In
This Issue:
NUFFIELD COUNCIL TO REVIEW GM REPORT
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics has announced that it
will re-assess the conclusions and recommendations of its 1999
report, entitled Genetically Modified Crops: Ethical and
Social Issues". This is being done in the light of recent
developments particularly in developing countries.
Based on the evidence available in 1999, the Nuffield
Council concluded that GM
crops could provide significant
benefits to developing countries, provided that potential
risks to health and the environment could be managed. Possible
benefits included increased yields, enhanced pest resistance
and tolerance to stress, improved nutrition, and new products,
such as vaccines produced in crops.
However, there were several unanswered questions when
the Council's report was published. A range of new scientific
evidence is now available to help assess the potential of the
technology. GM crops have been grown on a considerable number
of smallholding farms in developing countries over the last
three years. Recent trends in poverty and hunger in developing
countries also need to be considered. Rural poverty has become
an increasing concern, while at the same time improvements in
crop yields have slowed.
The potential application of GM technology will be
considered in the context of developments in regulation,
trade, intellectual property rights and consumer
attitudes.
The Council will publish a draft discussion paper on
the topic for consultation in June 2003. The potential
application of GM in developing countries is often neglected
in the UK debate. It is hoped that the Council's paper will
contribute to the national dialogue on GM taking place this
year.
Visit http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/home
for more information.
EAST AFRICAN
MINISTERS SAY THEIR NATIONS NEED BIOTECH
Kenya and Uganda urgently need appropriate modern
biotechnology packages to help improve the declining
production of major food and cash crop according to their
ministers of agriculture.
Though biotechnology in Kenya is still at its infancy,
the government has seen its potential in terms of increasing
food productivity through yield improvement and reduction of
post harvest losses," the Minister for Agriculture Kipruto
Arap Kirwa told the recent African Regional Consultative
Meeting of the Global Biotechnology Forum held in Nairobi,
Kenya.
If Africa and other developing nations are not to be
further marginalized, but rather benefit from biotechnology
they must have initiatives that include improving their
science and technology capacity with a core of highly skilled
scientists or experts, Kirwa added.
Uganda's Minister of State for Agriculture I.
Kibirige-Sebunya said that "crops, from genetic engineering
process, that would benefit Uganda earliest include bananas,
insect resistant maize and cotton." He stressed that to engage
in genetic engineering and products of genetically modified
organisms, one needs appropriate policy and legal framework
including biosafety mechanism. Hence, the Minister noted that
the two are in advanced stages for cabinet and parliamentary
approval. The country is also developing an indigenous modern
biotechnology capacity and infrastructure.
The meeting was organized by the United Nations
Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in collaboration
with African Biotechnology Stakeholders Forum
(ABSF)./ABSF
DIOUF: "GM
HAS GREAT POTENTIAL TO FEED WORLD"
"While genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are not
necessary today to achieve the objectives of the 1996 World
Food Summit, they offer great potential for feeding a growing
world population," argues Jacques Diouf, Director-General of
the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations.
"Their development and application need to be monitored
scientifically and within an international framework," he
said. "This will make it possible to benefit from the positive
aspects, while avoiding any possible detrimental effects on
human health and the environment." He acknowledged that "the
genetic modification of food crops and animals has sparked off
fierce controversy."
Diouf spoke at the Fifth Meeting of the South West
Pacific Ministers for Agriculture in Suva, Fiji. Ministers
from the FAO South West Pacific region and Representatives
from Australia, Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, Federated
States of Micronesia, Kiribati and Nauru met from 31st
March-1st April 2003. The purpose of the meeting was to
discuss a range of issues relating to food security in the
Pacific region.
Ministers encouraged FAO Subregional Office for the
Pacific Islands to act as a regional clearinghouse on GMO
issues. They also encouraged the FAO to assist countries build
capacity in risk analysis of trans-border movement of GMOs.
Diouf also stated that "The ratification and
implementation of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic
Resources for Food and Agriculture, which will ensure
equitable sharing and preservation of our genetic heritage, is
a high priority."
For more on FAO and biotechnology
visit http://www.fao.org/biotech/index.asp
FSA
"CITIZENS' JURY" FAVORS GM FOOD
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) recently conducted a
"citizen's jury" on GM food which aimed to assess the UK
public's views on GM food and how these views affect their
choices. The guiding theme was to ask whether or not GM food
should be generally available for UK consumers and how safe it
might be.
The citizens' jury was composed of 15 jurors (an
accountant, two students, a housewife, taxi driver, driving
instructor, and a minister of religion) from Slough.
Organizations such as: Friends of the Earth, Bayer
CropScience, Sainsbury's, and the Consumers' Association acted
as "witnesses" or speakers on the benefits and risks of GM
food.
After the 3-day discussion, majority (9) of the jurors
favored GM food being available to the consumers, while six
felt that the UK is not yet ready for GM foods thus it should
not be put on sale. The reasons of the majority who thought GM
food should be available to buy in the UK were:
- They are confident in the safety measures.
- While some anti-GM concerns are valid, a choice has
to be made.
- If the UK does not embrace new developments in
science, it will be left behind, because there are
demonstrable benefits from GM.
The jury, however, was in agreement that the following
measures are also important if GM food is introduced to the
UK: 1. the public should be educated and kept informed of
developments and possible problems with GM, and 2. there
should be an effective labeling and monitoring scheme for GM
foods (ex. a GM food logo).
View the full story on http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/verdict.
KARI AND
CIMMYT COLLABORATE ON CORN PROJECT
Aiming to increase corn production and food security
for African farmers, the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute
(KARI) and the International Centre for Maize and Wheat
Improvement (CIMMYT) are currently conducting research
activities on insect resistant corn.
The project aims to develop and deploy corn varieties
resistant to the stem borer. KARI and CIMMYT are presently
developing locally improved adapted strains of corn with
tolerance to drought and low nitrogen. At present, 17 corn
genes identified worldwide are undergoing trials for their
ability to confer insect resistance in corn plants.
KARI has also conducted tests on identified genetically
modified (GM) plants for efficacy against insects. The
research which has positive results so far, involved screening
local germplasm from KARI and imported germplasm from CIMMYT
for resistance to stem borers under artificial and natural
infestation. Superior germplasm, and germplasm for crossing
with local corn varieties were identified to confer insect
resistance.
The news release is available at http://www.sciencenewsdev.co.ke/bi-kenya-maize.htm.
More about KARI at http://www.hridir.org/countries/kenya/PROVCOUN/
kenya_agricultural_research_institute_kari/
and CIMMYT at http://www.cimmyt.cgiar.org.
SYNGENTA TO
CONDUCT GM WHEAT TRIALS
Germany's first field trials of genetically modified
wheat has been given the go-signal by the state-owned Robert
Koch Scientific Institute which is responsible for approving
the conduct of GM crop trials in the country. The country does
not allow commercial planting of GM crops but allows research
plantings.
Syngenta, applied for permission for trail plantings of
wheat resistant to the fungus fusarium in the eastern state of
Thuringia. According to Syngenta's Peter Hefner, the test area
will be 400 square meters of which 75 square metres would
actually have GM seeds.
Visit http://www.syngenta.com
for more of Syngenta's activities.
CPRI TO
TRIAL GM POTATO
The Central Potato Research Institute (CPRI) in Shimla,
India is set to conduct limited field trials with GM potatoes
tolerant to the potato tuber moth, following the Department of
Biotechnology's approval.
The institute is already doing collaborative research
programs in the field of genetic transformation with
institutions in India such as National Research Centre for
Plant Biotechnology, New Delhi; National Center for Plant
Genome Research, New Delhi; and Bhabha Atomic Research Center,
Trombay.
According to SM Paul Khurana, Director of the CPRI,
potato transgenic lines that are resistant to potato tuber
moth, producing novel essential amino acid rich protein and
tolerant to potato virus Y have been produced. The
protein-rich transgenic lines have been evaluated under
limited field trials for the last
3 years.
CPRI has done molecular characterization of Indian
potato cultivars and cloning of three genes: osmotin from
Solanum chacoense, invertase inhibitor (inhh) from tobacco,
and coat protein (CP) gene of potato leafroll virus(PLRV).
Khurana says that "due to low protein content in
potatoes, with whatsoever expression level, the total protein
content of potato cannot compete with other protein rich food
sources such as pulses, milk, meat, fish etc."
The institute director adds that biotechnology has
become a powerful supplementary aid to the conventional
approaches of crop improvement and production. Being a
vegetatively propagated polyploid crop species, potato has
always been an attractive proposition to address its inherent
problems using biotechnological tools.
Contact SM Paul Khurana of the Central Potato Research
Institute at this email address: director@cpri.hp.nic.in
GENETIC
FINGERPRINTING OF SEA TREE FOR DRUG
DEVELOPMENT
Researchers from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Forest
Research Institute of Malaysia have developed genetic markers
to help identify and preserve a Southeast Asian tree, Eurycoma
longifolia. Known in Southeast Asia as Tongkat Ali, the tree
contains a substance that inhibits viruses and boosts
fertility.
Root extracts of Tongkat Ali are used widely as a
dietary supplement for treating a variety of ailments.
Researchers hope that compounds extracted from the roots of
the tree may lead to useful new drugs. Extracts have reported
aphrodisiac properties and have been shown to boost fertility
in laboratory animals.
Researchers of the collaborative program aim to develop
genetic markers known as single nucleotide polymorphisms, or
SNPs. They want to determine whether the presence of certain
SNPs within a plant could correlate with the presence of
chemical components of potent medicinal properties. Key
individuals for breeding programs to produce plants can then
be identified and used to manufacture nutritional supplements
and pharmaceuticals.
The work is reported in the March 2003 issue of Plant
Physiology.
Email Philip Lessard, MIT research scientist, at plessard@mit.edu for more
information.
CAESIUM-RESISTANT PLANTS
By using
plants that avoid the radioactive hangover from armed
conflicts, crops could be grown on land contaminated by
harmful chemicals yet still be safe for
consumption.
This was the highlight of a presentation by Martin
Broadley and Phil White, from the Horticulture Research
International in the United Kingdom during the Society for
Experimental Biology annual conference.
The researchers are looking at the uptake of caesium,
an extremely harmful radioactive substance. "Plants are
selective of the nutrients they extract from the soil," says
Broadley. "Caesium is not a plant nutrient but it is very
similar to potassium, a nutrient essential for plant growth,
in effect allowing it to sneak into the plant."
The team is aiming to block the uptake of the harmful
caesium, without affecting the uptake of beneficial nutrients.
"If we can understand the mechanism of uptake, especially in
terms of micronutrients, then we can control the amount of
certain substances being absorbed by the plant." Variations in
uptake within vegetable species, and identifying the proteins
responsible for uptake in the roots, now seems possible to
control.
Through this knowledge, the team hopes to develop
caesium resistant crops. A large numbers of people in the
Ukraine still consume dangerous levels of caesium, present in
their food, originating from the Chernobyl
accident.
Contact: Martin Broadley at this email address: martin.broadley@hri.ac.uk
USDA CREATES
NEW GMO COMMITTEE
Patricia Layton, a professor at the South
Carolina-based Clemson University has been appointed chairman
of the Agriculture Department's advisory committee on
biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture. The advisory
committee will study issues related to agriculture and
genetically modified crops.
Layton will be assisted by 17 other people coming from
14 states, the District of Columbia and the International
Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in Mexico City.
The announcement can be read at http://www.usagnet.com
ANNOUNCEMENT:
E-mail
Conference On Regulating GMOs
The FAO Electronic Forum on Biotechnology in Food and
Agriculture will focus its next e-mail conference on the theme
of "Regulating GMOs in developing and transition countries".
This moderated conference covers the agro-industry, crop,
fisheries, forestry and livestock sectors and runs from 28
April to 25 May 2003.
A
background document has been prepared for the conference and
is available at http://www.fao.org/biotech/C9doc.htm.
All messages posted during the conference will also be placed
on the Forum website (http://www.fao.org/biotech/forum.asp).
For more information, contact biotech-mod1@fao.org
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