Excerpt

On July 13-14, 2000, the National Research Council held a workshop on Ecological Monitoring of Genetically Modified Crops. As the title suggests, the workshop specifically excluded monitoring aimed at detecting effects on human health. Its focus was on monitoring for effects that genetically modified crops might have on the surrounding ecosystems, including plants, animals, and microorganisms. The purpose was to lay out the issues surrounding such monitoring, to describe what was known, and to identify what needed further attention.

Contents

• The National Academies
• Planning Group for the Workshop on Ecological Monitoring of Genetically Modified Crops
• Standing Committee on Agricultural Biotechnology, Health and the Environment
• Board on Biology
• Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources
• Commission on Life Sciences
• Preface
• Introduction: Keeping Watch on Genetically Modified Crops
• The Rationale for Ecological Monitoring
• Scientific Issues in Ecological Monitoring
• Policy Issues in Modeling
• Appendixes
  • A Agenda
  • B Biographies of Invited Speakers

This report has been prepared with funds provided by the Department of Energy, grant DEFG02-94ER61939, and the National Cancer Institute, contract No. N01-OD-4-2139.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.