Prospects for the Commercialization of Transgenic Ornamentals - Transgenic Horticultural Crops: Challenges and Opportunities - page 313

approval. by. the. Plant. Safety. Division. of. the. Food. Safety. and. Consumer. Affairs.
Bureau. of. the. Japanese. Ministry. of. Agriculture,. Forestry,. and. Fisheries. (MAFF)..
Due.to.consumer.and.industry.resistance,.no.transgenic.crops.have.been.commer-
cially.cultivated.in.Japan..This.is.despite.the.approval.for.import.of.more.than.90.
transgenic. crop-derived. products.. In. China,. the. application. process. appears. to. be.
more.complicated.than.in.most.other.countries..There.are.only.two.application.dead-
lines. per. year.. Before. applying. for. approval. in. China,. the. transgenic. variety. must.
irst. be. approved. in. the. country. of. origin.. Thereafter,. it. must. be. retested. for. the.
Chinese.application.
Overall.a.company.seeking.to.commercialize.a.transgenic.crop.in.one.or.more.of.
the.major.markets.of.the.developed.world.has.to.deal.with.the.regulatory.agencies.
not.only.in.the.country.where.the.crop.will.be.sold.but.also.in.any.country.in.which.
the.crop.is.produced..This.presents.a.signiicant.challenge.in.terms.of.the.resources.
needed. to. compile. the. regulatory. packages. and. communicate. with. the. regulatory.
agencies.in.each.of.these.countries.
In.some.respects,.the.regulatory.process.is.just.as.much.about.managing.the.per-
ception.of.risk.and.the.perception.of.beneits.as.it.is.about.managing.the.risks.and.
beneits. themselves.. In. this. regard. effective. communication. between. industry,. the.
regulatory.agencies,.and.the.public.is.important..Furthermore,.the.effectiveness.of.
the.regulatory.process.will.be.aided.by.the.growing.body.of.literature.on.the.ecologi-
cal.consequences.and.extent.of.gene.low.for.transgenic.and.non-transgenic.crops..
Additional.funding.to.support.basic.research,.and.the.dispersal.of.this.research.to.
industry.and.the.public.could.substantially.increase.the.prospects.for.the.develop-
ment.of.transgenic.ornamentals.for.garden.and.landscape.use.
In.the.attempt.to.reduce.the.impact.of.the.regulatory.process.on.the.development.
of.ornamentals.and.other.specialty.crops.the.Specialty.Crop.Regulatory.Assistance.
consortium. (SCRA). was. formed. in. 2005.. SCRA. is. a. public-private. effort. that. is.
modeled.somewhat.on.the.Federal.Drug.Administration's.successful.Orphan.Drug.
Program..It.plans.to.work.alongside.the.existing.regulatory.agencies.and.their.exist-
ing.regulatory.framework.to.facilitate.passage.of.transgenic.specialty.crops.through.
the. regulatory. process.. This. is. expected. to. include. clear. delineation. of. regulatory.
requirements.for.speciic.crop-trait.combinations,.assistance.in.compiling.regulatory.
packages,.and.general.guidance.for.navigating.the.regulatory.process.(http://www.
specialtycropassistance.org).. The. effort. is. currently. seeking. industry. and. govern-
ment. funding. to. run. and. maintain. the. necessary. support. programs.. If. successful,.
this.effort.could.signiicantly.increase.the.prospects.for.the.development.and.com-
mercialization.of.transgenic.ornamentals.and.other.specialty.crops.
CONSUMER ACCEPTANCE
Genetically.engineered.carnations,.sold.as.cut.lowers,.have.been.marketed.in.Europe,.
the.United.States,.and.Japan.for.many.years. 9 .There.has.been.little.adverse.public.
reaction.to.these.varieties..This.bodes.well.for.the.marketing.of.transgenic.landscape.
plants..Indeed,.a.2004.survey.of.602.Master.Gardeners.in.Tennessee.revealed.that.
73%. of. respondents. reported. an. interest. in. buying. transgenic. ornamentals,. if. and.
when.they.become.available. 38 .Overall.respondents.perceived.slight.environmental.