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	special feature Pharm and Industrial Crops: The Next Wave of Agricultural Biotechnology

Introduction So far, agricultural biotechnology has concentrated on adding traits--primarily herbicide tolerance and insect resistance (Bt)--that make crops cheaper or easier for farmers to grow and, in some cases, reduce the use of environmentally harmful pesticides. These crops have precipitated a complex and important debate, especially in the global marketplace. Because engineered crops may present risks, particularly to the environment, some critics (including UCS) believe that the federal government must strengthen the regulatory system governing agricultural biotechnology products so that their risks and benefits can be evaluated carefully before they come to market. Others have questioned the taking of any risks to enhance the production of crops already in oversupply. While that debate still rages, a new generation of agricultural biotechnology crops looms. We're calling the new products-crops engineered as biological factories-pharm and industrial crops. Some of these applications (particularly the pharm crops) promise benefits, such as low cost drugs, important to consumers as well as farmers. On the other hand, again unlike the plants engineered for new agronomic traits, pharm crops pose obvious risks. Unless stringently regulated, gene escape will put biologically active compounds in many unwanted places in the environment and food supply. No one wants drugs in their corn flakes. next section back to the first page