Tracking GM Crops With IP May Prove Troublesome

March 1, 2002

While one way to segregate genetically modified (GM) crops from non-GM crops in the nation's food delivery system may be the use of identity preservation (IP) -- a method of tracking bulk commodities as they move from farm to dinner plate -- such an approach may raise as many questions as it provides answers.

The finding comes from many of the nation's top agricultural experts at a recent conference sponsored by The Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service.

Since the StarLink incident last year -- when a type of genetically modified corn approved only for use in animal feed inadvertently made its way into the human food supply -- the issue of how and whether to keep genetically modified crops separate from their conventionally-bred counterparts has come to the forefront.

"Genetically modified crops present marketing challenges -– as well as opportunities -– for every part of the chain of the food production and delivery system," said Michael Rodemeyer, executive director of the Initiative.

He added, "Seed producers, grain handlers and food manufacturers alike are all struggling to determine how they can best capture value from these new products. The marketplace is also growing ever more complex, with consumers demanding a wide variety of product choices –- from organic, to conventional foods, to genetically modified food that could deliver enhanced nutritional benefits. For these reasons, we thought it was important to bring leaders from every perspective together and to create an environment where they could compare notes, explore differences and identify common needs."

The report is available at http://pewagbiotech.org.