The benefits of innovation have become well understood in Europe. When true innovation occurs, society benefits in a number of different ways: creative solutions to difficult and often complex problems are found, economies are improved and jobs created. When applied to human welfare, innovation can have an especially beneficial impact; human suffering can be alleviated, health outcomes improved and lives made better.
This Book was prepared under the auspices of the 7FP REGPOT-2008-1 project \"Building up Modern Biotechnologies for Agriculture\" (acronym MOBITAG, GA 229518). Most Czech scientists working with genetically modified organisms (GMOs) relevant for agriculture and related activities were invited to express their opinions and provide a short annotation on their research. Their names and addresses are provided at the end of the book, following a conjoint appeal calling for a revision of the current EU legislation on genetically modified crops. This book, including a call from Czech scientists, is neither an advertisement nor an advocacy for the deployment of GM crops - it is a call for the use of critical intelligence and knowledge in the decision making process on this technology. The book and its contents can be distributed freely.
This report is the first of its kind to try and understand the state of the biotechnology industry in the new Member States and candidate countries. As with any bottom-up work, it took a lot of effort and persistence to gather data on current and prospective developments in this area.
