Biosafety Protocol Is There A Need For

Biosafety Protocol: Is There A Need For One. Essay, Research Paper

Biosafety Protocol: Is There A Need For One.

By John M. Seguin

Outline

Thesis statement: An international biosafety protocol should be created to

establish and maintain control over the products designed with biotechnology.

I. The existing laws and regulations that govern the release of

transgenic

organisms are inadequate or nonexistent.

A. The developed nations of the world are using regulations

that were designed to control and monitor crops created with

traditional technologies.

B. Biotechnology is regulated by three different agencies.

C. The undeveloped nations have virtually no regulations

governing transgenic organisms.

1. This indicates that biotechnological research can and is

being conducted in these countries without regulation.

2. There are many biotech companies based in developed

countries that have branches or joint ventures around

the world.

II. The potential risks of transgenic organisms to the environment

is still being determined.

A. Some experts warn that there is a danger that biotechnology

can create mutant hybrids.

B. Biotechnology has the potential to harm the economies of some

developing nations.

C. The last and possible the most important argument for an

international biosafety protocol is in the name of ignorance

and caution

III. The United States, Germany, Japan, and Australia are the only

countries opposed to the biosafety protocol.

IV. The need for a change in the world of agriculture is undeniable.

As the world moves closer to the 21st century, research and development

in the area of biotechnology has increased dramatically. According to Bette

Hileman of Chemical and Engineering News, the world population will increase by

3 billion people in the next thirty years while the amount of land available for

agriculture cannot be greatly expanded. “Biotechnology – specifically that

aspect involved in transferring genes from one species into the [DNA] of another

- has the potential to alleviate . . .” (8) this and many other problems facing

the world in the near future. Even though biotechnology has already shown

dramatic results in the creation of beneficial transgenic (genetically

engineered) species, many countries and researchers are “. . . quite leery about

the uses of biotechnology” (8). Therefore, an international biosafety protocol

should be created to establish and maintain control over the products designed

with biotechnology.

The existing laws and regulations that govern the release of transgenic

organisms are inadequate or nonexistent. In general, the developed nations of

the world are using regulations that were designed to control and monitor crops

created with traditional technologies like hybridization and cross-breeding

(Hileman 8). Pamela Weintraub, of the National Audubon Society, states that

many expected problems with biotechnology can be kept under control with proper

regulations, but the regulations (where there are any) governing biotechnology

today are “tangled and obscure” (164).

In the United States for example, biotechnology is regulated by three

different agencies: the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food

and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

These three agencies regulate product research and commercialization of

transgenic organisms depending upon their nature and intended use. The USDA

regulates transgenic plants grown on a large scale. If a product of transgenic

origin is to be used as a food, then it falls under FDA regulations. The EPA

has jurisdiction over all transgenic organisms that express or function as a

pesticide, and all genetically engineered microorganisms. Because Congress has

elected not to instate a law specifically regulating transgenic organisms, all

three of these agencies are using existing regulations designed for crops

created by traditional methods. According to Bette Hileman of Chemical and

Engineering News, “Under the existing legal framework, environmental releases of

most gene tically engineered animals are essentially unregulated” (9).

The undeveloped nations on the other hand have virtually no regulations

governing transgenic organisms. This means that research can and is being

conducted in these countries without regulation to protect the ecology. A

resolution passed by the European Parliament confirmed this when they stated,

“Deliberate releases of genetically modified organisms are being carried out in

many developing countries, which have no legislation or infrastructure to ensure

their safe use. . . “(Hileman 8). Further proof that this is taking place is

the speed with which transgenic crops are being commercially produced in these

nations. China

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