Published in Probe Volume 4(1-2): July 1993-July 1994
Jean A. Larson, M.A.
Office of Agricultural Biotechnology
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Washington, D.C.
Can bioengineered organisms of agricultural importance be released safely into the environment and the marketplace? Will consumers' desires for labeling of biotech products impact on the proposed Food and Drug Administration's policies? What will be the impact of BST on the dairy industry? Will biotechnology technologies help revitalize rural America? Can this new technology be useful in preventing and detecting food safety problems? These and other questions are routinely being addressed by the USDA Office of Agricultural Biotechnology.
The Office of Agricultural Biotechnology (OAB) was established in 1986 by a Secretary's Memorandum 1020-27. Its role is to coordinate the development of consistent biotechnology policies and procedures within USDA. Current OAB functions include:
• Under a Presidential Initiative, OAB is the USDA action office for a
multi-year Federal initiative on biotechnology research.
• OAB staffs a Federal advisory committee, the Agricultural
Biotechnology
Research Advisory Committee (ABRAC). This Committee provides a public
forum for issues in agricultural biotechnology.
• OAB staffs the Committee on Biotechnology in Agriculture (CBA),
composed of six USDA Agency Administrators and two Assistant Secretaries, and the
Biotechnology Council, composed of senior agency staff.
• OAB has provided leadership for the development of:
-biotechnology guidelines for agricultural research;
-scientific exchanges involving biotechnology;
-environmental assessments for transgenic fish;
-performance standards for research with transgenic fish and shellfish;
-advice when requested by regulatory agencies;
-a biotechnology consumer information plan for USDA;
-coordinated responses on regulatory and research issues to other
Departments;
-international conferences/workshops on animal and plant biotechnology,
including three international conferences on "The Biosafety Results of
Field Tests of Genetically Modified Plants and Microorganisms";
-staff papers and speeches for the Office of the Secretary.
Since the implementation of the January 31, 1992 Presidential Initiative on Biotechnology Research, OAB has been the action office for USDA. Twelve Federal agencies participate in the activity. Their efforts on the biotechnology crosscut are coordinated by the Biotechnology Research Subcommittee (BRS) of the Committee on Fundamental Science and Engineering Research and Development of the National Science and Technology Council. As a participant, OAB has collected research program and budget data from the USDA's Agricultural Research Service, Cooperative State Research Service, Economic Research Service and the Forest Service and eight non-USDA agencies which are involved in agriculturally related programs and assembled data into a consistent format for reporting.
The ABRAC consists of 15 experts from academia, industry, government, and public interest groups with knowledge and experience in one or more of the following areas: recombinant DNA research in plants, animals, and microbes; ecology and environmental science; agricultural production practices; biological containment and field release; applicable laws and regulations; standards of professional conduct and practice; public attitudes; public health/epidemiology; and occupational health and ethics. Fifteen ABRAC members have been recently appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture.
The purpose of ABRAC is to advise the Department, through the Assistant Secretary for Science and Education, with respect to policies, programs, operations, and activities associated with questions of biosafety, the development of guidelines and performance standards for research with genetically modified organisms, and , in response to a specific request, the development of recommendation for the food safety evaluation of transgenic livestock.
The most important issue that will be addressed by the new Committee in the coming months will be to complete the development of performance standards for outdoor research with genetically modified fish and shellfish. Other important issues may include: management of resistance to biopesticides in crop plants; production of pharmaceuticals in plants and animals; use and effects of synthetic sequences in organisms of agricultural importance; risk management and risk communications; and public attitudes, perceptions, and acceptance of genetically engineered products.
In addition to the scientific aspects of modern biotechnology, OAB clearly recognizes the public relations dimension of biotechnology. A well-informed public is better able to participate in the decision-making process about biotechnology. Toward this end, OAB shares information with the media, participates in public affairs activities around the country, and contributes articles on biotechnology to the general as well as the scientific press. The Office publishes a monthly newsletter, Biotechnology Notes. The newsletter highlights activities on biotechnology issues at USDA and in the private sector. The dissemination of the newsletter is via mail, through USDA's Computerized Information Delivery System, and on Internet through the National Agricultural Library's Biotechnology Information Center. From time to time the Office has sponsored national and international conferences and workshops on biotechnology topics.
The international and trade implications of agricultural biotechnology are of growing concern to many U.S. economic planners and policymakers. On the international front, OAB is involved in studying research and technology transfer programs in competing nations; promoting international consensus on the scientific principles that underlie the environmental and human safety of agricultural biotechnology; and working with the U.S. Trade Representative, the Food and Drug Administration, and USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service to provide information to trading partners regarding U.S. food safety procedures.
Needless to say, the OAB program is a very dynamic Office that maintains timely responsiveness to the everchanging biotechnology scene.
All the above activities are done with a small core of permanent staff, but OAB Director Dr. Alvin Young says that "much of my staff work is done by individuals on temporary assignment to OAB from other USDA agencies." Specialists in agricultural research, extension/technology transfer, regulations, environmental impact, economics, public relations, and international affairs have been supplied to OAB by cooperating agencies. At the completion of their assignments, says Young, "these individuals take their new biotechnology knowledge and experience with them back to their agencies and everyone benefits."
For additional information or for requesting OAB published materials, contact the OAB at (703) 235-4419. The members of the Committee as of August 12, 1994 are:
Dr. Walter A. Hill
School of Agri. & Home Economics
Tuskegee University
Dr. Ronald R. Sederoff
Dept. of Forestry
North Carolina State Univ.
Dr. Anne R. Kapuscinski
Dept. of Fisheries and Wildlife
University of Minnesota
Dr. James Lauderdale
The Upjohn Company
Dr. Pamela G. Marrone
Entotech, Inc.
Dr. Susan Harlander
Director, Dairy Foods
Land O'Lakes, Inc.
Dr. Deborah K. Letourneau
Board of Environmental Studies
Univ. of California
Dr. Stanley Pierce
Rivkin, Radler, Bayh, Hart, & Kremer
Dr. Rudy Wodzinski
Dept. of Molecular Biology and Microbiology
Univ. of Central Florida
Dr. Fernando Osorio
Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences
Univ. of Nebraska
Dr. Roy Fuchs
Monsanto Agricultural Company
Dr. H. Alan Wood
Boyce Thompson Inst. for Plant Research
Dr. James Tiedje
NSF Center for Microbial Ecology
Michigan State Univ.
Dr. Walter Reid
World Resources Institute
Dr. Paul Thompson
Center for Biotechnology Policy and Ethics
Texas A&M Univ.
Minutes from the ABRAC meeting are published and available from the OAB on request.