A panel of five members of the National Academy of Sciences formed by CAST examine the scientific merits of the Biotechnology Industry Organization response to the major conclusions reached by eleven professional scientific societies on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposal to regulate genes which make plants resistant to pests by means of genetic engineering under the same regulations developed for use of chemical pesticides applied to plants.

Agricultural, corporate, scientific, political, environmental, and social communities are asking the agricultural research system to identify and pursue a broadened range of research priorities.