The development of agricultural biotechnology in North America has been supported by public funds entitling the public to a voice in decisions about the acceptability of these technologies and the value of further public investments in them. This is already happening in Western Europe and it is time for North American governments to do the same. So far application of biotechnology in the field of agriculture appear to have little effect on the establishment of more sustainable agriculture and food systems in North America or globally. Instead they seem to entrench environmentally unsustainable practices more deeply. Instead of addressing global food concerns they serve as technological fixes to what are fundamentally social, economic, and political problems.