Hey, it's only the environment!
From today's NY Times:
"A new study shows that genes from genetically engineered grass can spread much farther than previously known, a finding that raises questions about the straying of other plants altered through biotechnology and that could hurt the efforts of two companies to win approval for the first bioengineered grass.
"The two companies, Monsanto [of course] and Scotts, have developed a strain of creeping bentgrass for use on golf courses that is resistant to the widely used herbicide Roundup. The altered plants would allow groundskeepers to spray the herbicide on their greens and fairways to kill weeds while leaving the grass unscathed.
"But the companies' plans have been opposed by some environmental groups as well as by the federal Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. Critics worry that the grass could spread to areas where it is not wanted or transfer its herbicide resistance to weedy relatives, creating superweeds that would be immune to the most widely used weed killer. The Forest Service said earlier this year that the grass 'has the potential to adversely impact all 175 national forests and grasslands.'"
We've already created antibiotic-resistant diseases; what's the big deal about creating Roundup-resistant weeds?
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/21/business/21grass.html?th
"A new study shows that genes from genetically engineered grass can spread much farther than previously known, a finding that raises questions about the straying of other plants altered through biotechnology and that could hurt the efforts of two companies to win approval for the first bioengineered grass.
"The two companies, Monsanto [of course] and Scotts, have developed a strain of creeping bentgrass for use on golf courses that is resistant to the widely used herbicide Roundup. The altered plants would allow groundskeepers to spray the herbicide on their greens and fairways to kill weeds while leaving the grass unscathed.
"But the companies' plans have been opposed by some environmental groups as well as by the federal Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. Critics worry that the grass could spread to areas where it is not wanted or transfer its herbicide resistance to weedy relatives, creating superweeds that would be immune to the most widely used weed killer. The Forest Service said earlier this year that the grass 'has the potential to adversely impact all 175 national forests and grasslands.'"
We've already created antibiotic-resistant diseases; what's the big deal about creating Roundup-resistant weeds?
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/21/business/21grass.html?th
posted by Editor at Large at 8:45 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home