"Frontmatter". In: Plant Genomics and Proteomics

S
UMMARY
Evidence from industrial and developing countries show that current GM
crops, in conjunction with conventional agricultural practices, can contribute
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U M M A R Y
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to a cost-effective, sustainable, productive, and sufficiently safe form of agri-
culture (Conner et al., 2003). The likely impacts that have been identified
with GM crops are similar to those of new cultivars that have been derived
from traditional breeding. Therefore, the appropriate yardstick with which
to evaluate the risks of GM crops may be the risks that could arise from any
new variety. 
As the understanding of the processes that are used to develop GM crops
increases and the information concerning the safety and efficacy of GM crops
becomes more widely available, it is likely that the public acceptance of these
crops will also increase. In addition, a wider range of modifications in the
available GM material, especially with respect to direct customer benefit, is
an important aspect for the wider acceptance of GM foods. However, as
many of the important traits that need to be modified, especially of crops in
the developing world, are more complex and less well understood than those
products already in production, substantial delay in the introduction of such
material is likely to occur.
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