Biotechnology: Looking to the Future

• Author: Maureen A. McTeer
• Pages: 55-67

Chapter

Six

Biotechnology:

Looking

to

the

Future

e saw in previous chapters that genetic technologies, used

alone

or

with reproductive technologies

and

practices,

w

raise many legal issues.

In

this chapter

we

will move into

another area where genetic technologies

are

flourishing

— as a

breed-

ing and

species enhancement tool

for

plant

and

animal

life.

We

will

look

at the

agricultural

sector, where tough choices must

be

made

to

balance

the

needs

of

Canadian trade,

new job

opportunities,

and

com-

mercial

and

research opportunities with

the

increasing public demands

for

a

safe

food supply

and the

guarantee that genetically engineered

plants

and

animals

will

not

harm

our

health

and our

environment.1

Biotechnology2

will have

a

significant

impact

on the

world's

future

food

and

drug

supplies.3

It

uses genetic engineering technologies

to

enhance living organisms

or to

transform

all or

part

of

these organisms

into

something

different.

It is a

modern-day breeding tool with great

promise

and is

used

to

breed enhanced

or new

types

of

animals

and

plants.

Genetic engineering

can

also

be

used

for the

same

or

similar

purposes

in

humans, although that application remains controversial

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