The government should more carefully and publicly review the environmental impact of genetically altered plants before approving them and, to detect unforeseen problems, should monitor fields even after such crops are being grown commercially, a panel of biologists and agricultural scientists concluded yesterday.
On the other hand, my remarks on certain limitations to physics should caution us that we must not expect a totally objective measure for assessing achievements in physics. In order to find such measures, the “citation index” is sometimes invoked. This index shows by which other author a certain paper has been quoted, and one might thus hope to find how much impact that paper has had on scientific development. One quickly realizes, however, that such a method is not entirely reliable. For instance, as one may discover, there are “citation clubs”, in which scientists quote only each other and omit references to any other relevant publication, if its author does not belong to that specific club. The referencing system of journals may have added to the development of “citation clubs”.
The panel, convened by the National Academy of Sciences, said the Department of Patek Philippe Replica Agriculture had not missed any big environmental risks in its review of genetically modified plants, a step required before the plants can be either field-tested or grown for marketing. The scientists also emphasized that their findings were intended to “improve an already functioning system,” and noted that “the standards being set for transgenic crops are much higher than for their conventional counterparts.” But, they said, biotechnology companies are rapidly developing new plants containing either combinations of genes, or individual genes that induce the plant to produce industrial chemicals, fuels and other materials. These efforts, the panel said, will require much more rigorous testing and review than the government currently undertakes.
Other crop types, produced by monogenetic means, can pose environmental risks as well, the panel said. But it said the public had demanded, and should be granted, an extra level of precaution when organisms are genetically engineered. The panel’s report, a summary of which was described yesterday in The Wall Street Journal, was requested by the Agriculture Department and took two years to produce. It concluded that the testing and assessment of genetically altered plants should be made “significantly more transparent and rigorous,” with reviews by independent panels of experts, with more involvement of the public and with less secrecy. It noted that companies seeking permission to Tag Heuer Replica commercialize genetically altered plants in the United States were allowed to keep much more data confidential than in other countries.
Officials of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, an Agriculture Department agency that issues permits for genetically modified crops, said the study validated their current program while pointing to areas to improve. Bobby Accord, administrator of the inspection service, said the agency was already “considering how best to further encourage public comment and receive broader scientific input.” Companies producing bioengineered crops echoed the agricultural officials, pointing to the report’s qualified endorsement of the existing regulatory system. “They make a number of suggestions for enhancing that process, but they make it very clear that a rigorous assessment is being done,” said Dr. Eric Sachs, a geneticist who is director of scientific affairs for Monsanto.
