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November 6-December 3, 2000 |
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If you choose to follow any links to the abstracts and/or complete text of articles, books, and documents listed below, you will be leaving the Strategian Web site. If you wish to return to this page from the Web page you are sent to, please use the Back option of your browser. Feature Items: C. Neal Stewart, Jr., Harold A. Richards, IV, and Matthew D. Halfhill Transgenic Plants and Biosafety: Science, Misconceptions and Public Perceptions. (... an overview of the controversy surrounding the alledged negative environmental and health impacts of genetically modified [GM] plants and the actual scientific research [or other information] that lies behind the allegations and the technology itself. As the authors state our purpose here is to focus on the science that underlies plant transformation and genetic modification, the ecology of transgenic plants and the biosafety of GM food--essentially, the science behind the controversy. The authors provide a very readable explanation of plant transformation including newer methods of genetic modification such as chimeraplasty. Potential ecological and health risks [toxicity and the potential for introducing allergens into the food supply] are then reviewed and discussed using the relevant research that had been done prior to the publication of this article. The authors summarize by reporting that an estimated 3.5 trillion transgenic plants of various kinds have been grown in the field in the United States between 1987 and 2000, and there is no indication today that this technology has resulted in environmental hazards or compromised human health. The authors go on to conclude that plant biotechnology offers tremendous promise for feeding the world's growing population and also for improving the diets of people around the world. Although concerns for ecological and human health safety have led to mistrust over the application of this technology, many of these fears seem unsubstantiated or based on misinformation. Other keywords and phrases -- agrobacterium tumefaciens, allergenicity, crops, gene gun-mediated, genome, germplasm, GFP, green fluorescent protein, intraspecific hybridization, invasiveness, non-target organisms, plant biology, plant tissue culture, tissue culture-free, transgene persistence, visual selection, volunteerism -- from the text of the article and the abstract; please see the extensive bibliography) BioTechniques Volume 29, Number 4 (October 2000): 832-843. How to find the above journals, magazines, and other publications? See Step 3: Locate of the Information Strategy for details. Questions about any or all of the above? Please let me know. |
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