Factbook Draft by Xiaoyi and Afrakoma - SFU Blogs

Factbook

Outline


I.

Introduction and thesis statement

In this factbook, we will
analyze biotechnology industry in comparing both
Canada and the United States

b
ased on Culture, political system,
and
e
thics
perspectives

to
choose

better environment to invest.

II.

Background

information

III.

Comparing Culture differences towards food between both countries.

A.

D
ifference of perception on food and how it

relate to attitude towards
GM

food
s

1.

Canadian
think

"you are what you eat," whereas the American
perceives eating as a mea
ns to "fill up the tank" or "fuel the bodily
machine"



a.



Produce
GM

foods can potentially provide greater yields
of nutritionally enhanced foods from less land with
reduced use of pesticides and herbicides

(Komirenko,
Veeman & Unterschultz)
.

b.

Concern of unknown long term health affect to people and
environment
.

Approximately 50% of the sampled
consumers
in Canada
express relatively high levels of
concern about GM feeds

(Komirenko, Veeman &
Unterschultz)
.

2.

C
onsumer perspective on GM foods

c.

L
imite
d knowledge to
GMOs increase the concern

d.

Higher education is generally associated with higher
incomes and broadened exposure to international
information which, in turn, is associated with more
discerning attitudes toward food products and increased
consumption of culturally diverse foods
.
P
roportions of
each population in Canada have

a higher level of
education

(
Agriculture and Agri
-
Food Canada
, 2010
)
.


IV.

Patent system and regulations affect the development and investment of
biotechnology

A.

Biotechnology

policy differences between the U.S and Canada

1.

Both

countries' approaches can be further understood as permissive,
although the American approach appears even more

permissive than
that of Canada

(Montpetit, 2005).

a.

The reliance on the responsibility of deve
lopers to market
safe food products and the streamlining measures all
contribute to making the American GMO policy more
permissive than Canadian policy.

T
hree

organizations of
the executive branch to exercise some authority over
biotechnology: the United S
tates Department of Agriculture
(USDA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

(Montpetit, 2005).

b.

Canada
recognizes biotechnology as a manufacturing
process for products potentially posing environ
mental risks.

Potentially involved in environ
-
mental assessments of
biotechnology

are therefore the Canadian Food Inspection
Agency (CFIA), the Pest Management Regulatory Agency
(PMRA) and Environment Canada. Health Canada also has
regulatory responsibilities over biotechnology as the Food
and Drugs Act requires health risk assessments

(Montpetit,
2005).


c.

In the United States, biotechnology regulation and
promotion are not handled by separate networks
.
In
contrast with the United States, promotion and regulatory
activities in Canada have been carried, to a larger extent, by
distinctive

policy

networks

(Montpetit, 2005).

d.

Canada is better equipped than the United States to apply
quickly risk assessment standards to GMOs

(Montpetit,
2005).

B.

Patent system
encourage
investment

and development of biotechnology

1.

IP

laws driven by US legal decisions and international trade and patent
agreements
have

made possible the patenting of biological materials
and the granting of thousands of gene patents

(Williams Jones)
.

2.


Governments in the U.S, Canada and Europe have

enacte
d legislation
to
encourage

publicly funded researchers to commercialize
their work
(Williams Jones)
.

3.

Annual revenues from the US biotechnology industry more than
tripled between 1993 and 2001, to $27.6 billion US. In
Canada

there
are more
than

500 biotechn
ology companies with industrial
activities

generating combine
d annual revenues of $2 billion (
Williams Jones)
.

4.

P
atents may also hamper the development of biotechnology due to
increased

secrecy and multiple overlapping patent claims that make
some research too costly to pursue
(Williams Jones)
.


V.

Business ethic plays a significant role in Biotechnology

industrial

A.

From government perspective,
Label genetically modified food

1.

Mandatory
labeling of genetically engineered (GE) foods in the United
States has been proposed, but not enacted
.

the FDA proposed
voluntary guidelines for labeling food that does or does not contain GE
ingredients

in U.S

2.

The Standards Council of Canada officially
adopted the Standard
for

Voluntary Labelling and Advertising of Foods That Are and Are
Not Products of Genetic Engineering

3.

However, c
onsumers argue they have the rights to know

B.

Corporative level business ethics

1.

product safety

a.

whether a given company has taken sufficient care to make sure
that known risks associated with their products are made clear
to consumers

2.

corporate social respons
ibility

a.

adoption of a ‘stakeholder approach’ and an attempt to
manage the social consequences of

products pose special
challenges for biotech companies

3.

corporate gov
ernance


a.

biotech

companies need to seek out and follow best practices
regarding the ways in

which information, authority, and

influence flow between a company’s shareholders, managers,
and Board of Directors

VI.

Conclusion