BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FOOD: MEXICAN PERPECTIVES

Abstract

The text "Biotechnology and Food: Mexican Perspective" is composed of two parts: in the first an evaluation of the world food situation in made and especially of Mexico, citing, for example, the current poor distribution of food, the population increase and the consequent necessity of increasing production. The inadequate support which the Mexican government has provided for agricultural activities, which results in a decrease in the performance of such activities, the substitution of the traditional Mexican national eating habits for imported standards and a continuously growing submission to foreign capital are also detected. In the second part, an explanation is made concerning the role of biotechnology in the food sector at the national level, citing the importance of genetic improvement of plants, of the substitution and elimination of pesticides, of nitrogen fixation processes, of the genetic improvement of animals, of the development of new products and processes such as single-cell proteins, aminoacids, sweetners, substitutes (for example, microbial caffeine), all by means of fermentation. Finally, it is suggested that Mexico has the choice of two paths in regard to development of biotechnology: it can leave industrial development up to foreign companies with the exclusion of Mexican capital and with a lesser control by the state, or it may choose a systematic process of technological evaluation and perspective for the development of science and technology, with the aim of choosing the correct policy which will lead to the obtention of technologies essential to the needs of the Mexican people.