Abstract
Third World countries are not pursuing scientific and technological policies leading to the development of strong biotechnological industries. Their leaders have been misled into believing that modern biotechnological industries can be built in the absence of strong, intellectually aggressive, and original scientific schools. Hence, they do not strive to reform their universities, which have weak commitments to research, and do not see the importance of having research hospitals able to generate excellent and relevant clinical investigation. These strategic gaps in scientific capability, the lack of governmental and corporate research funding, and the dependent nature of the chemical and pharmaceutical industries of the Third World make the development of competitive biotechnology a highly improbable event. If the present trend continues, underdeveloped countries will continue to be testing grounds for biological materials and agents, sources of valuable germplasm, and markets for high-value-added products and processes invented and manufactured in the First World. This article recommends that the international organizations collaborate in the urgent task of educating the Third World political leaders and administrators in the real problems connected with the generation of high technology.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Abelson, P.H. 1988a. World competition in biotechnology.Science 240:701.
——. 1988b. Competitiveness: Along-enduring problem.Science 241:865.
——. 1988c. Improving U.S. capabilities in technology.Science 242:493.
——. 1987a. Export controls of high-technology goods.Science 235:1297.
——. 1987b. World food.Science 236:9.
Alberts, B., D. Bray, J. Lewis, M. Raff, K. Roberts, and J.D. Watson. 1989.Molecular biology of the cell. New York: Garland Publishing.
Antia, N.H. 1988. Indo-U.S. Vaccine Action Program.Nature 335:584.
Antonarakis, S.E. 1989. Diagnosis of genetic disorders at the DNA level.New England Journal of Medicine 320:153–63.
Arroyo, G., R. Rama, and F. Rello. 1985.Agricultura y alimentos en America Latina. Mexico D.F.: Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico.
Barber, E.G. and R.P. Morgan. 1987. The impact of foreign graduate students on engineering education in the United States.Science 236:33–37.
Barton, J.H. 1982. The International Breeder's Right System and crop plant innovation.Science 216:1071–75.
Baxter, J.P., III. 1968.Scientists against time. Cambridge: M.I.T. Press.
Bernal, J.D. 1971.Science in history. Cambridge: M.I.T. Press.
Bloch, E. 1986. Basic research and economic health: The coming challenge.Science 232:595–99.
Bloomberg, C.A., S.J. Marylander, and P.M. Yaeger. 1987.New England Journal of Medicine 317:565–67.
Blumenthal, D., M. Gluck, K.S. Louis, M.A. Stoto, and D. Wise. 1986a. University-industry research relationships in biotechnology: Implications for the university.Science 232:1361–1366.
Blumenthal, D., M. Gluck, K.S. Louis, and D. Wise. 1986b. Industry support of university research in biotechnology.Science 231:242–46.
Borst, P. 1983. Antigenic variation in trypanosomes. InMobile genetic elements J.A. Shapiro. New York: Academic Press.
Bourke, J. 1988. The new classified research: Corporate sponsored research and the reign of secrecy at Harvard University.Harvard Watch.
Bouton, K. 1983. Academic research and big business: A delicate balance.New York Times Magazine, 11 September.
Braben, B.W. 1985. Innovation and academic research.Nature 316:401.
Brady, N.C. 1985. Agricultural research and U.S. trade.Science 230:499.
Brattsen, L. B., C.W. Holyoke, Jr, J.R. Leeper, and K.F. Raffa. 1986. Insecticide resistance: Challenge to pest management and basic research.Science 231:1255–60.
Browne, M.H. 1987. Bringing up scientists.New York Times, 1 September.
Bull, A.T., G. Holton, and M.D. Lilly. 1982.Biotechnology: International trends and perspectives. Paris: OCDE.
Chang, H-p. 1964.Commissioner Lin and the Opium War. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.
Comroe, J.H., Jr. 1977a. The evolution of biomedical science: Past, present and future perspectives.Journal of Medical Education 52:3–10.
——. 1977b. Roast pig and scientific discovery. Part I.American Review of Respiratory Disease 115:853–60.
——. 1977c. Roast pig and scientific discovery. Part II.American Review of Respiratory Disease 115:1035–44.
Comroe J.H., Jr., and R.D. Dripps. 1974. Ben Franklin and open heart surgery.Circulation Research 35:661–69.
Crespi, R.S. 1989. Claims on tissue plasminogen activator.Nature 337:317–18.
Crick, F.H.C. 1988.What mad pursuit. New York: Basic Books.
——. 1966.Of molecules and men. Seattle: The University of Washington Press.
Djerassi, C. 1984. Making drugs (and soaking the poor?)Nature 310:517.
Dahlberg, K.A. 1987. Redefining developmental priorities: Genetic diversity and agrodevelopment. Paper presented at Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Dickson, D. 1987. America's seductive charms.Science 237:1107.
Di Prisco, M.C. and Y. Texera, eds. 1986.Biotecnologia: Oportunidades para Venezuela. Caracas: Fondo Editorial Acta Cientifica Venezolana.
Dixon, B. 1976.What is science for? Harmondsworth: Pelikan Books.
Evans, P. 1979.Dependent development: The alliance of multinational, state, and local capital in Brazil. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Finkielman S., C.L. Fischer-Ferraro, A. Diaz, D.J. Goldstein, and V.E. Nahmod. 1972. A pressor substance in the cerebrospinal fluid of normotensive and hypertensive patients.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A. 69:3341–43.
Fischer-Ferraro, C.L., V.E. Nahmod, D.J. Goldstein, and S. Finkielman. 1971. Angiotensin and renin in rat and dog brain.Journal of Experimental Medicine 133:353–63.
Frank, A.G. 1979.Dependent accumulation and underdevelopment. New York: Monthly Review Press.
Galeano, E. 1984.Las venas abiertas de America Latina. 3d ed. Mexico D.F.: Siglo Veintiuno Editores.
Garcia, R.V. 1982.Drought and man: The 1972 case history. Vol. I,Nature pleads not guilty. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
The genetic alternative. 1988.The Economist, 30 April.
Gereffi, G. 1983.The pharmaceutical industry and dependency in the Third World. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Giovanni, G. 1980.A questao dos remedios no Brasil: Producao e consuma. Sao Paulo: Polis.
Gladwell, M. 1988. Scientist warns of U.S. reliance on foreigners.Washington Post, 6 September.
Goldberg, R.B. 1988. Plants: Novel developmental processes.Science 240: 1460–67.
Goldstein, D.J. 1988. Molecular biology and the protection of germplasm: A matter of national security. InSeeds and sovereignty ed. J. Kloppenburg, Jr., Durham and London: Duke University Press.
--. 1987a. Crystallography, protein engineering, and industry. Paper presented at Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
——. 1987b. Un comentario sobre “Biotecnologia: oportunidades para Venezuela.”Interciencia 12:254–55.
——. 1986a. Biotechnology in underdevelopment.Bio/Technology 4:672.
--. 1986b. Molecular tagging of plants and the protection of germplasm. Paper presented at Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
——. 1985a. Biotecnologia, agricultura y paises en desarrollo. InBiotechnology in the Americas II: Applications in tropical agriculture. San Jose de Costa Rica: CONICET/Interciencia.
——. 1985b. New patents in biotechnology: Their impact in Latin America. InBiotechnology and food systems in Latin America. San Diego: Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, University of California at San Diego.
——. 1984a. Las Prioridades cientificas y politicas latinoamericanas en biotecnologia. Interciencia 9:242.
——. 1984b. Latin America: three case studies.Advance Technology Alert System Bulletin 1:36–39.
——. 1984c. The biotechnological challenge: To be or not to be like Eduardo S. Bradford.Interciencia 9:188–89.
——. 1983.Problemas para et desarrollo de una biotecnologia autonoma en America Latina Washington, D.C.: Pan American Health Organization.
Goldstein, D.J., C.L. Fischer-Ferraro, V.E. Nahmod, and S. Finkielman. 1970. Angiotensin I in renal and extra-renal tissues.Medicina (Buenos Aires) 30:81–83.
Goodman, R.M. 1986. New technology and its role in enhancing global food production.FASEB Journal 45:2432–37.
Goodman, R.M., H. Haupti, A. Crossway, and V.C. Knauf. 1987. Gene transfer in crop improvement.Science 236:48–54.
Gladwell, M. 1988. AIDS vaccine dilemma: Who pays if there are lawsuits?Washington Post, 25 November.
Halstead S.B. 1988. Pathogenesis of dengue: Challenges to molecular biology.Science 239:476–81.
Hatsopoulos, G.N., P.R. Krugman, and L.H. Summers. 1988. U.S. competitiveness: Beyond the trade deficit.Science 241:299–307.
Hobsbawm, E.J. 1968.Industry and empire. Vol. 3. Harmonsworth: Penguin Books.
Horowitz, Z.P. 1981.Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors: Mechanism of action and clinical implications. Baltimore and Munich: Urban & Schwarzenberg.
Investments with an eye on the future. 1988.Nature 336:323–24.
Jaenisch, R. 1988. Transgenic animals.Science 240:1468–74.
Jaffe, A.M. 1985. Ordering the universe: The role of mathematics.Notices of the American Mathematical Society.
Katz, J.M. 1974.Oligopolio, firmas nacionales y empresas multinacionales: La industria farmaceutica Argentina. Buenos Aires: Siglo Veintiuno Editores.
Kenney, M. 1986.Biotechnology: The university-industry complex. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Klein, L.R. 1988. Components of competitiveness.Science 241:308–13.
Kloppenburg, J.R., Jr. 1988.First the seed. The political economy of plant biotechnology 1492–2000. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Knight, P. 1989. The carbohydrate frontier.Bio/Technology 7:35–40.
Koshland, D.E., Jr. 1988. Economic arteriosclerosis and competitiveness.Science 240:701.
——. 1986.Biotechnology: The renewable frontier. Washington D.C.: American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Krimsky, S. 1986. The new corporate identity of the American University.Alternatives 12:20–29.
Lamming, G.E. 1988. Farming biotechnology. Regulating growth of animals.Nature 336:19–20.
Lattes, A.E., and E. Oteiza. 1986.Dinamica migratoria argentina (1955–1984): Democratizacion y retorno de expatriados Geneve: United Nations Institute for Social Development.
Lederberg, J. 1986. A fortieth anniversary reminiscence.Nature 324:627–28.
Leloir, L.F. 1981. Cycles in polysaccharide biosynthesis.Current Topics in Cellular Regulation 18:211–20.
Levins, R. 1974. Genetics and hunger.Genetics 78:67–73.
Lewin, R. 1988. Costa Rican diversity.Science 242:1637.
Lock, S. 1988.Nature 336:278.
Lwoff, A., and A. Ullman. 1979.Origins of molecular biology: A tribute to Jacques Monod. New York: Academic Press.
Mansfield, E. 1988. Industrial innovation in Japan and in the United States.Science 241:1769–74.
Mares, M.A. 1986. Conservation in Latin America: Problems, consequences, and solutions.Science 233:734–39.
Mac Leod, R., and P.F. Rehbock. 1988.Nature in its great extent. Western science in the Pacific. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Marx, J.L. 1988. Gene watchers' feast in Toronto.Science 242:32–33.
——. 1984. Abzymes make the mark?Science 241:1164.
Mayr, E. 1982.The growth of biological thought: Diversity, evolution, and inheritance. Cambridge: Belknap-Harvard University Press.
McIntyre, A.R. 1972. History of curare. InInternational Encyclopedia of Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Miller, D.F. 1988. An internationalist focus.Science 242:119–20.
McGourty, C. 1988. Dangers of industrial domination of academic research.Nature 335:317–18.
McKeown, T. 1988.The origins of human disease. London: Basil-Blackwell.
Mintz, W.W. 1985.Sweetness and power: The place of sugar in modern history. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
Mooney, P.R. 1983. The law of the seed: Another development and plant genetic resources.Developmental Dialogue 1/2.
Munoz, J.M., E. Braun Menendez, J.C. Fasciolo, and L.F. Leloir. 1939. Hypertensin: The substance causing renal hypertension.Nature 144:980.
National Research Council. 1982.Priorities in biotechnological research for international development. 1982. Washington D.C.: National Academic Press.
Newmark, P. 1988. Horizons in molecular biology.Nature 331:401–2.
——. 1988. New vaccine and initiative mean end of rabies in sight in Europe?Nature 336:416.
Office of Technological Assessment. 1984.Commercial biotechnology: An international analysis. Congress of the United States, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Olson, S. 1986.Biotechnology: An industry comes to age. Washington D.C.: National Academy Press.
Pearse, A. 1980.Seeds of need, seeds of want: Social and economic implications of the Green Revolution. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Pena, M. 1968a.Antes de Mayo. Buenos Aires: Ediciones Fichas.
——. 1968b.Alberti, Sarmiento y el 90. Buenos Aires: Ediciones Fichas.
——. 1968c.El paraiso terrateniente. Buenos Aires: Ediciones Fichas.
——. 1968d.La era de Mitre. Buenos Aires: Ediciones Fichas.
——. 1968e.De Mitre a Roca. Buenos Aires: Ediciones Fichas.
——. 1968f.Masas, caudillos y elites. Buenos Aires: Ediciones Fichas.
Pluknett, D.L., N.J.H. Smith, J.T. Williams, and N.M. Anishetty. 1987.Gene banks and the world's food. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Rappoport, E.H. 1987.Lo bueno y lo malo tras et descubrimiento. El punto de vista ecologico y biogeografico. Sevilla: Seminario En los umbrales delos grandes descubrimientos 1492–1992.
Reich, R.B. 1987. The raise of techno-nationalism.Atlantic Monthly.
Roberts, L. 1988. U.N. considers biodiversity convention.Science 241:1604.
Rocha e Silva, M., and H.A. Rothschild. 1974.A bradykinin anthology. Sao Paulo: Sociedade Bradileira de Farmacologia e Terapeutica Experimental/HUCITEC.
Rogers, E.M. 1977.Physics for the enquiring mind. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Rose, H., and W. Rose. 1970.Science and society. Harmondsworth: Pelikan Books.
Rural Advancement Fund International Communique. 1989.Microbial insecticides: Special focus on Bacillus Thuringiensis.
--. 1988a.Biotechnology and Indigo dye.
--. 1988b.Biotechnology and vegetable oil.
--. 1988c.New substitutes threaten to displace export market for water soluble gums.
--. 1987a.Animal patents.
--. 1987b.Cacao and biotechnology.
--. 1987c.Vanilla and biotechnology.
--. 1987d.Agricultural inputs in biotechnology.
Sadosky, C., and D.J. Goldstein. 1986. Causes of emmigration of scientists from Latin America. Paper presented at Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Schmeck H.M., Jr. 1988. Gene altered animals enter new commercial era: promise of foreign genes.The New York Times, 27 December.
Schmitt, R.W. 1984. Export controls: Balancing technological innovation and national security.Issues in Science and Technology 1:117–26.
--. 1988. Farmers to face patent fees for gene-transferred animals.New York Times, 6 February.
--. 1986a. Looking abroad to fill our bellies.New York Times, 3 August.
--. 1986b. Biotech's stalled revolution: Growing concern about genetic engineering has forced Monsanto to half a pesticide project.New York Times Magazine, 16 November.
--. 1986c. Argentina protests use of life vaccine by scientists of U.S.New York Times, 11 November.
Serre, J.-L. 1984. La genese de l'ouvre de Mendel.La Reserche 15:1073–79.
Shields, R. 1989. Moving in on plant genes.Nature 337:308.
Steen, L.A. 1989. Mathematics for a new century.Notices of the American Mathematical Society 36:133–38.
Straus, J. 1985.Industrial property protection of biotechnological inventions: Analysis of certain basic issues. Geneva: World Intellectual Property Organization.
Sun, M. 1988. U.S.-Japan science pact signed.Science 241:17.
——. 1986. Agricultural firms seek more patent protection.Science 232:151.
Swinbanks, S. 1987. What future now for Japanese biotechnology research?Nature 329:661.
Todorov, T. 1982.La conquete de l'Amerique: La question de l'autre. Paris: Seuil.
Timm, M. 1988. World Food Congress: Biotech yields better enzymes, crops, and pigs.Bio/Technology 6:14.
Tonn, R.J. 1988a. Review on recent publications on the ecology, biology and control of vectors of Chagas Disease.Revista de la Sociedad Argentina de Microbiologia 20(supp. 1): 4–24.
——. 1988b. Potential for research on vectors of Chagas Disease.Revista de la Sociedad Argentina de Microbiologia 20(supp. 1): 1–3.
Vaisos, C. 1972. Patents in less developed countries.Journal of Developmental Studies 9:76–85.
Van Brunt, J. 1988. Molecular farming: transgenic animals as bioreactors.Bio/Technology 6:1149–54.
Waddington, C.H. 1948.The scientific attitude. Harmondsworth: Pelikan Books.
Walbot, V. and G. Bruening. 1988. Plant development and ribozymes for pathogens.Nature 334:196–97.
Watson, J.D. 1968.The double helix. New York: Atheneum.
Watson, J.D., and F.H.C. Crick. 1953a. Molecular structure of nucleic acids: a structure for deoxyribose nucleic acid.Nature 171:737–38.
——. 1953b. Genetic implications of the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid.Nature 171:964–67.
Watson, J.D., N. Hopkins, J.W. Roberts, J. Argentsinger Steitz, and A.M. Weiner. 1988.The molecular biology of the gene. Menlo Park: Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Co., Inc.
Weiner, C. 1986. Universities, professors, and patents: A continuous controversy.Technology Review 1:34–43.
Weissman, R. 1988. Scholars, Inc.: Harvard academics in service of industry and government.Harvard Watch.
Weissman, R., and J. Bourke. 1988. Still a bad idea: A critique of Harvard University's medical science partners proposal.Harvard Watch.
Yanchinski, S.A. 1987. Boom and bust in the bio business.New Scientist 44–47 (22 January).
Young, S.A. 1988. Technology and competitiveness: A key to the economic future of the U.S.Science 241:314–16.
Zuckerman, H., and J. Lederberg. 1986. Postmature scientific discovery?Nature 234:629–31.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Goldstein, D.J. Ethical and political problems in third world biotechnology. Journal of Agricultural Ethics 2, 5–36 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01831546
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01831546