Importance of Genetics
Agriculture
Plant Breeding
Has developed new, highly productive varieties of important grain crops for use in third world countries
Bioengineering will allow continued and probably dramatic increases in agriculture productivity
Ensuring that larger food supplies leads to a reduction in world hunger
Conservation
75% of Americans regularly take medications derived from plants, and the active ingredients in about 25% of all prescription pharmaceuticals are derived from plants
Fewer than 1% of the 10-30 million living species have been examined for their medicinal, agricultural, and other uses
Conservation is increasingly recognized as an important genetic issue
Because many species are becoming extinct before their potential is studied