53 2 . Approval of Proposal of August 19, 1983 
This proposal was more extensive than that considered in Section 
4.1 in that the field test would include cotton and tomato in 
addition to tobacco. Expanding the tests to additional crops would 
increase the number of test sites needed which would also 
increase the possibility for the release of pollen from genetically 
engineered plants. In addition, the logistics of monitoring test 
sites for three crops would be more difficult. 
533 Withhold Approval 
Withholding approval may have adverse ecological consequences in 
the long run. Agricultural crops are constantly under attack by a 
wide variety of pests and adverse climatological factors. Current 
defenses against these predations are imperfect inasmuch as 
significant portions of world crop production are lost every year. 
In addition, the defenses themselves often have adverse ecological 
effects since large quantities of often toxic chemicals are used 
for pest control. 
If this approval is withheld, researchers could still use classic 
methods of plant breeding. These methods do not seem as capable 
as recombinant DNA techniques of producing dramatic 
improvements in resistance of plants to heat, drought, pests and 
other environmental factors. Farmers would probably continue 
widespread use of pesticides to control diseases and pests. Many 
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