In
This Issue:
Companies
Unravel Rice Genome
Two companies
have unraveled the genetic code of rice, the first commercially important
crop to have its genome sequenced. The two companies are Syngenta
of Basel, Switzerland, which was recently formed by the merger of
the agricultural units of Novartis and Astra-Zeneca, and Myriad Genetics,
a biotechnology company in Utah.
The accomplishment
paves the way for efforts to improve rice, which is a staple food
for a large part of the world's population. Scientists can now look
for genes that could help improve yields or make the food more nutritious.
Rice is also expected to serve as a genetic model for other crops
like wheat and corn, which have much larger genomes that defy easy
sequencing.
Dr. Per
Pinstrup-Andersen, Director General of the International Food Policy
Research Institute, said that if Syngenta stands by its stated policy
to provide access to "information and technology for use in
products for subsistence farmers without royalties or technology
fees," poor farmers may reap substantial benefits.
Contact:
URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/26/science/26GENE.html
India
Signs Cartegena Protocol on Bio-safety
India
has signed the Cartegena Protocol on Bio-safety which aims to ensure
an adequate level of protection in the transfer, handling and use
of genetically modified organisms, particularly during their trans-boundary
movement. The protocol was signed by India's Ambassador to the United
Nations Kamalesh Sharma who hailed the doctrine as an important step
forward in the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
The Protocol
incorporates the use of precautionary principle, the application
of the advance informed agreement procedure for import of the organisms,
risk management and management, cooperation in preventive and emergency
measures, capacity building and exchange of scientific, technical,
environmental and legal information regarding the organisms through
a clearing house mechanism
New US Government Guidelines
Released
The U.
S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released the proposed rule
for mandatory notification and guidance for voluntary labeling of
food products derived through agricultural biotechnology.
The proposed
rule would require food developers of new biotech products to notify
the agency at least 120 days in advance of their intent to market
a food or animal feed developed through biotechnology and to provide
appropriate information to demonstrate that the product is as safe
as the conventional counterpart.
FDA also
announced that this information would be made public to increase
the transparency of the agency's review process for such products.
Similarly, a draft guideline provides guidance for companies that
want to voluntarily label their food products to designate whether
the products were made with or without food ingredients developed
using biotechnology.
The pre-publication
version of the biotechnology guidelines are available on the FDA
web site at: http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/biolabgu.html.
NCFAP
Reports Agbio Benefits and Risks
The National
Center for Food and Agricultural Policy (NCFAP) recently issued several
key reports.
Agricultural
Biotechnology:
Updated Benefit Estimates by Janet E. Carpenter and Leonard P.
Gianessi provides an update of the estimates of the benefits associated
with the adoption of biotech crop varieties like corn, cotton,
soybeans and potatoes.
Case
Studies in Benefits and Risks of Agricultural Biotechnology:
Roundup Ready Soybeans and Bt Field Corn by Janet E. Carpenter
provides a review of documents and studies conducted on the potential
risks associated with the commercial introduction of these biotech
crops and also provides a description of the regulatory process.
It also briefly summarizes some of the benefits derived from these
products. The complete report is currently available at: http://www.ncfap.org/pup/
biotech/benefitsandrisks.pdf
Policy
Choices Determine Use of GM Crops
A report
of the International Food Policy Research Institute says that decisions
by developing countries to promote or block the spread of GM crops
can be judged by the policy choices they make in five separate areas:
intellectual property rights (IPR) policy, biosafety policy, trade
policy, food safety policy, and public research investments.
In some
prominent countries such as China, policies are in place that encourage
the independent development and planting of GM crops. Yet in other
countries, the planting of genetically modified crops is not yet
officially approved.
If developing
countries want to bring GM crop technologies into their farming systems,
they may have to recognize some of the intellectual property rights
claims of the private companies that have been developing GM crops.
At one extreme, they might even adopt the US approach and provide
full patent protection.
In the
case of biosafety, promotional policies toward GM crops would be
to approve the use of these crops without any careful screening for
unwanted geneflow or damage to nontarget organisms. Another approach
would be to screen GM crops but only for risks that can be scientifically
demonstrated.
A copy
of the report is available at: http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/catalog.htm#briefs
E-Group
for Crop Biotech
The Global
Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology (KC) has set up an email group
service which will allow faster access to news on crop biotechnology.
Those in the list can expect regular electronic copies of publications
from the KC. Initially, these include the Crop Biotech Brief, a monthly
summary of a theme or topic on crop biotechnology; and the Crop Biotech
Update, which features bi-monthly summaries of articles on global
crop biotechnology with implications for developing countries.
Those
who wish to subscribe to Cropbiotech network need only to send an
email to cropbiotechnetwork@yahoogroups.com. |
