Understanding Biotech's Real Drivers

There is scarcely a state or metro area in America that has not set its sights on developing biotech. While many are in the hunt for more biotech companies and jobs, few have looked below the surface at the driving issues associated with biotech's growth worldwide.

A recent American Enterprise Institute (AEI) conference spoke to some of these issues, which economic developers should be reminded of. Here are a few quick points on what was said about biotech's role in addressing the world's food problem.

Participants at the AEI conference described the potential for biotechnology to alleviate malnutrition in the developing world by genetically modifying agricultural products, as well as the political barriers to the use of biotechnology.

"We are facing a major problem in Africa in particular, but also to a lesser degree in central Asia with food security," said U.S. Agency for International Development administrator Andrew Natsios. "A third of Africans-200 million people-are food insecure chronically. . . . Since 1980, 50 percent of the increased productivity in the developing world in agriculture is a result of improved seed technology. . . . One of the answers to the problem of productivity is clearly seed technology, and biotech is a critical part of that."

Yet genetically modified (GM) foods remain highly controversial, largely because of the skepticism with which many Europeans greet this new technology. Many Europeans do not share American's enthusiam on genetically modified food.

These larger realities are vitally important to the future growth of commercial enterprises in the biotech/life science sector. Even larger issues loom in the world of health and medicine, where the debate about cloning, stem cell research and other issues continues to grow.

We need to keep an eye on these issues as we give shape to local biotech development strategies. To ignore them could be the ultimate kiss of death for many biotech and life science clusters across the U.S. and worldwide.

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