Main Description

International forums have identified the need for comprehensive, transparent, scientific methods, for the pre-release testing and post-release monitoring of transgenic plants to ensure environmental safety. There is also wide recognition that the regulatory and scientific capacity for conducting these types of assessments needs to be strengthened.In response to these requirements, a GMO Guidelines Project was established - under the aegis of the International Organization for Biological Control - to develop biosafety testing guidelines for transgenic plants. This book is one of the first outputs from this project. The book aims, using the case study of Bt maize, to detail generic approaches to the evaluation of environmental impact of GM technologies. This book focuses on transgenic maize in Kenya. This maize includes genetic material derived from the bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), which naturally produces proteins that are toxic to some insects. The book explores both the environmental and agricultural impacts of transgenic plants. It draws out general risk assessment guidelines, and demonstrates the need for case-by-case analysis. Although focused on Kenya and Bt Maize, the book's findings and recommendations are relevant and applicable to a multitude of nations and GM crops.

Readership

Crop science, biotechnology, ecology, pest management and policy analysis

Main Contents

Bt Maize, Risk Assessment and the Kenya Case Study, D A Andow and A Hilbeck

The Maize Agricultural Context in Kenya, L Muhammad, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Kenya and E Underwood, Swiss Federal College of Technology, Switzerland

Problem Formulation and Options Assessment (PFOA) for Genetically Modified Organisms: The Kenya Case Study, K C Nelson, University of Minnesota, USA, G Kibata, L Muhammad, and J O Okuro, KARI, Kenya, F Muyekho, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), Kenya, M Odinho, Community Capacity Building Initiative, Kenya, A Ely, University of Sussex, UK, and J M Waquil, EMBRAPA, Brazil

Transgene Locus Structure and Expression of Bt Maize, D A Andow, D A Somers, University of Minnesota, USA, N Amugene, University of Nairobi, Kenya, F Aragao, EMBRAPA, Brazil, K Ghosh, FAO of the UN, Italy, S Gudu, Moi University, Kenya, E Magiri, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya, W J Moar, Auburn University, USA, and E Osir, ICIPE , Kenya

Biodiversity and Non-Target Impacts: a Case Study of Bt Maize in Kenya, A N E Birch and R Wheatley, Scottish Crop Research Institute, UK, B Anyango, University of Nairobi, Kenya, S Arpaia, ENEA - Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Environment, Italy, D Capalbo, EMBRAPA, Brazil, E Getu Degaga, Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organisation, Ethiopia, D E Fontes, EMBRAPA, Brazil, P Kalama, KARI, Kenya, E Lelmen, ICIPE, Kenya, G Lovei, Danish Institute of Agricultural Science, Denmark, I S Melo, EMBRAPA, Brazil, F Muyekho, A Ngi-Song and D Ochieno, ICIPE, Kenya, J Ogwang, Namulonge Agricultural Research Institute, Uganda, R Pitelli, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Brazil, T Schuler, Rothamsted Research, UK, M Sétamou, ARS-USDA,USA, S Srinivasan, ICIPE, Kenya, J Smith, CAB International Centre (Egham), UK, N Van Son, Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam, J Songa, KARI, Kenya, E Sujii, EMBRAPA, Brazil, T Q Tan, Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam, F-H Wan, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China, and A Hilbeck

Gene Flow and its Consequences: a Case Study of Bt Maize in Kenya, J Johnston, University of Minnesota, USA, L Blancas, University of California, Irvine, USA and A Borem, Federal University of Viçosa, Brazil

Resistance Risks and Management Associated with Bt Maize in Kenya, G Fitt, CSIRO Entomology, Australia, D A Andow, Y Carrière, The University of Arizona, USA,W A Moar, T H Schuler, C Omoto, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil, J Kanya and M A Okech, ICIPE, Kenya, P Arama, Maseno University, Kenya, and N K Maniania, ICIPE, Kenya

Risk Assessment of Bt Maize in Kenya: Synthesis and Recommendations, A Hilbeck, D A Andow, A N E Birch, G Fitt, J Johnston, K Nelson, E Osir, J Songa, E Underwood and R Wheatley

• "Overall the volume is very well written, packed with accessible information, and aptly models a transparent mode of the risk assessment process. The book is multifaceted, and includes a variety of insights not found in other treatments of GMO risk assessment. It sets the stage for a new standard of risk assessment, in which the methods, quality of evidence, and barriers to discovery are discussed openly."
  Deborah K Letourneau, Environmental Biosafety Research, 3(4), 2004

  
  
  

• "An important contribution that helps address the critical shortage of detailed, applied case studies of risk assessment for GMOs in developing countries."
  R Hill, Biosafety Programme, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity

  
  
  

• "The questions asked and recommendations of the IOBC Working Group are scientifically sound and should apply."
  C Ngichabe, ASARECA Biotechnology and Biosafety Program

  
  
  

• "Very thorough, systematic and logical application of the guidelines which represents a major effort to bring science into the foreground of the GMO biosafety issue."
  H Herren, Director General ICIPE