The Rural Voice, 1988-08, Page 31So, aftcr all this, what will recom-
binant DNA, genetic engineering, and
biotechnology mean to the average
person and to the farm?
Dr. Phillips believes that some
specific areas will be changed radi-
cally, but that overall the impact will
not be revolutionary. He says that
there will be a major impact in the
area of vaccine and pharmaceutical
manufacture as microbes begin to
manufacture these substances. There
chemicals efficiently. There are
philosophical problems related to the
safety and morality of their enterprise.
The products they make must be able
to cope with competition from chem-
ical manufacturing industries, which
can do nearly all that biotechnology
does. And will the products go to
those who need them most — mainly
the Third World — or will they
become another high-tech way to
increase Western consumption?
Biotechnology will have a major impact in the area of
vaccine and pharmaceutical manufacture, Dr. Phillips
says. There will be some modification of plants and
animals, especially plants. He points to improved protein
quality and increased oil content as two areas ripe for
change. Pest resistance through mechanical or chemical
means is another much-discussed possibility ...
will be some modification of plants
and animals, especially plants. He
points to improved protein quality and
increased oil content as two areas ripe
for change. Pest resistance through
mechanical or chemical means is
another much-discussed possibility.
Embryo manipulation will have an
impact, as well as embryo sexing and
transfer, much the way that artificial
insemination had a major impact on
the beef and dairy industries.
As for the state of biotechnology
in Canada, Dr. Phillips says that "the
basic science that feeds biotechnology
is so underfunded and undervalued by
the provincial and federal govern-
ments that our position is predictable."
Canadian researchers are good and are
doing good work, Dr. Phillips says,
but in order for them to do more and
lay the basis for an indigenous high-
tech industry, they need more support.
Our government wants the industry
but imports the technology from
elsewhere, he says.
The success of biotechnology will
depend primarily on whether or not
the companies involved can solve a
large number of problems unrelated to
recombinant DNA. There is much to
be done to improve growing systems,
to ensure that the chemicals produced
function correctly, and to harvest the
Worldwide biotechnology is
slowly growing and attempting to
solve problems. Those most familiar
with the subject are not writing it off
as a good idea that failed, but are
instead looking to the future with a
little more realism. Dr. Phillips sums
it up when he says that biotechnology
will have a place, but a place among
other methods.
So while we can continue to be
concerned about a future populated by
frogs with chicken legs and other such
monstrosities, those concerns should
not dominate our thoughts about
biotechnology. We should instead be
wondering whether the new technol-
ogies will give us new and cheaper
drugs, safer manufacturing methods,
and cures for genetic diseases. Bio-
technology and genetic engineering
are tools, and all tools can be used
wisely or foolishly. Even the most
obviously destructive tools like
dynamite can be used in millions of
helpful ways. It's a good bet that the
wise uses of biotechnology will be
around for many years to come.0
Ian Wylie-Toal holds a Bachelor of
Science in agriculture and worked for
seven years at the Agriculture Canada
Research . tation in Winnipeg before
moving to Flesherton, Ontario.
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