In
This Issue:
CAST
RELEASES REPORT ON ENVIRONMENTAL GAINS OF GM CROPS
The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) has released a comprehensive
report detailing the environmental safety and benefits of commercial biotechnology-derived
soybean, corn and cotton. It reviewed current scientific literature comparing
the environmental impacts of biotechnology-derived and traditional crops. The
report claims that soil, air and water quality all benefit from the responsible
use of current biotechnology-derived soybean, corn and cotton.
Specific findings for each of the biotechnology-derived crops include the following:
Biotechnology-Derived Soybean
Soil Quality. With the introduction of herbicide-tolerant
soybean, no-till soybean acreage was increased by 35 percent.
Decreased soil erosion, dust, pesticide run-off, increased
soil moisture retention, and improved air and water quality
was also achieved through no-till farming.
Land
Use Efficiency. Use of biotechnology-derived soybean may lead
to increased yield through improved weed control and use of narrow-row
spacing.
Water
Quality. By using biotechnology-derived soybeans, farmers can
use herbicides that rapidly dissipate to inactive amounts in the
soil, thus minimizing water contamination.
Biodiversity.
Biodiversity is maintained in biotechnology-derived soybean fields.
Birds and other wildlife were similar in number and variety compared
to those found in conventional soybean fields.
Biotechnology-Derived Corn
Biodiversity. Bt corn
enhances the biodiversity of cornfields and beneficial insects were
found to fare better as compared to those found in cornfields sprayed
with insecticides.
Pesticide Use Pattern. Use of Bt corn decreases
the exposure of farmers to organic sprays and chemical
insecticides. Herbicide-tolerant corn varieties also reduce
the risks of herbicide run-off into surface water. It also
encourages the application of reduced and no-till soil
and soil moisture management practices.
Land
Use Efficiency. Since the introduction of insect-protected
and herbicide-tolerant corn, yields have been observed to continuously
increase.
Biotechnology-Derived
Cotton
Pesticide
Use Pattern. Herbicide-tolerant cotton decreases the volume
of pesticides applied and the risks of pesticide run-off.
Soil
Quality. Herbicide-tolerant cotton promotes no-till farming
practices and improves soil moisture retention.
Land
Use Efficiency. Herbicide-tolerant cotton provides for flexible
herbicide applications for effective weed control and less damage
to the cotton plants.
Biodiversity.
Herbicide-tolerant cotton has a positive effect on the number and
diversity of beneficial insects.
Teresa
A, Gruber, CAST Executive Vice-President, stated that previous studies
on the environmental impact of biotechnology-derived crops seemed
to present conflicting results. Thus, CAST assembled a team of researchers
to review and analyze published studies in the context of current
farming practices. The nine criteria used in the analysis were: changes
in pesticide use pattern, impacts on beneficial insects, pest resistance
and population shifts, soil management, land use efficiency, impacts
on biodiversity, and human exposure. The researchers commissioned
for this study were affiliated with the Washington State University,
the University of Illinois, Clemson University, and the National
Center for Food and Agricultural Policy.
An electronic copy of the report is available at http://www.cast-science.org and
at http://www.talksoy.com
UK
COMMITTEE CALLS FOR SCIENCE-BASED GM TRIAL DEBATE
The UK Government Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs supports
suggestions for a debate to take place on the results of genetically modified
(GM) field trials in the UK, but expressed doubts about whether consensus will
be reached. The Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission (AEBC)
has recommended a range of measures to stimulate debate, and advised that the
debate be seen as independent of government. The Committee, made up of members
of parliament, called for an open-minded debate based on "rigorous science,
rather than conjecture."
In its fifth report entitled Genetically Modified Organisms, the Committee
says "the public debate about GM crops and food proposed by the AEBC is an
innovative and sensible means of attempting to understand public feelings about
such a complicated issue." AEBC also said that at the very least, the debate
will provide a platform through which the quality of public knowledge will
be raised. This is especially true if the Government commits itself to providing
not only the already-commissioned assessment of the science by its own advisers
but also the independently-conducted and independently-evaluated research they
have recommended. The debate will also provide a forum through which the public
can air its views.
The
report forwarded the following recommendations:
-
Openness,
transparency and responsibility on the part of those who favor
or oppose the technology including media.
-
Support
for public debate about the issues surrounding the outcome of
the farm-scale evaluations and the future commercial growing
of GM crops. The debate will help to inform the public about
GM crops in a rational and intelligent way, and at the same time
help the Government to understand public opinion rather better.
-
The
debate should be conducted independently of Government due to
public mistrust of its intentions in respect of GM crops and
food.
-
The
Government should provide independently-reviewed data of public
research as well as establish a panel of scientists able to provide
advice which is seen as unbiased.
The
full report is available at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmselect/cmenvfru/767/76703.htm#a7
AUSTRALIAN
STUDY SAYS GM -FREE ZONES UNNECESSARY
Large buffer zones between genetically modified crops and conventional crops
may be unnecessary. Mary Rieger and her team from Australia's Cooperative Research
Centre for Australian Weed Management made this conclusion based on their work
that measured pollen flow from fields of canola carrying genes for herbicide
resistance to other nearby canola crops.
Rieger's team collected more than 48 million seeds from 63 fields across southern
Australia. Their research showed that pollen was carried to other fields in
amounts well below internationally recognized levels for unwanted genetic transfer. "These
results have major implications for GM crops since the pollen spreads exactly
the same way, mostly by wind or insects", Rieger said.
The research proved that gene glow through the movement of canola pollen occurred
at extremely low levels. Rieger noted that "a key implication of this finding
is that non-GM Australian canola is not in any danger of being excluded from
markets on the basis of containing unwanted genes".
The team's paper entitled "Pollen-mediated movements of herbicide resistance
between commercial canola fields was published in the June 2002 issue of the
American journal Science. Additional information may be obtained from http://www.lifesciencesnetwork.com/news-detail.asp?newsID=1555
MANDATORY
APPROVAL OF GE CROPS RATHER THAN LABELING, SAYS CSPI DIRECTOR
Gregory Jaffe, Director of the Biotechnology Project at the Center for Science
in the Public Interest (CSPI) says that "some consumers want mandatory labeling
because they fear GE foods are unsafe to eat. One way to address this concern
is not labeling, but mandatory approval of GE crops before they are marketed".
Jaffe adds that under FDA's current policy, GE crops are not approved before
they are marketed. " Establishing a mandatory approval process at FDA would
lessen consumer concerns about eating unsafe GE foods, greatly reducing calls
for labeling for safety reasons. If a GE food cannot be proved safe to eat,
it should not be allowed to be marketed, whether or not labeling is required.
Industry should listen to consumers and find ways to provide information about
GE ingredients in an accurate and value-free manner".
Jaffe was one of a group of panelists who shared their views during a Pew Initiative
on Food and Biotechnology policy dialogue entitled "Labeling Genetically Modified
Foods: Communicating or Creating Confusion?" The policy dialogue aimed to stimulate
an informative discussion about the ways consumers are likely to interpret
GM labeling information and the economic implications for food producers, manufacturers,
retailers and the biotechnology industry itself.
A webcast of the dialogue can be viewed at http://www.connectlive.com/events/pewagbiotech
ICRISAT
SEES POTENTIAL "GOLDEN MILLET"
Scientists at the International Crops Research Institute of the Semi Arid Tropics
(ICRISAT) have developed an intermediate product that could lead to a "Golden
Millet", a conventionally bred pearl millet high in beta-carotene. This product
could be an alternative to Golden Rice, the genetically engineered vitamin
A-enriched rice, especially in India and Africa where millet is a staple food.
The development of this product resulted from variability testing of the ICRISAT's
seed collections which revealed millet samples from Burkina Faso in West Africa
with unusually high amounts of beta-carotene.
CT Hash, ICRISAT principal scientist, notes that "with additional financial
support for applied plant breeding based on this intermediate product, ICRISAT
and its partners might be able to move this trait rapidly into genetic background
having reasonably high yield potential, tolerance to locally-prevalent abiotic
stresses and resistance s to the most common biotic constraints to pearl millet
grain production in the dry areas. Once transferred to these genetic backgrounds
and appropriately tested, some of the resulting "golden millets" could be commercially
cultivated.
Scientists also see the potential to employ genetic marker techniques to create
new varieties with even higher beta-carotene levels.
MORE
NUTRITIOUS CORN
Biologists Jinsheng Lai and Joachim Messing of Rutgers University have found
a way to make corn more nutritious. Corn is one of the major crops in the world
especially in developing countries. However, its kernels have low levels of
methionine, an essential amino acid needed in the diet. Higher levels of methionine
could provide better nutrition in the developing world and save farmers $1
billion per year in synthetic methionine supplements to corn-based feed.
Scientists have tried to raise the level of methionine in corn but Lai and
Messing have found a way. Corn already has a gene for a methionine-rich protein
called delta-zein, but its production is limited. The Rutgers biologists discovered
that another protein, Dzr1, latches on to a sequence in the RNA bound for making
delta-zein. The scientists replaced the sequence with a code from another corn
gene to prevent Dzr1 from getting the RNA and raised the production of delta-zein.
Chickens fed on this corn grew significantly faster than those fed with normal
corn.
Since the technique does not add new genes, it sidesteps fears that moving
genes between unrelated species could cause unexpected toxicity or spread genes
in the wild. Lai and Messing hope that the technique will get GM foods onto
the market where others have failed. The article is at http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2002/621/1.
A
PREDICTIVE STUDY FOR BT RICE
If Bt rice were to be eventually adopted, the Philippines would benefit by
$269.6 million, Vietnam by $329.1 million and the rest of the world by $20.1
million. These predictions were forwarded by a study entitled "Transgenic Pest
Resistant Indica Rice: An Ex-ante Economic Evaluation of an Adoption Impact
Pathway in the Philippines and Vietnam for Bt Rice".
Cezar Mamaril from Virginia Tech Polytechnic and State University provided
empirical evidence on the potential size and distribution of economic benefits
of adopting Bt Indica rice in the Philippines and Vietnam through the years
2000 to 2020.
Results also suggest that releasing Bt rice in Vietnam before the Philippines
would generate a larger impact. Another finding is that depending on the ceiling
rate, the range of benefits can be anywhere from $341 million to $908.39 million.
The study also showed that there are still sizable benefits that can be generated
even if farmer dis-adoption and technology depreciation are considered.
The abstract of the study can be seen at http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/
etd-01112002-111854/. The entire study will be available electronically
in January 2003.
WORKSHOP
ON BIO-ENGINEERING PLANTS TO PRODUCE MEDICINE
Researchers are working on ways to genetically engineer plants that can produce
antibodies to fight cancer, edible vaccines, and human proteins that can be
used for therapeutic purposes. A workshop entitled "Pharming the Field:
A Look at Benefits and Risks of Bioengineering Plants to Produce Pharmaceuticals." will
be conducted to explore the potential risks and benefits of this new subject
from July 17-18 at the Ronald Reagan Building, International Trade Center Washington
DC. The workshop will be co-sponsored by the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology;
the US Food and Drug Administration; and the Cooperative State Research, Education,
and Extension Service of the US Department of Agriculture.
For more information and to register online, go to http://pewagbiotech.org/events/0717/. |
