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Pharming in crop commodities

Nature Biotechnology volume 26, pages 1222–1223 (2008)Cite this article

To the editor:

On October 6th, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposed new rules governing the regulations and oversight of genetically engineered crops1. Although some of the changes represent steps in the right direction by making regulatory oversight more coherent, the new biotech regulations would allow the outdoor cultivation of pharma food crops, in stark contrast to the editorial stance of your journal, which calls for food plants to no longer be used for producing drugs2. Indeed, Jane Rissler, senior scientist & deputy director, Food & Environment Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (Washington, DC) has denounced the proposed USDA changes, saying, “If these proposals are enacted into law, American consumers must accept the possibility of drugs in their breakfast cereal or other common foods. Moreover, these rules likely will lead to contamination scares, which will hurt the food industry.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 37996, TN, USA

    C Neal Stewart Jr

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  1. C Neal Stewart Jr
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Stewart, C. Pharming in crop commodities. Nat Biotechnol 26, 1222–1223 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt1108-1222

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