Chapter 1 - Role of Biotechnology in the Agrofood Industry

Abstract

Biotechnology is the application of various scientific techniques to modify, improve, and increase the value of various foods, animal, plants, and microorganisms of economic interest. This discipline has been developed since ancient times, that is, the Aztecs or tribes of Chad used microorganisms, such as cyanobacteria for nutritional intake. During the first and second world war, yeasts were added to satisfy the nutritional needs of the population because of food shortages. In addition to this for several decades the molecular and genetic techniques, named today as “omics,” have brought great changes in foods, such as genetically modified foods. Likewise, the industry has been benefited because of the transformation of various food by using processing technology, the latter being one of the centers of high-tech 21st century. Within this processing technology, it is found that the automation systems have increased the quality of products, the production and the shelf life, reducing costs and material waste by human error, which impacts a better use of natural resources. However, the progress in the use of this science leads us to make decision schemes or real problems, such as what is the role of intellectual property to reward innovation and allow access to the technology developed or which are environmental risks to genetic modification? Thus, it is of great interest to evaluate the benefits and risks of biotechnology application in the agrofood industry.