Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
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4.. Divided.scientiic. advice. on. the.risks. versus.beneits. of. GE. in.relation.to.
the.stringency.of.regulations..The.large.majority.of.ecologists.I.have.met.
with,.including.during.services.on.National.Research.Council.panels,.show.
a. strong. negative. attitude. toward. GE. of. crops,. whereas. most. breeders,.
agronomists,.and.biotechnologists.seem.to.view.them.positively..The.con-
cern.expressed.by.ecologists.is.prompted.in.no.small.part.by.the.commonly.
made. analogy. between. transgenic. and. invasive. exotic. species.. Moreover,.
many.serious.invasive.plant.species.are.the.result.of.intentional.introduc-
tions. from. the. horticulture. industry.. Thus,. although. there. is. only. limited.
biological. homology. between. a. novel. invasive. organism. and. introduction.
or.modiication.of.one.or.a.few.genes.in.a.familiar.organism,.the.legacy.of.
exotic.species.problems.creates.a.climate.that.dictates.extreme.precaution.
and.concern.
.
5.. The.growing.popularity.of.organically.certiied.forms.of.agriculture.and.its.
strong.direct.and.indirect.campaigns.against.transgenic.breeding.methods.
and.varieties.as.dangerous.and.“unnatural.”
.
6.. Waning. trust. in. government. and. government. organized. science. pan-
els. to. make. wise. judgments. about. the. safety.of. novel.genes.in.foods. and.
environment.
.
7.. The.strong.political.and.legal.pressures.for.stringent.regulations.from.well-
funded.nongovernmental.organizations.that.are.opposed.to,.or.highly.con-
cerned.about,.GE.crops.
All. of. these. are. clearly. major. problems. for. any. efforts. to. produce. what. GE. crop.
developers.would.view.as.more.balanced.science-based.regulations..However,.I.will.
discuss.what.I.see.as.deeper,.more.foundational.issues.that.I.believe.have.contributed.
to.making.the.regulatory.system.such.a.dificult.barrier.to.progress.in.horticultural.
biotechnology.
p reSumptIon of h arm from t ranSGenIc m ethodS
Thomas.Jefferson.is.widely.quoted.as.having.said.that.“the.greatest.service.which.
can.be.rendered.any.country.is.to.add.a.useful.plant.to.its.culture.”*.Clearly,.some-
thing. has. changed. since. the. era. of. transgenic. biotechnology. began.. Whereas. all.
products.of.traditional.breeding.are.considered.generally.regarded.as.safe.(GRAS),.
all.varieties.produced.using.transgenic.methods.are.in.effect.considered.the.opposite,.
that.is,.hazardous.until.“proven”.safe. .This.is.despite.the.common.scientiic.knowl-
edge,. and. FDA. rulings,. that. the. transgenic. method. per. se. is. not. more. risky. than.
conventional. breeding. methods.such. as.inbreeding,. wide. hybridization,.and.muta-
genesis..Moreover,.the.established.legacy.of.plant.breeding.includes.importations.of.
exotic.plants.that.can.spread.widely;.enabling.agriculture.and.humans—arguably.the.
* . Thomas.Jefferson,.“A.Memorandum.of.Services.to.My.Country,”.September.2,.1800.( PTJ ,.32:124)..
Polygraph. copy. at. the. Library. of. Congress.. http://wiki.monticello.org/mediawiki/index.php/
Useful_plant_%28Quotation%29
†. It.is.not.in.fact.possible.to.prove.the.absence.of.any.risk.
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