Farmers are leading a revolt against "biopharming" -- growing genetically modified crops solely to produce pharmaceutical drugs -- citing the risks the enhanced crops pose to food crops.

Biopharming, the practice of using genetically engineered plants to mass produce pharmaceuticals is on the rise but scientists and environmentalists warn that the risk of cross-contamination is still unknown.

Friends and foes of the use of genetic engineering in US agriculture have united in criticising two accidents in which a food crop was contaminated by a crop from the previous year designed to yield pharmaceutical products.

Researchers are investigating the use of cloned animals to help produce antidotes for biological warfare agents.

Experimental plants engineered to produce pharmaceuticals are being grown at over 300 secret locations nationwide, a new report has revealed. Biotechnology firms are conducting experiments with corn, soy, rice and tobacco that are genetically manipulated to produce drugs designed to act as vaccines, contraceptives, induce abortions, generate growth hormones, create blood clots, produce industrial enzymes and propagate allergenic enzymes.