Overview

Agricultural biotechnology has been advancing rapidly; and for all the promises it offers, it poses as many questions. Agricultural biotechnology is rewriting the rules in several key areas—agricultural research policy, industry structure, production and marketing, consumer preference, and world food demand—and public policy is struggling to keep up. Much of the current interest in biotechnology stems from the rapid diffusion in North America and other exporting countries, like Argentina, of genetically engineered (GE) crops such as cotton, soybeans, corn, and canola, and from the uneasy consumer response in Europe as compared with the United States.