Biotechnology is the act of using animals, plants and microorganisms to create products or perform certain tasks. Biotechnology has applications in four main industrial areas, which include; crop production and agriculture, health care, non-food uses of crops and other products (like vegetable oils, biofuels and biodegradable plastics) and finally in environmental uses. Examples of the biotechnology application include; the directed utilization of living organisms to manufacture organic products like beer, use of bacteria in bioleaching, recycling and treatment of waste, cleaning up sites that are polluted through industrial activities and production of biological weapons (Food and agriculture, 2003, par.1).
This paper analyzes biotechnology warfare (BW) and its implications in the society. BW also known as germ warfare refers to the use of pathogens like bacteria, viruses, bacterial agents that cause diseases or the toxins produced by the pathogens as biological weapons or bio-weapons. The aim of bio-weapons is to debilitate, kill or impair someone, a group or a society dangerously. Perfect biological weapons used to aim at human beings have the following characteristics, high potency, high infectivity, delivery as a spray and lack of vaccines. The application of biological warfare took three main forms before the 20th century.
These forms were; use of microbes, animals or toxins, dead or living, in a weapon system, intentional poisoning of water and food with infectious substances and use of biologically vaccinated materials (Emedicalhealth, 2009, p.1). Biotechnology warfare is an example of biotechnology since someone utilizes pathogens (microorganisms), which produces toxins as biological weapons to harm or kill people or do any other relevant thing.
The potential benefits derived from the biotechnology warfare include, solving the issue of food shortage in the world, and advancement in agriculture, medicine and veterinary medicine. Therefore, biotechnology warfare has brought biotechnological solutions to the important processes in the industries that manufacture toxic effluents. Certainly, there is a rising application for biotechnology warfare in the environmental management.
In addition, biotechnology warfare has replaced the spreading of diseases by throwing carcasses over the safeguarded walls of towns leading to the application of hereditary manipulation methods in designing original weapons. Moreover, a military model hastens the improvement of biotechnology warfare where the economic constraints and requirement are all but lifted (Russell & Vogler, 2000, p.157).
Bearing in mind that biotechnology warfare uses pathogens that produces toxins as their biological weapons, biological agents are likely to kill all people on earth. Biological weapons are more hazardous because they are easier to produce, utilize and research, therefore, most of the people can access them. Moreover, improved biotechnological warfare agents will cause the worst challenge to the improvement of suitable medical countermeasures.
Currently, the available plans for health prophylaxis, diagnostic and therapeutics for biotechnology warfare agents may not be adequate to tackle the upcoming (Advanced Biotechnology Warfare) ABW threats. The procedure for making prophylaxis against the conventional warfare agents has led to many effective and efficient vaccines. However, the current plan of making vaccines against different pathogens will not be able to protect against the ABW agents (Medscape, 1994, par.10).
In conclusion, different threats caused by traditional and hereditarily modified conventional agents, the capability-based danger caused by advanced biotechnology warfare agents will persist for a long time as long as biotechnology continues to advance.
Reference list
Emedicalhealth, (2009). Biological Warfare. Web.
Food & Agriculture, (2003). What Is Biotechnology? Union of Concerned Scientists. Web.
Medscape, (1994). Biotechnology: Impact on Biological Warfare and Biodefense: Challenges for Biodefense. Web.
Russell, M. & Vogler, J. (2000). Biological warfare: prospects and responses. The international politics of biotechnology: investigating global futures. Web.