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[SANET-MG] pharm crops and bioterror



Nature Biotechnology  23, 170 (2005)
doi:10.1038/nbt0205-170
Pharmacrops and bioterror
Suzanne Wuerthele
Regional Toxicologist, US EPA Region 8, Denver Place, Suite 300, 999
18th Street, Denver, Colorado 80202, USA. Wuerthele.Suzanne@epamail.epa.gov
To the editor:

Richard Gilmore's article in the December issue entitled 'US food safety
under siege?' (Nat. Biotechnol.  22, 1503−1505, 2004) rightly points out
the vulnerability of US agriculture to terrorist attack. The production,
through genetic modification, of pathogen-resistant crops and animals is
one of Gilmore's recommended counterattacks to the diseases and
pathogens that might be used against us.

It might be productive for the biotech industry to first consider how
genetically modified crops themselves could contribute to terrorist
attacks. Just a few bushels of 'pharmcorn' producing a swine vaccine
could, if strategically planted by terrorists, contaminate virtually the
entire US corn supply and close international markets to us for years.
Such crops are being planted in open fields throughout the United
States, without fences or guards of any kind. The USDA's policy of not
publicly revealing pharmaceutical crop locations other than by county is
supposed to keep such crops out of the wrong hands. However, it is hard
to imagine that relatively small fields requiring specialized equipment
and multiple USDA inspections would not be readily recognizable to
someone looking for them.

It would seem that before genetically modifying all of our crops and
animals, there are simpler and more obvious steps that should be taken
to protect the food supply.

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