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ABOUT OUR PROGRAM

The Outreach in Biotechnology (ORB) program seeks to provide accurate information, in context, about biotechnology.  Our focus is on the ways in which biotechnology is being used in agriculture, and the implications this has for the economy, human health, and sustainability.

One of our primary interests is how biotechnology can fulfill human needs while maintaining the quality of the natural environment indefinitely; sustainability is about simultaneously utilizing and maintaining ecological systems, including the planet's biological communities and climate, through industry, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries.

Because of the controversy surrounding it, ORB's primary outreach focus is genetic engineering (GE), also called genetic modification (GM).  Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are engineered using recombinant DNA technology to change genes directly.  Genes carry information that determines an organism's traits.  Recombinant DNA technology makes it possible to take a gene from any species, change it slightly, and place it back into the same or into almost any other species.

visions | what is biotech | why controversy | funding | advisory board | admin direction | leadership

visions

  • To inform public dialogue and decision making about biotechnology by explaining the underlying science, and by casting light on the socioeconomic and ecological contexts in which biotechnologies are applied.

o To help credible science and scientists to have a stronger voice in policy making, at local, national, and international levels.

  • To provide education about biotechnology.

o Our focus is agriculture, but we also touch on the impacts of biotechnology on our food supply, medicine, biomaterials such as wood, ethics, and culture.

o We provide information to diverse audiences, including students, farmers, the public, the media, companies, stakeholders, and government agencies.

o We increase people's access to credible science and their ability to identify misinformation — which is, unfortunately, abundant.

what is biotechnology?

There are many types of technologies based on biology (the study of living organisms).  They involve many different techniques and have countless applications.  The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) defines biotechnology as "any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use". 

Although biotechnology seems new, it has been around for quite some time.  Ancient applications of biotechnology included traditional animal and plant breeding techniques, and the use of yeast in making bread, beer, wine, and cheese. 

Brewing beer at Jamestown

 

 

Brewing beer at Jamestown: Beer making was an early application of biotechnology. 

 

 

 

 

For many decades now, biotechnology has been used to synthesize drugs, antibiotics, and hormones like insulin using microorganisms.

Current applications also include the use of recombinant DNA, cell fusion, and bioprocessing technologies, which are used for medical, pharmaceutical, industrial, ecological, and agricultural purposes.

Biotechnology has also been used to genetically alter bacteria so that they can be used to clean up contamination, like oil spills (bioremediation).

Some biotechnology applications don't use living organisms at all; examples include DNA microarrays used in molecular biology and radioactive tracers used in medicine.

Biotechnology provides powerful tools for the sustainable development of agriculture, fisheries and forestry, as well as the food industry. When appropriately integrated with other technologies for the production of food, agricultural products and services, biotechnology can be of significant assistance in meeting the needs of an expanding and increasingly urbanized population in the next millennium.

Excerpt from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation (FAO) Statement on Biotechnology

why controversy?

There are a number of reasons that GE is a large source of controversy:

  1. Gene transfer between species creates genetic modifications that are not possible with conventional breeding. This makes beneficial changes possible, but could also cause harm or create legal conundrums if used inappropriately.
  2. The potential for misuse has driven most governments to regulate GE. However, many disagree about the aptness of the regulations now in place.
  3. Many people are concerned that the process of safety testing, though far more rigorous then the requirements in place for conventionally bred crops, is insufficient to guarantee that GE foods are not somehow toxic or allergenic.
  4. Some deem biotechnology unnatural and therefore immoral. These objections are strongest for animal biotechnologies, including cloning (even though cloning itself does not involve GE).
  5. Others raise objections about the morality of patenting genes and GE organisms, even though conventionally bred food crops and other plants can also be patented.
  6. Many people fear that GE organisms may generate adverse environmental consequences that cannot be predicted or retracted. There is also concern that some GE crops promote high input agriculture.
  7. Most people question the role and intentions of the big multinational corporations that dominate the GE market. Large corporations dominate the market because of the extremely high costs imposed by regulations, patents, and research.
  8. There are strong marketplace barriers to GE.  Many companies fear putting GE in their products due to the threats of consumer boycotts organized by anti-GE groups.

funding

Funding for the ORB program is provided by the College of Agricultural Sciences and the College of Forestry at OSU.   It also has a small amount of grant funding from the American Society of Plant Biologists. 

leadership

advisory board

administrative direction