1. GMO SEEDS AND CROPS:
Science and science fiction

2. WHAT ARE GMOS ANYWAY?
 GMO = Genetically modified organism
 Anorganism whose genetic structure
has been altered by incorporating a
gene that will express a desirable trait
(process called genetic engineering).

3. EXAMPLE: FLAVR SAVR TOMATO
 First
commercially
grown genetically
engineered food to
be granted a
license for human
consumption.

4. WHAT IS A GENE?
 A short sequence of DNA that codes for a
protein
 Humans have 20,000 to 25,000 genes.

5. GENETIC ENGINEERING
 Use viruses or
bacteria to
"infect" animal or
plant cells with
the new DNA.
 Coat DNA onto
tiny metal
pellets, and firing
them into cells
with a special
gun.

6. CONVENTIONAL BREEDING

7. HOW DOES GM DIFFER FROM
CONVENTIONAL BREEDING?
 Both alter genetic makeup and
properties of the product.
 Conventional breeding can take place
only between closely related life
forms.
 Genetic modification bypasses the
checks and balances associated with
the natural selection process.

8. GENETIC MODIFICATION ONLY ONE OF MANY
BIOTECH TOOLS
Biotechnology
includes:
 Genetic
modification
 Marker-assisted
selection (MAS)
 Tissue culture
 Fermentation
(wine, beer)
 Agriculture Baby plants in tissue culture

9. GM: A PRACTICAL EXAMPLE

10. The fact that the GM
transformation process is artificial
does not automatically make it
dangerous.

11. MISINFORMATION ABOUNDS ON
BOTH SIDES!
 Scientists found that
This picture is PhotoShopped!
Arctic flounder produces
an antifreeze gene.
 Inserted into strawberry
to increase frost-
resistance (in the lab)
 Marker-Assisted
Selection and
conventional breeding
found to be more
efficient.
~This strawberry does not exist~

12. THE PROMISE OF GMO TECHNOLOGY
 Engineer allergenic foods to remove
allergens (wheat, soy).
 Farmers grow more crops and feed
more people using less land.
 Use fewer pesticides.
 Reduce the amount of tilling that leads
to erosion.
 Advanced crops that are designed to
survive heat waves and droughts.

13. GM CROPS ENGINEERED TO TOLERATE
HERBICIDES
 Roundup Ready®
soybeans
Roundup Ready® soybeans
commercialized in
1996.
 Alfalfa, corn, cotton,
spring canola, sugar
beets and winter
canola came next.
 Contain in-plant
tolerance to Roundup®
agricultural herbicides.

14. GM CROPS ENGINEERED TO
EXPRESS BT TOXIN
 Bt a bacterium that
expresses a protein toxic
to many insects.
 Works against leaf-
feeding insects
 Used agriculturally as a
spray, or incorporated
into GM crops.

15. GM CROPS CAN BE NUTRITIONALLY
ENHANCED
 Rice is a staple in Golden Rice enhanced with Vitamin A
many developing
countries.
 Rice modified to
contain beta
carotene.
 Can prevent or
treat maternal
anemia and
blindness.
http://www.goldenrice.org/

16. POTENTIAL RISKS OF GMOS
 Introducing allergens and toxins to
food
 Antibiotic resistance
 Accidental contamination of non-
genetically modified with genetically
modified foods
 Adversely changing the nutrient
content of a crop
 Creation of "superweeds” and other
environmental risks

17. GM PROCESS IS IMPRECISE
 Creates mutations
within the genome.
 Leads to multiple,
unpredictable
effects (genes
interact with one
another).
 Potential non-
target effects on
other organisms or
the environment

18. RISK OF INTRODUCING FOOD ALLERGENS
 Milk, egg, wheat, fish,
tree nuts, peanuts, Question-
soybean, shellfish What if the GMO
 Problem if GMO contains a protein
contained allergenic of unknown
protein from one of allergenicity?
these foods
 FDA requires evidence
that allergenic
substances not
incorporated into GMO.

19. ALLERGY ASSESSMENT HAS SHOWN SOME
PROBLEMS:
 GM pest-resistant pea: study in rats
showed GM process can change
structure of the engineered protein.
 GM soybean intended for animal feed
was engineered with a gene from
Brazil nut. Produced immune reactions
in people with Brazil nut allergies.
 Pioneer Hi-Bred discontinued due to the
difficulty in ensuring that it would not
enter human food supply.

20. TWO CASES WITH SUSPECTED LINK TO GM
PRODUCTS:
 1989– L-tryptophan produced using
GM bacteria – killed 37, disabled 1500
more.
 2000 – StarLink Maize (corn)
 Approved only as animal feed but cross-
contamination led to…
 Bt insecticidal protein, Cry9C, caused
allergic reactions in humans.

21. GMOS HAVE ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANT
GENES IN THEM
Some scientists
believe that eating GM
food containing these
marker genes could
encourage gut
bacteria to develop
antibiotic resistance.

22. WHAT STUDIES SHOW…
 Resistance already widespread for
antibiotics from which marker genes in
commercial use are made (ampicillin).
 Kanamycin not widely used in human
populations.
 Alternatives to antibiotic marker genes
are being investigated.

23. ARE GM CROPS RIGOROUSLY TESTED?
Substantial Equivalence test-
 Product tested by the manufacturer
for unexpected changes in a limited
set of components (toxins, nutrients
or allergens that are present in the
unmodified food).
 If these tests show no significant
difference between the modified and
unmodified products, no further food
safety testing is required.

24. UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND MEDICAL
CENTER-
“Genetically engineered foods are generally
regarded as safe. There has been no
adequate testing, however, to ensure
complete safety. There are no reports of
illness or injury due to genetically
engineered foods. Each new genetically
engineered food will have to be judged
individually.”
Visit--
http://www.fda.gov/newsevents/testimony/uc
m112927.htm

25. TOO MUCH CONTROL IN CORPORATE
HANDS?
 End-user
agreements forbid
use of their seeds
for independent
research.
 Only studies
approved by the
company are
published.
 Unflattering results
are blocked from
publication. Image: Matt Collins, Scientific American
Elson J. Shields, an entomologist at Cornell University, letter to an
official at the Environmental Protection Agency

26. HOW EXTENSIVE IS THE ISSUE?
 Expertssay 60% to 70% of processed
foods on U.S. grocery shelves have
genetically modified ingredients.
 Soybeans
 Maize
 Cotton
 Rapeseed oil (canola)
 Makes large-scale clinical trials
difficult.

27. TO LABEL OR NOT TO LABEL
 Currently,food
companies aren't
required by law
to label foods
containing
genetically
modified
ingredients.

28. CALIFORNIA PROP 37 (2012):
LABELING GE FOODS
http://www.kcet.org/news/ballotbrief/elections2012/propositions/
prop-37-genetically-modified-foods-labeling.html

29. ARE ORGANICALLY GROWN FOODS
GMO FREE?
 Yes!
 But…cross-contamination of fields is
possible and has been reported.
Some
scientists are
concerned
that open-air
experiments
cannot be
contained.

30. WHAT ARE THE ENVIRONMENTAL
RISKS?
 Unintended transfer of transgenes
through cross-pollination
 Contamination of non-GMO crops.
 Unknown effects on other organisms
(e.g., soil microbes).
 Increased herbicide use.
 Potential for loss of crop biodiversity,
relying on only a few cultivars.

31. CONTAMINATION ISSUES
 2011, scientists from the University of
Arkansas, North Dakota State University,
California State University and the US EPA
discovered large persistent populations of
genetically engineered canola lining
roadsides across North Dakota.
 Comprised up to 45% of roadside plants
sampled.
 GE Rapeseed was able to hybridize to create
novel combinations of transgenic traits.

32. CONTAMINATION ENDANGERS
ORGANICALLY GROWN CROPS
 Rape seed is very
fine.
 Spills can cause
contamination of
neighboring fields or
in crops rotated in
rapeseed fields
(such as wheat).
Australian organic farmer had his organic certification
status pulled because his organic wheat field was
contaminated by a nearby genetically-modified (GM)
canola field.

33. PESTICIDEUSE INCREASING, NOT
DECREASING
 GM crops reduced
overall pesticide use
in the first three
years of commercial
introduction (1996-
1998) by 1.2%,
2.3%, and 2.3% per
year.
 Increased pesticide
use by 20% in 2007
and by 27% in 2008.

34. “GM crops have increased pesticide use
by 383 million pounds in the U.S. in the
first 13 years since their introduction.”
- Charles Benbrook, The Organic
Center (based on USDA pesticide use
data)
http://www.organic-center.org/reportfiles/13Years20091126_FullReport.pdf

35. LET‟S BREAK THIS DOWN…
Over the first 13 years of GM
technology in the U.S.,
 Modest reduction in insecticide use
 Dramatic increase in herbicide use

36. GLYPHOSATE-RESISTANT SUPERWEEDS
 21 glyphosate- Recognize these?
resistant weeds - Common ragweed
worldwide - Kochia
 Glyphosate-
- Annual bluegrass
resistant weeds
- Johnsongrass
identified in 22
U.S. states.
www.weedscience.org

37. STACKED HERBICIDE RESISTANCE
 Now developing
crops with combined
resistance to
glyphosate and
synthetic auxin
herbicides (2,4-D).
 Yikes!
 Super-duper weeds
 Further increasing
herbicide use
 Neglect of IPM
Palmer‟s pigweed

38. SUPERWEEDS LESS SUSCEPTIBLE TO DISEASE?
Because of changes in soil microbes, "We
may be selecting not only for glyphosate
resistance, but inadvertently selecting for
weeds that have disease resistance as well.“
- Schafer, Hallett & Johnson
Purdue University,
2012, Weed Science

39. BT SPRAYS NOT THE SAME AS GM BT
CROPS
 Bacillus
thuringiensis (Bt)
is a microbe that
produces
chemicals toxic
to insects.
 Target pests
exposed for only
a brief period.

40. POTENTIAL RISKS TO GM WITH BT
CROPS:
 Invasiveness – Few introduced
organisms become invasive, yet it‟s a
concern for the users.
 Resistance to Bt – example,
diamondback moth
 Cross-contamination of genes -
Although unproven, genes from GM
crops can potentially introduce the
new genes to native species.
University of California San Diego

41. GM CUT FLOWERS –WHIMSICAL?
 November 2011,
Suntory introduced
the first blue rose
„APPLAUSE‟
 Delphinidin pigment
not naturally
produced in rose.
 Inserted delphinidin
gene from pansy.

42. U.S. PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF GMO
 Pew survey showed
that American
consumers do not
support banning
new uses of the
technology
 Rather, they seek
an active role from
regulators to
ensure that new
products are safe.

43. IS THERE AN ALTERNATIVE TO GM
TECHNOLOGY?
 Marker Assisted
Selection (MAS)
or precision
breeding
 Speeds up
conventional
breeding process
Breeding heirloom tomatoes to
be resistant to most common
tomato diseases.

44. CAN GM FEED THE WORLD?
 Dramatic increases in yield have not
been realized.
 Most GM crops used for biofuels,
animal feed, processed foods.
 Poor farmers cannot afford the
technology.
 GM seed patented; farmers not
permitted to save seed.

45. WHAT‟S NEEDED TO ENSURE
GMO SAFETY?
 Long-term, multi-generational safety
trials in animals (no longer possible in
humans)
 Mandatory labeling laws
 Remove barriers to research that put
control in the hands of corporations.

46. MORE INFORMATION:
Anti-GMO perspective:
 http://earthopensource.org/index.php/report
s/58
Safety of Genetically Engineered Foods:
Approaches to Assessing Unintended Health
Effects
 http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=
10977#toc
News updates on GMO issues (global
perspective):
 http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng/home/