Biotechnology Emerging technologies must also be nurtured and employed effectively. Genetically modified foods are currently at a stage where they could founder or bring great benefit. Their existence is threatened as the result of perceived but, in many cases, unfounded safety considerations and the ensuing negative public response. Jarrod Diamond, in his book, Guns, Germs and Steel describes how the Japanese developed a sophisticated firearms industry in the sixteenth century, only to abandon it for 300 years because it conflicted with Samurai tradition. The development of technologies can be slowed down and even lost in an incompatible social context.
Genetic technologies have a bright future in agriculture as well as in medicine.
With proper oversight and risk assessment they can provide great benefit in the difficult times ahead. Churchill Downs Inc. Securing and sustaining adequate food production for the third millennium.