ABSTRACT

Biotechnologysoundslikeaneologism(likesomanyotherwordswiththe'bio' prefix),butwasactuallycoinedearlyinthetwentiethcenturybyaHungarian agriculturalengineercalledKarlEreky,whoincludedwithinitsmeaning'allsuch workbywhichproductsareproducedfromrawmaterialswiththeaidofliving organisms'(quotedinBud,1993:27).Overtimeithasacquiredaconfusingvariety ofdefinitions.Itmaybedefinedquitebroadlyormuchmorenarrowly.Typicalofa broaddefinitionisthatofthe(nowdefunct)UnitedStatesOfficeofTechnology Assessment:'biotechnology,broadlydefined,includesanytechniquethatuses livingorganisms(orpartsoforganisms)tomakeormodifyproducts,toimprove plantsoranimals,ortodevelopmicro-organismsfor_specificuses'(OTA,1989).