In
This Issue:
NUFFIELD
COUNCIL TO REVIEW GM REPORT
The
Nuffield Council on Bioethics has announced that it will re-assess
the conclusions and recommendations of its 1999 report, entitled
Genetically Modified Crops: Ethical and Social Issues". This
is being done in the light of recent developments particularly
in developing countries.
Based
on the evidence available in 1999, the Nuffield Council concluded
that GM
crops could provide significant benefits to developing countries, provided
that potential risks to health and the environment could be managed. Possible
benefits included increased yields, enhanced pest resistance and tolerance
to stress, improved nutrition, and new products, such as vaccines produced
in crops.
However,
there were several unanswered questions when the Council's report
was published. A range of new scientific evidence is now available
to help assess the potential of the technology. GM crops have been
grown on a considerable number of smallholding farms in developing
countries over the last three years. Recent trends in poverty and
hunger in developing countries also need to be considered. Rural
poverty has become an increasing concern, while at the same time
improvements in crop yields have slowed.
The
potential application of GM technology will be considered in the
context of developments in regulation, trade, intellectual property
rights and consumer attitudes.
The
Council will publish a draft discussion paper on the topic for
consultation in June 2003. The potential application of GM in developing
countries is often neglected in the UK debate. It is hoped that
the Council's paper will contribute to the national dialogue on
GM taking place this year.
Visit http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/home for
more information.
EAST AFRICAN MINISTERS
SAY THEIR NATIONS NEED BIOTECH
Kenya
and Uganda urgently need appropriate modern biotechnology packages
to help improve the declining production of major food and cash
crop according to their ministers of agriculture.
Though
biotechnology in Kenya is still at its infancy, the government
has seen its potential in terms of increasing food productivity
through yield improvement and reduction of post harvest losses," the
Minister for Agriculture Kipruto Arap Kirwa told the recent African
Regional Consultative Meeting of the Global Biotechnology Forum
held in Nairobi, Kenya.
If Africa
and other developing nations are not to be further marginalized,
but rather benefit from biotechnology they must have initiatives
that include improving their science and technology capacity with
a core of highly skilled scientists or experts, Kirwa added.
Uganda's
Minister of State for Agriculture I. Kibirige-Sebunya said that "crops,
from genetic engineering process, that would benefit Uganda earliest
include bananas, insect resistant maize and cotton." He stressed
that to engage in genetic engineering and products of genetically
modified organisms, one needs appropriate policy and legal framework
including biosafety mechanism. Hence, the Minister noted that the
two are in advanced stages for cabinet and parliamentary approval.
The country is also developing an indigenous modern biotechnology
capacity and infrastructure.
The
meeting was organized by the United Nations Industrial Development
Organization (UNIDO) in collaboration with African Biotechnology
Stakeholders Forum (ABSF)./ABSF
DIOUF: "GM HAS
GREAT POTENTIAL TO FEED WORLD"
"While
genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are not necessary today to
achieve the objectives of the 1996 World Food Summit, they offer
great potential for feeding a growing world population," argues
Jacques Diouf, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations.
"Their
development and application need to be monitored scientifically
and within an international framework," he said. "This
will make it possible to benefit from the positive aspects, while
avoiding any possible detrimental effects on human health and the
environment." He acknowledged that "the genetic modification
of food crops and animals has sparked off fierce controversy."
Diouf
spoke at the Fifth Meeting of the South West Pacific Ministers
for Agriculture in Suva, Fiji. Ministers from the FAO South West
Pacific region and Representatives from Australia, Cook Islands,
Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati and
Nauru met from 31st March-1st April 2003. The purpose of the meeting
was to discuss a range of issues relating to food security in the
Pacific region.
Ministers
encouraged FAO Subregional Office for the Pacific Islands to act
as a regional clearinghouse on GMO issues. They also encouraged
the FAO to assist countries build capacity in risk analysis of
trans-border movement of GMOs.
Diouf
also stated that "The ratification and implementation of the
International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture,
which will ensure equitable sharing and preservation of our genetic
heritage, is a high priority."
For more on FAO and biotechnology visit http://www.fao.org/biotech/index.asp
FSA "CITIZENS' JURY" FAVORS GM FOOD
The
Food Standards Agency (FSA) recently conducted a "citizen's
jury" on GM food which aimed to assess the UK public's views
on GM food and how these views affect their choices. The guiding
theme was to ask whether or not GM food should be generally available
for UK consumers and how safe it might be.
The
citizens' jury was composed of 15 jurors (an accountant, two students,
a housewife, taxi driver, driving instructor, and a minister of
religion) from Slough. Organizations such as: Friends of the Earth,
Bayer CropScience, Sainsbury's, and the Consumers' Association
acted as "witnesses" or speakers on the benefits and
risks of GM food.
After
the 3-day discussion, majority (9) of the jurors favored GM food
being available to the consumers, while six felt that the UK is
not yet ready for GM foods thus it should not be put on sale. The
reasons of the majority who thought GM food should be available
to buy in the UK were:
- They
are confident in the safety measures.
- While
some anti-GM concerns are valid, a choice has to be made.
- If
the UK does not embrace new developments in science, it will
be left behind, because there are demonstrable benefits from
GM.
The
jury, however, was in agreement that the following measures are
also important if GM food is introduced to the UK: 1. the public
should be educated and kept informed of developments and possible
problems with GM, and 2. there should be an effective labeling
and monitoring scheme for GM foods (ex. a GM food logo).
View
the full story on http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/verdict.
KARI AND CIMMYT COLLABORATE
ON CORN PROJECT
Aiming
to increase corn production and food security for African farmers,
the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) and the International
Centre for Maize and Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT) are currently conducting
research activities on insect resistant corn.
The
project aims to develop and deploy corn varieties resistant to
the stem borer. KARI and CIMMYT are presently developing locally
improved adapted strains of corn with tolerance to drought and
low nitrogen. At present, 17 corn genes identified worldwide are
undergoing trials for their ability to confer insect resistance
in corn plants.
KARI
has also conducted tests on identified genetically modified (GM)
plants for efficacy against insects. The research which has positive
results so far, involved screening local germplasm from KARI and
imported germplasm from CIMMYT for resistance to stem borers under
artificial and natural infestation. Superior germplasm, and germplasm
for crossing with local corn varieties were identified to confer
insect resistance.
The
news release is available at http://www.sciencenewsdev.co.ke/bi-kenya-maize.htm.
More
about KARI at http://www.hridir.org/countries/kenya/PROVCOUN/
kenya_agricultural_research_institute_kari/ and CIMMYT
at http://www.cimmyt.cgiar.org.
SYNGENTA TO CONDUCT
GM WHEAT TRIALS
Germany's
first field trials of genetically modified wheat has been given
the go-signal by the state-owned Robert Koch Scientific Institute
which is responsible for approving the conduct of GM crop trials
in the country. The country does not allow commercial planting
of GM crops but allows research plantings.
Syngenta,
applied for permission for trail plantings of wheat resistant to
the fungus fusarium in the eastern state of Thuringia. According
to Syngenta's Peter Hefner, the test area will be 400 square meters
of which 75 square metres would actually have GM seeds.
Visit http://www.syngenta.com for
more of Syngenta's activities.
CPRI TO TRIAL GM POTATO
The
Central Potato Research Institute (CPRI) in Shimla, India is set
to conduct limited field trials with GM potatoes tolerant to the
potato tuber moth, following the Department of Biotechnology's
approval.
The
institute is already doing collaborative research programs in the
field of genetic transformation with institutions in India such
as National Research Centre for Plant Biotechnology, New Delhi;
National Center for Plant Genome Research, New Delhi; and Bhabha
Atomic Research Center, Trombay.
According
to SM Paul Khurana, Director of the CPRI, potato transgenic lines
that are resistant to potato tuber moth, producing novel essential
amino acid rich protein and tolerant to potato virus Y have been
produced. The protein-rich transgenic lines have been evaluated
under limited field trials for the last
3 years.
CPRI
has done molecular characterization of Indian potato cultivars
and cloning of three genes: osmotin from Solanum chacoense, invertase
inhibitor (inhh) from tobacco, and coat protein (CP) gene of potato
leafroll virus(PLRV).
Khurana
says that "due to low protein content in potatoes, with whatsoever
expression level, the total protein content of potato cannot compete
with other protein rich food sources such as pulses, milk, meat,
fish etc."
The
institute director adds that biotechnology has become a powerful
supplementary aid to the conventional approaches of crop improvement
and production. Being a vegetatively propagated polyploid crop
species, potato has always been an attractive proposition to address
its inherent problems using biotechnological tools.
Contact
SM Paul Khurana of the Central Potato Research Institute at this
email address: director@cpri.hp.nic.in
GENETIC FINGERPRINTING
OF SEA TREE FOR DRUG DEVELOPMENT
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Forest
Research Institute of Malaysia have developed genetic markers to help identify
and preserve a Southeast Asian tree, Eurycoma longifolia. Known in Southeast
Asia as Tongkat Ali, the tree contains a substance that inhibits viruses and
boosts fertility.
Root
extracts of Tongkat Ali are used widely as a dietary supplement
for treating a variety of ailments. Researchers hope that compounds
extracted from the roots of the tree may lead to useful new drugs.
Extracts have reported aphrodisiac properties and have been shown
to boost fertility in laboratory animals.
Researchers
of the collaborative program aim to develop genetic markers known
as single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs. They want to determine
whether the presence of certain SNPs within a plant could correlate
with the presence of chemical components of potent medicinal properties.
Key individuals for breeding programs to produce plants can then
be identified and used to manufacture nutritional supplements and
pharmaceuticals.
The
work is reported in the March 2003 issue of Plant Physiology.
Email
Philip Lessard, MIT research scientist, at plessard@mit.edu for
more information.
CAESIUM-RESISTANT
PLANTS
By using plants that avoid the radioactive hangover from armed conflicts, crops
could be grown on land contaminated by harmful chemicals yet still be safe
for consumption.
This
was the highlight of a presentation by Martin Broadley and Phil
White, from the Horticulture Research International in the United
Kingdom during the Society for Experimental Biology annual conference.
The
researchers are looking at the uptake of caesium, an extremely
harmful radioactive substance. "Plants are selective of the
nutrients they extract from the soil," says Broadley. "Caesium
is not a plant nutrient but it is very similar to potassium, a
nutrient essential for plant growth, in effect allowing it to sneak
into the plant."
The
team is aiming to block the uptake of the harmful caesium, without
affecting the uptake of beneficial nutrients. "If we can understand
the mechanism of uptake, especially in terms of micronutrients,
then we can control the amount of certain substances being absorbed
by the plant." Variations in uptake within vegetable species,
and identifying the proteins responsible for uptake in the roots,
now seems possible to control.
Through
this knowledge, the team hopes to develop caesium resistant crops.
A large numbers of people in the Ukraine still consume dangerous
levels of caesium, present in their food, originating from the
Chernobyl accident.
Contact:
Martin Broadley at this email address: martin.broadley@hri.ac.uk
USDA CREATES NEW GMO
COMMITTEE
Patricia
Layton, a professor at the South Carolina-based Clemson University
has been appointed chairman of the Agriculture Department's advisory
committee on biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture. The advisory
committee will study issues related to agriculture and genetically
modified crops.
Layton
will be assisted by 17 other people coming from 14 states, the
District of Columbia and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement
Center in Mexico City.
The
announcement can be read at http://www.usagnet.com
ANNOUNCEMENT:
E-mail Conference
On Regulating GMOs
The
FAO Electronic Forum on Biotechnology in Food and Agriculture will
focus its next e-mail conference on the theme of "Regulating
GMOs in developing and transition countries". This moderated
conference covers the agro-industry, crop, fisheries, forestry
and livestock sectors and runs from 28 April to 25 May 2003.
A background
document has been prepared for the conference and is available
at http://www.fao.org/biotech/C9doc.htm.
All messages posted during the conference will also be placed on
the Forum website (http://www.fao.org/biotech/forum.asp).
For
more information, contact biotech-mod1@fao.org | 
