70
|
UnderstandingGMO...
byDavidSuzuki
The firstGMOcrop (theFlavr Savr tomato)wasapprovedby theFDA
in1994.Since then,GEvarietiesofcorn, soya, sugarbeetsandcanola
havebecomecommon local crops inCanada. Inaddition to locallypro-
duced crops,GE varieties of cottonseedoil, papaya, squashandmilk
productsare imported from theUSA intoCanada. Inamere20years,
GMO ingredientshavemade theirway intomostof theprocessed foods
availableonCanadian grocery shelves. Apples, potatoes andwheat
areall in the lineup forapproval.
GMOcrops,when first introduced,were toutedas theanswer toworld
hunger. Theargumentwas that bydevelopingpesticideandherbicide
resistant crops, farmer'swouldbeable to increase their yields andde-
crease theircosts. Thishasnotproven tobe thecase. Instead,bugsand
weeds havebecome increasingly resistant to thewidespreadapplica-
tionsof thesechemicals, leading to increaseduseof both.More spray-
ingmeansmorecosts for the farmers,moredamage to theenvironment
andmorehealthconcerns.
On the flip side, it meansmore product purchased from the seedpro-
ducer. The companies that develop and patent GMO seeds are the
samecompanies thatdevelopandpatent thepesticidesandherbicides
towhich the unique seeds are resistant.Monsanto is the largest seed
company in theworldandownsabout86%ofGMOseedssownglob-
ally. It isalso theparent of Roundup
ProGMOsandpesticideuse...
Gregory Conko is co-founder and vice president of the Auburn, Alabama-based AgBioWorld Foun-
dation, which aims to provide science-based information on agricultural biotechnology issues. His
book, The FrankenfoodMyth: How Protest and Politics Threaten the Biotech Revolution, indicates
his strong opposition to regulation of biotechnology and geneticallymodified foods.
“Note that ‘pesticide’ isabroad term that includesboth insecticidesand
herbicides, aswell as fungicides, nematocides, rodenticides, etc. Use
ofGEcropshashadameasurable impacton insecticideandherbicide
use,with insecticideuse incontrovertiblydownandamixed recordon
herbicide use. Andbecause there ismuchmoreacreageplantedwith
GE herbicide tolerant varieties thanwithGE insect resistant varieties,
herbicide use trends tend todrown out insecticide use trends. Critics
tend toobfuscate thesedistinctionsbyusing the term ‘pesticide’, rather
than themore specific sub-types, probablybecause they know casual
readerswill think ‘insecticides’. But even theherbicidedataneedsome
additional context.
Whenmeasuring rawquantitiesofactive ingredient,you findherbicide
useonherbicide-tolerantGEcrops tovarywidelywithcropspeciesand
region. Incorn, forexample,whereatrazine isusedextensivelyonnon-
GE varieties, a switch to Roundup Ready varieties tends to reduce
slightly the quantity of active ingredient used, but mainly results in a
switch fromone to theother chemical. In soy, on theother hand,where
herbicidesofanykindareusedmuch less frequently innon-GEvarieties,
a switch toRR soyalmost invariably increasesactive ingredient use sig-
nificantly. AndbecauseRRsoy isby far themostwidelygrownGEcrop
(amounting towell over 60percent of all the soy grown anywhere in
theworld),onnetacrossall species, this tends to result inan increase in
quantityof active ingredient forGEcropsgenerally.”
Readmore
ProBiotechnology...
Cecilia Chi-Ham earned a PhD in Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of SouthernMis-
sissippi with postdoctoral work at Michigan State University in the field of plant biology, she
joined PIPRA and leads the Science and Technology Program. The program’s activities straddle
the junction between science, legal, business development and regulatory affairs necessary for
the research and development of new agricultural innovations.
“Societyhas the responsibilityofusingscience, rather thanhype, to in-
form regulation, policyand scientific strategies todevelop crops that
can continueprovidinguswith safe foods. In2013, theWorld Food
Prizewasawarded to thepioneeringscientistswhodevelopedmodern
agricultural biotechnology. Biotechnology crops have provided sig-
nificant economicbenefit tomillionsof consumers, reducedagricultur-
ally relatedgreenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, reduced soil erosion
and substantiallydecreased theuseofmany toxicagricultural chemi-
cals.Unfortunately, thispolarizeddebate isnot conducive todevelop-
ing integrated approaches, which may include precision farming,
organicpracticesandbiotechnologies, tocontinue feeding thegrow-
ingpopulation ina sustainablemanner.
|E|
Confusing sides of the
biotechnology -
GMO
-
discussion...
the chemicals,
the seeds
, the labeling...
what
to do?
Something to
think
about…
{
Canadians are often unaware that
the foods they choose contains GMO
ingredients. It is this basic right to choice
that is behind thegrowingmovement
to have GMO foods labeled.
~DavidSuzuki
The debate about GMO’s hasmany factors
to consider. There are undoubtedly
potential benefits and potential risks.
Balancing the two is amatter of personal
choice, however this is only possible if
the public has access to the information
they need tomake an informed decision.
Labeling GM food is one part of
enabling informed decision-making.
Readmore:
