Ecological Assessment of Crops Derived through Biotechnology

A review of the environmental safety of the Cry1Ac protein

“…Detailed analyses of fatty acid and amino acid composition have also been conducted, as well as analyses of important secondary metabolites that have toxic or anti-nutritional properties (e.g gossypol in cotton) (ANZFA, 2002;Berberich et al, 1996;CFIA, 1996CFIA, , 1997CFIA, , 2002CFIA, , 2003CFIA, , 2005CTNBio, 2005;Hamilton et al, 2004;Japan BCH, 1997, 2007OGTR, 2002aOGTR, , 2003bOGTR, , 2003cOGTR, , 2005OGTR, , 2006b; USDA APHIS, 1994APHIS, , 1996APHIS, , 1997aAPHIS, , 1997bAPHIS, , 1997cAPHIS, , 2000APHIS, , 2003. The data collected can be useful as indicators of unintended changes to the transformed plant (Codex, 2003a(Codex, , 2003bNickson and McKee, 2002).…”

Planning Environmental Risk Assessment for Genetically Modified Crops: Problem Formulation for Stress-Tolerant Crops

“…As described by the OECD (1993), familiarity is knowledge gained through experience over time (OECD, 1993;Nickson and Horak, 2006). Familiarity considers the nature of the crop that was modified, the characteristics of the trait that was introduced, the likely receiving environment for the GM crop, and the likely interactions between these (OECD, 1993; Nickson and McKee, 2002). Importantly, familiarity is not an endpoint in the assessment.…”

“…Deployment of GM crops in agriculture began in the mid-1990s with the commercialization of FlavrSavr tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum), virus-resistant squash (Cucurbita pepo), NewLeaf potatoes (Solanum tuberosum), and Roundup Ready soybeans (Glycine max; see Biotech Crop Database, http://www.agbios.com/main.php). Over approximately 20 years, numerous frameworks for environmental risk assessment (UNEP, 1995;Rissler and Mellon, 1996;Kjellsson, 1997;Edmonds Institute, 1998;Kjaer et al, 1999;Nickson and McKee, 2002;Hancock, 2003;Wilkinson et al, 2003;Evaristo de Jesus et al, 2006) and guidance documents (National Research Council, 1987;Tiedje et al, 1989;OECD, 1993) have been published. Many of the first substantive reports on the subject of evaluating the safety of GM crops did not clearly explain the relationship between the approach they were describing and established risk assessment principles.…”

A tiered system for assessing the risk of genetically modified plants to non-target organisms

“…Numerous authors and regulatory authorities have proposed tiered approaches for the environmental risk assessment of chemical substances and GM plants (Andow and Zwahlen, 2006;Dutton et al, 2003;Nickson and McKee, 2002;Rose, 2006;Schuler et al, 2000;US EPA, 1998 and1999;Van Leuven, 1996;Wilkinson et al, 2003). This approach provides a systematic progression where information is collected and subsequently integrated into the risk assessment (US EPA, 2001).…”