Crop Biotech Update

A weekly summary of world developments in agri-biotech for developing countries, produced by the Global Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology, International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications SEAsiaCenter (ISAAA), and AgBiotechNet

October 17, 2003

In This Issue:

CropBiotech Update Feedback Form
Gates Foundation Gives Grant to Combat Malnutrition
UK Royal Society to Release Farm Scale Evaluations
Monsanto Helps Develop Enhanced Corn for Africa
NZ Parliament Approves Lifting of GM Moratorium
Gene Flow Evident in Rapeseed
Americans Generally Unaware of GM Food
Genetic Breeding of Mangoes in Pakistan
GM and Non-GM Corn, the Same to Animals
Announcement:
Indian Seed Companies Combine to Buy Indian Bt Cotton
GM Conference in the Czech Republic

 

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UK ROYAL SOCIETY TO RELEASE FARM SCALE EVALUATIONS


The results of the Farm Scale Evaluations (FSEs) will be published today in Philosophical Transactions: Biological Sciences, a journal of the Royal Society in the United Kingdom. According to the Royal Society, results reveal significant differences in the effect on biodiversity when managing genetically modified herbicide-tolerant (GMHT) crops as compared to conventional varieties. The study emphasizes the importance of weeds within crops in sustaining natural communities within and adjacent to farmer's fields.

A total of eight papers were published. They looked at the effects on: weeds in the fields, weeds on invertebrates in the fields, weeds and invertebrates in the field margins, and on the effect of contrasting herbicide regimes on both weeds and invertebrates as a whole.

Some of the major highlights of the study according to the Royal Society include:

  • Significant and variable impacts of GMHT cropping in beet, corn and spring oilseed rape on the arable weeds when compared to current commercial practices. In GMHT beet and oilseed rape crops, more effective weed control lead to the decline in the number of weed seeds left in the soil at the end of each growing season.
  • Differences in GMHT and conventional crop herbicide regimes had a significant effect on the capture of most surface-active invertebrate species and larger groupings in at least one crop, with most increases occurring in GMHT maize and most decreases occurring in GMHT beet and oilseed rape.
  • The effect of GMHT cropping on the interaction between invertebrates with different feeding habits was studied by examining the relations between plants and the abundance of insects grouped according to their feeding preferences. The negative effect of GMHT cropping on weeds in beet and spring oilseed rape, and the positive effect in maize, resulted in similar changes higher up the food chain.

For more information visit http://www.pubs.royalsoc.ac.uk/phil_bio/news/fse_toc.html


NZ PARLIAMENT APPROVES LIFTING OF GM MORATORIUM

The New Organisms and Other Matters Act was passed by New Zealand's parliament which will soon lift the moratorium on the commercial release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). It only needs Royal Assent or the signature of the Governor-General to become law. It will come into force on 30 October 2003.

Marion Hobbs, Environment Minister said "New Zealanders will not be forced to eat GM food. They will have choice, when and if GM fresh food is ever offered for sale in New Zealand." In her speech introducing the third reading of the bill she said "Like the Royal Commission this Government believes that we can allow organic crops, conventional crops and GM plants/animals to co-exist. No one's rights have to be curtailed."

For more information email ERMA New Zealand at info@ermanz.govt.nz or visit their website at http://www.ermanz.govt.nz.


AMERICANS GENERALLY UNAWARE OF GM FOOD

After two years, most Americans are generally unaware and still undecided about genetically modified (GM) food. However, the American public’s opinion can only be strengthened if measures are adopted to significantly increase their awareness and knowledge of GM food. This was according to William K. Hallman and his colleagues at the Food Policy Institute in Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, USA.

In the report entitled “Public Perceptions of Genetically Modified Foods: A National Study of American Knowledge and Opinion,” Hallman and colleagues focused on the American public’s knowledge and feelings about agricultural biotechnology, and how their perceptions have changed over time.

Highlights of the study are as follows:

  • Only half of Americans are aware that food products containing GM ingredients are actually sold in stores, and only one-quarter of them believe that they have actually eaten GM food.
  • Majority of the respondents are generally uninformed about biotechnology and food production. Self-reported knowledge of biotechnology is apparently low.
  • Regarding the acceptability of GM food, 49% of Americans approve of plant-based GM food, while 27% approve of animal-based GM food. However, 10% of Americans are still unsure about their opinions about GM food.
  • Approval increases when specific benefits of GM food are cited. Also, certain reactions are evoked depending on how the technology is called. The term “biotechnology” is perceived positively, “genetic modification” is seen as negative, and “genetic engineering” is often associated with cloning.
  • Socio-demographics and food choices are related to acceptance of GM food. Women, people over 64, and people with low levels of education are less likely to approve GM food. Also, people who value naturalness and healthfulness in their foods, and those who have purchased organic foods in the past, are less likely to approve of GM food.
  • Majority of Americans (94%) agree that GM ingredients should be labeled as such, but less than 1% of the respondents mentioned GM ingredients as one of the things they would like to see on food labels.

A copy of this report is available at http://www.foodpolicyinstitute.org/docs/
reports/NationalStudy2003.pdf
.


GM AND NON-GM CORN, THE SAME TO ANIMALS

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) has recently noted that studies continue to show that animals fed with GM corn produce meat, milk and eggs of the same quality as their non-GM corn fed counterparts. Two studies published in the Journal of Animal Science, volume 81, seem to support the NCGA’s observations.

The first study is a joint research project by the University of Nebraska and the University of Illinois. Results of the study showed that the insertion of glyphosate-tolerant genes had no significant effect on the nutritive quality of corn fed to cattle. Performance and carcass characteristics of the beef steers fed with GM corn (Roundup Ready corn) and non-GM corn were practically the same.

On the other hand, the second study was a joint research by the Japanese National Institute of Animal Health, the National Food Research Institute, and the National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science. Results of the study suggest that the general health and growth rate of pigs fed with GM corn and non-GM corn are also the same.

Further, the intrinsic genes, or recombinant sequence corn-derived DNA were found to be degraded in the pig’s gastrointestinal tract. Scant amounts of the detectable fragmented corn DNA, that were not initially degraded, could, however, still be excreted. Environmental effects of such excretions were also found to be negligible.

Read the full story at http://www.ncga.com/news/notd/2003/october/100903.htm.


INDIAN SEED COMPANIES COMBINE TO BUY INDIAN BT COTTON

Swarna Bharat Biotechnics Private Ltd (SBBPL), a consortium of seven Indian seed manufacturing companies, has signed an agreement with the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) over access to Bt cotton technology.

SBBPL comprises Nuziveedu Seeds, Ganga Kaveri Seeds, Pravardhan Seeds, Prabhat Agri Biotech, Kaveri Seeds, Nandi Seeds and Vikki's Agro Tech. According to P. Sateesh Kumar of Prabhat Agri Biotech, the deal could give farmers more than a 50% cut in the price of Bt cotton seed, when compared to Bt cotton produced by multinational companies. NBRI's cotton should be commercialized in the next three years.

In an article in Current Science, Rakesh Tuli of India’s National Botanical Research Institute and colleagues say that agriculture in India can benefit substantially by adopting transgenic insecticidal cultivars since, in contrast to the world average of 30%, of the total chemical pesticides used in India, 75% are employed against insects. "No other biological approach, as safe as and yet as effective as the Bt technology is presently known to control agricultural pests," they said.

Contact Rakesh Tuli at r.tuli@nbri.res.in.


GATES FOUNDATION GIVES GRANT TO COMBAT MALNUTRITION

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is giving a $25 million grant to the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) to improve the nutritional quality of staple foods in developing countries.  

The grant will support HarvestPlus, a global research initiative to breed and disseminate crops for better nutrition, which is being spearheaded by the International Center for Tropical Agricultural Research (CIAT) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Using an innovative approach called “biofortification,” agricultural and nutrition scientists will work together to breed crops that provide higher levels of micronutrients such as iron, zinc, and vitamin A. 

HarvestPlus has an alliance of international and national agricultural research institutes, university nutrition and food crop programs, the private sector, and non-governmental organizations in the developing and developed world. 

For more information on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation go to http://www.harvestplus.org/noteworthy_2.html.

More details on the HarvestPlus initiative at http://www.harvestplus.org


MONSANTO HELPS DEVELOP ENHANCED CORN FOR AFRICA

Monsanto donated critical information to aid in developing one of HarvestPlus' newly announced projects, a nutritionally improved African variety of corn with increased levels of provitamin A. Corn is a primary crop in Africa where vitamin A deficiency is prevalent. HarvestPlus is a biofortification project coordinated by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research.

HarvestPlus is investigating a variety of approaches to nutritionally enhance the content of corn, wheat, rice, sweet potato, cassava and common beans. These approaches include conventional breeding and plant biotechnology. In addition to provitamin A enhancement, researchers are also examining ways to boost the iron and zinc content of these crops, which could further increase their nutritional value.

A major component of the project will focus on training scientists from Africa on plant science, biotechnology, and nutrition, to build local expertise in these areas. Safety testing, efficacy studies, education, and analysis of delivery systems will precede the development and introduction of the enhanced corn.

Visit the Monsanto website at http://www.monsanto.com.


GENE FLOW EVIDENT IN RAPESEED

According to Mike Wilkinson of the University of Reading in the United Kingdom (UK), genes from genetically modified (GM) rapeseed could possibly mix with its wild plant relatives. Wilkinson made this statement after conducting a research on the yellow-flowered oil plant rapeseed (Brassica napus), and its potential to pollinate its wild plant relatives such as bargeman’s cabbage (Brassica rapa).

Wilkinson and his colleagues surveyed wild populations of bargeman’s cabbage along 316 kilometers of rivers and canals in an attempt to determine the possible impact of GM plants on the UK environment. The researchers observed that, on the average, less than 1 in 10,000 plants had crossed with the rapeseed. However, when wild plants grew as weeds in rapeseed fields, 2% would likely cross, on rare instances, with its cultivated relatives.

Comments Rosie Hails, an ecologist from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Oxford, UK “the study is only a measure of hybridization levels between two unmodified plants. How human-inserted genes move, and whether they persist in the environment, are the ultimate questions.”

The study is featured in Nature Science Update. It can also be viewed at
http://www.nature.com/nsu/031006/031006-13.html.


GENETIC BREEDING OF MANGOES IN PAKISTAN

Pakistan sees the need to go into the genetic breeding and selection of mangoes. Breeding objectives would include developing superior cultivars that would have better fruit quality, higher production per tree, longer shelf life, and resistance to pests and diseases.

Farzana Panhwar, president of the Sindh Rural Women’s Up-lift Group in Hyderabad, Pakistan, says that biotechnology can improve mango production particularly in the development of new varieties. She adds that there are 40 species of mango that are found in South Asia and 13 of them are cultivated for edible fruits.

Other breeding criteria, Panhwar notes, are new cultivars that retain the characteristic flavor, enhanced skin color, fruit of large size, large pulp percentage as compared to skin and stone, good sugar-acid blend, pleasing aroma, and suitability of fresh fruit for canning.

Contact Farzana Panhwar at this email address: farzanapanhwar@hotmail.com.


ANNOUNCEMENT:

GM CONFERENCE IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

The first meeting of the Conference entitled “Ecological Impact of Genetically Modified Organisms” will take place in Prague, Czech Republic on November 26 to 29, 2003. For more details, please refer to http://www.entu.cas.cz

 

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