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Behind the headlines - Monarch butterfly
The environmental impact of GM crops is at the center of the debate on
their commercialization. An analysis of the ecological studies carried out
to date has recently been published and shows that that Bt corn planted in
the field does not pose a significant risk to the monarch butterfly
population and other non-target insects, including pollinators and natural
enemies.
Source: Trends in Genetics (2002) 18, 249-251
Behind the Headlines - StarLink
The environmental impact of GM crops is at the center of the debate on
their commercialization. An analysis of the ecological studies carried out
to date has recently been published and shows that that Bt corn planted in
the field does not pose a significant risk to the monarch butterfly
population and other non-target insects, including pollinators and natural
enemies.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Transgenic plants - environmental cleanup
Phytoremediation is the name for a process that uses plants to clean up
soils contaminated by pollutants such as organic chemicals or heavy metals.
Some plants have the natural ability to hyper-accumulate the toxins and
could be grown on contaminated sites to detoxify the soil. After the genes
that are involved in the plant uptake and tolerance of toxins are
identified, they could be transferred to faster growing species for a more
efficient remediation process.
Source: Nature Biotechnology (2002) 20, 329
Public perception of agricultural biotechnology (PABE) - European study
Ambivalence rather than entrenched views "for" or "against" GM crops
characterizes the attitude of European participants in a five-country study
exploring public attitudes, perceptions and evaluations of biotechnology in
agriculture and food. In a report funded by the Commission of the European
Commission, which was made public this month, the authors emphasize the
need to understand the public response to GMOs in all its complexity.
Source: http://www.lancs.ac.uk/depts/ieppp/pabe/
