Environmental Costs and Benefits of Transgenic Crops [Hardcover]

Concern about the environmental impacts of transgenic crops is one of the major reasons for the EUs quasi-moratorium on GMOs. This book shows that the economic implications of these concerns are far-reaching and complex, ranging from the farm to research and technology development to consumer reactions, and that they influence government response, international trade and public and private incentives for R & D.

Concern about the environmental impacts of transgenic crops is one of the major reasons for the EUs quasi-moratorium on GMOs. The contributions in this book show that the economic implications of these concerns are far-reaching and complex. They range from the farm level to research and technology development on the one side and consumer reactions on the other side, and influence not only government response but also international trade and public and private incentives for R&D.

Each contribution includes a comment, which raises questions that need further investigation. A summary of the questions in research topics concludes the contributions. The book will be of interests for policy makers as well as scholars working in established areas of social and natural sciences with an interest in the complex issues related to the release of transgenic crops.

Contents Preface 1. Environmental costs and benefits of transgenic crops: Introduction 1 Justus Wesseler (The Netherlands) 2a. Environmental effects of genetically modified crops: differentiated risk assessment and management 7 David Ervin and Rick Welsh (USA) 2b. Comment on Ervin and Welsh: Environmental effects of genetically modified crops: differentiated risk assessment and management 31 Willem Stiekema (The Netherlands) 3a. Assessing the environmental impact of changes in pesticide use on transgenic crops 33 Gijs Kleter and Harry Kuiper (The Netherlands) 3b. Comment on Kleter and Kuiper: Environmental fate and impact consideratiolÃS