There is current debate whether genetically modified (GM) plants might contain unexpected, potentially undesirable changes in overall metabolite composition. However, appropriate analytical technology and acceptable metrics of compositional similarity require development. We describe a comprehensive comparison of total metabolites in field-grown GM and conventional potato tubers using a hierarc...

The human population in Africa has undergone a rapid increase in the last decade and this, coupled with problems such as erratic rainfall, prolonged droughts and agricultural pest problems, has resulted in severe food insecurity. Advanced agricultural technologies, including the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), could play a role in enhancing agricultural productivity in Africa. How...

For the current generation of genetically modified (GM) crops the improvement of agronomic traits (e.g. herbicide tolerance, insect resistance) has been a major objective. The lack of obvious and direct benefits for the consumer has been a main point of criticism. Future trends will increasingly encompass the modification of quality traits, such as the improvement of sensory and especially nutr...

Political responses to novel foods and crops can be specific to the new traits of those crops (agronomic versus enhanced nutrients), to the intended uses of those crops (food for people versus feed for animals), and also to the methods used to introduced those traits (conventional breeding versus genetic engineering). This article describes variations in observed political responses to three di...

The intensification of agriculture has provided cheaper more plentiful food, but has also caused declines in farmland wildlife. The introduction of genetically modified (GM) crops may exacerbate this, or offer new ways of mitigating anthropogenic impacts. The potential consequences of the introduction of GM crops have been studied for over a decade, since commercialization. Although the specifi...

Transgenic crops are introduced by Pope Francis in the encyclical „Laudato si’”. It is the first document originating from Catholic teaching in which genetically modified (GM) crops are explicitly considered. Biodiversity is the main framework in which genetically engineered plants are contemplated. In addition to ecological concerns, the three different aspects have been presented: socioeconom...

Although the refinement of laboresque technologies that save farm labor continues, its boom (in terms of sheer number of machines) passed during the quarter-century lifetime of Technology in Society. Instead, landesque technology, which spares land, holds the spotlight. Landesque is exemplified by high-yielding varieties, the Green Revolution, and genetically modified organisms. The contributio...

What has the co-existence of GM and non-GM crops to do with environmental biosafety? A clear distinction has to be made between the economic aspects of co-existence and the environmental and health aspects of GMOs. Nevertheless, since both the co-existence and the biosafety areas are often based on the same scientific knowledge (e.g. regarding gene flow) and EBR is interested in the socio-econo...

Strategies and best practices for the co-existence of GM and non-GM crops need to be developed and implemented with the participation of farmers and other stakeholders. According to the principle of 'subsidiarity', decisions should be made by the lowest authority possible. When applying this concept to the case of GM crops, the affected society should determine their use and management in a reg...

Concerns regarding the commercial release of genetically engineered (GE) crops include naturalization, introgression to sexually compatible relatives and the transfer of beneficial traits to native and weedy species through hybridization. To date there have been few documented reports of escape leading some researchers to question the environmental risks of biotech products. In this study we co...