University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee researchers trying to keep GMO switchgrass out of the market

In Wisconsin, researchers from the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee are tackling the main obstacle of keeping genetically modified switchgrass off the commercial market. It’s the possibility that lab-engineered genes could escape human control by mixing with genes of wild-growing grasses, which might interrupt natural processes in unpredictable ways.

Genetically modified tomatoes were first approved for human consumption in 1994, but food crops are typically short-lived and tightly managed. Grasses are less domesticated and live a long time, heightening the concern about genetic contamination.

Category: Research