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[SANET-MG] Growing Nonfood Products in Transgenic Plants a mild proposal



An interesting idea is given below. In thinking about the proposal I would like to offer the idea that the Province of Alberta in Canada and the State of Washington should be designated places where food crops cannot be planted ,only transgenic pharmaceutical and energy crops may be grown. In both of these places GM non food crops have tested so much that the food crops grown in the areas are in question. However, the lesson has been that the transportation corridors for movement of the GM crops soon become polluted by the GM crops as has been shown in Japan and in Canada. Thus transportation corridors will have to be set aside for the movement of the GM non-food crops. Of course, it would be much easier to just not grow such crops.

Published in Crop Sci 47:1255-1262 (2007)
DOI: 10.2135/cropsci2006.09.0594

Methods for Growing Nonfood Products in Transgenic Plants
John A. Howarda,* and Elizabeth E. Hoodb

a Applied Biotechnology Institute, Bldg. 36, Cal Poly State Univ., San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
b Arkansas State Univ., P.O. Box 2760, State Univ., AR 72467

The relatively high cost of producing select industrial and pharmaceutical products in traditional hosts has led many groups to investigate the benefits of plant-based production systems. Transgenic plants can offer significant cost advantages for select products, but the advantage can be eroded occasionally by the cost of confinement to segregate them from commodity crops. The conceptual similarities and differences between transgenic plant production systems and other transgenic hosts are discussed in regard to regulations and public perception. A system of regulated transgenic production is described that is based on dedicating an area solely to industrial products. This system would take advantage of surrounding crops that are also grown for industrial applications to offset the cost of growing the regulated transgenic plants. Examples are given that demonstrate the economic advantages of the system while concurrently creating a clearer distinction between food and nonfood products. This system may also increase public confidence, as it is modeled on current systems used to produce regulated transgenic products in nonplant hosts.

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