UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON 
DEPARTMENT OF BACTERIOLOGY 1550 Linden Drive 
Madison, Wisconsin 53706 
Telephone: 608-262-2914 
January 5, 1981 
Dr. William Gartland 
Office of Recombinant DNA Activities 
Bldg. 31, National Institutes of Health 
Bethesda, MD 20205 
Dear Dr. Gartland: 
There seems to be undue concern about the release of recombinant DNA- 
containing organisms into the environment. For most people working with 
recombinant DNA, there does not seem to be any need to release recombinant 
DNA-organisms outside of a contained laboratory or process facility; 
therefore, these pe^le readily accept the restriction involving environment 
release. In the case of agricultural research, however, the benefits from 
recombinant DNA technology demand field experiments — experiments in which 
there is deliberate release of recombinant DNA-containing plants into the 
environment . 
I am particularly concerned about the statement in the letter of 
November 20, 1981, by the Congressional Committee on Science and Technologies 
to the NIH. The Committee seems to be upset that the RAC may eliminate a 
specific provision in the current NIH Guidelines prohibiting the deliberate 
release into the environment of recombinant DNA organisms. 
In the agricultural sciences, I predict that one of the first benefits of 
recombinant DNA experiments will be the design of crop plants that are 
resistant to pests such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and insects. Such 
developments should have tremendous applications. One benefit of these 
breakthroughs will allow the farmer to become less dependent on chemical 
pesticides — a known danger to the consumer, and the farmer as well as to the 
worker in the pesticide industry. How do these proven dangers stack up 
against the imagined dangers that may exist by placing recombinant DNA 
organisms in experimental plants and in farmers' fields? 
Most of the discussions regarding the potential dangers (believed, by 
most, to be quite small) of recombinant DNA have involved pathogenic 
microorganisms. It seems that when one thinks of recombinant DNA work with 
higher organisms, the potential dangers are even less. A collection of genes 
that render a plant resistant to a specific insect should not cause any 
particular problems to the farmers. A greater concern should be that 
countries not restricted to arbitrary rules that will present release of 
recombinant DNA organisms into the environment will be greater competitors of 
U.S. agriculture. 
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