ABSTRACT
Modern biotechnology builds on the plant and animal breeding which has taken place since the initial domestication, itself a selection of organisms with natural advantages for human use. Agricultural biotechnology may be judged an important tool for achieving sustainable development. The coupled production and sale of herbicides and the seeds of herbicide-resistant crops could lead to a spiral of dependency and control by agrochemical/biotechnology companies. Many developments associated with the industrialization of agriculture occurred after, the Second World War, including a rapid increase in artificial nitrogen fertilizer use and the invention and deployment of many new pesticides and animal health products. In 2000 the biopesticide market was valued at $160 million, of which 90 per cent was the result of Bacillus thuringiensis products though this is only c.1 per cent of the worldwide agrochemical market. Modern biotechnology is becoming a major force on agricultural landscapes, especially in North and South America.
