GMO Food for Thought

Food Navigator: “Time for an organic-GM peace treaty”

Abstract: A member posted an article published by Food Navigator declaring that the war between organic and biotechnology advocates needs to end “and concentrate on the benefits an alliance may bring.” The article questions what good could come of the fighting and cites plant pathologist Pamela Ronald’s theory that the two can work in harmony. The member who posted the article questions who started the “war.” Another member responded by saying that the “organikers” started the war with “totally flawed arguments and includes a link to an article containing the organic arguments.

Sources: Food Navigator
“Concepts of Intrinsic Value and Integrity of Plants in Organic Plant Breeding and Propagation” (PDF)

French Parliament Rejects GMO Bill

Abstract: A member posted a Reuters article on a bill blocked by the French parliament that activists said would “blur the line between natural and GM foods.” According to the article, “The bill was intended to lay down conditions for the cultivation of GM crops in France.” Prime Minister Francois Fillon said he plans to ask a committee to draft a similar bill for consideration.

Source: Reuters

Biotechnology Companies Seek Patents on “Climate Ready” Crops

Abstract: The Washington Post published an article on a report released by an activist organization for subsistence farmers that says three major biotechnology companies have filed applications to patent climate-related gene families. The article states that BASF, Syngenta and Monsanto have all filed applications to patent genes that will help cops survive drought, flooding, saltwater incursions, high temperatures and increased ultraviolet radiation. A couple of members commented on this article, with one questions whether biotech companies are jumping the gun on this one. The member wondered if climate change is moving fast enough for these patents to still be useful when they are actually needed. Another member responded by saying that the early filing could have a negative effect, in that when they expire no one will be interested in the technology anymore.

Source: Washington Post

Posted by CS Prakash at 6:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Scientists in France and Switzerland are working to show soil bacteria from Bt maize fields do not cause antibiotic-resistance. This topic has been very controversial in the past, but it appears these scientists may have been able to show that antibiotic-resistant genes don’t transfer from the transgenic plants to bacteria.

C.S. Prakash

Ten years of Bt maize cultivation: Horizontal gene transfer of no significance
GMO Safety
May 30, 2008

Scientists from France and Switzerland have been studying soil bacteria from a field where genetically modified Bt maize has been growing for 10 years. They wanted to find out whether controversial antibiotic-resistance genes can in fact transfer from transgenic plants to bacteria, as is widely feared. They have concluded that transgenic plants play no part in the spread of antibiotic resistances.

Bacteria have special mechanisms which enable them to exchange genetic information directly without sexual reproduction. For this reason it is feared that antibiotic‑resistance genes that are used as marker genes in transgenic plants could be absorbed by pathogenic bacteria and so reduce the effectiveness of important antibiotic drugs. Antibiotics are widely used in human and veterinary medicine and for a long time they were also added to animal food to promote animal growth and performance. This has led to the emergence of bacterial resistances to antibiotics used in medicine. The question is, do genetically modified plants also help spread this kind of antibiotic resistance?

Gene transfer from plant DNA to bacteria is considered to be highly unlikely because a whole series of conditions are required before it can occur at all. As yet, this type of horizontal gene transfer has not been detected under field conditions. Even in the laboratory, it could only be provoked with the help of specially constructed recipient bacteria.

To assess the likelihood and the significance of a possible transfer of antibiotic- resistance genes from transgenic plants to bacteria, scientists from France and Switzerland have studied soil bacteria from a field in south western France where genetically modified Bt176 maize has been growing for 10 years. By way of comparison, soil samples from a conventional maize field and from uncultivated land (prairie soil) were also investigated.

Read more...

Posted by CS Prakash at 4:39 PM | Permalink

UK’s Soil Association Responds to “Organic Myths” Article

Abstract: The UK organic organization The Soil Association responded to last week’s article on organic myths. A member posted this article while another argued that there will always been anti-organic advocates claiming one thing and organic advocates countering these claims with “peer-reviewed studies.” The member suggested that a non-interested party look at all the information available and “give a verdict.”

Source: The First Post (UK)

European Parliament Committee Chair Neil Parish Calls for Ban on GM Feed to be Lifted

Abstract: A member posted an article from the Irish Examiner on the need for the European Commission to lift the ban on genetically modified feed stuffs. Livestock owners feel that it is difficult to compete in the global market because they have to may a lot more for animal feed that does not contain GM ingredients. Another point made in the article is that 90 percent of the meat imported into the EU is from cattle fed GM animal feed, making it cheaper to sell.

Source: Irish Examiner

Posted by CS Prakash at 9:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

UK’s The Independent Publishes Article on Organic Food Myths

Abstract: The British newspaper The Independent published a really good article on the many “myths” associated with organic food. Included in the lists is that organic farming is good for the environment, organic farming doesn’t use pesticides and organic food is healthier. Several members commented that US mainstream media does not like to write negatively about organics; some think it is because organic is “trendy” so reporters don’t want to write negatively about it.

Source: The Independent

Researchers in Germany test genetically modified potatoes on humans

Abstract: The European Journal of Nutrition recently published an article on a trial in Germany with potatoes that are genetically modified to produce more zeaxanthin, a protein that helps protect the eyes from blue light damage. Three men participated in this randomized, controlled double-blinded, crossover pilot study. The study found that consumption of eaxanthin-rich potatoes significantly increases chylomicron zeaxanthin concentrations suggesting that potentially such potatoes could be used as an important dietary source of zeaxanthin.

Source: National Institute of Health

Posted by CS Prakash at 5:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

According to the following article, since Bt maize was introduced in Europe, crop yields have gone up, farmers’ reliance on insecticides has fallen significantly and the quality of maize has improved. This is great to see.

C.S. Prakash

Navigating the genetic engineering maze
Alpha Galileo
May 8, 2008

In the decade since genetically modified strains of maize resistant to insects have been grown in the European Union, crop yields have gone up, farmers' reliance on insecticides has fallen significantly and the quality of maize has improved. That's the message from research published this month in the International Journal of Biotechnology from Inderscience Publishers.

Agricultural economist Graham Brookes of PG Economics Ltd, based in Dorchester, UK, has reviewed the specific economic impacts on yield and farm income as well as the environmental impact with respect to a lower reliance on insecticide usage since the introduction of GM maize in the EU in 1998.

So-called "Bt" maize carries genes for a highly specific insect toxin from the soil-dwelling microbe Bacillus thuringiensis. This toxin kills the European corn borer and the Mediterranean stem borer, which would otherwise damage maize crops without insecticidal spraying.

Brookes' analysis reveals that profits have risen by more than a fifth for some farmers who previously used synthetic insecticides to control these pests. He points out that GM technology has reduced insecticide spraying markedly, which also has associated environmental benefits. He also points out that the quality of the maize produced is higher because the GM crop is less susceptible than non-GM maize to infestation with fungi that produce mycotoxins, hazardous to human health.

Bt maize was planted for the first time in 1998 in Spain and in 2007 the total area of this crop in Spain was about 75000 hectares. In total, the EU plantings of Bt maize in 2007 were 110,000 hectares, with crops also in France, Germany, Portugal, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Poland. This represents 1.3% of total EU grain maize plantings in 2007.

Read more...

Posted by CS Prakash at 4:58 PM | Permalink

Aaron Golas posted the following entry in his blog Synapostasy criticizing Andrew Kimbrell for speaking out against genetically modified sugar beets. Golas points out that, despite Kimbrell’s claims, GM sugar beets do not produce glyphosate, they merely are resistant to it.

C.S. Prakash

Not-Monsters Adding Not-Poison to Sugar
Synapostasy blog
May 08, 2008

Andrew Kimbrell is a goddamn bio-Luddite, one of many.

It embarrasses me that certain liberals can be so staunchly and irrationally opposed to technology, based upon paranoia over corporate interest, a weirdly conservative adherence to the simple purity of "Nature," and their own naked ignorance. One of the major victims of bio-Luddite oppression is genetically modified (GM) foods, sometimes referred to as "Frankenfoods" (but not by me).

In a column today in the Huffington Post, Kimbrell sows paranoia over a specific GM crop, the Roundup Ready sugar beet developed by Monsanto. These sugar beets are genetically modified to be resistant to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the weed killer Roundup.

GM opponents often have a hard time explaining just what makes GM food so dangerous. Sometimes it's argued that the introduced genes themselves are somehow pollutive, despite the fact that it's all the same adenine guanine cytosine thymine, baby. Kimbrell makes a particularly poor argument here, based on glyphosate:

At the request of Monsanto, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency increased the allowable amount of glyphosate residues on sugar beetroots by a whopping 5,000% -- glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup. Sugar is extracted from the beet's root and the inevitable result is more glyphosate in our sugar. This is not good news for those who want to enjoy their chocolate morsels without the threat of ingesting toxic weed killer.

He then goes on about how seed farmers could start making seeds from Roundup Ready sugar beets so the GM crop spreads, and how sugar from GM beets gets mixed in with regular beets, and how GM beet pollen could contaminate other crops' genetics, and how there could be a huge consumer backlash, and how Big Science is putting poison in your dear mother's chocolates OMG!!!

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Posted by CS Prakash at 4:00 PM | Permalink

Even the former UN World Food Program Executive Director Jim Morris supports ethanol, this is great to see! As he points out, “food should be used to feed people before being turned into fuel, but [he] also thinks it’s moral to use food for fuels.” Well said.

C.S. Prakash

Ex-food chief: Crops for fuel is OK
NewsTalk
May 5, 2008

In his five years as executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme, Jim Morris saw global hunger from an uncomfortably close vantage point.

So, one might expect him to criticize the idea of turning corn and soybeans into alternative fuels. After all, the ethanol and biodiesel plants popping up in Indiana and elsewhere across the Midwest siphon food away from people who are starving to death at the rate of one every five seconds.

But that’s not what he thinks.

Now president of the Indiana Pacers, Morris still believes food should be used to feed people before being turned into fuel, but he also thinks it’s moral to use food for fuels.

“We have a fair balance,” he says. “It’s not an either-or situation.”

Morris, who helped launch amateur sports in Indianapolis and once led Lilly Endowment, quickly adds caveats.

More countries need to get over their fears of biotech crops. Genetically engineered crops are hardier and have great potential to increase food production, he says, a notion China and India have begun to embrace but Africa still needs to learn.

Read more...

Posted by CS Prakash at 4:38 PM | Permalink