress resistant.
For example, scientists are
working on changing the amount of a tree’s lignin – a substance
that helps provide rigidity. Reducing lignin could improve the
ease and efficiency of processing trees into paper.
Alternatively, increasing lignin content could be desirable for
lumber and could possibly provide advantages for energy
production when wood is used as fuel. Again, the report does not
discuss any of the ethical and environmental issues that have
been raised about some potential applications of this research.
Genetic engineering is also being applied to the recovery of
tree species threatened by disease. The American chestnut is a
hardwood tree formerly common in Appalachia and the East Coast
that was destroyed by a blight that killed 3.5 billion trees –
all during the first 40 years of the 20th
century. The discovery of genes responsible for resistance to
the fungus in a few surviving trees may make it possible to
develop resistance in genetically modified American chestnut
trees.
Turf commonly found on golf courses and also used in commercial
landscaping requires enormous quantities of water, herbicides
and pesticides to preserve its appearance and functional
quality. Industry researchers are working to genetically
engineer grass to resist herbicides that may allow for better
weed control. In the more aesthetic arena, researchers are
looking to engineer flowers and potted plants to have different
shades of color and intensity than would normally be found in
nature, and are investigating ways to change their size and
shape (e.g. dwarf plants). Biotechnology techniques may also be
able to extend the shelf life of cut flowers.
Biotech Industrial Products, Pharmaceuticals and Environmental
Clean-up
Researchers are using biotechnology to modify plants to produce
industrial products and pharmaceuticals. Examples of products
currently under development include: proteins and enzymes for
diagnostic, therapeutic and manufacturing purposes; modified
fatty acids and oils for paints and manufacturing; biopolymers
as substitutes for plastics; and specialty substances. One
potential product that is currently being explored is the
creation of fibers for clothing and other materials. Using
bacteria engineered to make polymers that closely resemble
natural fibers (such as silk, elastin, collagen and keratin), it
may be possible to produce unique fibers similar to some of the
most popular textiles used in the production of the latest
fashions.
Plants and animals can also be modified to act as biosensors,
detecting or monitoring hazardous materials in the environment.
For example, researchers have modified bacteria to be sensitive
to TNT, an ingredient in many explosives, making it potentially
useful in tasks like landmine detection. Researchers are also
working to engineer zebra fish to act as biosensors for
pollutants such as dioxin or PCBs.
Scientists are working on ways to use biotechnology for
environmental preservation and remediation. For example,
scientists are working with a number of plant species to enhance
their natural ability to absorb and store toxic and hazardous
substances that could assist in the cleanup of oil spills and
chemical leaks.
Scientists have found that genetically modified plants can
produce vaccines for human and animal illnesses ranging from
colon cancer to traveler’s diarrhea to tooth decay. Technology
developers believe that using foods to deliver vaccines could
have the benefit of permitting the vaccine to be consumed
directly by humans or animals as food or feed, and eliminating
the need for purification of the vaccine strain and the hazards
associated with injections. Some of the plants used to develop
the vaccines include corn, spinach, tobacco, lettuce, tomato,
soybeans and potatoes. Plants may also be used to produce
medical compounds for use in humans, such as monoclonal
antibodies, hormones, or blood proteins.
Animals
In addition to research on plants that can produce human medical
treatments, scientists are also investigating ways to
bioengineer animals to produce human medical treatments for
disorders or diseases such as cystic fibrosis. There are efforts
underway to modify sheep to be able to produce fibrinogen, a
major component in blood clotting that may be used for wound
treatment. Scientists are also using genetic engineering to try
to use animal tissue and organs for transplantation into humans.
But with biotechnology, researchers may be able to genetically
modify pigs to suppress a natural protein that causes the
animal’s tissue or organs to be rejected in humans. Harvest on
the Horizon does not address any of the animal welfare, ethical
or other policy issues that have been raised with respect to
biotechnology research on animals.
Another area of animal research is the production of spider silk
from genetically modified goats. Spider silk, an ultra-strong
material that can be used in a variety of industrial products,
including sutures and bulletproof vests, is difficult to
cultivate commercially. Industry researchers are now able to
produce spider silk by harvesting a protein from the milk of
goats engineered with a spider gene.
Fish and Aquatic Organisms
According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),
close to 100 billion tons of fish are annually consumed
worldwide. It is, therefore, not surprising that researchers
have focused on using biotechnology to increase yields for the
production of salmon and other fish. For example, the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently reviewing an
application for a genetically
modified salmon that grows at three to five times the rate of
its unmodified counterpart. At least nine species of fish - none
of which are commercially available yet - have been genetically
modified for enhanced growth including: the common carp, Crucian
carp, channel catfish, loach, tilapia, pike, rainbow trout,
Atlantic salmon, Pacific salmon and Sockeye salmon. The possible
ecological issues raised by the unintended introduction of a
genetically modified fish into the environment are beyond the
scope of this report.
Because diseases can spread rapidly in aquaculture with
potentially devastating economic consequences, scientists are
investigating techniques to protect fish and seafood from such
diseases by improving disease resistance. In addition, by
modifying salmon for tolerance to sub-freezing temperatures, the
geographic range where caged salmon could be farmed could be
extended.
Insects
Looking at efforts to control insect devastation, researchers
are investigating alternatives to chemical pesticides.
Scientists are modifying insects to make them more effective
predators of unwanted insects, less virulent pests themselves,
or to make them unable to carry diseases that are harmful to
humans.
One area of research has centered on reducing the ability of
mosquitoes to spread disease, such as malaria. The ability to
make mosquitoes resistant to the malaria parasites they host
could reduce the insects’ ability to transmit devastating
diseases in places like Africa and other developing countries
where some 300 to 500 million cases of the disease occur each
year.
Conclusion
Biotechnology is a tool. It does not provide the only approach
to addressing a particular set of problems, and other approaches
or applications may offer better solutions for particular needs.
The report does not attempt to weigh the costs and benefits of
any particular biotechnology approach or to compare the relative
merits of potential alternatives.
Current biotechnology research is addressing a wide range of
possible future uses, from enhancing the nutritional value of
food and increasing food supply to controlling or preventing
disease in humans and animals. While some applications are
already on the market and widely used, others are a decade or
more away.
Whether today’s research projects become tomorrow’s products
depends not only on continued scientific progress, but also on
addressing concerns about environmental impacts and other risks,
meeting regulatory requirements, and dealing with marketplace
realities. In that context,
understanding the potential uses of this technology is one
critical part of the process by which the public’s decisions
about biotechnology products will be made.
The full PDF version of the
report is at
http://pewagbiotech.org/research/harvest/harvest.pdf
Company news release
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