L'avenir des biotechnologies dans l'agriculture et l'agro-alimentaire

Biotechnology constitutes a scientific and technological revolution because we now have the ability to analyse and intervene at a molecular level which opens a lot of prospects (e.g. gene transfer, selection of quality products on the basis of genetic characteristics, reagents which use the ability to recognize forms of certain molecules, etc.). At an economic level, biotechnology renews existing activities (in different ways depending upon the structure of the sector) rather than creating new activities ; it follows the technical progress of the last thirty years while incorporating technological changes : new methods of selection, creation of modified living beings by gene transfer, appearance of new technological procedures, etc. But the end user of biotechnology is not always conscious of making use of it because it is embodied in already existing products.