WHAT ARE CANADIANS DOING IN AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY?
In May 1983, the Canadian government announced biotechnology, including genetic engineering, to be a national priority for economic development. Agriculture, the resource industries, and health care are the areas where researchers are concentrating strategic applications of the new technology. Of the more than 224 biotechnology firms in the country, most are located in Ontario and Quebec, with British Columbia placing third. Over 26% of biotechnology companies in Canada are related to agricultural biotechnology, as compared to only 5% in the US. Saskatchewan, however, leads in agricultural biotechnology with over 700 field trials of genetically altered plants now being conducted. The most widely tested crops are canola, corn, potatoes, and alfalfa. In fact, Canada has been racing ahead in the development of herbicide resistant crops. In 1988, the first fourteen tests of transgenic, or genetically engineered crops, were conducted in Canada. By 1994, over 700 field tests of transgenic pl
