In
This Issue:
SIEBERT:
EU MUST BROADEN BIOTECH DEBATE
"One of our main problems in Europe is that we do not have a single policy for
life sciences and biotechnology, but instead a patchwork of many sectoral and
horizontal policies at international, EU, Member State and local levels", Christian
Siebert, European Commission Deputy Head of Unit Enterprise Directorate-General,
told the recent BIO 2002 conference.
"We need to maintain and strengthen the link between science and society in order
to have stronger foundations for the development of European biotechnology. It
is important to avoid a situation where the science moves ahead but society does
not follow," he said. "This requires an on-going societal scrutiny and an inclusive,
comprehensive, well-informed and structured dialogue".
"Today, Europe faces a major policy choice: the technology exists and is developing
rapidly, and so it is not a question of whether, but how Europe takes up the
challenge," Siebert said. "As policy-makers we can either accept a passive role,
reacting to developments elsewhere, or develop pro-active policies to exploit
the potential in a responsible manner consistent with our societal values."
Europe is now in the middle of reform in two areas of legislation that are
of major importance to biotechnology: genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
and on pharmaceutical products.
In October this year, the new basic Directive 2001/18 on "deliberate release" of
GMOs will enter into force. This covers commercial/experimental use and placing
on the market. It reinforces scientific evaluation, public consultation, introduces
post-marketing monitoring and a time limitation of 10 years for authorizations.
"The Commission believes that the entry into force of this new legislation will
provide a sound basis for the resumption of new product authorizations, which
has been at a standstill since 1998," said Siebert. "Furthermore, the Commission
has made new proposals on the traceability and labeling of GMOs and food/feed
derived from GMOs."
SCIENTISTS
DEVELOP VALUE-ADDED TOMATOES
A team of scientists from the Purdue University and US Department of Agriculture's
Agricultural Research Service has developed a tomato that contains as much
as three and a half times more of the cancer-fighting antioxidant, lycopene.
While working to develop tomatoes for food processing that were of higher quality
and had delayed ripening traits, the team, by accident, discovered that the
new tomatoes also had significantly more of the antioxidant than conventional
tomatoes.
Avtar Handa, professor of horticulture at Purdue said that this is one of the
first examples of increasing the nutritional value of food through biotechnology. "In
fact, it may be the first example of using biotechnology to increase the nutritional
value of a fruit", he said.
The research was announced in the June 2002 issue of Nature Biotechnology.
A separate article on the research in Nature Biotechnology noted, "the findings
... remind us that in the 'rational' and quantitatively driven post-genomic
era, serendipity still has a large part to play." A U.S. patent application
has been filed on behalf of the joint owners USDA and the Purdue Research Foundation.
Handa says the technique used in this research might also be used to increase
the amount of other antioxidants in foods. "We are excited about this approach,
not only because it results in an increase in lycopene in tomato, but because
we think this approach could be used to increase the phytonutrient content
of other fruits and vegetables," he says.
Meanwhile, Lutz Nover and colleagues at the Department of Molecular Cell Biology,
Johann Wolgang Goethe-Universitat Frankfurt am Main have identified a protein
called HsfA1 as a master regulator of the tomato heat stress response. HsfA1
is a heat stress transcription factor that activates the expression of genes
that encode heat stress proteins.
HsfA1 has a unique function as master regulator for induced thermotolerance",
say Nover and co-workers. Further understanding of the tomato heat stress response
will be of great interest to agricultural biotechnologists as they look for
ways to manipulate tomato growth and ripening.
The paper, "In the complex family of heat stress transcription factors HsfA1
has a unique role as master regulator of thermotolerance in tomato" by Shravan
Kumar Mishra, Joanna Tripp, Sybille Winkelhaus, Bettina Tschiersch, Klaus Theres,
Lutz Nover, and Klaus-Dieter Scharf appears in Genes & Development.
For more information on the Purdue research email tally@purdue.edu
Email nover@cellbiology.uni-frankfurt.de for
details on the German research on tomato thermotolerance.
GMF TRADE
ISSUES BETWEEN EU AND US
The European Union (EU) proposal to lower the threshold at which mandatory
labeling will be required threatens to further affect trade relations between
the US and the EU. The Environment Committee of the European Parliament approved
a measure to lower the threshold from 1% to 0.5% per ingredient. The proposed
measure will be taken up by the European Parliament plenary in July. Afterwards,
it will go back to the Commission and EU governments for review, and then back
to the Parliament for final approval.
US agricultural producers feel the proposed rules are unworkable, expensive
and unnecessary since they believe that genetically modified (GM) foods are
safe and should be treated no differently than conventionally-produced foods.
The EC, on the other hand, states that the rules are needed in light of strong
European consumer concerns about GM foods.
This concern is one of the issues tackled by the Pew Initiative on Food and
Biotechnology in a brief about the US and the EU's different approaches to
GM foods. It tackles the impacts on US-EU agricultural trade and the historical
events that divide the US and EU. The analysis outlines the US-EU agricultural
trade relationship, which earns the US $6.3 billion a year and the EU $7.9
billion. The report explains that the existing GM food regulations in the EU
have resulted in the loss of US $200 million in U.S. corn sales.
The EU asserts that the regulations are necessary to instill consumer confidence
in GM products. However, the report notes that the conflicting GM food regulations
could also have "a ripple effect around the world as other countries debate
whether to follow the American or European regulatory model".
The complete analysis is available at http://pewagbiotech.org/resources/issuebriefs/europe.pdf
USDA
PROPOSES NEW DIVISION TO REGULATE BIOTECH
US Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Bill Hawks and USDA Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Administrator Bobby Accord proposed
a reorganization of the biotechnology regulatory functions within the department.
The move establishes a "Biotechnology Regulatory Services" Division, headed
by a deputy administrator.
Six subunits will fulfill the major responsibilities of the division: Forecasting
and Program Development, Regulatory Policy, International Biotechnology Policy,
Risk Assessment, Permits, and Compliance. As part of the reorganization, USDA
earmarked a substantial amount of resources for communications and outreach.
The resources will be used to share the successful product development and
rigorous, science-based regulatory system in the US with interested parties
worldwide.
Contact Val Giddings at shiva@pop.net for
more information.
NY
FARMERS OPPOSE BIOTECH MORATORIUM
The New York Farm Bureau, composed of 32,000 member families, has issued a
statement opposing any moratorium or ban on genetically modified crops. A press
release from the Farm Bureau reports that the resolution was formed at its
annual convention after a five-month process of debates, amendments and passing
resolutions at the county level. The process was then repeated at the State
Annual Meeting making it a democratic process that reflects the consensus of
the community.
Julie Suarez, senior associate director of public policy for the Bureau said
that farmers from their on-the-farm perspective see advantages - even environmental
advantages - from biotech crops. She further said that biotechnology can develop
new varieties in less time than conventional methods and "these new crops will
be better adapted to drought, disease and low fertility". A press release from
the Farm Bureau also says "many biotech crops in wide use today require fewer
and safer pesticides, with fewer gas-guzzling trips across fields with machinery
- a clear environmental advantage".
The Farm Bureau is a non-governmental, volunteer organization financed and
controlled by families for the purpose of solving economic and public policy
issues challenging the agriculture industry. The full press release in their
website is at http://www.nyfb.org/nyfbnews/2002/pr060502.htm.
CONTROL
MECHANISM FOR GM CROPS NEEDED
Regulators and industry officials must examine the effects on the market of
a control mechanism for genetically modified crops. Although the initial cost
of introducing a control mechanism may be high, the long-term benefits of such
a technology may be sufficient to justify commercialization. This view was
forwarded by Stuart Smyth, George Khachatourians, and Peter Philips of the
University of Saskatchewan, Canada, in a paper entitled "Liabilities and economics
of transgenic crops" published in the June 2002 issue of Nature Biotechnology.
Smyth and colleagues said that "irrespective of scientific rationale, current
political and societal pressures are likely to lead to more stringent regulation
of future GM varieties." In effect, this could jeopardize future R&D investments
in GM products. Hence, the need for some form of control mechanism.
To realize the benefits of GM crops while minimizing risks, change in attitudes
are required in both government and industry. The authors noted that on the
institutional side, governments can and should improve the regulatory oversight
of GM crops, aggressively pursuing the use of refugia, contract registration,
regional regulation, and mandatory crop rotations and audits. The agbiotech
industry must also take responsibility for showing a strong appreciation for
the importance of managing and containing the technology.
The full paper is available at http://biotech.nature.com
FORUM ON BIOTECH
IMPLICATIONS
The University of Queensland Australia will hold an international forum to
discuss the social, moral, and political implications of biotechnology. The
conference will be presented in an alternative format that highlights democratic
participation rather than one-way speeches from a few speakers. The forum "Towards
Humane Technologies" will be held at the University of Queensland's Ipswich
campus on July 15-17, 2002.
The conference aims to overcome the limitations and generally exclusive nature
of debates surrounding biotechnology research and commercialization. This would
entail moving the discussion of issues from the academic and professional spheres
to the public and make it more inclusive and transparent.
The organizers are encouraging community groups and not for profit organizations
to get involved in this forum. For more information, go to http://www.uq.edu.au/gsm/biomediaindex.html. |
