Prakash Presentation - Frankenfood and Monarch Butterflies ...

C. S. Prakash Center for Plant Biotechnology Research Tuskegee University, Alabama, USA [email_address] Bioengineered Crops - Benefits and Risk Assessment

Crop Evolution and Human Civilization
Humans Have Always Guided the Evolution of Crops!
A small sample of wild plants were chosen and domesticated
10,000 years of Selection .
All crops we grow today were once wild plants. But no crop would survive in the wild any more.
Crops, strains and genes have moved around the globe.

Improving Our Crop Plants
Developing Modern Varieties of Crops
Hybridization
Crosses with Wild Relatives
Hybrids
Mutation
Irradiation
Chemicals
Cell Culture
Embryo Rescue
Somaclonal variation

Modern Genetic Modification
Inserting one or few genes to achieve desired traits .
Transfer of Genes into Crop Plants
Relatively Precise and Predictable
Changes are Subtle
Allows Flexibility
Expeditious

Desired gene Traditional plant breeding DNA is a strand of genes, much like a strand of pearls. Traditional plant breeding combines many genes at once. Traditional donor Commercial variety New variety Desired Gene X = (crosses) (many genes are transferred) Plant biotechnology Using plant biotechnology, a single gene may be added to the strand. Desired gene Commercial variety New variety (transfers) = Desired gene (only desired gene is transferred)

Dominant GM Crops
Herbicide Tolerant Soybean 41.4
Bt Maize 9.1
Herbicide Tolerant Canola 3.6
Bt/Ht Maize 3.2
Ht Maize 3.2
Bt Cotton 3.1
Bt/Ht Cotton 2.6
Ht Cotton 1.5
In Million Hectares Source: Clives James, 2003. ISAAA.org

USA: Overall impact of biotechnology in crop and pest management Source: Gianessi et al. (2002). NCFAP 70 m kg a.i. $2.5 billion 6 b kg Total 50 m kg a.i. $1 billion 4 b kg Future Crops (32) 20 m kg a.i. $1.5 billion 2 b kg Current Crops(8) Pesticide Reduction Economic Impact Yield Increase Crop

Biotechnology Can Add Value to Global Agriculture
Environmental Impact - Decreased Use of Pesticides
Reduce Losses from Pests and Diseases
Improve Nutrient Efficiency
Improve Productivity

Cotton
China, South Africa….India, Egypt, Indonesia.. 60 million people in India dependent on cotton
Losses due to Bollworm $1.5 billion in India and China
2 million gallons of pesticide saved in US alone using Bt Cotton
Cotton - 50% of the total pesticides
Bt Cotton - yield increases up to 40%.
Million Chinese farmers grew it
Savings up to $182 per hectare
Spraying reduced from 12 to 1
Both private and public sector

Benefits of Biotechnology…..
Post Harvest Quality - Prolong Shelf Life of Fruits, Vegetables and Flowers
Extend Crop Area and Season
Stress Tolerance - Drought, Acidity, Salinity, Heat. Flooding

Golden Rice
Milled rice has no beta-carotene
Vitamin A deficiency - 200 million children and woman
About 500,000 children go blind (60 every hour!)
2 million children die each year
Golden Rice may provide one of the many solutions
Still Many Years Away from Reality
Ingo Potrykus (Switzerland) and Peter Beyer (Germany )

Enhancing Food and Agriculture
More Nutritious Food
Healthy Produce. Low Toxins
Pharmaceutical Proteins
Clean Up Environment
Industrial Products
Value-Added Products

Why Biotechnology?
Expedient
Knowledge-Based Approach
Offers Unique Solutions
Integrates Technology Delivery
Scale Neutral
Does not Displace Traditional Methods
Environmentally Friendly
Portable - Across Crops
Versatile - Impact on All Facets of Food Chain from Producers to Consumers

Are GM Foods Safe ?
Genetically Modified (GM) food is as safe or even safer than conventionally produced food
GM foods represent a very minor, precise and known change
GM foods are subject to intense pre-market testing
GM foods are subject to stringent regulatory oversight

Safety of GM Foods…
Every Product Tested on Case-by-Case
Over Billion Acres Grown Since 1996
More than 10,000 Food Products Contain GM
Not One Single Instance of Hazard
Dozens of Scientific Societies and International organizations attest to the safety

Regulatory Systems in the U.S. USDA Field testing permits notifications Determination of nonregulated status Food safety Feed safety Pesticidal plants tolerance exemption registrations Herbicide registration * Voluntary Con- sultation process for substantially equi- valent products. EPA FDA *

Regulation of GM Crops and Food
The Department of Agriculture (USDA), through its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), oversees field testing of biotech seeds and plants to make sure their release causes no harm to agriculture and the environment.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) assesses the safety of all biotech plant products intended for consumption by humans and animals.

Regulation of GM Crops…
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) evaluates biotech plants' environmental safety — such as their pesticide properties, possible effect on wildlife and how these plants break down in the environment. The agency also must approve any herbicide use with herbicide-tolerant crops.

Safety Testing of GM Crops   
Phase II
Biological / agronomic equivalence
Stringent agronomic performance and efficacy criteria
Greater than 99% of all events are eliminated
Key step in product evaluation for conventional varieties
Phase III
Detailed product safety
Food
Feed
Environmental
Phase I
Safety of gene, protein, crop
Choice of genes / proteins
- mechanism of action
Source of genes
history of safe use
ethics
Environmental / ecological considerations
Post Market Transfor- mation Line Selection Variety Development Field Production Market Gene Discovery GH & Field Evaluation Product Concept Discovery Line Selection Product Advancement

Substantial Equivalence - Evaluation
PHENOTYPE
Morphology
Agronomic
disease resistance
drought resistance
yields
Organoleptic
COMPOSITION
Macronutrients
AA composition
FA composition
Anti-nutrients
Toxic substances
Allergens
Specific constituents
SAFETY ASSESSMENT
Toxicity
Allergenic potential
Nutritional
FEED EQUIVALENCE
Performance

Compositional Equivalence
Evaluate Key
- Nutrients
- Vitamins
- Minerals
- Anti-nutrients
- toxicants
- Allergens
- Others
List depends
on crop
Grain Forage
- Protein - Protein
- Fat - Fat
- Fiber - Fiber
- Starch
- Amino acid composition
- Fatty acid composition
- Ash
- Sugars
- Calcium
- Phosphorous
OECD Consensus Documents

Environmental Issues
What are the Ecological Effects of New Crops?
Effect on Biodiversity? - non-target organisms
Gene flow - Superweeds
Horizontal Transfer
Durability of Resistance

Potential Impacts of GM crops on the Environment
Direct:
Non-target effects of insect resistance
Fate and consequence of insecticidal toxins in soil
Persistence in agricultural habitat (weediness)
Invasiveness in natural habitats
Transfer of herbicide tolerance to weeds
Transfer of biotic and abiotic stress tolerance to
weeds or feral species
Stacking of herbicide tolerance genes
Adapted from P.J. Dale, B. Clarke and E.M.G. Fontes, 2002. Nature Biotechnology .

Potential Impacts of GM crops on the Environment
Indirect:
Development of weeds tolerant to herbicides by
evolution and selection
Development of resistance to Bt toxins in pests
Effects of broad-spectrum herbicides
Change in herbicide use
Change in soil cultivation patterns
Adapted from P.J. Dale, B. Clarke and E.M.G. Fontes, 2002. Nature Biotechnology .

Continued Monitoring of GM Crops for Environmental Effects
Insect Resistance Loss
Effect on Non-target Organisms
Beneficial environmental effects (e.g. increases in bird populations)
Effects on biodiversity
Gene flow data

If Europe Adopted GM Crops…
Nine GM crops could increase yields by 8.5 billion kilograms per year
Increase grower net income by EUR 1.6 Billion per year
Reduce pesticide use by 14.4 million kilograms per year compared with existing practices.
Source: NCFAP.org

Why Public Anxiety with Biotech Crops?
Societal Concern About Biotech is Understandable!
Strong Assurance of Safety Needed
Unfamiliar with the Technology
Lack of Reliable Information
Unaware of Safeguards
Negative Media Opinion
Opposition by Activist Groups
Mistrust of the Industry
Scientific Community has neither addressed public concerns nor communicated the value of this technology effectively

Major Barriers to Agbiotech
Regulatory Environment
Trade Barriers
Public Perception
Environmental Activism
Negative Media Portrayal
Food Industry and Retailers
Organic Food Industry

Promoting Food Biotechnology
Enabling Policies
Harmonization of regulation
Science-based regulation
Address Trade Barriers
Increased R&D Funding
Education and Outreach
www.agbioworld.org

Is Biotechnology the Sole Answer to Global Food Problems?
No Single Solution is a Panacea or ‘Cure-All’
One Tool in a Toolbox
World Hunger - Myriad Reasons
Can Only Work with Other Traditional Approaches
We must weigh all options. Choose the Most Effective Solution
www.agbioworld.org “ Change is Inevitable, Progress is Optional”

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