Biotechnology and Food for Canadians

Vasu Appanna is a professor in the Department of Chemistry and
Biochemistry at Laurentian University and an adjunct professor at the
University of Waterloo.

Alan McHughen sees biotechnology as an agent of societal betterment. His
main objectives in this easy-to-read book are to outline the merits of
agricultural biotechnology and to provide Canadians with basic
information on genetically modified foods. Agricultural biotechnology,
he contends, will give humanity access to cheap, high-quality foods.
Fewer chemicals will be utilized to grow genetically modified foods,
pollution will be minimized, biodiversity of the planet will be
maintained, and viral and microbial infections in plants will be
controlled (no more viral-contaminated potatoes from Prince Edward
Island). As the foregoing makes clear, Biotechnology and Food for
Canadians presents a one-sided view of a technology whose benefits—and
potential drawbacks —have yet to be understood.