Environmental risks of genetic engineering

Summary Before release into commerce, genetically engineered organisms are first assessed for possible risks, including risks to the environment. The present paper first identifies the environmental risks recognized by regulators, and reviews the parameters considered predictive of risk. Recent field-scale studies suggest opportunities for improvement of the environmental risk assessment process. Risks unique to genetically engineered crops – if any – could pertain to the specific traits chosen for commercialization and to unintended trait expression caused by the process of transgene insertion itself. Both the standard against which to compare genetically engineered traits and the scale of exposure need to be considered when assessing environmental impact. Evidence of environmental risk in the recognized areas of weediness on agricultural land, invasiveness of unmanaged systems, and non-target impacts from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) maize is presented. Targeted, statistically sound, rigorously conducted, multi-trophic studies analogous to the Field Scale Evaluation trials recently completed in the UK are needed to clarify the many questions which remain unanswered.