IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v9y2017i3p392-d92378.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

I Have a Dream: Organic Movements Include Gene Manipulation to Improve Sustainable Farming

Author

Listed:
  • Gerhart U. Ryffel

    (Institute of Cell Biology (Cancer Research), Universitätsklinikum Essen, Hufelandstraße 55, 45147 Essen, Germany)

Abstract

Several papers in a Special Issue of Sustainability have recently discussed various aspects to evaluate whether organic farming and gene manipulation are compatible. A special emphasis was given to new plant breeding techniques (NPBTs). These new approaches allow the most predictable genetic alterations of crop plants in ways that the genetically modified plant is identical to a plant generated by conventional breeding. The articles of the Special Issue present the arguments pro and contra the inclusion of the plants generated by NPBTs in organic farming. Organic movements have not yet made a final decision whether some of these techniques should be accepted or banned. In my view these novel genetically manipulated (GM) crops could be used in such a way as to respect the requirements for genetically manipulated organisms (GMOs) formulated by the International Federation of Organic Movements (IFOAM). Reviewing the potential benefits of disease-resistant potatoes and bananas, it seems possible that these crops support organic farming. To this end, I propose specific requirements that the organic movements should proactively formulate as their standards to accept specific GM crops.

Suggested Citation

  • Gerhart U. Ryffel, 2017. "I Have a Dream: Organic Movements Include Gene Manipulation to Improve Sustainable Farming," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-9, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:3:p:392-:d:92378
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/3/392/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/3/392/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Luca Lombardo & Samanta Zelasco, 2016. "Biotech Approaches to Overcome the Limitations of Using Transgenic Plants in Organic Farming," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(5), pages 1-7, May.
    2. Godelieve Gheysen & René Custers, 2017. "Why Organic Farming Should Embrace Co-Existence with Cisgenic Late Blight–Resistant Potato," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-11, January.
    3. R. Guy Reeves & Martin Phillipson, 2017. "Mass Releases of Genetically Modified Insects in Area-Wide Pest Control Programs and Their Impact on Organic Farmers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-24, January.
    4. Fern Wickson & Rosa Binimelis & Amaranta Herrero, 2016. "Should Organic Agriculture Maintain Its Opposition to GM? New Techniques Writing the Same Old Story," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-19, October.
    5. Daniela Pacifico & Roberta Paris, 2016. "Effect of Organic Potato Farming on Human and Environmental Health and Benefits from New Plant Breeding Techniques. Is It Only a Matter of Public Acceptance?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-17, October.
    6. James Dale & Jean-Yves Paul & Benjamin Dugdale & Robert Harding, 2017. "Modifying Bananas: From Transgenics to Organics?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-13, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sean Clark, 2020. "Organic Farming and Climate Change: The Need for Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-7, August.
    2. Gerhart U. Ryffel, 2017. "Reply to Arbenz, M. Comment on Ryffel, G.U. I Have a Dream: Organic Movements Include Gene Manipulation to Improve Sustainable Farming. Sustainability 2017, 9 , 392," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-2, May.
    3. Serena Mandolesi & Emilia Cubero Dudinskaya & Simona Naspetti & Francesco Solfanelli & Raffaele Zanoli, 2022. "Freedom of Choice—Organic Consumers’ Discourses on New Plant Breeding Techniques," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-17, July.
    4. Markus Arbenz & David Gould, 2017. "Comment on Ryffel, G.U. I Have a Dream: Organic Movements Include Gene Manipulation to Improve Sustainable Farming. Sustainability 2017, 9 , 392," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-2, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Serena Mandolesi & Emilia Cubero Dudinskaya & Simona Naspetti & Francesco Solfanelli & Raffaele Zanoli, 2022. "Freedom of Choice—Organic Consumers’ Discourses on New Plant Breeding Techniques," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-17, July.
    2. Gilles Grolleau & Alain Marciano & Naoufel Mzoughi, 2021. "Scandals : a ‘reset button’ to drive change?," Post-Print hal-02921614, HAL.
    3. Beate Friedrich, 2019. "Pathways of Conflict: Lessons from the Cultivation of MON810 in Germany in 2005–2008 for Emerging Conflicts over New Breeding Techniques," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-17, December.
    4. Juan Torres & Diego L. Valera & Luis J. Belmonte & Carlos Herrero-Sánchez, 2016. "Economic and Social Sustainability through Organic Agriculture: Study of the Restructuring of the Citrus Sector in the “ Bajo Andarax ” District (Spain)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-14, September.
    5. Daniela Pacifico, 2018. "Upland Italian Potato Quality—A Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-11, October.
    6. Cisnetto, Valentina & Barlow, James, 2020. "The development of complex and controversial innovations. Genetically modified mosquitoes for malaria eradication," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(3).
    7. Felipe Gallardo-López & Mario Alejandro Hernández-Chontal & Pedro Cisneros-Saguilán & Ariadna Linares-Gabriel, 2018. "Development of the Concept of Agroecology in Europe: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-23, April.
    8. Jones, Michael S. & Brown, Zachary S., 2023. "Food for thought: Assessing the consumer welfare impacts of deploying irreversible, landscape-scale biotechnologies," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    9. Sigfrid Kjeldaas & Tim Dassler & Trine Antonsen & Odd-Gunnar Wikmark & Anne I. Myhr, 2023. "With great power comes great responsibility: why ‘safe enough’ is not good enough in debates on new gene technologies," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(2), pages 533-545, June.
    10. Paweł Radzikowski & Krzysztof Jończyk & Beata Feledyn-Szewczyk & Tomasz Jóźwicki, 2023. "Assessment of Resistance of Different Varieties of Winter Wheat to Leaf Fungal Diseases in Organic Farming," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-21, April.
    11. R. Guy Reeves & Martin Phillipson, 2017. "Mass Releases of Genetically Modified Insects in Area-Wide Pest Control Programs and Their Impact on Organic Farmers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-24, January.
    12. Daniela Pacifico & Chiara Onofri & Bruno Parisi & Paola Ostano & Giuseppe Mandolino, 2017. "Influence of Organic Farming on the Potato Transcriptome," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-20, May.
    13. Susanne Padel & Stefano Orsini & Francesco Solfanelli & Raffaele Zanoli, 2021. "Can the Market Deliver 100% Organic Seed and Varieties in Europe?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-14, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:3:p:392-:d:92378. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.