The Ecological Risk of Engineered Crops

About this book

What will it mean to have a steady stream of animal and microbial genes entering the gene pools of plants in wild ecosystems?

Private companies and the federal government are pouring significant resources into biotechnology, and the major application of genetic engineering to agriculture is transgenic crops. This carefully reasoned science and policy assessment shows that the commercialization and release of transgenic crops on millions of acres of farmland can pose serious – and costly – environmental risks. The authors propose a practical, feasible method of conducting precommercialization evaluations that will balance the needs of ecological safety with those of agriculture and business, and that will assist governments seeking to identify and protect against two of the most significant risks.

Rissler and Mellon first define transgenic plants and review research currently under way in the field of crop biotechnology. They then identify and categorize the environmental risks presented by commercial uses of transgenic crops. These include the potential of transgenic crops to become weeds or to produce weeds with transgene properties such as herbicide resistance that may require costly control programs. Plants engineered to contain virus particles may facilitate the creation of new viruses that can affect economically important crops.

Looking at global seed trade, the authors discuss the relationship between commercial approval in the United States and environmental risks abroad. Of particular concern is the flow of novel genes into the centers of crop biodiversity, primarily in the developing world, that could threaten the genetic base of the world's future food supply.

The authors conclude by reviewing the current status of U.S. regulations governing transgenic crops. They discuss the difficulties that this new terrain presents to regulators, and offer recommendations concerning the commercial development, risk assessment, and regulation of these crops.

Contents

Part 1 Introduction: genetic engineering versus traditional breeding
- a new empirical approach to risk assessment
- road map to the text

Part 2 Understanding transgenic crops: what are transgenic plants?
- transgenic plants are being commercialized
- a realistic look at plant biotechnology
- feeding the world
- biotechnology and the future of agriculture
- the environmental risks of transgenic crops
- field tests tell little about commercial-scale risk
- risks are global

Part 3 Environmental risks posed by transgenic crops: potential adverse impacts of transgenic crops
- potential adverse impacts of transgene flow to other plants
- risks to plants from transgenic virus-resistant crops
- unknown risks

Part 4 Two risk scenarios - an experimental assessment: assessing the potential for transgenic crops to become weeds
- assessing the potential for transgene flow to produce weeds
- assessing virus resistance and other aspects of weediness

Part 5 International implications of commercialization: a global seed trade means global risks
- U.S. approval of a transgenic crop does not ensure global safety
- teosinte and corn - a cautionary tale

Part 6 Conclusions and recommendations: the need for regulation
- the role of the public
- recommendations

Appendix - experimental assessment of the replacement capacity of a population of plants

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