Skip to main content

Transgenic Crops

  • 108 Accesses

Synonyms

Genetically engineered crops; Genetically modified crops; Transgenic seeds

Introduction

Since transgenic crops first took root, they have been embroiled in numerous controversies from questions about their safety to the future of the food system. Today, transgenic crops make up a considerable portion of the planted areas of crops such as soy, corn, cotton, and canola, but find very little adoption in other sectors. Farmer adoption of transgenic soy happened so quickly that by some measures it is often described as the most rapidly adopted agricultural technology in human history. While some agricultural sectors have benefited from transgenic crop adoption, they remain much maligned in wider discussions about agricultural sustainability. Before describing these apprehensions toward transgenic crops, this section describes what transgenic crops are and how they are made.

The term transgenic is used as an adjective to describe an organism where genes have been moved from one...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References

  • Alstad, D., & Andow, D. (1995). Managing the evolution of insect resistance to transgenic plants. Science, 268, 1894–1896.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Altieri, M. (2000). The ecological impacts of transgenic crops on agroecosystem health. Ecosystem Health, 6, 13–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Andow, D. (2003). UK farm-scale evaluations of transgenic herbicide-tolerant crops. Nature Biotechnology, 21, 1453–1454.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Busch, L., Lacy, W., Burkhart, J., & Lacy, L. (1991). Plants, power, and profit: Social, economic, and ethical consequences of the new biotechnologies. Chicago: Blackwells.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fowler, C., & Mooney, P. (1990). Shattering: Food, politics, and the loss of genetic diversity. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kloppenburg, J. (2004). First the seed: The political economy of plant biotechnology. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krimsky, S., & Plough, A. (1988). Environmental hazards: Communicating risks as a social process. Dover: Auburn House Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lacy, W. (2000). Commercialization of university research brings benefits, raises issues and concerns. California Agriculture, 54, 72–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Letourneau, D., & Burrows, B. (Eds.). (2002). Genetically engineered organisms: Assessing the environmental and human health effects. New York: CRC Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mulvaney, D., Krupnik, T., & Koffler, K. (2011). Transgenic rice evaluated for risks to marketability. California Agriculture, 65, 161–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Research Council. (2002). Environmental effects of transgenic plants: The scope and adequacy of regulation. Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quist, D., & Chapela, I. (2001). Transgenic DNA introgressed into traditional maize landraces in Oaxaca, Mexico. Nature, 414, 541–543.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snow, A., et al. (2004). Genetically engineered organisms and the environment: Current status and recommendations. Ecological Applications, 13, 279–286.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dustin Mulvaney .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this entry

Cite this entry

Mulvaney, D. (2013). Transgenic Crops. In: Thompson, P., Kaplan, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Ethics. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6167-4_100-2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6167-4_100-2

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-007-6167-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Transgenic Crops
    Published:
    22 July 2017

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6167-4_100-3

  2. Original

    Transgenic Crops
    Published:
    10 February 2014

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6167-4_100-2