TRANSGENICS IN BIOCONTROL

The keyword search of all databases yielded 87,430 Database Hits (or sources). After removing sources not involving transgenics (and screening out duplication), these were condensed into 637 sources (Table 1). Sources involving transgenics are a minority in the much larger field of biocontrol, as less than 5% of the total publication volume relating to biocontrol included or mentioned genetic engineering or transgenics. For the 637 sources, 442 (69.4%) were Technical/Regulatory, 168 (26.4%) were Popular Press, and only 27 (4.2%) were Newspapers.

The 637 sources provided 1,940 issues as most sources, especially from the Popular Press, covered multiple issues (Table 1).

Newspaper coverage of biocontrol appears to be very limited; only 74 (3.8%) of 1,940 issues were from newspaper articles (Table 1). Popular Press and Newspapers combined represented only 32% of total issues. The small number of sources and issues from Popular Press and Newspapers are indications of a low level of public exposure to biocontrol issues, based on comparison to our larger biotechnology study where these two sources accounted for 65.2% of the total sources and 51.1% of the issues.

The issue categories appearing most frequently for Popular Press and Newspaper sources were all sources were Transgenic Plants (33%), Transgenic Microbes (30%) and Societal Concerns (30%)(Figure 2. For Technical/Regulatory sources, the most frequent issue categories were Transgenic Microbes (50%) and Transgenic Plants (38%) Figure 3). Societal issues represented 33% of the total in Popular Press and Newspapers, but only 7% in Technical/Regulatory sources.

Transgenic Arthropods, Foods, and International issues appeared in very few sources, and combined, represented only 7% and 5% of the total issues from Popular Press and Newspapers and Technical/Regulatory, respectively. The number of issues from the Transgenic Arthropods, Foods, and International categories were too small to permit analysis (failed Chi-square).

Nine issues emerged under the category of Transgenic Microorganisms (Table 2). The development of transgenic microbes and applications of transgenic bacteria in biocontrol products were the only issues where there was a statistical difference between type of source. The only other issue that appeared with moderate frequency in both types of sources was the use of transgenic Bt for insect control.

Eight issues emerged under the category of Transgenic Plants (Table 3), and none were different based on type of source. Those appearing most frequently included development of transgenic plants, plant resistance to bacterial and viral pathogens (diseases), herbicide resistance, and insect resistance to Bt plants (crops).

Ten issues emerged under the category of Societal Concerns (Table 4), and none were different based on type of source. Those appearing most frequently included reducing chemical use in production, benefits and problems of transgenic biocontrol products to society and business, impact on agriculture and farming, the regulatory approval process, and risk assessment and safety of transgenic biocontrol products.

Eight issues that involved controversy were identified based on positions taken and risk representation (Table 5). There were significant interactions on five of the eight issues, and those issues with the greatest amount of risk representation included pest resistance to transgenic plants, herbicide resistance, environmental concerns, impact on agriculture and farming, and weediness and gene transfer (Table 5 and Figure 4).

Over 70% of the quoted sources in Newspapers and Popular Press sources were scientists from universities. Other quoted sources were evenly distributed and included regulatory officials, representatives from industry, and environmental organizations. The affiliation of experts from Technical/Regulatory sources were 98% scientists from universities and regulatory officials. The remainder represented a small number of publications from industry.