Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
are.superior.in.their.present.form.to.what.they.would.be.with.the.modiied.genes—
unless.a.strong.case.can.be.made.otherwise..This.presumption.(and.the.underlying.
conservation-oriented.value.that.supports.it).seems.reasonable,.until.one.considers.
the.very.strong.barrier.it.also.poses.to.the.transgenic.use.of.pest.or.stress.resistance.
genes.to.promote.the.health.of.horticultural.woody.plants.in.cases.where.they.have.
wild.or.feral.relatives.(as.nearly.all.do)..If.the.gene.disperses,.the.genetic.diversity.
and.itness.of.wild.relatives.might.be.increased.to.some.degree..This.might.in.fact.
be.beneicial.because.woody.horticultural.and.forest.species.are.often.foundational.
members.of.terrestrial.ecosystems,.providing.much.of.the.structural.habitat.and.pri-
mary.productivity..Thus,.some.increased.vigor.and.adaptability.would.generally.be.
expected.to.be. ecologically.advantageous,.not.disadvantageous..In.addition,.many.
woody.species.are.under.serious.threat.from.climate.change.and.the.emergence.or.
invasion.of.newly.epidemic.and/or.exotic.pests,
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.and.thus.could.beneit.from.genes.
that.increased.their.resilience.or.pest/stress.tolerance..Of.course,.in.cases.where.a.
wild.relative.is.already.a.problematic.exotic.species.that.is.having.a.strong.negative.
environmental.impact,.such.improvements.of.vigor.would.not.be.considered.desir-
able..Such.cases.could.be.specially.identiied.and.disallowed.(e.g.,.by.presence.on.
a.noxious.weed.list),.rather.than.imposing.a.blanket.preclusion.to.gene.low.to.wild.
relatives.as.a.result.of.the.transgenic.method.
The.core.regulatory.and.ecological.problem.is.the.extreme.dificulty.in.predicting.
the.outcome.of.transgene.introductions.in.terms.of.their.ultimate.ecological.impact.
in.advance,.without.actual.ield.releases.and.monitoring.over.many.years.and.sites..
This,.however,.is.very.costly,.especially.where.strong.containment.must.be.imposed.
during. these. trials.. As. stated. above,. this. is. a. reasonable. requirement. for. species.
with.high.risk.relatives.such.as.a.Johnson.grass.or.a.scotch.broom,.but.unfortunately.
under.the.current.operational.“presumption.of.harm”.such.precaution.is.applied.to.
all.transgenes.and.species..This.makes.commercialization.of.each.transgenic.prod-
uct. a. multidecade. and. multimillion. dollar. undertaking,. even. when. pest. resistance.
genes.from.related.plant.species.are.used,.and.appears.to.make.transgenic.solutions.
prohibitive. except. in. special. cases. (e.g.,. American. Chestnut,. a. dominant. tree. that.
was.driven.near.to.extinction.and.has.strong.private.and.public.foundation.support.
for. the. use. of. biotechnology. for. its. restoration).
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. Given. the. growing. pace. of. such.
serious.threats.to.wild.and.cultivated.trees,.it.would.appear.that.new,.expedited.regu-
latory.options—such.as.exemptions.for.species.in.crisis.and/or.genes.from.related.
species—are.critically.needed.
CONSEQUENCES OF SIMPLE DEFINITIONS OF CLEAN AND GREEN
Finally,.a.major.impediment.to.the.use.of.transgenic.methods.appears.to.reside.in.
the.blanket.manner.with.which.society.seems.to.categorize.technologies.as.good.or.
bad..Organically.certiied.food.is.currently.considered.by.much.of.the.public.to.be.
greener,. safer,. and. thus. superior. to. conventionally. produced. food.. Yet. when. scru-
tinized.it.has.not.shown.any.consistent.advantages.for.food.safety.or.nutrition,.and.
its.net.environmental.beneits.are.also.questionable.(e.g.,.when.full.life.cycle.stud-
ies.of.nitrogen,.land.use,.runoff,.soil.erosion,.transport,.and.energy.consumption—
and. even. pesticide. ecotoxicity. in. some. cases—are. considered).
20-22
. Nonetheless,.
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