What is biotechnology (BT) and what are its uses?
In the simplest of terms, it is the modification of any living organism around us to help improve our quality of life. In the modern sense, BT has been around for more than 30 years. Genetic engineering, which is the altering of DNA, has also been around for several years and is no different from what we have been doing for 5,000 years. Only now, the process is more precise and scientific. Biotechnology can take on world starvation. Research in BT can be used to help feed the world’s population, what with more than one billion people starving in the world right now. Is BT safe? Why do we need to adopt it here? Yes, it is safe and a tool that we have always used. Cross breeding and hybridisation are age-old techniques farmers and researchers have used for generations to develop new crops or improve existing ones. Today’s wheat, sweet corn, tomatoes and virtually all crops on the market are the result of centuries of crossbreeding and hybridisation. Biotechnology builds on the benefits o
