There are major commercial food crops in the United States that are currently being genetically altered. These crops include, but are not limited to corn, potato, tomato, soybean, cotton and rice (Kathleen, 2002).
- Over half of all soybean and cotton crops and about a third of all corn crops were genetically altered as of 2001.
- Genetically altered crops cover approximately one-quarter of all the cropland in the United States.
Many of these genetically engineered crops are being field-tested and are already appearing in grocery stores across the United States and Europe. Farmers are rapidly planting engineered seeds, hoping the effects are positive.
Many consumers and companies have expressed concerns about agricultural genetic engineering and the impact it might have on public health and the environment (Kathleen, 2002). But most of all, these people believe there should be regulations on genetically altered foods, such as safety testing and labeling of products.
Genetically engineered crops have hit the market in a legislative vacuum. The U.S. Congress has never passed any law that specifically regulates this radical new technology. In the absence of any directly relevant legislation, federal agencies created a regulatory framework for genetically engineered crops that was tucked into existing statutes not designed to handle genetically engineered crops and thus in many ways inappropriate (Kathleen, 2002). The framework for how to handle these new plants, focused largely on the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Food and Drug Administration (FDA), was flawed from its inception.
Possible Benefits
Supporters of genetic engineering highlight the possible benefits from the genetic changes, which include higher crop yields, improved nutritional values, pest control and the potential to grow crops on land that is currently unsuitable for cultivation. Their argument suggests that fewer pesticides will be needed to grow resistant crops, land will need less tilling and this will lead to less soil infertility and erosion..........
