The Next Generation

• Author: Gregory Jaffe
• Position: Director of the Biotechnology Project at the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, D.C.
• Pages: 38-42

Page 38 ❧ THE ENVIRONMENTAL FORUM Copyright © 2009, Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, D.C. www.eli.org.

Reprinted by permission from The Environmental Forum®, March/April 2009

co v e r sT o r y

In the past dozen years, genetically engineered

crops have become part of mainstream agri-

culture in developed and developing countries

alike. Farmers have planted GE crops on mil-

lions of acres and the majority of the risks raised

by critics have not been borne out. While not

all the advantages touted by the developers have

materialized either, signif‌icant benef‌its have been doc-

umented. GE crops are here to stay.

Developers are set to move forward with the sec-

ond generation of GE products. e f‌irst generation

mostly benef‌ited farmers and included plants that

produce their own pesticides or are resistant to herbi-

cides. e second generation could move far beyond

those achievements. For crops, that means traits such

as drought-tolerance and enhanced nutrition. en

on to engineered meat and dairy animals and drug-

producing biopharming. Are current rules adequate to

regulate these activities? It is time to revisit the debate

about genetic engineering in agriculture.

To date, GE crops have been managed under the

Coordinated Framework for Regulation of Biotech-

nology, a 1986 federal policy that calls on the Envi-

ronmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Admin-

istration, and Department of Agriculture to regulate

GE products using existing laws. e framework has

attempted to ensure the safety of f‌irst-generation crops

but can it adequately regulate upcoming products?

With products looming on the horizon that may be

more controversial and raise more potential risks than

current ones, public understanding of current GE

crops and their regulation as well as the potential for

new benef‌its (and new risks) is critical to U.S. leader-

ship in biotechnology as well as to protecting the envi-

ronment and public health.

Genetic engineering in agriculture involves taking

a gene from one species and introducing it into a cell

of another species to produce a desired trait in the re-

sulting organism and its progeny. So far, developers

have concentrated on agriculturally important charac-

teristics, chief‌ly herbicide tolerance and the ability of

plants to produce their own pesticides, in four crops:

corn, soybeans, cotton, and canola. ose crops have

been widely adopted in certain countries, with the

United States leading the way. In 2008, some 12 mil-

lion farmers grew 282 million acres of GE crops in 23

countries. In the United States, 142 million acres of

GE crops were planted, which included 80 percent of

the corn crop, 92 percent of soybeans, and 86 percent

of upland cotton. In developing countries, Chinese

and Indian farmers were the most signif‌icant adopters,

with almost 11 million mostly small-holding farmers

e Next

Generation

U.S. regulatory agencies have reviewed

genetically engineered crops by adapting

existing laws to address potential safety

questions, but those procedures have not

resulted in adequate oversight. With a

second generation of GE crops in prospect,

the federal government needs to improve

its regulation to ensure safe products from

a promising technology

Gregory Jaf‌fe

Gregory Jaffe is Director of

the Biotechnology Project at the

Center for Science in the Public

Interest in Washing ton, D.C.