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This chapter analyzes the economic implications of genetic engineering for food security. We discuss the asynchronous nature of genetically modified (GM) crop regulation and labeling requirements among countries, associated politics, and consumer perceptions of GM crops.

We perform an ex-ante analysis of the introduction of a GM rice variety in major rice exporting and importing countries (including potential producer and consumer impacts) within the framework of a partial equilibrium trade model.

Although the introduction of a GM rice variety that increases global yield by 5% could result in a consumer gain of US$23.4 billion to US$74.8 billion, it could also result in a producer loss of US$9.7 billion to US$63.7 billion. The estimated net gain to society could be US$11.1 billion to US$13.7 billion. Overall, we find a positive economic surplus for major exporters and importers of rice based on a 5% supply increase with a GM rice variety.

The adoption of transgenic (GM) rice varieties would have a far greater impact on rice prices for poorer counties than for richer countries. Therefore, GM rice may help ensure that more people throughout the world would have food security.

The purpose of this paper is to measure Mexicans’ perceptions and attitudes about the production and consumption of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

A questionnaire with 63 questions that encompassed 11 latent factors was used to obtain information. The questionnaire was administered to 14,720 people in Mexico’s urban areas.

The results revealed important similarities and differences with studies in other countries, showing mainly that the respondents did not have sufficient information about GMOs, they have low level of knowledge about GMOs (31.28 percent), are highly distrustful of GMOs, perceive high risk regarding GMOs (59.13 percent), want transgenic products to be labeled (93.59 percent) and do not perceive GMOs’ social values and positive health effects beyond increasing agricultural productivity. Also, it was observed that the higher the educational level of individuals, the lower the acceptance of GMOs.

The authors conclude that it is necessary to generate and provide scientifically accurate information on GMOs, so that people are better informed and can give a critical opinion on the use of GMOs.

The major practical contribution of this research is that it provides empirical knowledge about the perceptions and attitudes toward the production and consumption of GMOs among the Mexican’s urban society, which can be of great help for the Mexican government to rethink if it is an appropriate moment to completely open the doors to international companies to cultivate crops like maize and others that have been postponed due to pressure from the environmental groups, farmers and other sectors of the society.

This is especially important in the context of maize as it is part of the cultural heritage of Mexico since ancient times. However, it is not clear what the overall perception is in the Mexican society on the use of GMOs for cultivation.

Southern regions of Mexico are the center of origin of several cultivated plants such as maize and legumes. The introduction of GMOs, called transgenics, in agriculture and food continues to cause enormous controversy in the perceptions and attitudes mainly among environmental groups and farmers in Mexico.

Purpose – To identify how agricultural biotechnology addresses the two challenges facing agriculture: to feed a world growing to 9 billion people by 2050 and to provide a liquid fuel alternative to petroleum.

Design –This chapter relies on econometric modeling, a review of existing literature, and diagrammatic modeling to articulate the impact of agricultural biotechnology on food and energy markets.

Findings –Agricultural biotechnology reduces the tension between food security and biofuel production. It reduces volatility in food and fuel markets and can mitigate risk to biofuel processors.

Originality – The analysis is original although it relies on previous research to some extent. The analysis is compared to and contrasted with related work.

Transgenic crops have been increasingly adopted, produced and commercialized throughout the world. Correspondingly, the management of intellectual property rights concerning transgenic crops has gained importance. In this context, it is necessary to understand the status quo of transgenic crop production, especially in developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to provide a general scenario of transgenic crops and their growth around the world, especially in Latin America.

A literature review was carried out to determine the status of intellectual property protection, production and commercialization of transgenic crops.

Opinions concerning the risks and benefits of adopting transgenics are markedly divided. Its presence in the agricultural sector has undoubtedly taken a firm hold in different parts of the world. Nevertheless, there are some areas of the international transgenics industry that need further and ongoing discussion and assessment, such as biosafety, intellectual property, regulation and legislation, among others. Additionally, in developing countries, and especially in the case of Latin America, other relevant issues to be addressed are associated with the conservation of local plant varieties and the preservation of cultural values, as well as the development of endogenous technology to solve local problems and the integration of farmers and the society at large and their interests into the discussion.

The most significant limitation of the present study was the lack of available data. Future studies using larger data sets will allow for more robust statistical analyses. Additionally, country-specific studies focused on the most important crops, those that each country grows intensively, are necessary for a better insight into the global dynamics of the sector; these studies must stress the intellectual property mechanisms used and address biosafety and regulatory issues, among other areas.

The present study represents a starting point for establishing schemes to facilitate the proper development and management of transgenic technology based on regional interests and the guiding principles of ethics and biosecurity.

The products of transgenic technology have captured the attention of enthusiasts and detractors, but transgenics are just one tool of agricultural biotechnology. Other applications enable scientists to understand biodiversity, to track genes through generations in breeding programs, and to move genes among closely related as well as unrelated organisms. These applications all have the potential to lead to substantial productivity gains.

In this chapter we provide an introduction to basic plant genetic concepts, defining molecular markers, transgenic and cisgenic techniques. We briefly summarize the status of commercialized biotechnology applications to agriculture. We consider the likely future commercialization of products like drought tolerant crops, crops designed to improve human nutrition, pharmaceuticals from transgenic plants, biofuels, and crops for environmental remediation. We identify genomic selection as a potentially powerful new technique and conclude with our reflections on the state of agricultural biotechnology.

Research at universities and other public-sector institutions, largely focused on advancing knowledge, has aroused enormous optimism about the promise of these DNA-based technologies. This in turn has led to large private-sector investments on maize, soybean, canola, and cotton, with wide adoption of the research products in about eight countries. Much has been made of the potential of biotechnology to address food needs in the low-income countries, and China, India, and Brazil have large public DNA-based crop variety development efforts. But other lower income developing countries have little capability to use these tools, even the most straightforward marker applications. Ensuring that these and other applications of biotechnology lead to products that are well adapted to local agriculture requires adaptive research capacity that is lacking in the lowest income, most food-insecure nations. We are less optimistic than many others that private research will fund these needs.

The sources of collagens and gelatins are recently being questioned because it sourced from porcine or non-halal slaughtered animals. There are also concerns regarding the transfer of diseases from animal sources of collagen to human users. This study aims to propose an alternative source of collagen using recombinant collagen-like protein (halal-based) and to analyze factors contribute to the probability of using this alternative source of collagen among consumers in Malaysia.

Survey data collected are tested empirically using statistical tools and logistic regression.

This study finds two important inferences. First, the probability consumers opt for the alternative source of collagen is significantly determined by age of consumers and the level of their incomes. The likelihood of the consumers to opt for this alternative source of collagen is higher among elderly and lower income consumers. Second, the probability of using this alternative source of collagen with the purpose to protect the marine life is higher among young and lower income consumers. Thus, marketing variations of a product using this alternative source of collagen that is targeted to high age bracket and low income group of consumers often sees as a good strategy as compared with a more generalized marketing strategy. The younger consumers are also among potential consumers whose concern is more on health without endangering marine species or biodiversity.

The scope of areas in this study is limited to Klang Valley (Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia). The respondents are those staying and working in these areas regardless of citizenship and ethnicity.

This study is proposing a new and promising way for mass production of collagen using recombinant collagen-like protein. Collagen-like protein was found in bacteria, and it may represent an alternative biosynthetic collagen material which is expected to be an alternative of the existing sources which are non-halal and endanger biodiversity and ecosystem.

Some researchers argue that consumers’ lack of knowledge is an important factor increasing risk for a new product derived from emerging agricultural technology. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the potential impacts and the differential effects of subjective and objective perceptions on Chinese consumers’ preferences for the application of a novel biotechnology.

Taking transgenic technology as an example and employing data from a survey of 1,000 consumers in Jiangsu Province, the authors develop a mixed-process regression model based on Fishbein’s multiple attributes attitude model.

The results suggest that there are apparent differences between Chinese consumers’ subjective perceptions and objective perceptions concerning transgenic technology and genetically modified (GM) food, and there exists certain selective perceptions of the emerging biotechnology. Having a subjective perception concerning transgenic technology has a positive effect on consumers’ overall attitudes, whereas subjective and objective perceptions concerning GM foods have a negative effect on consumers’ overall attitudes. Self-identification generated from subjective perception occupies a dominant position in determining consumers’ attitudes.

Consumers’ attitudes regarding an agricultural product depend on their perception of the attributes of the technology used to produce such a product. This study attempts to distinguish and empirically test urban consumers’ subjective perceptions (self-assessed or perceived) and objective perceptions (obtained from a test) about transgenic technology and GM foods and the impact of these four types of perception on the consumers’ attitudes regarding the application of transgenic technology. In this paper, the authors construct a mixed-process regression model to address the possible endogeneity of the perception variables.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the current state of knowledge on the economic performance of genetically modified (GM) cotton worldwide based on a wide range of data and source from available literature, and second to assess yield gain and economic performance.

A systematic review was captured to provide the evidence of potential benefits of GM cotton. A country-specific analysis was conducted in order to compare economic indicators and employed meta-analysis to find out the significance of the different of GM cotton over its counterpart.

This paper depicts positive impact of commercialized GM cotton in terms of net revenue, and the benefits, especially in terms of increased yields, are greatest for the mostly farmers in developing countries who have benefitted from the spill over of technology targeted at farmers in industrialized countries.

Due to the variability of the data which came from different methodologies, it is difficult to determine the differences of the performances each individual study.

This, it is believed that results from this study can be useful for operations of all sizes as the authors think about what needs to be focussed on for long-term producers survival.

The paper clearly indicates that China is the highest cotton yield of GM cotton, the lowest cost of GM seed and the lowest cost of chemical spray compare to any other countries. Therefore, this is the fact that the adoption of GM cotton has been widely spread among the farmers across the regions in China.

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are a consolidated reality. While consumers are opposed to the introduction of GMOs in Italy, little or nothing is known about the companies’ attitude. For this reason, this work is focused on companies. This research aims to understand the problems, the possible solutions and the opinions of farms on the role of GMOs to arrive at a judgement based on the representation of various positions.

This paper was made possible thanks to a direct survey on the field. In particular, the work provides a significant number of interviews directed to livestock farms; a logical sequence of questions that allow you to understand the attitude and the willingness of companies and if there is a future propensity to transgenic cultivation; and the creation of an ad hoc analysis on the behaviour of farmers.

Thematic analysis revealed that GMOs are the only valid research to the advancement of agriculture, able to guarantee our companies productivity improvements. This technique could solve many problems related to agriculture, such as the possibility of future saving on crops.

There is a lot of research on GMOs. The research behind this paper is different, because it is a research carried out throughout all the country, from the point of view of businesses.