ANR Peer Reviewed Publications

Genetically engineered (GE) food is produced from plants, animals, and microbes that have had their genetic code modified in some way, an approach that has yielded both benefits and consumer safety concerns. This publication answers some basic questions on the GE process and food safety.

How to keep a corn field true to the planted variety and reduce the potential for cross-pollination from nearby plantings of other corn varieties.

A basic discussion of patent rights as they apply to genetically engineered plants, presented in the context of conventional plant breeding.

Describes practices that can be used to reduce the potential for contamination by outcrossing in cottonseed.

Describes practices that can be used to allow GE and non-GE alfalfa varieties to coexist.

Organic crops and genetically engineered crops may seem to be polar opposites, but both grow in the earth, sometimes on neighboring farms. This publication offers a basic discussion on how the two farming cultures can coexist.

Agricultural Biotechnology in California series.

The genetic purity of any commercial agricultural product propagated by seed begins with the purity of the seed planted.

“Ensuring reasonable segregation allows the coexistence of different crops, whether genetically engineered, organic, or conventional. Monitoring requires accurate detection methods, especially in jurisdictions where thresholds are either not set at all (“zero tolerance”) or where only minute quantities of AP are allowed. These issues are particularly crucial on the farm, where seed commingling and AP of various contaminants is inevitable and occurs as a matter of course.”

For some farmers and consumers, planting and consuming these crops is controversial based on questions concerning food and environmental safety. Consumers, farmers, producers, and scientists need to have accurate information about genetic engineering, its products, and their impact. A number of scientific issues related to GE crops and foods are discussed