Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
domestication.and.wild.or.feral.relatives..This.chapter.explores.the.direct.and.indi-
rect. causes. for. the. stringent. regulatory. system. in. place,. discusses. the. opportunity.
costs. they. impose,. and. proposes. some. alternative. regulatory. concepts.. I. maintain.
that. until. regulatory. systems. incorporate. a. tier. that. provides,. at. the. outset. of. ield.
research,.exemptions.or.workable.tolerances.for.adventitious.presence,.the.ability.to.
use.transgenic.approaches. for.horticultural.breeding.will.be.severely.limited,.thus.
foreclosing. a. number. of. important. options. for. improving. pest. management,. stress.
tolerance,.and.product.quality.
It.is.common.to.see.lay.discussions.of.the.social.controversies.and.the.potential.
of.genetic.engineering.(GE)*.virtually.ignore.the.federal.regulatory.gauntlet.that.GE.
products.must.get.through..Those.who.tend.to.be.in.favor.of.GE.crop.solutions.often.
assume.that.regulations.are.well-crafted.and.essential. to. protect.the.public.safety;.
their.eficacy,.cost,.and.what.products.might.have.been.discouraged.even.before.they.
are. created. are. rarely. considered..In.contrast,. those. against. GE. argue. that.regula-
tions.are.not.strong.enough,.as.evidenced.by.the.very.existence.of.GE.products.with.
the. absence. of. full. scientiic. certainty. about. their. effects.. Because. of. the. esoteric.
nature.of.regulations,.it.often.seems.to.be.only.the.practitioners.of.GE.who.really.
understand.the.implications.of.regulations.in.practice..Who.else.would.know.what.it.
costs.in.time.and.labor.to.conduct.a.regulated.ield.trial.apart.from.those.conducting.
the.trials?.Or.of.what.it.costs.to.bring.a.product.to.market,.other.than.public.sector.
institutions. or.companies.that.have.sought. to. do.so?.The.goal.of.this.chapter. is.to.
discuss.the.costs.and.impediments.to.research.and.development.of.transgenic.horti-
cultural.crops.from.the.perspective.of.a.public.sector.biotechnologist.who.works.on.
ornamental.and.forest.trees..In.addition.to.my.own.experience,.this.article.is.moti-
vated.by.the.apparent.absence.of.any.new.horticultural.transgenic.crops.in.the.public.
sector.pipeline.(an.observation.based.on.discussions.with.many.colleagues).in.spite.
of.a.rather.large.number.of.ield.trials.that.have.been.conducted.during.the.past.two.
decades.(see.http://www.isb.vt.edu/cfdocs/ieldtests1.cfm.for.listings)..This.suggests.
that.regulatory.costs.and.obstacles,.in.combination.with.market.risks,.are.severely.
impeding.transgenic.variety.development.
NEED FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY SCIENTISTS TO BE INFORMED
AND TO INFORM REGULATIONS
Few.scientists.or.students.who.are.drawn.to.plant.science.or.to.its.practical.applica-
tions.such.as.horticulture.and.forestry.like.the.idea.of.studying.government.regula-
tions..It.sounds.about.as.exciting.as.reading.the.United.States.Internal.Revenue.tax.
code,.and.about.as.enticing.as.a.trip.to.the.dentist.to.have.your.teeth.drilled..As.a.
scientist,.I.fully.share.these.sentiments,.but.my.work.over.the.years.with.ield.trials.of.
genetically.modiied.trees
1,2
.(Figure.12.1),.and.the.small.part.I.have.played.in.writing.
*
.
Throughout.this.chapter,.which.speciically.addresses.the.products.of.genetic.engineering.or.genetic.
modiication,.I.use.the.terms.“biotechnology”.or.“GE”.or.“GM”.as.shorthand..I.am.referring.to.crops.
produced.using.methods.where.plants.are.modiied.by.asexually.induced,.speciic.genetic.modiication.
and.regeneration.of.the.modiied.cells.into.plants.
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