81.   The critics argue genetically engineered crops have not been proven safe.

82.   The government predicts farmers will sharply boost their plantings of genetically engineered crops this year, despite lingering international resistance to biotech food.

83.   The National Academy of Sciences last year also recommended developing new ways to test genetically engineered crops to see how allergenic they might be.

84.   The plan stemmed from public hearings last year amid a public outcry, primarily overseas, about genetically engineered crops.

85.   The StarLink corn has become an embarrassment to the biotech industry and food manufacturers, who have been fighting consumer resistance in Europe and Japan to genetically engineered crops.

86.   The work comes as farmers in industrialized countries, reacting to consumer resistance, are cutting back on acreage sown with genetically engineered crops.

87.   They also will bar the use of genetically engineered crops or irradiated ingredients in organic foods.

88.   Genetically engineered crops should face a more rigorous review in the United States before they are approved for human consumption, a prestigious scientific panel said Thursday.