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SALEM — Lawmakers are considering a temporary ban on growing food crops in Oregon that are biologically engineered to produce drugs or chemicals, such as vaccines.

Supporters of the bill say it would protect Oregon farmers from potentially harmful crop contamination. Opponents say the bill is an attempt to ban biologically engineered crops in general.

Oregon would become the first state to ban the crops, called biopharmaceuticals or biopharms, under a bill that was brought up for its first hearing Friday in the Senate Environment and Land Use Committee.

Currently in Oregon, genetically modified bentgrass is grown in Central Oregon and several varieties of insect-resistant corn are commercially available for farmers to grow.

But biopharm crops are a different type of genetically modified organism that represent a small percentage of U.S.-grown biologically engineered plants.

To create the crops, genes from other organisms are spliced into the plant — usually corn — that prompt it to produce the desired chemical compound, such as an anticoagulant or vaccine.

None are currently grown in Oregon, but the ban would prevent pharmaceutical companies from looking to put fields here.

"Plant species grown for use as food for humans or animals should not be grown to produce drugs and industrial chemicals," said Chris Schreiner, quality control director for Oregon Tilth, Inc., a nonprofit organization that certifies organic farms.

Schreiner compared biopharm crops to DDT, a chemical used more than 30 years ago because it was found to be toxic to humans and animals. Schreiner said the effects of DDT could have been avoided if the chemical wasn't "widely promoted and used prior to our full understanding of their toxic effects."

The bill would not ban growing other genetically modified organisms, but some warned that biopharm crops could contaminate food crops and have other unforeseen biological consequences that would tarnish the image of Oregon-grown foods.

"There is too much potential for leakage of these genes into the human food supply," said Bitty Roy, a biology professor from Eugene.

Roy said the risks and benefits of such crops needs to be more carefully studied before they are grown in the open air.

But others said the bill could cut off future economic benefits for Oregon's farms and research facilities, and that the federal government should create policy instead of a patchwork of state laws.

"This is a science discussion and these crops need to be grown under the best management practices," said Katie Fast of the Oregon Farm Bureau, but she said there's no reason to ban the crops altogether.

She said the bill could negatively affect Oregon's research facilities by prohibiting them from growing experimental crops that could be medically beneficial.

Katie Coba, director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture, said the agency has no official position on the bill, but that "it's important to remember that biopharming is regulated in the U.S. by the federal government," and that new guidelines are expected in one to two years.

She also said biopharm crops are "not the scary stories that we've heard," and said an example could be genetically enhancing a tomato to provide more health benefits.