Sep. 3, 2000

THE TRANSGENIC DEBATE

Detractors call them "Frankenfoods": crops containing genes transferred from other species. Worry about that or not, as you will, but you have to admire the ingenuity of the term and its effectiveness in rousing irrational fears.

Nothing equally catchy has been coined by advocates for development of genetically modified organisms; "GM crops" sounds entirely too industrial.

Professors at Colorado State University, whose new Web site aims to offer a balanced presentation of the controversy as well as links to other online resources both critical and favorable, have opted for the unemotional "transgenic."

The authors are Pat Byrne, Sarah Ward and Ann Fenwick of the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences and Lacy Fuller of the Center for Life Sciences. The site is www.colostate.edu/programs/lifesciences/TransgenicCrops at CSU, in Fort Collins, Colo.

They are, they say in their introduction, "engaged in plant genetics research and teaching" at CSU. "They receive no funds from companies involved in transgenic crop development, nor are they affiliated with groups campaigning against such crops."

Fair enough. But as experts who actually work in the area, neither are they afflicted with the antitechnology hysteria that predominates in this discussion. There are risks -- it would be more accurate to say, based on experience so far, that there could be risks -- from genetic engineering of transgenic plants. There are also benefits, already substantial and potentially enormous. As with every scientific advance, there are trade-offs between risks and benefits, and the best policy usually lies somewhere between ignoring all risks and trying to avoid them.

If you think this debate has nothing to do with you, you're almost certainly wrong. In 1999, more than half of the soybeans planted in the United States, and a quarter of the corn, were transgenic varieties. They're not segregated in production, so if you haven't eaten them directly you've eaten them in products like soy protein or corn oil used widely in prepared foods, or indirectly in meat from animals whose feed contained them.

"We have all been eating transgenic food products for some time," the authors say. "There is as yet no single case reported of anyone suffering health effects as a result."

The transgenic varieties popular with farmers are resistant to herbicides or produce their own pesticides. If farmers plant crops resistant to a particular herbicide, such as those marketed by Monsanto under the brand "Roundup Ready," they can spray their fields with Roundup (glyphosate) and the weeds die while the crop flourishes.

Insect-resistant crops such as corn, cotton and potatoes have been engineered to produce a toxin from the soil bacterium Bacillus thurigiensis that kills insects like the corn borer, the cotton bollworm and the Colorado potato beetle, the authors say. Bt toxins are considered safe for birds and mammals, and safer for nontarget insects than other pesticides. In fact, Bt sprays are widely used by organic farmers.

There's nothing more organic than genetic modification. The reason there are genes like these is that plants and the things that eat them have been in an evolutionary war for far longer than humans have been on the scene.

The advantages of these crops -- especially from the point of view of those who abhor them -- is that they markedly decrease the amount of chemicals needed in farming, and by increasing the productivity of the land reduce the demand for converting other kinds of land to farmland.

Having crops that are easier and cheaper to grow and easier on the environment is a clear benefit, but so is having better crops. One of the most promising is "golden rice." Yellow in color thanks to genes borrowed from the daffodil, it contains beta-carotene, which the body uses to make Vitamin A.

Because rice is a staple food in Asia, and as currently grown does not contain Vitamin A, millions of children suffer from Vitamin A deficiency. Many die or go blind.

Plants designed to contain edible vaccines could prevent childhood disease, especially in poor countries where children often have little access to medical care. And transgenic grass could grow into lawns that required not only less fertilizer, but less mowing and less water.

This fight is coming to a neighborhood near you; last month, for example, the Open Space Department in Boulder, Colo., banned genetically modified crops from agricultural lands it leases out.

But that's Boulder for you. Others will want to weigh the risks and benefits before deciding, and now they have a great place to start.

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