The use of biotechnology, including cloning and genetically modified organisms (GMOs, i.e., organisms whose traits have been altered through the use of recombinant DNA technology), is growing rapidly worldwide.

Such biotechnology offers the possibility of novel solutions to many problems faced by society. For example, some genetically engineered bacteria already produce a reliable supply of insulin for use by diabetics, while other GMOs are used to clean up oil spills. Similarly, genetically engineered crops can lead to higher food and fiber production while reducing the need for environmentally harmful pesticides. Scientists can enrich crops also with an abundance of vitamins to help enhance human health.

The application of such technology, however, faces increasing controversy. Cloning of any sort raises ethical concerns, and worries persist regarding GMOs' potentially negative effects on human health and biodiversity. Genetically-modified foods, especially, have met with resistance from potential consumers. In 2002, Zambia, a country then on the verge of famine, even refused to except an emergency shipment of food aid from the United States because it contained GM versions of corn and soybeans; the Zambian government claimed to fear poisoning from such seeds, though a greater concern that leftover GM seeds might contaminate local crops, rendering them unappealing to the European consumers. These very consumers have pushed the European Union to ban GM products since 1998, a decision that the United States--accompanied by Canada, Argentina and Egypt--challenged in the World Trade Organization in May, 2003 at the risk of starting a "trade war".

The Center for International Environmental Law is currently creating a program to address these emerging forms of biotechnology, their potential and realized applications, and the resulting development of legal frameworks to handle concerns over this issue.

For more information, please contact Daniel B. Magraw, Jr., President of CIEL.

This page last modified on 29 July 2003