Research

In this section, we offer a series of important reports on genetically engineered foods, from the government, medical instutions and non-profits.

When possible, we've provided both PDF and web versions (HTML) of the article.

Effects on weed and invertebrate abundance and diversity of herbicide management in genetically modified herbicide-tolerant winter-sown oilseed rape
Proceedings of the Royal Society (UK)
March 7, 2005
"We evaluated the effects of the herbicide management associated with genetically modified herbicidetolerant (GMHT) winter oilseed rape (WOSR) on weed and invertebrate abundance and diversity by
testing the null hypothesis that there is no difference between the effects of herbicide management of GMHT WOSR and that of comparable conventional varieties."
Report (PDF)

Center for Food Safety comments to Environmental Protection Agency on allergenicity of Cry34Ab1 (Bt)
Center for Food Safety
March 1-2, 2005
The Center for Food Safety outlines its disagreement with the EPA whether Bacillus thuringiensis, a popular component of many genetically engineered crops, causes allergies.
Report (MS Word)

Withering on the vine: Will agricultural biotech's promises bear fruit?
By Gregory Jaffe
Director, Biotechnology Project
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Februrary 2, 2005
Is agricultural biotechnology a growth industry with a steady stream of new products or one limited to marketing a few hugevolume
commodity crops with narrow agronomic benefits? CSPI analyzed existing publicly
available regulatory information to determine whether development of new biotech products has been increasing, decreasing or remaining constant.
Report (PDF)

Democratic Principles and Mandatory Labeling of Genetically Engineered Food
Robert Streiffer and Alan Rubel, University of Wisconsin
2004, Public Affairs Quarterly
This paper gives two arguments about how the conflict between public opinion
Report (PDF)

The global diffusion of plant biotechnology: International adoption and research in 2004
C. Ford Runge, Ph.D., director, Center for International Food and Agriculture Policy, University of Minnesota, and Barry Ryan, M.s., research associate, University of Minnesota
December 8, 2004
"We see continuing expansion of commercial and scientific possibilities for plant biotech in the next decade and beyond."
Report (PDF)

Americans and GM food: Knowledge, opinion and interest in 2004
Food Policy Institute, Cook College, Rutgers University, New Jersey
November 2004
This report presents the results from the third in a series of studies examining public perception of genetically modified food in the United States.
Report (PDF)

Genome scrambling - myth or reality?
Transformation-induced mutations in transgenic crop plants
EcoNexus
October 2004
An examination of the mutations introduced into transgenic crop plants by plant transformation.
Report (PDF)

Issues in the regulation of genetically engineered plants and animals
Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology
April 2004
This report reviews the existing regulatory system for biotechnology, identifies a number
of issues and concerns relating to the adequacy of the system for future biotechnology products, and sets forth policy options and perspectives for addressing those concerns.
Report (PDF)
Executive summary (PDF)

Regulatory regimen for genetically modified foods: The way ahead
Indian Council of Medical Research
April 2004
A look at environmental, health, ethical and socio-economic concerns about genetically engineered foods, as well as the current regulatory system in India.
Report (PDF)

Prospective plantings
National Agriculture Statistics Service, USDA
March 31, 2004
A look at how much of various crops were planted in 2003, including genetically engineered varieties.
Report (PDF)

Gone to seed: Transgenic contaminants in the traditional seed supply
Union of Concerned Scientists
Feb. 23, 2004
UCS argues that seeds of traditional varieties of corn, soybeans, and canola are pervasively contaminated with low levels of DNA
sequences derived from transgenic varieties.
Report (PDF)
Executive summary (PDF)

Report on the review of labeling of genetically modified foods
Food Standards Australia/New Zealand
December 2003
The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Council (ANZFSC) endorsed the labeling of genetically foods in 2000. This report reviews various aspects of labeling genetically engineered foods.
Report (PDF)

Impacts of genetically engineered crops on pesticide use in the United States: The first eight years
Charles M. Benbrook, Biotech InfoNet
November 2003
This is the first comprehensive estimate of
the impacts of GE crops on pesticide use over the eight years of commercial use since 1996.
Report (PDF)

Consumers and the future of biotech foods in the United States
Economic Research Service, United States Dept. of Agriculture
November 2003
This report considers whether U.S. consumers will accept genetically engineered foods.
Report (PDF)

Public perceptions of genetically modified foods: A national study of American knowledge and opinion
Food Policy Institute, Rutgers University, New Jersey
October 15, 2003
This report presents the results from the second phase of a longitudinal study of Americans’ knowledge and feelings about agricultural biotechnology, and how those perceptions and attitudes have changed over time.
Report (PDF)

The impact of GM corn in Spain
Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth
August 2003
This report aims to provide some independent data on the most controversial GM crop in the
European Union, based on the Spanish experience with Bt 176 in the fields during 5 years.
Report (PDF)

Have transgenes, will travel: Issues raised by gene flow from genetically engineered crops
Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology
August 2003
This report looks at the ecological and economic issues surrounding gene flow.
Report (PDF)

U.S. vs. EU: An examination of the trade issues surrounding genetically modified food
Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology
August 2003
This issue brief, originally published in June 2002, was updated in August 2003 to reflect recent activities relating to the trade dispute between the U.S. and the EU on genetically modified food.
Report (PDF)

Genetically Modified Crops and Foods:
Worldwide Regulation, Prohibition and Production
International Forum on Globalization and Center for Food Safety
July 2003
Map outlining genetically engineered food crop production around the globe.
Report (PDF)

Questions and answers on the regulation of GMOs in the EU
European Union
July 1, 2003
Frequently asked questions about GMO regulations.
Report (PDF)

GM Nation? The findings of the public debate
June 2003
The UK held a national debate over genetically modified foods in 2003. This report outlines the government's findings.
Report (PDF)

Raising risk: Field testing of genetically engineered crops in the United States
U.S. PIRG
June 2003
This report looks at the potential risks of genetically engineered foods.
Report (PDF)

The case for a GM-free sustainable world
The Institute of Science in Society (UK)
June 15, 2003
"GM crops have failed to deliver the promised benefits and are posing escalating problems on the farm."
Report (PDF)
Executive Summary (PDF)

Terminator technology - five years later
etc group
May/June 2003
Since March 1998 the ETC Group (formerly known as RAFI) has been monitoring the
efforts of multinational agrochemical and seed corporations to develop Terminator seeds –
plants genetically engineered to render sterile seeds (that is, the second generation seeds will not germinate).
Report (PDF)

GM crops -- going against the grain
www.actionaid.org
May 2003
This report looks at the issue of whether GM crops can solve the problem of hunger.
Report (PDF)

Terminator technology -- five years later
etc group (formerly RAFI)
May 2003
Article (PDF)

Post-market oversight of biotech foods: Is the system prepared?
Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology, and Resources for the Future
April 2003
The broad regulatory question addressed in this report is whether current U.S. government policies and programs provide an adequate level of “postmarket” oversight of biotechnology-derived crops and foods to ensure their safety for health and the environment.
Executive summary (PDF)
Report (PDF)

Closing the regulatory gap: Industry-supported solutions for genetically modified wheat
Canadian Wheat Board
Presentation to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food
April 3, 2003
Testimony regarding the Canadian Wheat Board's stance against genetically modified foods
Report (PDF)

Prospective plantings
National Agriculture Statistics Service, USDA
March 31, 2003
A look at how much of various crops were planted in 2003, including genetically engineered varieties.
Report (PDF)

The effects of information on consumer demands for biotech foods: Evidence from experimental auctions
Economic Research Service, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture
March 2003
Report (PDF)

Conditions for the Introduction of Genetically Modified Wheat
Canadian Grain Industry Working Group on Genetically Modified Wheat
February 5, 2003
Report (PDF)

A snapshot of federal research on food allergy
Implications for genetically modified food
Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology
June 11, 2002
Full report: PDF
Press release
Conclusions and Recommendations

Dispute over labeling of genetically modified foods threatens billions in trade
Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnolgy
June 4, 2002
Full report: PDF
Press release

Three years later: Lessons learned from the Monarch butterfly controversy
Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnolgy
May 30, 2002
This Pew Initiative paper examines the process used to take science away from politics; possible model for Mexican biotech corn controversy.
Full report: PDF
Press release

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs): The significance of gene flow through pollen transfer
European Environment Agency
May 13, 2002
This report considers the significance of pollen-mediated gene flow from six major crop
types that have been genetically modified and are close to commercial release in the European Union.
Report (PDF)

Adoption of bioengineered crops
USDA Economic Research Service, Agricultural Economic Report No. AER810. 67 pp, May 2002
By Jorge Fernandez-Cornejo and William D. McBride
This report uses USDA survey data to examine the extent to which US farmers have adopted bioengineered crops, factors affecting adoption of these crops, and the impacts of bioengineered crops on input use and farm-level net returns.
Report

GE crops - increasingly isolated as awareness and rejection grow
Greenpeace
March 2002
A comprehensive overview of public reaction to genetically engineered crops comes from Greenpeace
Full report: HTML - PDF

Genetically modified plants for food use and human health - an update
The Royal Society (UK)
February 2002
In 1998 the Royal Society issued the report "Genetically modified plants for food use." The Society periodically issues updates on reports and the following update, which is based on research published in the last three years, specifically addresses human health aspects of genetically modified foods and the principle of substantial equivalence.
Summary, and Conclusions and recommendations:
Full report: PDF

FAO/WHO report on GM food labeling
Codex Committee on Labeling
February 2002
This document discusses issues to be considered in making decisions on labeling of genetically engineered foods.
Full report: PDF

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs): The significance of gene flow through pollen transfer
European Environment Agency
2002
This report considers the significance of pollen-mediated gene flow from six major crop types that have been genetically modified and are close to commercial release in the European Union.
Full report: PDF
Excerpts in HTML: Executive summary, Evaluation and conclusions, and Future considerations and recommendations

Signs of life: The growth of biotechnology centers in the U.S.
Brookings Institution
2002
"Biotechnology is at the heart of an important and fast-growing sector of the U.S. economy, and as the industry expands, it has become a focal point of many local, regional and state economic development strategies," according to this report, which surveys the impact of the biotech industry on the 51 largest U.S. metropolitan areas.
Full report: PDF

When does it pay to plant Bt corn?
Farm-level economic impacts of Bt corn, 1996-2001
Charles Benbrook
December 2001
Corn farmers have now planted over 70 million acres of Bt corn, genetically engineered to express Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt) toxins in plant tissues for the control of two insects, the European corn borer and the Southwestern corn borer. Farmers pay a significant premium for Bt corn varieties. But do increased yield benefits justify the added expenditures?
Full report - PDF
Summary - PDF

Strategies for coexistence of GMO, non-GMO, and organic crop production -- A meeting summary
Prepared by Iowa State University
December 2001
State officials, professors and others from the Midwest gathered in Minnesota to discuss how GMO, non-GMO and organic crops can co-exist. This is their meeting summary.
Meeting summary - PDF

Do GM crops mean less pesticide use?
Charles Benbrook article
Pesticide Outlook magazine
October 2001
Charles Benbrook of the Northwest Science and Environmental Policy Center at Sandpoint (Idaho, USA) gives his views on the contention that GM crops have led to a reduction in pesticide use in the USA
Full article: HTML - PDF

Canadian biotech foods labeling update
USDA Foreign Agricultural Service
August 27, 2001

Report highlights:
"The nearly two-year-old Canadian effort to develop voluntary labeling guidelines for food derived from biotechnology has produced a draft standard. The document, however, is contentious and there is a concern by some observers that the lack of consensus will result in the process being aborted. On the other hand, an influential report to the Government of Canada on improving the "regulation of genetically modified food" strongly counsels Canada to support the voluntary standard development process."
Full report: PDF

Opinion of the Scientific Committee on Plants concerning the adventitious presence of GM seeds in conventional seeds
European Commission
March 7, 2001
In this report, the European Commission's Scientific Committee on Plants considers whether to propose a 0.3 percent GM contamination threshold for cross-pollinating crops, and 0.5 percent threshold for self-pollinating crops.
Full report: PDF

Report on consumer focus groups on biotechnology
U. S. Food and Drug Administration
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
Office of Scientific Analysis and Support
October 20, 2000
FDA conducted a series of consumer focus groups in spring 2000 to help better understand how U.S. consumers think about these issues. These are their findings.
Report

Why many farmers and consumers are lukewarm about GMOs and what might change their minds
Dr. Charles Benbrook of Benbrook Consulting Services
Sept. 6, 2000
Full report: HTML - PDF