Biotechnology is an enabling technology with broad application to many different areas of industry and commerce. Broadly defined, biotechnology 'includes any technique that uses living organisms (or parts of organisms) to make or modify products to improve plants or animals or to develop microorganisms for specific use.' Products of biotechnology have entered mainstream American commerce in the human health care arena (pharmaceuticals) and now in agriculture. For American agriculture, biotechnology has the potential to increase productivity, enhance the environment, improve food safety and quality, and bolster American agricultural competitiveness. Its incorporation into agriculture and its ability to have a significant beneficial impact on agriculture in the U.S. have been aided by an oversight structure put in place to assure safety and facilitate transfer of the technology.