Human Health and Diseases - Researchers are studying whether transgenic animals could be a possible new source of valuable hormones and drugs to treat emphysema and infections in babies.

Nutritional Value of Food - Biotechnology-derived food can boost the nutritional value of foods. For example, the transgenic “Golden Rice” contains beta-carotene for production of Vitamin A, in order to prevent blindness and death in deficient children.

Animal Health and Diseases - Biotechnology helped produce a vaccine that protects animals in the wild against rabies and a vaccine for "shipping fever" of cattle, the biggest killer of beef cattle in feedlots.

Food Security - The development of pest-resistant and disease-resistant biotech crops will increase yields and improve hunger in developing countries. Plants that can be bred to tolerate dry and saline soil will increase available farmland.

Environment - Biotechnology can help reduce the use of insecticides and herbicides. For example, Bt cotton, a widely grown biotech crop, kills several important cotton pests.

Agricultural Economics - Engineered crops that are disease-resistant can rescue a crop market economically. For example, the development of two types of virus-resistant papaya saved the Hawaiian papaya industry from being devastated by the Papaya ringspot virus.

For more information please visit the FSRIO Agricultural Biotechnology Fact Sheet and Resource List.

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