ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ETHICAL, LEGAL, AND POLICY ISSUES IN BIOTECHNOLOGY

The United States government deŽ nes “biotechnology” as the “use of various biological processes, both traditional and newly devised, to make products and perform services from living organisms or their components.” With such a broad deŽ nition, the scope of biotechnology ranges from ancient principles of plant breeding and fermentation to modern concepts of genetic engineering and information science. This broad scope is accompanied by increasingly diverse goals, including: production of higher-yield crops; development of new or improved plant-derived foods; enhancement of meat or dairy production by animals; cloning of animals or humans; and manipulation of genes, proteins, cells, and informational pathways in living organisms to eliminate or prevent disease, or to enhance cognition, strength, growth, or other human traits. Commerce in biotechnology has exploded despite the constantly evolving and often unpredictable in uence of: public perceptions; Ž nancing and tax incentives; limited government funding of basic and applied research; limited availability and training of personnel; extensive health, safety, and environmental regulation; antitrust and intellectual property law; university-industry relationships; and international technology transfer, investment, and trade.