Biotechnology and Sustainable Agriculture
In general, biotechnology, particularly genetic engineering, is not a fruitful approach in the quest for a sustainable agriculture. Sustainable agriculture solves problems by understanding and adjusting the elements of the system to achieve its goals. The approach minimizes the use of off-farm products, such as pesticides and fertilizers, for both economic and environmental reasons.Agricultural biotechnology is basically an industry that develops products, often expensive products, priced to cover the costs of research and development. In general, new products are of minor importance to sustainable agriculture. Moreover, such products may pose risks, some unique, to human health and the environment.
UCS's Food and Environment Program promotes the transition of agriculture into an economically and environmentally sustainable system. We define a sustainable agriculture as one that is both highly productive and protective of the natural resources on which future productivity depends. Much of modern agriculture is based on an industrial model that is not sustainable.
The key to a sustainable agriculture lies in a new approach that focuses on farms as systems with elements whose relationships can be changed to accomplish the goals of growing crops and raising livestock. Such systems rely on fewer pesticides and fertilizers. They seek to accomplish multiple goals: quality products, profit for farmers, minimal environmental pollution. A fundamental change in agriculture of this scope requires coordinated policies: a new research agenda, new education and information transfer programs, properly targeted subsidies, sensible environmental and health regulation, and balanced trade policies. Currently, the UCS program focuses on research agendas, education, and regulation.
As we take on the challenge of transforming agriculture, UCS is paying special heed to the impact of a new set of agricultural technologies emerging from the fields of molecular biology and genetics, usually discussed under the general rubric of biotechnology. Our program attempts to evaluate those technologies for their potential to advance a sustainable agriculture and to ensure that the products of the technology are properly regulated.
