In This
Issue:
CARTAGENA
PROTOCOL ON BIOSAFETY TAKES EFFECT
The
Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety took effect on 11 September 2003.
It is the first legally binding international agreement governing
the transboundary movement of living modified organisms resulting
from modern biotechnology. The treaty was adopted in January 2000
by member countries to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
CBD
Executive Secretary Hamdallah Zedan said, "The Protocol has
now become a binding instrument for States (Parties) that have
given their consent to be bound by it". The transboundary
movement of living modified organisms from one country to another
will have to conform with the provisions of the Protocol. Zedan
called for countries to take appropriate legal and administrative
measures to implement it.
A United
Nations Environment Program press release says that the decision-making
body of all the member countries of the Protocol - the Conference
of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol-
will convene from 23 to 27 February 2004 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
to address strategic and operational measures for the implementation
of the Protocol.
Additional
information about the Protocol is available at the following Web
sites: CBD Web site: http://www.biodiv.org/biosafety and
Biosafety Clearing-House: http://bch.biodiv.org/Pilot/Home.aspx.
Frequently
asked questions are also available at: http://www.biodiv.org/biosafety/faqs.asp
EUROPEAN COURT: NO BASIS FOR GM BAN IN ITALY
The
European Court of Justice (ECJ) recently stated that it could not
support the Italian decree to temporarily ban a genetically modified
(GM) corn variety in Italy on the suspicion that it is not substantially
equivalent to the conventional variety. The ECJ said that Italy
failed to provide enough scientific evidence that this GM product,
which is used for animal feed, is hazardous to human health or
the environment.
According
to the ECJ, the mere presence of residues of transgenic protein
in novel foods is not enough reason to prevent their placement
in the market after successfully complying with the testing procedures.
These foods are also considered to be substantially equivalent
to existing foods and may consequently be marketed under a simplified
procedure.
In a
press statement, EuropaBio welcomed this decision of the ECJ. According
to them, this decision upheld the right to free movement of goods,
including approved GM products, within the EU. They added that
they also welcome the Court’s clarification that Member States
must have reasons, based on sound scientific evidence, to invoke
the safeguard clause. Claims cannot be based on pure supposition,
or politics.
The
ECJ document can be downloaded at http://curia.eu.int/en/actu/communiques/cp03/aff/cp0367en.htm, while
the EuropaBio press release can be seen at http://www.europabio.org/upload/articles/article_210_EN.doc.
DEVELOPING WORLD
TO BENEFIT FROM BIOTECH
Biotechnology
has the potential to play a significant role in rapidly advancing
agricultural productivity in developing countries while protecting
the environment. In combination with political and economic reforms,
biotechnology can increase crop productivity by increasing yields
and improving the nutritional content of crops in developing countries.
It will also help provide lower-cost food to low-income consumers.
This is the gist of an article entitled “Agricultural Biotechnology
and the Developing World” by J.B. Penn, Undersecretary of
the US Department of Agriculture.
Penn
cited the following specific benefits:
- Reduced
reliance of biotech varieties on chemical inputs resulting in
less water pollution
- Reduced
chemical usage resulting in safer water supplies and higher quality
drinking water
- Higher
yielding biotech crops that help ease the strain on land resources,
reducing the need for expansion onto more fragile areas and thus
allowing for greater conservation of natural habitats
- Lower
energy usage on biotech crops because there are fewer passes
through fields in applying chemicals
- Herbicide-resistant
crops encourage the adoption of conservation tillage, especially
no-till, which reduce erosion of topsoil
View
the article online at http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/ites/0903/ijee/penn.htm
CHINA TO BE
ONE OF WORLD LEADERS IN BIOTECH
China
hopes to be one of the world leaders in biotechnology research
and a domestic supplier of biotechnologies. Chinese policymakers
consider agricultural biotechnology as a strategic tool for improving
national food security, raising agricultural productivity, and
creating a competitive position in international agricultural markets.
This is the conclusion of Jikun Huang and Qinfang Wang of the Chinese
Academy of Sciences in an article entitled “Agricultural
Biotechnology Development and Policy in China” published
in AgBioForum (Vol. 5, No. 4).
China’s
position on biotechnology is a result of the perception of policymakers
that there are risks associated with reliance on imported technologies
to guarantee national food security. In addition, the current priority
setting for investments in agricultural biotechnology research
has been directed at commodities for which China does not have
a relative comparative advantage in international markets such
as grain, cotton, and oil crops. Hence, China is targeting products
aimed at the domestic market and in view of the needs of poorer
farmers.
The
researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, however, note
that many competing factors are exerting pressure on policymakers
to continue with work on GM crops. The demand of producers for
better technology, consumer desire for cheaper products, the current
size and rate of increase of research investments, and past success
in developing technologies, suggest that biotechnology will continue
to have a future in China.
Other
factors for biotechnology in China to succeed include investments
in research and development, and for biosafety management capacity
and policy implementation.
Read
the full article online at http://www.agbioforum.org/v5n4/v5n4a01-huang.htm
FOOD LABELS
FOR HEALTHY CHOICES AMONG CONSUMERS
Consumers
in Australia and New Zealand are now reading and using information
on food labels to make informed choices about food. This is according
to the recent results of a survey conducted by the Food Standards
Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) last September to October 2002.
This
survey entitled “Food Labeling Issues – Quantitative
Research with Consumers,” was based on the results of the
qualitative research that FSANZ completed last February 2002. Results
of this survey will be used as a benchmark to measure any potential
changes over the past years in the way consumers in Australia and
New Zealand use or understand food labels.
Fifteen
label elements were examined in the survey that was conducted with
approximately 2,000 respondents from the different cities of Australia
and New Zealand. The label elements include: date marking, ingredients
list, nutrition information panel, country of origin, nutrient
claims, preparation/ storage instructions, percentage label, warning
and advisory statements, allergen declaration, endorsements, GMO,
novel food and irradiated food declarations and health claims.
Other
key results of the survey include:
- Consumers
use labels for different reasons. Date marks were used more regularly
for perishable foods (ex. dairy), and allergen declarations were
used for baked products (biscuits and dairy foods).
- Sixty-six
percent (66%) of consumers use date marking, ingredients list,
and the nutrition information panel.
- Least
used elements – GMO declarations, health claims, allergen
declarations, and novel and irradiated food declarations.
- Disinterest
in labels, and previous positive experiences with food were the
two key reasons for not using labels.
- Genetically
modified food declarations and the country of origin labels were
the least clear and easy to understand.
- Most
consumers do not have trouble in reading and interpreting nutrition
information panels but struggle to use this information to compare
products.
Read
the survey press release and the focus group data results at http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/
mediareleasespublications/mediareleases/mediareleases2003/hontrishworthresearc2198.cfm.
SARAWAK ACTIVE
IN BIOTECH
The Malaysian State of Sarawak is actively using biotechnology to make the
best of its biodiversity. Speaking at a meeting on "Understanding and
acceptability of biotechnology from the Islamic perspective", Sarawak
Chief Minister Tan Sri Adbul Taib Mahmud highlighted initiatives such as the
production of pharmaceuticals produced in plants.
The
Chief Minister mentioned the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre, the biotechnology
park in Samarahan (near Kuching), and the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
as proof of government support to biotechnology.
For more of the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre, visit http://www.sbc.org.my.
RISK ASSESSMENT
STRATEGY FOR BT CROPS IN THE NETHERLANDS
Bart
G J Knols and Marcel Dicke of the Laboratory of Entomology at the
Wageningen University, the Netherlands outlined a risk-assessment
strategy for the responsible regulation of the entrance of transgenic
crops into Dutch agriculture.
The
authors cited three areas which needs to be addressed by the Dutch
Committee on Genetic Modification. These are: 1. the outcrossing
of transgenes to related plant species; 2. effects of transgenic
plants on soil ecosystems; and 3. effects of transgenic plants
on multitrophic interactions.
Knols
and Dicke proposed the following four-pronged approach in risk
assessment in anticipation of the possible effects of Bt products
on the Dutch agro-ecological environment:
Step 1: Bt crop application requires identification of key species participating
in multitrophic interactions and a clear understanding of their ecological
functions within the food web.
Step
2: Exposure of these key species to Bt toxins, and the resulting
effects on the functioning of below- and above-ground trophic levels
and their interactions, will follow.
Step
3: Population studies and analysis of interactions of Bt plants
with adjacent (semi) natural ecosystems and their effects at the
community level.
Step
4: Development of models to describe these processes that range
from organism to population level, providing insights into the
potential ecological effects.
This
article was published in Nature Biotechnology (Vol 21 No. 9 September
2003). For more information, email marcel.dicke@wur.nl.
GE SWEETPOTATO
IN KENYA
Research
is being done in Kenya to develop a genetically modified (GM) virus
resistant sweetpotato. It is considered a promising option towards
the control of the sweetpotato virus disease (SWVD), specifically
sweetpotato feathery mottle virus which accounts for about 80%
yield loss.
Spearheaded
by the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute in collaboration with
several international organizations, the research project seeks
to transfer virus resistance traits via genetic engineering to
Kenyan sweetpotato varieties for use by subsistence farmers. The
International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications
brokered the project which among other things, identified appropriate
partners for the different implementation stages.
KARI
has a biotechnology laboratory for further transformation of local
African sweetpotato genotypes. It has developed full capacity for
conducting laboratory, greenhouse and field experiments with GM
plants.
The
project was instrumental in catalyzing the formation and operationalization
of the biosafety and approval system for the introduction of other
GM crops in Kenya. /Africa Biotechnology Stakeholders Forum and
Kenya Biotechnology Information Center
More
on the Kenya Biotechnology Information Center at http://www.isaaa-africenter.org
DELAYED RIPENING
TECH DOUBLES SHELF-LIFE IN BANANA
First round of banana field trials by Senesco Technologies, Inc. and Rahan
Meristem show that using Senesco's delayed ripening technology significantly
extends the shelf-life of banana. Senesco claims that banana fruit lasted twice
as long as the control (non-enhanced) fruit. The Senesco bananas ripened normally,
but the onset of spoilage and blackening that follows ripening was significantly
delayed.
Banana
is the most widely consumed fruit worldwide. Fruits are picked
before they are allowed to ripen. They are then transported to
their final destination under controlled atmosphere conditions
where they are gassed with a plant hormone, ethylene, to induce
ripening. Once ripening has been artificially triggered, the fruit
has to be eaten or sold immediately before they spoil.
The
banana field trials indicate that the delayed ripening technology
slows the process of cell death once ripening has occurred, without
affecting normal growth of the plant and its fruit. This ensures
that bananas are the same size, shape, weight and color as non-enhanced
bananas, with the same taste and nutritional characteristics.
Email info@senesco.com for
more information.
GM PLANT VACCINE
FOR ASTHMA
Australian researchers are making progress in what may lead to a plant vaccine
for asthma. Simon Hogan and his colleagues at the Australian National University
were able to produce genetically modified lupin that suppressed asthma in mice.
Lupin is a genus of plants belonging to the pea family.
The
researchers expressed a sunflower seed albumin protein in lupin,
and demonstrated that this could stimulate antibody production
in mice, and lessen the hypersensitivity associated with experimentally
induced asthma.
"Our
data demonstrate that a GM plant-based vaccine can promote a protective
immune response and attenuate experimental asthma, suggesting that
plant-based vaccines may be potentially therapeutic for the protection
against allergic diseases," says the team.
Obtain
details of the research in the Journal of Immunology (Vol. 171,
2003) or email simon.hogan@anu.edu.au.
ANNOUNCEMENT:
SYMPOSIUM
ON FOOD SECURITY AND BIODIVERSITY
The
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, the Syngenta Foundation
for Sustainable Agriculture, and the International Plant Genetic
Resources Institute, will sponsor a one-day symposium entitled “Food
Security and Biodiversity: Sharing the Benefit of Plant Genetic
Resources,” on October 16, 2003 in Basel, Switzerland. Registration
and other details can be seen at http://www.benefitsharing.org.
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