In
This Issue:
FINLAND TO STUDY
EFFECT OF GMOS
The Board
of the Academy of Finland will launch seven new research programs
in 2003. A total of €41.3 million has been earmarked for all
the research programs. One research program will focus on the societal
and health effects of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
The program
on GMOs is closely related to the ethical debate on the safety of
these new technologies. The project will have a strong multidisciplinary
orientation and will cover ecological and health effects of GMOs,
ethical and socio-economic considerations, as well as questions of
risk assessment.
More details
are available at http://www.foodnavigator.com
TWO RICE
CHROMOSOMES NOW COMPLETE
Following
the report of draft sequences of the rice genome in April, two papers
report "essentially complete" sequences of two rice chromosomes,
which have revealed valuable extra detail. The International Rice
Genome Sequencing Project presents in Nature (http://www.nature.com)
a clone-by-clone approach that has yielded high-accuracy sequences
of chromosomes 1 and 4 of a japonica cultivar, including a rare sequence
through a plant centromere.
Initial
sequence comparisons indicate that up to 43% of genes predicted from
the draft sequence were incomplete. This was reported by Takuji Sasaki
of the Rice Genome Research Program, National Institute of Agrobiological
Sciences Tsukuba, and colleagues from Japan, Korea and the USA and
Bin Han of the National Center for Gene Research, Shanghai Institutes
for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Science and collaborators
from other Chinese institutes.
"Comparison
with a draft sequence indicates the importance of a high-quality
finished sequence," say Sasaki and colleagues. "The draft
sequence analysis had estimated 4,467 genes, and the presence of
2,800-4,200 gaps meant only half the genes contained the complete
coding region.
In the
earlier reports, Syngenta, and a group of Chinese research institutions
used a whole genome shotgun sequencing to produce draft sequences
of japonica and indica rice, respectively. Sasaki and co-workers
say it was very important to get finished high-quality sequence data,
as only this data can enable accurate determination of function,
allow comparison with other cereal grasses, and critically precise
map-based genomic sequences are needed to identify genes of economic
importance.
Go to http://rgp.dna.affrc.go.jp/cgi-bin/statusdb/seqcollab.pl for
more of the Rice Sequencing Project.
TOUGHER RULES
ON BT CORN COMPLIANCE AGREED UPON
The US
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Agricultural Biotechnology
Stewardship Technical Committee (ABSTC) have agreed to a new compliance
program to help growers meet the insect resistance management (IRM)
requirements for Bt corn established in 1999. The IRM Compliance
Assurance Program details how registrants of Bt corn are required
to monitor, assist and deal with growers who do not follow IRM requirements.
Under
the program, growers who do not meet IRM requirements for two consecutive
years will be denied access to Bt corn in the third year. The registrations
for Bt corn require that growers maintain at least a 20% non-Bt corn
refuge. Bt corn fields must be located within 1/2 mile (preferably
1/4 mile) of their refuge corn fields. Within certain corn/cotton
areas of the south, growers are required to plant at least a 50%
non-Bt corn refuge.
"I
believe the IRM Compliance Assurance Program is the best way to protect
against resistance and keep Bt products available. It is a workable
and practical plan for growers," said National Corn Growers
Association President Fred Yoder.
A survey
conducted in 2001 by the National Corn Growers Association suggested
87% of farmers using Bt corn planted at least 20% of their corn to
non-Bt. About 71% of growers reported that they had followed both
the 20% non-Bt refuge size and proximity options in place for the
2000 season.
Under
the IRM Compliance Assurance Program, registrants will evaluate the
extent to which growers are adhering to the IRM requirements and
ensure that those who do not are brought back into compliance. With
the implementation of the program, growers who are not in compliance
in a given year will be issued a warning and must make the necessary
changes to comply during the next growing season.
The Agricultural
Biotechnology Stewardship Technical Committee (ABSTC) includes Bt
corn registrants Dow AgroSciences; Monsanto Company; Pioneer Hi-Bred
International, Inc., A DuPont Company; and Syngenta Seeds, Inc. The
committee is working with the EPA to enforce IRM compliance. The
National Corn Growers Association, and the Biotechnology Industry
Organization along with various seed companies and universities,
all support the IRM Compliance Assurance Program "as a unified
commitment to responsible stewardship of Bt technology so it can
be preserved for the next generation of corn growers".
Email the US National Corn Growers Association at corninfo@ncga.com or
visit their website at http://www.ncga.com
BIO RELEASES
STATEMENT ON PRODIGENE CASE
The ProdiGene
incident demonstrates that the regulatory framework governing plant-made
pharmaceutical crops works, says Biotechnology Industry Organization
(BIO) Executive Director for Food and Agriculture Michael J. Phillips
in a statement issued regarding regulatory infractions by ProdiGene,
Inc.
The statement
said that the "USDA/APHIS identified violations of the federal
permitting system and has been effective in ensuring isolation of
pharmaceutical-producing plant material from grain intended for food
and feed production, thus ensuring the integrity of the food supply".
"There
must be zero-tolerance where public confidence in the integrity of
the food supply is involved. BIO supports vigorous enforcement actions
by the regulatory agencies in this matter. This incident, however,
should not overshadow the benefits of this emerging technology. Plant-made
pharmaceuticals can make important contributions to human health
including the production of proteins for new drugs to treat and fight
life-threatening diseases. By using living plants instead of traditional
manufacturing methods, we can greatly increase the safety, number
and quantity of drugs available to patients, produce them faster,
and make them more widely available to those who need them.
Earlier,
the US Food and Drug Administration ordered Prodigene to destroy
500,000 bushels of soybeans worth approximately $2.7 million. The
order was given because a corn variety intended to make a pharmaceutical
product got mixed with the soybeans.
The Biotechnology
Industry Organization (BIO) represents more than 1,000 biotechnology
companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and
related organizations in all 50 U.S. states and 33 other nations.
For more
information on BIO, visit their website at http://www.bio.org.
BIO's press release is available at http://www.bio.org/newsroom/newsitem.asp?id=2002_1115_01
HOW DID
BT COTTON REALLY FARE IN INDIA?
C. Kameswara
Rao, an honorary professor at the Postgraduate Department of Applied
Botany and Biotechnology, SSMRV College, Bangalore said that it is
premature to give a verdict on the performance of Bt cotton in any
part of India. He further said that these year's results cannot be
taken to proclaim Bt cotton as a success or failure due to adverse
weather conditions. Although he did say that the overall impression
is that the Bt cotton variety is performing well providing an effective
control of the cotton bollworm.
Professor
Kameswara Rao visited five cotton fields last September along with
a team of cotton breeders and scientists, to see the performance
of standing Bt-cotton crop. In one field the professor observed that, "generally
speaking, the Bt-cotton plants were more vigorous and early maturing
at least by two weeks, compared to non-Bt refuge plants in the same
field. In another field, a farmer said that, the yield was about
40 per cent more than his past experience with non-Bt cotton harvest.
He however cautions that the performance of Bt cotton should be assessed
after the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee's agreed time of
three years for its cultivation.
The professor
observed that there are no independent agencies in India to study
the performance of Bt cotton systematically and to give reliable
field data. He further said that unless reports are peer reviewed,
they cannot be the basis for any judgment.
The article
can be viewed at http://www.bio-scope.org/disp_doc.cfm?id=8F9AD04C256A4D369
49ACF7CFE6B1629.
IMPACTS OF
THE GREEN REVOLUTION
The International
Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) developed a brief that assesses
both the positive and negative impacts of the Green Revolution (GR).
Entitled "Green Revolution: Curse or Blessing?" it begins
by saying that the established research systems were a response to
the world food problem prevailing then.
In terms
of agricultural production, the adoption of high yielding varieties
(HYVs) along with other developments more than doubled cereal production
in Asia between 1970 and 1995, while population increased by 60%.
The brief further says that "instead of widespread famine, cereal
and calorie availability per person increased by nearly 30 percent,
and wheat and rice became cheaper".
The report
also said that the GR led to sizable increases in returns to land,
and hence raised farmers' incomes. With more income to spend, new
needs for farm inputs, and milling and marketing services, farm families
increased their demand for goods and services, which stimulated rural
non-farm economy. Further, the GR contributed to better nutrition
by raising incomes and reducing prices.
However,
the GR experienced problems. Critics charged that it resulted in
environmental degradation, increased income inequality and asset
distribution and worsened absolute poverty. While some of the criticisms
were valid and still have to be addressed, there is a tendency to
ignore what would have happened if the GR did not take place. Critics
also charge that large farms were the main adopters of the new technologies
but recent evidence shows that small farms eventually adopted GR
technologies.
The brief
forwards conditions for similar technologies to have equitable benefits
among farmers and these are:
- A scale
neutral technology package that can be profitably adopted on farms
of all sizes;
- An
equitable distribution of land with secure ownership or tenancy
rights;
- Efficient
input, credit and product markets; and
- Policies
that do not discriminate against small farms and landless laborers.
The brief
concludes that "overall, the Green Revolution was a major achievement
for many developing countries" and by building on its strengths
and avoiding its weaknesses, scientists and policy makers can take
significant steps towards achieving sustainable food security for
all the world's people.
The brief
can be downloaded at http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/ib/ib11.pdf
RF CONFERENCE
ON BIOTECH FOR AFRICAN CROPS
The Rockefeller
Foundation and the Ugandan National Research Organization (NARO)
organized a conference at the Royal Botanical Beach Hotel, Entebbe,
Uganda from November 4 to 7 November 2002 on "Biotechnology,
breeding and seed systems for African crops: research and product
development that reaches farmers".
It was
the first general meeting of collaborators of the Rockefeller Foundation's
program on biotechnology, breeding and seed systems. The program
seeks to accelerate the development of better crop varieties for
African farmers through participatory approaches to plant breeding,
biotechnology, and the development of more responsive seed systems.
The meeting
provided collaborators with an opportunity to learn about the progress
being made toward the development of improved varieties of crops
that hold crucial importance within smallholder food production systems
in Africa. These crops include corn, sorghum, rice, banana, cassava,
bean, and cowpea.
About
120 participants attended the different presentations which addressed
topics ranging from plant molecular biology, innovative efforts of
entrepreneurs and community groups to process and distribute seeds,
activities of the Tissue Culture Banana project in Kenya, and the
outreach, education and training programs by the Africa Biotechnology
Stakeholders Forum and the Kenya Biotechnology Information Center.
They also had a field trip to on-going crop improvement activities
at two NARO locations, the Kawanda and Namulonge Research Stations.
/Kenya Biotechnology Information Center
COMESA TO
AGREE ON GMO POLICY
Ministers
of agriculture from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
(COMESA) have agreed to formulate a regional policy on genetically
modified organisms (GMOs). "Intra-COMESA trade in agricultural
products has been expanding rapidly", said a representative.
Export of food from the surplus countries like Uganda to shortage
areas within the region, if supported by food donors, could reduce
the need to import GMO products.
COMESA
is a regional trade and economic integration grouping of 20 African
nations: Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti,
Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia,
Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Visit http://www.comesa.int for
more information about COMESA.
INDIAN PRESIDENT
INAUGURATES BIOTECH CENTER
The Indian
president, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, has inaugurated the building complex
of the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology in Kerala. The center
has 130 members of staff, and disciplines include plant molecular
biology and environmental biotechnology. The 10,000 square meter
building complex was funded primarily by the Department of Biotechnology.
More details
about India's Department of Biotechnology at http://dbtindia.nic.in
CHINA GEARS
UP FOR BIOTECH
Fortune
Magazine says that "China's biotech is starting to bloom".
Scott Rozelle of the University of California at Davis notes that
that the Chinese government's announcement to quintuple government
funding of agbiotech research by 2005, to $500 million annually will
top US government spending in the field.
The impact
of Chinese science, according to the report, could make itself felt.
US companies may seek access to cutting-edge Chinese biotechnology
in drugs, agriculture, and other fields. As early as 1986, China's
late stateman Deng Xiaoping identified genetic engineering as one
of the seven technologies critical to economic growth. Den's push
also started the first efforts at commercial biotechnology in China.
In 2000, there were 39 publicly traded biopharmaceutical firms in
China or a tenth as many as in the US, according to IMS Health, a
US market research firm.
However,
the report says China has to grapple with some issues. One is the
lack of strong patent protection. While the country has upgraded
its laws to protect intellectual property, enforcement remains to
be seen. Another issue is the dearth of venture capital. While China
has removed some of its regulatory barriers to foreign investing,
it lacks good "exist strategies" for cashing out their
investments in Chinese startups, such as selling shares in IPOs on
exchanges catering to high-tech investors.
ROCHE OPENS
NEW BIOTECH CENTER
Roche
Vitamins opened its new Biotech Centre in Grenzach, Germany which
will develop biotechnological production processes for new and existing
products and perform scale-up of processes from laboratory to full
technical scale.
Together
with the Biotech Research Center in Kaiseraugst, Switzerland, the
Biotech Center in Grenzach forms the divisional Center of Excellence
for Biotechnology with approximately 80 scientists. New biotechnological
process development will start in Kaiseraugst, and piloting and scale-up
will then be performed in Grenzach.
Roche
also announced that it would sell its Vitamins and Fine Chemicals
division to Dutch chemicals company DSM.
Additional
details on the new biotech facility is available at http://www.foodnavigator.com
NEW AGRICULTURAL
BIOTECHNOLOGY WEBSITE
A new
website simply titled "Agricultural Biotechnology" has
been put up. It was developed by US agricultural schools known as
land grant colleges and universities. Their goal is to make information
on agricultural biotechnology available to the public and to participate
in the dialogue about the benefits and risks of this new technology,
which fast is becoming a part of our everyday lives. The site can
be viewed at http://agribiotech.info/
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Biotech
Conferences
* A conference
entitled "Towards Sustainable Agriculture For Development Countries:
Options From Life Sciences And Biotechnologies?" will be held
January 30-31, 2003 in Brussels, Belgium. The conference will bring
together representatives of developing countries, scientists, representatives
of the biotechnology industry, non-governmental organizations involved
in development, governmental and international organizations, education
and media specialists, and European citizens. Information can be
viewed online at http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/conferences/2003/sadc/index_en.html
* The
ASU Center for the Study of Law, Science and Technology, the Arizona
Biodesign Institute, and ASU Research Park are co-sponsoring a conference
on "Confidence Building Measures for Genetically Modified Foods" on
December 6, 2002. The conference will examine creative new approaches
for enhancing public confidence in biotechnology, including unilateral
industry initiatives, new forms of cooperative regulatory approaches,
and public consultation and education strategies. It will be held
at the ASU College of Law in Tempe. The full agenda for the conference
is available at http://www.law.asu.edu/Programs/Sci-Tech/Symposium2002/Agenda.asp
Registration
for the conference is free, but because of limited space they request
that attendees register in advance. On-line registration is available
at http://www.law.asu.edu/Programs/Sci-Tech/Symposium2002/Registration.asp
For further
information, please contact Dr. Gary Marchant at gary.marchant@asu.edu |
