Auburn, April 19---Virtually everyone believes the recent completion of the human genome map will open avenues for scientific discovery scarcely imagined only a decade ago. But genome mapping that already is well under way with other animal and plant species already has led to major environmental benefits.

Case in point: genetically modified row crops.

"They’ve already got the genetic codes mapped for about 60 or 70 organisms and expect to have as many as 100 completed by the end of the year," says Dr. James Hairston, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System water quality scientist. "At this rate, we’ll probably have genetic codes completed for most of the major plants involved in food production in the near future."

As the name implies, genetically modified crops have had genetic material from other species added in ways that render them resistant to insect predators or to other external threats, such as farm chemicals used to control weeds.

One of the best known examples of a genetically altered crop is "Roundup Ready Cotton," a product designed by Monsanto Corporation to survive several sprayings of an otherwise lethal herbicide known as Roundup and that already is being widely used throughout the world. Likewise Bollgard Cotton, another widely used Monsanto product, was developed to withstand bollworms.

Herbicide-resistant crops, such as Roundup Ready Cotton, have enabled producers to drastically reduce spraying to control weeds, just as "Bollgard Cotton" has allowed producers to reduce insecticide spraying.

In spite of these advances, genetically modified crops have ignited a firestorm of criticism among many environmental groups, especially in Europe. As a result, many governments have imposed outright bans on foods derived from similar products. Because of these widespread human fears, scientists ultimately may not be able to carry on with research that could yield even more environmental benefits in decades to come.

Indeed, Hairston believes many of these fears are overblown.

"Ironically, many of the people who oppose genetically modified crops are also bitterly opposed to synthetic chemicals used in pesticides," he says.

Pesticides manufactured from chlorinated hydrocarbons, for example, are especially long lasting in the environment because of their resistance to microbial decomposition. Rising public concerns about the widespread use of chlorinated hydrocarbons and other farm chemicals prompted Congress to pass the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996, which imposes a far more stringent standard on the types of chemicals permitted for agricultural use.

The new law forced manufacturers to replace chlorinated hydrocarbon products with entirely new chemicals that are considered safer for the environment.

Ironically, in reducing these new chemicals’ durability within the environment, manufacturers ended up creating new classes of chemicals that pose a greater short-term risk to humans and other nontargeted organisms.

This is one reason why many experts like Hairston find genetically modified crops so appealing from the standpoint of human and environmental safety. Genetically modified crops use biochemical safeguards taken from other organisms for protection against predators, thereby reducing the need for chlorinated hydrocarbons and other potentially dangerous chemicals.