Assessing weediness of transgenic crops: industry plays plant ecologist

After years of experimentation and limited field testing of genetically modified crop plants, biotechnology companies in many countries are now beginning to commercialize their transgenic products. This development has shifted the focus of public concern to the procedures that governments employ in determining that a particular transgenic crop poses no risk to the environment. In this article we discuss the Information required by the US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in making this determination, and compare this with the data that have been called for by ecologists and the data presented by companies in their petitions for nonregulated status.