Last month Frito-Lay announced it was asking growers not to use genetically modified crops. Now comes the USDA's rules on organic foods. Although such labeling would give consumers a choice, Consumers Union's Halloran feels the policy does not go far enough because organic foods are such a small part of the market. The biotechnology industry would not support the proposed organic labeling. BIO's Giddings says there is no need to segregate genetically modified products since they are no different than plants created by thousands of years of human selection.
Organic farmers disagree.
Rather than conventional plant breeders who mix all the genes from two plants and see what comes out, genetic engineers insert genes for specific traits into individual plants. The benefit of biotechnology, proponents say, is that it allows more control and precision as to what characteristics can be introduced into a plant. The changes can also be made much faster than with traditional breeding. Once the new gene is in the plant, it does what all other genes do. It directs the production of a specific protein, which in the case of 50 percent of the soybeans in the United States makes them resistant to an herbicide.