Editing Organic farming (section)

=== Genetic modification ===
{{Main|Genetically modified crops|Genetically modified food|Genetically modified food controversies}}

A key characteristic of organic farming is the exclusion of genetically engineered plants and animals. On 19 October 1998, participants at IFOAM's 12th Scientific Conference issued the [[International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements#IFOAM and GMOs|Mar del Plata Declaration]], where more than 600 delegates from over 60 countries voted unanimously to exclude the use of genetically modified organisms in organic food production and agriculture.

Although opposition to the use of any transgenic technologies in organic farming is strong, agricultural researchers Luis Herrera-Estrella and Ariel Alvarez-Morales continue to advocate integration of [[transgenic]] technologies into organic farming as the optimal means to sustainable agriculture, particularly in the developing world.<ref>{{Cite journal| volume=2 |date=April 2001 |author1=Luis Herrera-Estrella |author2=Ariel Alvarez-Morales |title=Genetically modified crops: hope for developing countries? |pages=256–258| doi= 10.1093/embo-reports/kve075 |journal=EMBO Reports |pmid=11306538 |issue=4 |pmc=1083872}}</ref> Organic farmer Raoul Adamchak and geneticist [[Pamela Ronald]] write that many agricultural applications of [[biotechnology]] are consistent with organic principles and have significantly advanced sustainable agriculture.<ref>{{Cite book|publisher=Oxford University Press |date=April 2018 |author1=Pamela Ronald |author2=Raoul Adamchak |title=Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics and the Future of Food|isbn=978-0199342082 }}</ref>

Although GMOs are excluded from organic farming, there is concern that the pollen from genetically modified crops is increasingly penetrating organic and [[Heirloom plant|heirloom seed stocks]], making it difficult, if not impossible, to keep these genomes from entering the organic food supply. Differing regulations among countries limits the availability of GMOs to certain countries, as described in the article on [[regulation of the release of genetic modified organisms]].