Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Our conclusion is that intrinsic arguments against genetic engineering are widely used in
the field of organic agriculture. Such arguments usually rest upon a specific view of the human-
nature relationship, which includes cognitive, emotive and volitional elements. Cognitive
elements refer to a holistic (non-reductionist) view of living organisms. Emotive elements refer
to a biocentric attitude towards life in which living organisms are seen as partners that should
be respected, with an intrinsic value. The volitional elements refer to ethical statements as to
what should or should not be done in organic agriculture, taking other elements into account.
Respecting the integrity of plants can also have consequences for the application of other
modern breeding and propagation techniques for organic breeding and propagation programs
(Lammerts van Bueren
et al
. 2003b; Lammerts van Bueren and Struik 2004). It may imply
that:
• reproductive barriers between species will be respected and not violated;
•
in vitro
techniques are not compatible with organic principles;
• sterility, such as cytoplasmic male sterility, will not be accepted in the end product
(variety) without including restorer genes; and
• patents on life are not accepted.
These considerations are not yet implemented in the Basic Standards for Organic Produc-
tion and Processing of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements and
have only appeared as draft standards for 2002-2005 (see http://www.ifoam.org/about_ifoam/
standards/norms/draft_standards/draft_standards.html).
The use of molecular markers in organic breeding programs
DNA diagnostic techniques, which enable selection at DNA level, do not involve genetic modi-
fication. The techniques, which are usually based on biochemical and molecular markers,
could therefore be used in organic breeding programs to supplement trait selection methods in
the field, but their potential for organic agriculture has yet to be proven. Genotype-environ-
ment interaction is of primary importance in organic plant breeding, and markers can, in
addition to field selection, contribute to assessing environment-specific performance of
genotype traits. However, a point of attention is the techniques used with DNA diagnostics, as
some of them include the use of radioactive isotopes and (cancer-inducing) chemicals, which
are not used or permitted in organic agriculture.
Conclusion: research for organic breeding concepts and
strategies
To explore and develop plant breeding concepts and strategies, selection criteria and breeding
techniques for better-adapted and reliable varieties for the organic sector, further research is
needed. The question is how plant health characteristics such as nutrient uptake and use effi-
ciency, weed suppression, disease tolerance, crop growth dynamic and yield stability interre-
late under organic growing conditions, and to what extent such characteristics are genetically
determined. But the question is also how such characteristics can be transformed into field
selection criteria and what the role of molecular makers can be in organic breeding programs.
Because of the logistical problems conventional breeding companies would like to know what
the benefit is of selecting under organic growing conditions. Do organic farmers need special-
ist varieties adapted to specific regional conditions or generalists with less G × E interaction?
The limited area under organic production will be a bottleneck for economic interest in
establishing specific breeding programs for organic farming systems, especially concerning
