The next generation of plants, however, are likely to have several genes added to them, to boost nutritional value, provide a vaccine against local diseases or offer marketing benefits. As these new, more complex organisms emerge from the laboratory, the greatest challenge is to ensure that methods to test them be updated and not become imbedded in principles based on outdated knowledge, the report says. The biggest caveat is sounded over a benchmark principle called substantial equivalence. This principle is the main scientific hurdle for gaining approval in the United States. As for the environment, the report discreetly criticises the confusing and sometimes contradictory mishmash of national regulations that govern the release of new transgenic plants in different countries.
Environmentalists say biotechnology is a new and largely untested application.