Content area
Full Text
Since before Mary Shelley published "Frankenstein" in 1818, people have oscillated between concern that what scientists create in the lab will be dangerous and hope that research progress will improve their lives.
But few scientific advances have created a wider spectrum of public debate than genetic engineering of living organisms. Many people see the importance of the technology and believe it is essential for developing new and improved agricultural products. Others object to genetic engineering on philosophical grounds or worry about the risks a genetically engineered organism (GEO) could present to people or the environment.
Some people feel that scientists have not paid enough attention to potential risks. If GEOs are to maintain and increase their acceptance as new traits are introduced into more and more species, risk must continue to be clearly and openly assessed.
The assessment of safety data is integral to the regulatory process of the three primary federal agencies responsible for regulating GEOs: USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Advances in our methods of carrying out genetic engineering and in our understanding of physiological and ecological processes allow scientists to maintain sophisticated and state-of-the-art procedures and controls for ensuring the safety of GEOs before they're allowed to be commercially raised.
There's no question that GEOs are becoming essential to agriculture by making new traits available, helping agriculture be more environmentally sensitive, and reducing production costs. To remain competitive and environmentally sensitive, farmers need traits such as the insect and herbicide resistance offered only by transgenic crops.
For all these reasons, ARS has become a leader in biotechnology risk assessment research.
"For the past 4 or 5 years, ARS has coordinated and carried out more and more biotechnology risk assessment research and directed more resources into this work," says John W. Radin, ARS national program leader for plant physiology and risk assessment. "We've always done some research in this area, but today it's a very high priority."
There are several areas of risk assessment that ARS is uniquely suited to study: creating more specific ways to transfer only desired genes, developing new models for doing risk assessments, finding ways to limit spread of transgenes, discovering ways to prevent...