31.   Overseen by a quiet regulatory process, the genetically engineered crops took off.

32.   Pioneer expects to expand and secure its position in the emerging market for genetically engineered crops with a series of alliances with other companies, Johnson said.

33.   Seed companies have become attractive targets as chemicals companies look forward to the day when genetically engineered crops reduce the need for traditional pesticides and fertilizers.

34.   Since then the potential threat to the monarch has become a focus for the growing opposition to genetically engineered crops by environmental and other groups.

35.   Since then, reports have increasingly focused on scientific misgivings about genetically engineered crops.

36.   Some also suggested that pollen from the engineered crops could render plants in neighbors fields sterile without farmers realizing it.

37.   St. Louis-based Monsanto shed its chemicals division to focus on pharmaceuticals, food ingredients and the fast-growing market for genetically engineered crops.

38.   Still, he admits to sharing the worries of Europeans about the health effects of genetically engineered crops and the risks of introducing man-made species into the environment.

39.   Soon afterward uneasy shoppers shunned the first genetically engineered crop, the ill-fated Flavr Savr tomato, whose only crime was a foreign gene for longer shelf life.

40.   Supporters of genetically engineered crops say such fears are overblown and are creating roadblocks for a technology that could feed the world and offer a host of other benefits.