The Economic and Marketing Challenges of Horticultural Biotechnology - Transgenic Horticultural Crops: Challenges and Opportunities - page 179

Moschini.traced.current.doubts.about.biotechnology.to.the.introduction.of.recom-
binant. DNA. and. the. surrounding. controversy. in. the. 1970s. 27 . Twenty. years. later,.
and.with.accumulated.evidence.from.millions.of.experiments,.the.debate.about.the.
safety.of.recombinant.DNA.was.settled—at.least.to.the.satisfaction.of.the.scientiic.
community. 29 .By.2003,.following.a.comprehensive.review.of.existing.evidence,.the.
International.Council.for.Science.had.also.declared.consumption.of.foods.contain-
ing.GM.ingredients.to.be.safe..The.safety.of.commercialized.GM.food.products.was.
also.certiied.by.a.number.of.national.science.academies.and.governmental.agen-
cies,.including.the.USDA.
Environmental.concerns.center.on.the.impact.of.biotechnology.on.nontarget.spe-
cies,.including.the.risk.of.gene.low.beyond.the.farm.gate..While.such.risks.surely.
exist.and.some.isolated.cases.of.gene.low.between.GM.crops.and.proximal.non-GM.
crops.have.been.documented,.governments.have.guarded.against.contamination.
of.conventional.crops.by.requiring.buffer.crops.between.transgenic.and.conventional.
crops..Against.these.risks,.including.the.yet.undocumented.risk.of.gene.low.to.wild.
lora.and.fauna,.weigh.environmental.beneits.associated.with.the.adoption.of.agri-
cultural.biotechnology,.including.reduced.use.of.chemical.pesticides,.substitution.to.
less.toxic.and.less.persistent.herbicides,.and.adoption.of.low-till.and.no-till.farming.
practices.that.reduce.soil.erosion.and.carbon.emissions.
Not. withstanding. these. assurances. by. scientiic. and. regulatory. agencies,. bio-
technology. in. food. crops. remains. controversial,. perhaps. owing. to. heterogene-
ity. with. regard. to. scientiic. literacy. among. the. public. and. misperceptions. about.
how. inserted. traits. alter. plant. development. and. food. production. 27 . Miranowski.
et. al.. and. Josling.and.Tangermann.reported. differing.opinions. on. biotechnology.
between.scientists.and.the.public.at.large. 30,31 .Despite.a.spirited.debate.about.the.
safety.of.biotechnology.in.academic.and.policy.circles,.surveys.consistently.show.
that.consumers.have.little.information.about.the.risks.and.beneits.associated.with.
GM.foods. 32,33
Much.of.the.controversy.surrounding.consumption.of.GM.foods.may.stem.from.
the.fact.that.the.irst.commercialized.transgenic.crops.contained.input.traits.designed.
to. improve. agronomic. performance. and. food. production,. rather. than. output. traits.
intended.to.boost.food.quality. 34 .The.former.presumably.beneits.consumers.in.the.
form.of.lower.food.prices,.though.these.beneits.may.be.less.discernable.to.consumers.
than.products.with.new.attributes,.like.additional.nutrients.or.extended.shelf.lives..
Agronomic.traits.can.be.perceived.as.beneiting.farmers.and.processors.rather.than.
consumers.. Based. on. a. survey. of. more. than. 2000. consumers,. however,. Bredahl.
found.broad.rejection.of.GM.technology.overall,.regardless.of.trait. 35
A.number.of.studies.have.found.that.consumers.are.willing.to.pay.a.premium.
for.food.products.that.are.free.from.GM.ingredients. 36-39 .Opposition.to.GM.foods.
declines,. however,. when. consumers. are. provided. information. about. the. health.
or. environmental. beneits. of. genetically. engineered. traits. 37,38,40,41 . Frewer. et. al..
and.Mucci.and.Hough.found.evidence.that.consumers.are.more.willing.to.accept.
genetic.modiication.that.provides.nutritional.or.health.beneits.but.not.traits.that.
reduce. cost. or. extend. shelf. life. 42,43 . Chern. and. Rickertsen. reported. results. from.
a. cross-national. survey. that. showed. acceptance. of. GM. technology. was. broader.
among. consumers. in. the. United. States. than. in. Norway. 44 . As. many. as. 70%. of.