Promethean science: agricultural biotechnology, the environment, and the poor.

Prometheus, according to Greek mythology, was a Titan, responsible for introducing fire to humans, a remarkable innovation at the time, but having benefits and risks, depending on its use. Promethean has since come to mean darlingly original and creative. This monograph is devoted to a discussion of the challenge of harnessing the new findings in biotechnology for the benefit of the poor and the environment. The task of the Promethean scholars of today is to analyze where modern science can lead to technical innovations and how these can be used wisely to improve agricultural productivity, conserve natural resources, and create wealth especially for poor people in developing countries. The authors believe that the present economic concentration of investment, science, and infrastructure in industrial countries and the lack of access to the resulting technologies are major impediments to the successful applications of modern biotechnology to the global problems of the age, namely the need to guarantee food security to all people and to create wealth for the presently poor people and countries. Creativity in finding solutions to these policy and institutional impediments to innovation are as important and challenging as new scientific discoveries, if the promises of Promethean science are to be realized.

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