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May 6, 2010


CAST Commentary

QTA2005-1 July 2005

Adventitious Presence: Inadvertent
Commingling and Coexistence among Farming Methods

Authors: Drew L. Kershen Alan McHughen
Earl Sneed Centennial Professor of Law Biotechnology Specialist and Geneticist
University of Oklahoma College of Law University of California–Riverside
Reviewers: Michael J. Lauer Thomas Parker Redick
Global Seed and Crop Technology Global Environmental Ethics Counsel
Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.
Introduction
Adventitious presence deserves discussion to understand whether farmers engaged in conventional,
organic, and transgenic agriculture can coexist as neighbors using known and practical agronomic practices.
When a farmer buys and sows certified seed of his or her chosen crop variety, the crop starts with the highest
degree of purity deemed commercially achievable, which then becomes increasingly less pure as various
substances infiltrate at every step—from farm to granary to processor to retailer to consumer. The term
adventitious presence, which describes such undesirable commingling, is new to many people, but it is
encountered frequently in discussions of biotechnology and crop production. In the context of transgenic crops,
the term describes the inadvertent presence of transgenic seeds or other material in conventional and organic
crops. With respect to approved transgenic commodity crops, the issue is not agronomic performance, food
safety, environmental protection, or animal or human health, because regulatory agencies have passed favorable
judgment on these considerations when approving commercial release. Rather, concerns about adventitious
presence are economic concerns: market access, contract specifications, and consumer preferences. The worry
is that the mere presence of the transgenic materials decreases the value of the conventional or organic crop,
especially in export markets.
Seed Purity

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