Altered DNA Found in Crop Seed Supply
From Times Wire Reports
Much of the U.S. supply of ordinary crop seeds has become contaminated with strands of engineered DNA, suggesting that current methods for segregating gene-altered seed plants from traditional varieties are failing, according to a pilot study.
More than two-thirds of 36 batches contained traces of DNA from genetically engineered crop varieties in tests commissioned by the Union of Concerned Scientists, a Washington-based advocacy group.
The actual amount of altered DNA present appeared to be small, and most engineered genes detected were among those that regulators had deemed safe for consumption, the report acknowledged.