Agricultural Biotechnology: Bt Corn Produces Healthier Crops for Humans and Animals
The Council for Biotechnology Information
Excerpt...
...Studies show biotech corn is less susceptible to harmful molds.
Biotech corn may actually be to safer eat than conventional varieties — particularly in some developing countries — because it has built-in protection against insect pests that burrow into corn kernels, creating conditions for a mold to develop that can be harmful to both humans and animals.
"There is now clear evidence that food and feed products from Bt corn are often safer than the corresponding products from conventional corn because of lower levels of the mycotoxin fumonisin," according to a November 2003 report from the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA).
Fumonisin is produced when insects burrow into corn stalks and kernels, allowing fungi to enter and produce harmful mold. While mycotoxin levels are closely monitored in the industrial world, they are not monitored in many developing countries in the tropics where the threat from fungal infection is greatest.
"Minimizing insect damage through Bt corn has significantly reduced concentrations of fumonisin in food and feed," said Clive James, the author of the report from ISAAA, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help alleviate hunger and poverty by sharing crop biotechnology applications. "This is a major benefit in developing countries where levels of the harmful mold are higher in food and feed and where corn is directly used as food by a significant portion of the population."
A number of independent studies have confirmed that Bt corn — enhanced with a naturally occurring soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis, that wards off insect pests — has significantly lower fumonisin levels:
A 2000 study by the USDA's Agricultural Research Service found that fumonisin levels were between 30 and 40 times lower in Illinois Bt corn fields than in those planted with traditional varieties.
A 1999 Iowa State University study found a "significant" lowering of fumonisin levels in Bt corn over conventional varieties. "Our results indicate that under some conditions, genetic engineering of maize for insect resistance may enhance its safety for animal and human consumption," said the study's lead researcher, Gary Munkvold."Lower mycotoxin concentrations in Bt corn hybrids clearly represent a benefit to consumers."
"Bt corn is protected against damage from corn borers and consistently has 90 percent less fumonisin than conventional plants," said a 2000 report from the American Academy of Microbiology titled, 100 Years of Bacillus Thuringiensis: A Critical Scientific Assessment. "Thus, protection against insect damage and subsequent fungal infection may have important health implications for consumers and farm animals exposed to fumonisins in their diet."
High levels of fumonisin can cause liver and kidney damage in many animals, and fumonisin is believed to be a human carcinogen. While human food safety from high fumonisin levels are generally not considered a major problem in the developed world, it is a more serious health issue where insect infestation levels are high and corn is a staple for human survival.
In Kenya, for example, where the normal corn intake is about 400 grams per day, eating corn with fumonisin contamination of just 1 part per million (ppm) would mean exceeding the provisional maximum total daily intake (PMTDI) for fumonisin by three times.
"Given that maize (corn) contamination of 1 ppm is not uncommon, there are risks for people consuming high amounts of contaminated maize," according to the ISAAA report. 8 The recommended guidance level for fumonisin in corn is 2 ppm.
To date, South Africa is the only country in Africa to approve the commercial planting of Bt corn, and the Philippines is the only country in Asia to do so. In Europe, Spanish farmers have been planting Bt corn for several years as have farmers in the United States and Canada....
Full article at The Council for Biotechnology Information.
