When I tell people I study biotechnology, I get a range of reactions. Some praise its scientific innovation; some sprinkle me with verbal holy water for being a cloner or a GM condoner. A relative even asked me if biotechnology was a type of washing machine. But here is the answer I normally spin: biotechnology is the future.

Is this true? Do the advantages of biotechnology's progresses out weigh the negatives? Lets consider this briefly (and narrowly) in agricultural biotech:

Recent studies released by the United Nations have claimed that the world population will have reached and exceeded 9 billion by 2050. This large projected growth implies that great measures will have to be taken to supply this additional populace with food, shelter and medicine.

Biotechnology can be defined as the science of using and manipulating living organisms in industrial processes. The National Centre for Food and Agricultural Policy in Washington DC has assembled a report based on nine case studies that conclude that agricultural biotechnology can lead to a supplementary yield of 8.5 billion kilograms of crops in Europe alone, this extrapolated in the year 2003. Advances likes these towards mass food production are why biotechnology is important for progress in our modern era.

One of the many biotechnological projects working towards addressing modern predicaments is the golden rice project, working towards eradicating malnutrition. This project has genetically engineered ordinary rice plants to produce β-carotene in their endosperm. Each grain of rice then contains provitamin A, a nutrient that, when lacking, causes blindness and immunodeficiency. Rice is a staple food group, eaten by the marginalised in great numbers on a daily bases. Now with every 100-200g of golden rice, they receive their daily requirement of vitamin A. The scientists behind the project calculate that 3 000 000 children can be saved every year by just ingesting a sufficient amount of vitamin A.

Another study showing the necessity of biotechnology for modern progress is the case of Bt field corn and its modified pest-resistant nature. Bt Corn is a genetically modified crop that has had genes from a soil bacterium incorporated into its genome, producing a cry protein that is especially effective in warding off lepidopteron insect attacks. With reduced losses due to insect attack, Bt corn had a supplementary yield of 66 million bushels in 1999. Thus biotechnological processes have increased food production and decreased the amount of pesticides needed as the plant produces its own pesticide in the form of the cry protein. The compiled studies of NCFAP have shown that 14.4 million fewer kilograms pesticides will be used every year thanks to these inherent pesticides. Fewer pesticides reduce the level of dangerous toxins assimilated by consumption, which has great health benefits. If fewer pesticides are needed, production costs of farming will decrease: herbicide for rice can cost up to R2500 per hectare. Biotechnology has yielded rice plants that require only 10 kilograms of herbicide per hectare, decreasing costs by 50%.

Yet there are many people who do not view biotechnology as the solution to our modern problems. Many regulatory agencies have expressed concern and criticism about the protein allergens in GM food. Dr Arpad Pusztai created great controversy after he stated that GE foods cannot be accurately pronounced safe as regulations do not require long term studies . Pusztai conducted a study of GM potatoes at the Rowett institute, investigating whether potatoes modified to produce plant proteins named lectins had an effect on the immune systems of rats. The study concluded that consumption of the GM potatoes led to the suppression of the immune system in rats and that their growth was stunted after a period of time equivalent to 10 human years. There is no post-trial surveillance for allergic reactions to GM food in the USA, as of 2011. The European Food Safety Authority’s guidelines for GM food allergens do not require further research if the novel protein does not structurally match any known allergen. Together with the lack of post-trial surveillance, the lax research requirements imply that GM food can be introducing new allergens to people without scientists or consumers being aware of it because there is no follow up research. Scientists also do not have to proceed with testing a protein if it is not a known allergen. This can lead to slow acting agents in the long term.

An astounding 96% of world investment into agricultural biotechnology in 2001 was concentrated into industrialized countries. This means that developing countries like South Africa only receive 4% of world funds to develop agribiotechnology. They do not have access to the improved methods and technologies and can thus not produce at a competitive rate due to high production costs. Dr. Alfredo Tolón-Becerra of the University of Almeria conducted a study in 2011 to see how biotechnological processes had affected the soybean farming sector on the Pampas region. The study stated that household incomes dropped 59% per hectare, in comparison to the 1990’s. It also concluded that the 12 000 rural workers lose their jobs annually. This can be explained by the intellectual property right in the biotechnology sector Private sector firms that develop GMO’s can have them patented as intellectual properties. They then have a market monopoly and can sell the rights to firms and farmers at a very high cost. So, as seen by the Argentinean sector, small commercial farmers cannot afford these biotechnological intellectual property rights. And so developing countries reap almost no investment or benefit from agricultural biotechnology.

For biotechnology to be the science of the modern era, it must address the key issues faced by our growing population. Foremost of these is the need for mass producing food for an overpopulated Earth. Biotechnology, through GM foods, allows us to produce higher yields, with no seasonal variety, with nutrient density and in abnormal conditions. For the progress made to feed 9.2 billion people, biotechnology truly is the answer for our modern era.