Technology progression in plants used for food and medicine

Abstract

The food industry has a history and scientists have faced difficult decisions before, and, as a society, we have made good and bad choices in the past. One man’s noxious weed may be another’s cure for depression, and there can also be serious implications if we don’t consider human behavior. We have seen a number of cases recently of serious complications involving mixtures of ingredients—with some combined on purpose and others inadvertently. There is a need for uniformity and standardization to reduce risks in the alternative health-care area, including the need for clinical trials and a need for continued vigilance and containment of genetically modified (GM) crops.