Agricultural Biotechnology News

In the context of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries.

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, an

Agricultural biotechnology and the production of GM crops have been controversial despite being practiced in both developed and developing countries, the major reason being their potential negative impact on human / animal health or environment. Also prevalent is the view that it is simply unethical to engineer different forms of life in the laboratory, especially when it comes to consuming food generated through genetic engineering. GM crops have been introduced into the agricultural landscape more than 2 decades ago which has allowed us to study their effects on economy, health and the environment. Agricultural Biotechnology: Genetic Engineering for a Food Cause is a compendium of information, practices, observations and discernible insights on agriculture, biotechnology and sustainable development. The book begins by descriptions of genetic engineering practices and strategies for producing GM crops, their importance in the food chain and advantages of GM crops over non-modified crops. Followed by chapters on the strategic genetic applications and the use of synthetics microbiology and microbial symbiosis, Agricultural Biotechnology: Genetic Engineering concludes with an insight of the Future of microbiotechnology in agricultural practices. Agricultural Biotechnology: Genetic Engineering for a Food Cause fills a gap by summarizing the available literature in a wide variety of topics under one single volume, being accessible to audiences in academic, government and industry spaces. Provides knowledge of the purposes of engineering microbes Includes the latest techniques and practices in microbiology Gives an insight in the future of agricultural microbiotechnology

The product of research sponsored by the UK Department for International Development and a May 2000 workshop held in Rome, Italy, this book comprises 11 contributions from experts affiliated with the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (Rome, Italy) and the Institute for Plant Biology (U. of Zurich, Switzerland), and from academics in agriculture, food economics, law, and land economy affiliated with universities in the UK, US, and Italy. They investigate ways in which industrial changes implicit in new biotechnologies will affect modern agriculture; analyze industrial and distribution impacts, including consequences for developing countries; and look at genetic use restriction technologies and their implications for global agricultural production. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.

Life on earth is facing unprecedented challenges from global warming, war, and mass extinctions. The plight of seeds is a less visible but no less fundamental threat to our survival. Seeds are at the heart of the planet's life-support systems. Their power to regenerate and adapt are essential to maintaining our food supply and our ability to cope with a changing climate. In Uncertain Peril, environmental journalist Claire Hope Cummings exposes the stories behind the rise of industrial agriculture and plant biotechnology, the fall of public interest science, and the folly of patenting seeds. She examines how farming communities are coping with declining water, soil, and fossil fuels, as well as with new commercial technologies. Will genetically engineered and "terminator" seeds lead to certain promise, as some have hoped, or are we embarking on a path of uncertain peril? Will the "doomsday vault" under construction in the Arctic, designed to store millions of seeds, save the genetic diversity of the world's agriculture? To answer these questions and others, Cummings takes readers from the Fertile Crescent in Iraq to the island of Kaua'i in Hawai'i; from Oaxaca, Mexico, to the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. She examines the plight of farmers who have planted transgenic seeds and scientists who have been persecuted for revealing the dangers of modified genes. At each turn, Cummings looks deeply into the relationship between people and plants. She examines the possibilities for both scarcity and abundance and tells the stories of local communities that are producing food and fuel sustainably and providing for the future. The choices we make about how we feed ourselves now will determine whether or not seeds will continue as a generous source of sustenance and remain the common heritage of all humanity. It comes down to this: whoever controls the future of seeds controls the future of life on earth. Uncertain Peril is a powerful reminder that what's at stake right now is nothing less than the nature of the future.

This book describes specific, well-know controversies in the genetic modification debate and connects them to deeper philosophical issues in philosophy of technology. It contributes to the current, far-reaching deliberations about the future of food, agriculture and society. Controversies over so-called Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) regularly appear in the press. The biotechnology debate has settled into a long-term philosophical dispute. The discussion goes much deeper than the initial empirical questions about whether or not GM food and crops are safe for human consumption or pose environmental harms that dominated news reports. In fact, the implications of this debate extend beyond the sphere of food and agriculture to encompass the general role of science and technology in society. The GM controversy provides an occasion to explore important issues in philosophy of technology. Researchers, teachers and students interested in agricultural biotechnology, philosophy of technology and the future of food and agriculture will find this exploration timely and thought provoking.