Provided by The Gene Exchange
- A Public Voice on Biotechnology and Agriculture
Volume 7, Number 1
Union of Concerned Scientists
Dec 1996
| Product | Company | Altered Trait | Purpose | Sources of New Genes | Agency Action[1] | Year Approved/Brand Name |
| Canola (Oilseed rape) | Calgene | Altered oil composition - high lauric acid | Expand use in soap and food products | California bay, turnip rape, bacteria, virus | USDA-Approved, FDA-Approved2,EPA-Approved | 1995/Laurical |
| Corn | Ciba-Geigy | Resistance to corn borer (Bt toxin) | Control insect pests | Corn, bacteria, virus | USDA-Approved, FDA-Approved2,EPA-Approved | 1995/Maximizer |
| Corn | Mycogen | Resistance to corn borer (Bt toxin) | Control insect pests | Corn, bacteria, virus | USDA-Approved, FDA-Approved2,EPA-Approved | 1995/NatureGard |
| Corn | Sandoz/Northrup King | Resistance to corn borer (Bt toxin) | Control insect pests | bacteria | USDA-Approved, FDA-Approved2,EPA-Approved | 1996/Unknown |
| Cotton | Calgene/Rhone Poulenc | Resistance to herbicide bromoxynil | Control weeds | Bacteria, virus | USDA-Approved, FDA-Approved2,EPA-Approved3 | 1995/BXN Cotton |
| Cotton | Monsanto | Resistance to boll-worms & bud-worm (Bt toxin) | Control insect pests | bacteria | USDA-Approved, FDA-Approved2,EPA-Approved | 1995/Bollgard |
| Cotton | Monsanto | Resistance to herbicide glyphosate | Control weeds | Arabidopsis, bacteria, virus | USDA-Approved, FDA-Approved2,EPA-Approved3 | 1996/Roundup Ready |
| Potato | Monsanto | Resistance to Colorado potato beetle (Bt toxin) | Control insect pests | Bacteria | USDA-Approved, FDA-Approved2,EPA-Approved | 1995/NewLeaf |
| Soybean | Monsanto | Resistance to herbicide glyphosate | Control weeds | Petunia, soybean, bacteria, viruses | USDA-Approved, FDA-Approved2,EPA-Approved3 | 1995/Roundup Ready |
| Squash | Asgrow | Resistance to two viruses | Control two virus diseases | Viruses | USDA-Approved, FDA-Approved2,EPA-Not required | 1995/Freedom II |
| Tomato (cherry) | Agritope | Altered ripening | Enhance fresh market value | Bacteria | USDA-Approved, FDA-Approved2,EPA-Not required | 1996/Unknown |
| Tomato | Calgene | Delayed ripening | Enhance fresh market value | Tomato, bacteria, virus | USDA-Approved, FDA-Approved2,EPA-Not required | 1994/Flavr Savr |
| Tomato | DNA Plant Technology | Delayed ripening | Enhance fresh market value | Tomato, bacteria, virus | USDA-Approved, FDA-Approved2,EPA-Not required | 1995/Endless Summer |
| Tomato | Monsanto | Delayed ripening | Enhance fresh market value | Bacteria | USDA-Approved, FDA-Approved2,EPA-Not required | 1995/Unknown |
| Tomato | Zeneca/PetoSeed | Thicker skin, altered pectin | Enhance processing value | Tomato, bacteria, virus | USDA-Approved, FDA-Approved2,EPA-Not required | 1995/Unknown |
| Bacillus Thuringiensis | Ecogen | Toxicity to Lepidopteran insects (Bt toxin) | Control insect pests | Bacteria | USDA-Not required, FDA-Not required,EPA-Approved | 1995/Crymax |
| Bacillus Thuringiensis | Ecogen | Toxicity to Colorado potato beetle (Bt toxin) | Control insect pests | Bacteria | USDA-Not required, FDA-Not required,EPA-Approved | 1995/Raven |
| Pseudomonas fluorescens(4) | Mycogen | Toxicity to insects (Bt toxin) | Control insect pests | Bacteria | USDA-Not required, FDA-Not required,EPA-Approved | Yes/M-Peril, M-Trak MVP |
| Vaccinia virus vaccine | Rhone Merieux | Immunity to rabies | Control raccoon rabies epidemics | Rabies virus | USDA-Approved, FDA-Not required,EPA-Not required | 1995/Raboral |
| rBGH | Monsanto | near copy of BGH[5] | Increase milk production | N/A | FDA-Approved | 1994/Posilac |
[1] Action may respond to either voluntary or required submissions from companies.
[2] FDA approval means that FDA has completed consultations with a company and will allow the product to enter the market once regulatory requirements are met at other agencies. Except for the Calgene tomato approved in 1994, FDA consultations are abbreviated reviews of company safety assessments.
[3] EPA approval means that EPA registers the herbicide to be used on the transgenic crop. The Agency does not evaluate the risks of the transgenic crop itself.
[4] The organism is killed before it is applied in the environment.
[5] Pure Food Campaign adds this row. rBGH (recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone) is produced by genetically engineered bacteria. The hormone is injected into lactating cows to stimulate increased milk production. In 1995 Robert Cohen (i4crob@IDT.NET) learned that MONSANTO had created a version of the bovine growth hormone that contained a "freak" amino acid. Lysine (in the #144) position had been replaced by epsilon-N-acetyllysine, a bacterium amino acid. In his own paper (used as a reference) Jerome Moore wrote that such an error can produce disasterous results...Alzheimers, sickle-cell anemia, diabetes, etc. As a result of this first genetically enginered animal hormone calves born to cows treated with rbGH were birthed with deformities. Milk from animals treated with rbGH contained increased levels of naturally occurring powerful growth hormones.