Biopharming : a biotechnological application for increasing human welfare or a tool for BW/CW proliferation?

Within the last decade, advances in biotechnology, especially in genetic engineering techniques, have opened the door to new and innovative ways to solve human health issues. Accompanying advances made in the last few years in the field of "biopharming" or "molecular farming" may enable the world to provide economically feasible ways to vaccinate people just by feeding them. This technology offers the capability to grow pharmaceutical products in transgenic - or genetically modified - plants. This paper explores what biopharming might mean for humans; its development and the risk of its missuse. In an effort to cultivate a balanced assessment of biopharming, this paper attempts to provide a picture of the state of biopharming technology globally, and provide a comprehensive analysis of the potential benefits and consequences of this developing technology. The paper also examines several facets of biopharming - non-traditional production practices achieved through biotechnological manipulations - with respect to current industry status and trends, indicators of misuse of biopharming and the extent to which current global non-proliferation control strategies are adequate or not to intercept the corruption of this technology used for nefarious purposes.