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Biotechnology and the American Agricultural Industry
Council on Scientific Affairs, American Medical Association
JAMA. 1991;265(11):1429-1436.
Abstract
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To meet the needs of a rapidly growing population and minimize the toxic influences of traditional farming practices on the environment, the American agricultural industry has applied molecular technology to the development of food crops and livestock. By placing genes specific for highly desirable phenotypes into the DNA of plants, animals, and bacteria, farmers have increased crop and livestock survival, enhanced the nutritional quality of foods, increased industry productivity, and reduced the need for toxic pesticides and herbicides. However, introduction of genetically modified foods into the marketplace has raised a spectrum of public health issues. Physicians, as the most proximal scientific resource for most individuals, are uniquely positioned to address patient concerns regarding the safety of genetically altered foods. This report provides an overview of the inherent risks and benefits of "agrogenetics" and offers a series of recommendations designed to promote the education of the medical community and dispel public misconception regarding genetic manipulation.
(JAMA. 1991;265:1429-1436)
Author Affiliations
From the Council on Scientific Affairs, American Medical Association, Chicago, Ill.
Footnotes
This report is Report D of the Council on Scientific Affairs; it was adopted in lieu of Resolution 232 by the House of Delegates of the American Medical Association at the 1990 Annual Meeting.
This report is not intended to be construed or to serve as a standard of medical care. Standards of medical care are determined on the basis of all of the facts and circumstances involved in an individual case and are subject to change as scientific knowledge and technology advance and patterns of practice evolve. This report reflects the views of scientific literature as of June 1990.
Reprint requests to Council on Scientific Affairs, American Medical Association, 515 N State St, Chicago, IL 60610 (William R. Hendee, PhD).
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