ABSTRACT
Since the 1950s, America's intrigue with technology has waned. The average citizen has become more wary of the negative effects of technology. Innovative public/private partnerships between academia and business have emerged as a driving force in bringing biotechnology rapidly to the marketplace. The success of these partnerships, however, has raised fears that universities are moving away from their mission of serving the public welfare. This chapter addresses those fears by analyzing current research trends to see if concern is warranted. It considers crops that have been deregulated by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), allowing for their large-scale planting. The chapter examines the aspirations for and concerns about technology transfer and public/private partnerships. It also considers small scale field tests of genetically engineered crops, and the use of confidential business information by public and private institutions over the past eight years. The chapter concludes with the implications of the findings for private and public sectors specifically, and agricultural biotechnology generally.
