GM Crop Policies and Challenges

Policy Issues in Genetically Modified Crops: A Global Perspective contains both theoretical and empirical evidence of a broad range of aspects of GM crop policies throughout the world. Emphasizing world agriculture production and ethics of GM crops, the book balances insights into the various discussions around the use of GM crops, including soil health, effects on animals, environmental sustainability impact and ethical issues. This book will be useful for researchers in agricultural policy and economics, agricultural biotechnology, soil science, genetic engineering, ethics, environmental management, sustainable development and NGOs. Discusses ethics, varieties, research trends, and success stories of genetic modification Includes both crop production and human health impacts Compares and contrasts GM policies from around the world

Policy Issues in Genetically Modified Crops: Global Policies and Practices contains both theoretical and empirical evidence of a broad range of aspects of GM crop policies throughout the world. Emphasizing world agriculture production and ethics of GM crops, the book balances insights into the various discussions around the use of GM crops including soil health, effects on animals, environmental sustainability impact, and ethical issues. Modern agriculture is directly and explicitly characterized by the adoption of new technologies, their developmental processes and emerging scientific approaches. The recent trends of agriculture are not limited to capital-intensive agricultural production. GM is increasingly regarded as an option in transforming traditional agriculture practices to modern and more efficient means of feeding the world. This book will be useful for researchers in agricultural policy and economics, agricultural biotechnology, soil science, genetic engineering, ethics, environmental management, sustainable development and NGOs. Discusses ethics, varieties, research trends, and success stories of genetic modification Includes both crop production and human health impacts Compares and contrasts GM policies from around the world

Genetically engineered (GE) crops were first introduced commercially in the 1990s. After two decades of production, some groups and individuals remain critical of the technology based on their concerns about possible adverse effects on human health, the environment, and ethical considerations. At the same time, others are concerned that the technology is not reaching its potential to improve human health and the environment because of stringent regulations and reduced public funding to develop products offering more benefits to society. While the debate about these and other questions related to the genetic engineering techniques of the first 20 years goes on, emerging genetic-engineering technologies are adding new complexities to the conversation. Genetically Engineered Crops builds on previous related Academies reports published between 1987 and 2010 by undertaking a retrospective examination of the purported positive and adverse effects of GE crops and to anticipate what emerging genetic-engineering technologies hold for the future. This report indicates where there are uncertainties about the economic, agronomic, health, safety, or other impacts of GE crops and food, and makes recommendations to fill gaps in safety assessments, increase regulatory clarity, and improve innovations in and access to GE technology.

Many developing countries are exploring whether biotechnology has a role in addressing national issues such as food security and environmental remediation, and are considering whether the putative benefits of the technology-for example, enabling greater agricultural productivity and stability in the food supply-outweigh concerns that the technology might pose a danger-to biodiversity, health, and local jobs. Some policy leaders worry that their governments are not prepared to take control of this evolving technology and that introducing it into society would be a risky act. Others have suggested that taking no action carries more risk, given the dire need to produce more food. This book reports on an international workshop held to address these issues. Global Challenges and Directions for Agricultural Biotechnology: Mapping the Course, organized by the National Research Council on October 24-25, 2004, in Washington, DC, focused on the potential applications of biotechnology and what developing countries might consider as they contemplate adopting biotechnology. Presenters at the workshop described applications of biotechnology that are already proving their utility in both developing and developed countries.

The world is now on the cusp of a new agricultural revolution, the so-called Gene Revolution, in which genetically modified (GM) crops are tailored to address chronic agricultural problems in certain regions of the world. This monograph report investigates the circumstances and processes that can induce and sustain this new agricultural revolution. The authors compare the Green Revolution of the 20th century with the GM crop movement to assess the agricultural, technological, sociological, and political differences between the two movements.

A variable climate, political instability, and other constraints have limited agricultural development in African countries south of the Sahara. Genetically modified (GM) crops are one tool for enhancing agricultural productivity and food security despite such constraints. Genetically Modified Crops in Africa: Economic and Policy Lessons from Countries South of the Sahara investigates how this tool might be effectively used by evaluating the benefits, costs, and risks for African countries of adopting GM crops. The authors gather together studies on GM crops’ economic effects and impact on trade, how consumers view such crops, and other issues. They find that GM crops have had, on average, a positive economic effect in the nations where they were used and identify future steps for enhancing GM crop adoption’s positive effects. Promising policy initiatives include making biosafety regulations that do not make GM crop development prohibitively expensive, fostering intraregional trade in GM crops, and providing more and better information about GM crops to consumers who might currently be skeptical of them. These and other findings in Genetically Modified Crops in Africa indicate ways biotechnology can contribute to economic development in Africa south of the Sahara.

Bringing together the ideas of experts from around the world, this incisive text offers cutting-edge perspectives on the risk analysis and governance of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), supporting effective and informed decision-making in developing countries. Comprised of four comprehensive sections, this book covers: integrated risk analysis and decision making, giving an overview of the science involved and examining risk analysis methods that impact decision-making on the release of GMOs, particularly in developing countries; diversification of expertise involved in risk analysis and practical ways in which the lack of expertise in developing countries can be overcome; risk analysis based regulatory systems and how they can be undermined by power relationships and socio-political interests, as well as strategies for improving GMO policy development and regulatory decision-making; and case studies from developing countries providing lessons based on real-world experience that can inform our current thinking.

Part 1: Analytical Studies: 1.Biotechnology risks and project interdependence, Odin K. Knudsen and Pasquale L. Scandizzo. 2. Restricted monopoly R & D pricing: uncertainty, irreversibility and non-market effect, Robert D. Weaver and Justus Wesseler. 3. Biotechnology and the emergence of club behavior in agricultural trade, Monika Tothova and James F. Oehmke. 4. The labelling of genetically modified products in a global trading environment, Stefania Scandizzo. Part 2: Empirical trade studies: 5. Tree biotechnology: regulation and international trade, Roger A. Sedjo. 6. Commercialized products of biotechnology and trade pattern effects, Stuart Smyth, William A. Kerr and Kelley A. Davey. Part 3: Spillover dimensions: 7. The coexistence of GM and non-GM arable crops in the EU: economic and market considerations, Graham Brookes. 8. Research spillovers in biotech industry: The case of canola, Richard S. Gray, Stavroula Malla and Kien Tran. 9. Mergers, acquisitions and flows of agbiotech intellectual property, David Schimmelpfennig and John King. 10. The Impact of regulation on the development of new products in the food industry, Klaus Menrad and Knut Blind. Part 4: Intellectual property rights. 11. Patents versus plant varietal protection, Derek Eaton and Frank van Tongerun. 12. Governing innovative science: challenges facing the commercialization of plant-made pharmaceuticals, Stuart Smyth, George Khachatourians and Peter W.B. Phillips. 13. Are GURTs needed to remedy intellectual property failures and environmental Problems with GM Crops?, Geoff Budd. Part 5: Applied general equilibrium trade models 14. Economic effects of producing or banning G.M. crops, Janine Flatau and P. Michael Schmitz. 15. Opposition to genetically modified wheat and global food security, Faycal Haggui, Peter W.B. Phillips and Richard S. Gray. 16. International impacts of Bt cotton adoption, George B. Frisvold, Russell Trosvold, Russell Tronstad and Jeanne M. Reeves.

Cuba is widely recognized for its social achievements including health care, education, social security, subsidized food and other benefits and opportunities, despite well-meaning, or sometimes not so well-meaning, international criticisms. For more than 50 years, this Caribbean island has defended and sustained these economic, political, social and cultural gains, and has maintained a commitment to humanitarianism and international solidarity that persists to this day. Part one of Unfinished Puzzle describes the socioeconomic context of Cuban agriculture, the natural environment that affect it and the international political context in which it has developed. Part two explores the unique agricultural policies Cubans implemented to confront the food and economic crises of the early 1990s. Finally, part three examines the lessons to be learned from the Cuban experience with respect to local development, sustainable agriculture, agroecology, food security and food sovereignty. It highlights the elements of the Cuban system most suitable for replication in other countries facing similar circumstances or challenges.

As development donors invest hundreds of millions of dollars into improved crops designed to alleviate poverty and hunger, Africa has emerged as the final frontier in the global debate over agricultural biotechnology. The first data-driven assessment of the ecological, social, and political factors that shape our understanding of genetic modification, Africa's Gene Revolution surveys twenty years of efforts to use genomics-based breeding to enhance yields and livelihoods for African farmers. Matthew Schnurr considers the full range of biotechnologies currently in commercial use and those in development – including hybrids, marker-assisted breeding, tissue culture, and genetic engineering. Drawing on interviews with biotechnology experts alongside research conducted with more than two hundred farmers across eastern, western, and southern Africa, Schnurr reveals a profound incongruity between the optimistic rhetoric that accompanies genetic modification technology and the realities of the smallholder farmers who are its intended beneficiaries. Through the lens of political ecology, this book demonstrates that the current emphasis on improved seeds discounts the geographic, social, ecological, and economic contexts in which the producers of these crops operate. Bringing the voices of farmers to the foreground of this polarizing debate, Africa's Gene Revolution contends that meaningful change will come from a reconfiguration not only of the plant's genome, but of the entire agricultural system.

Whether or not to embrace GM technologies is a fundamental and politically charged question facing humanity in the 21st century, particularly in light of rapidly growing populations and the unknown future impacts of climate change. The Gene Revolution is the first book to bridge the gap between the naysayers and cheerleaders and look at the issues and complexities facing developing and transitional countries over decisions about GM in light of the reality of what is happening on the ground. The first part of the volume looks at the rise of GM crops, commercialization and spread of the technology and the different positions of the USA and the European Union on the GM question and the effect of global markets. The second part consists of country perspectives from Argentina, Brazil, China, India and South Africa, which provide insight into the profound challenges these countries face and the hard choices that have to be made. The final part takes the analysis a step further by comparing developing and transitional country experiences, and charts a future course for government policy on GM that supports growth, sustainability and equity for the many billions of people affected worldwide.

Cong Cao presents a comprehensive and systematic analysis of how China's policy toward research and commercialization of genetically modified crops has evolved that explains how China's changing GMO stances reflect its shifting position on the world stage.

This book explores the risks and benefits of crops that are genetically modified for pest resistance, the urgency of establishing an appropriate regulatory framework for these products, and the importance of public understanding of the issues. The committee critically reviews federal policies toward transgenic products, the 1986 coordinated framework among the key federal agencies in the field, and rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency for regulation of plant pesticides. This book provides detailed analyses of: Mechanisms and results of genetic engineering compared to conventional breeding for pest resistance. Review of scientific issues associated with transgenic pest-protected plants, such as allergenicity, impact on nontarget plants, evolution of the pest species, and other concerns. Overview of regulatory framework and its use of scientific information with suggestions for improvements.

Transgenic crops offer the promise of increased agricultural productivity and better quality foods. But they also raise the specter of harmful environmental effects. In this new book, a panel of experts examines: • Similarities and differences between crops developed by conventional and transgenic methods • Potential for commercialized transgenic crops to change both agricultural and nonagricultural landscapes • How well the U.S. government is regulating transgenic crops to avoid any negative effects. Environmental Effects of Transgenic Plants provides a wealth of information about transgenic processes, previous experience with the introduction of novel crops, principles of risk assessment and management, the science behind current regulatory schemes, issues in monitoring transgenic products already on the market, and more. The book discusses public involvementâ€"and public confidenceâ€"in biotechnology regulation. And it looks to the future, exploring the potential of genetic engineering and the prospects for environmental effects.

As the world debates the risks and benefits of plant biotechnology, the proportion of the global area of transgenic field crops has increased every year, and the safety and value continues to be demonstrated. Yet, despite the success of transgenic field crops, the commercialization of transgenic horticultural crops (vegetables, fruits, nuts, and or

This book discusses the regulatory and trade challenges facing the global adoption of biotechnological products and offers strategies for overcoming these obstacles and moving towards greater global food security. The first section of the book establishes the context of the conflict, discussing the challenges of global governance, international trade, and the history of regulation of genetically modified (GM) crops. In this section, the authors emphasize the shift from exclusively science-based regulation to the more socio-economically focused framework established by the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which was adopted in 2000. The second section of the book provides a snapshot of the current state of international GM crop adoption and regulation, highlighting the US, Canada, and the EU. The final section of the book identifies options for breaking the gridlock of regulation and trade that presently exist. This book adds to the current literature by providing new information about innovative agricultural technologies and encouraging debate by providing an alternative to the narratives espoused by environmental non-governmental organizations. This book will appeal to students of economics, political science, and policy analysis, as well as members of regulatory agencies and agricultural industry firms.

Biosafety and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are amongst the most complex of biodiversity issues: from species conservation, to sustainable livelihoods, to socio-cultural policy. The greatest GMO-related need shared by all decision-makers - governmental, civil society, and industrial - is for unbiased background information and a framework for evaluating new evidence. This detailed, background analysis aims to enable IUCN and its Members determine how they should "advance leadership, research, analysis and dissemination of knowledge regarding the potential ecological impact of the release of genetically modified organisms into the environment, focusing especially on biodiversity, socio-economic impact and food security".

"The food security of a nation is largely dependent on its ecological foundation. In India, competition for water, land, human, and financial resources, and the suitability of the existing institutional system in ensuring food security require the attention of both policy makers and planners. Food crops have to compete for water and various other needs with commercial crops. Water, the core requirement for food production, is becoming increasingly scarce in many parts of India. Land is also crucial in food production, especially with regards to soil fertility. However, lands traditionally used for growing crops are increasingly used instead for various other purposes. The balancing of the expectations of farmers in the markets, for want of better prices, with the national objective of food security is imperative in this climate. This necessitates public investment in agriculture, including seed supply, soil health initiatives, and pest control. The institutional challenges in ensuring food security in India are currently under-explored, with more discussion on entitlements and rights, in relation to food security, but less attention on the public institutions that are likely to play a critical role. Public institutions, through the use of policies, schemes and programmes, need to address the issues which impinge on the ecological foundation of food security, while the governance architecture related to this has to integrate the public distribution system properly. This book addresses these challenges and offers insights into what changes need to be made to ensure food security in India."--

By 2050, we will have ten billion mouths to feed in a world profoundly altered by environmental change. How will we meet this challenge? In How to Feed the World, a diverse group of experts from Purdue University break down this crucial question by tackling big issues one-by-one. Covering population, water, land, climate change, technology, food systems, trade, food waste and loss, health, social buy-in, communication, and equal access to food, the book reveals a complex web of challenges. Contributors unite from different perspectives and disciplines, ranging from agronomy and hydrology to economics. The resulting collection is an accessible but wide-ranging look at the modern food system.