Simply put, the New Brunswick college has become the mother church of genetically engineered food. Since 1986, university officials have invested tens of millions of dollars in the technology of genetic manipulation that creates gene-altered crops, which are then used in foods. Professors instruct students in the latest techniques.
Extension agents take it to farmers.
Cook scientists have received international acclaim for their work. The Biotech Center started more than a decade ago with one professor, one office and one secretary. Now, it has more than 130 scientists and staff occupying 16 laboratories. Scientists there have filed for patents on plants that have been genetically engineered to be disease-resistant and are designing superbugs for environmental applications, such as cleaning up waste. To critics, however, the drive to recast Cook from its largely farm focus has been a big, costly gamble with a price paid for the switch that can't be measured in dollars.