The information technology revolution will soon be matched in scale by biotechnology, which includes the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in industry and agriculture, an EU conference in Dublin has been told. Europe, currently lagging behind the US as biotechnology trailblazers, is in a position to make up the gap, with Ireland particularly suited to exploit its potential, according to Dr Jim Ryan of BioResearch Ireland - a leading biotechnology company set up by Irish universities.
Unlike micro-electronics, however, its major impact will not mean an entirely new sector of industry. Biotechnology will fundamentally change the way many existing health care, food/agribusinesses and the environmental control sector operate.
Dr Ryan told the conference on the regulation of GMOs, hosted by the Environmental Protection Agency, that some 70 per cent of drugs in development use biotechnology, notably in vaccine production and diagnostics. GMOs are microbes, plants or animals in which genetic material has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating or natural recombination.
New genetically modified crops are already widely available and successful in all economic blocs other than Europe. Such crops can satisfy public demand for tastier and more nutritious foods, and for a reduction of potentially polluting inputs to crop production.
In the environmental sector, an increasing range of effective bio-based technologies are becoming available for treatment of waste emissions. There is "the real possibility of regeneration of what are currently permanently polluted parts of the plant", Dr Ryan said.
Some 35 million acres of genetically modified crops were planted in 1997 but virtually none in Europe. This was due, mainly, to regulatory problems related to negative public attitudes. "The EU public are arguably more `green' than in the US," he said, "and are certainly less trusting of governments and industry. However, where certain GMO foods have been made available, consumers have shown a strong preference. Action to inform the public about the realities of biotechnology are required."
The US had debated GMO use in the late 1970s, with headlines about "the DNA furore . . . interfering with life" appearing on the cover of Time magazine, and have since moved on. Europe, nonetheless, was set to reach biotechnology sales of £189 billion (250 billion ECU) by the year 2005.
Ireland has a pool of suitable expertise and is producing high numbers of quality biology-based graduates, Dr Ryan said. It has a good infrastructure to support biotechnology industries and a tax and support system attractive to multinationals.
Ms Cecile Pierce, of a European Commission unit which oversees GMO-related regulation, outlined how EU directives were being strengthened to improve risk assessment and have better labelling of foods containing or consisting of GMOs.
The key directive on the deliberate release of GMOs was due to be amended later this year, she said. It would lead to more transparent labelling of genetically modified food and greater assessment of risk to human health, including issues of allergenicity and toxicity.
The EU's position was "a neutral one" based on safety but one which could not hinder technological innovation in biotechnology industry which was fuelling major economic growth.
The EPA director, Ms Anne Butler, defended the regulatory process in Ireland but endorsed calls for more extensive labelling and adoption of new laws on novel foods. "Good regulation is necessary not only to ensure that the use of GMOs does not lead to any harm to human health or the environment but, in itself, good regulation can lead to increased public confidence."
GMOs regulations could, despite a very stringent evaluation process, be improved by more in-depth studies of allergen/toxicity risk to humans and monitoring of the new products after they enter the marketplace, and better public information, according to the EPA scientist, Dr Tom McLoughlin. "Most people don't know what a GMO is."
