Biotechnology

Through the application of modern techniques of biotechnology to agriculture, breeders can make precise genetic changes that impart beneficial properties to the crop plants, trees, fish, and animals which provide us with food and fiber. Agricultural biotechnology helps farmers increase yields, enabling them to produce more food per acre and reduces the need for chemicals, pesticides, water, and tilling, thereby providing benefits to the environment as well as to the health and livelihood of farmers. Through specific design, biotechnology also can be used to enhance the nutritive value of staple foods to improve overall nutrition and health. Agricultural biotechnology holds great promise to boost food production in both the developed and the developing world and to reduce agricultural vulnerability to the impact of pests, viruses, and drought. It is, as a result, one of the primary ingredients in the world's effort to combat food insecurity and malnutrition. American farmers and consumers alike have benefited from crops derived from biotechnology for many years. Crops produced through biotechnology in the U.S. for domestic consumption and export, including food aid, go through and complete rigorous reviews under the U.S. regulatory process. The Department of State works with a host of other agencies and organizations to promote acceptance of this promising technology. The "related links" at left point to a variety of national and international resources on biotechnology.

Information on bioengineered plants and food products that have completed regulatory review in the United States is available at http://usbiotechreg.nbii.gov.