Abstract

Reference: US NAS 2002
Title: Environmental Effects of Transgenic Plants: The Scope and Adequacy of Regulation
Authors: National Academy of Sciences, Committee on Environmental Impacts Associated with Commercialization of Transgenic Plants, Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources, Division on Earth and Life Sciences, National Research Council
Publisher: The National Academies Press, 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington D.C. 20418 USA.
Publication details: 2002. 320p.

In January 2000 the USDA requested that the National Academy of Sciences examine the scientific basis for and the operation of APHIS regulatory oversight. The specific task set  by the USDA and the NRC (National Research Council) Committee on Agricultural Biotechnology, Health, and the Environment (CABHE) was: that “The committee will review the scientific basis that supports the scope and adequacy of USDA’s oversight of environmental issues related to current and anticipated transgenic plants and their products.

The task of this committee specifically included provision of guidance for assessment of the cumulative effects of commercialization of engineered crops on the environment. The committee examined the potential effects on the environment that could result from the use of engineered crops on large spatial scales over many years. In addition to evaluating the potential direct environmental impacts of single engineered traits within existing agricultural systems, the committee also examined how commercialization of engineered crops with single and multiple traits could actually change farming and thereby impact agricultural and nonagricultural landscapes of the United States. As part of its task, the committee conducted a detailed study of the relevant scientific and regulatory literature and used its findings from this study in developing what the committee considers an appropriate framework for assessing the environmental effects of transgenic plants. The committee used this framework to evaluate the scope and adequacy of the APHIS review process.

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