In This
Issue:
BRAZIL
TO ALLOW GM CROPS
Brazil's
Vice President José Alencar has announced an imminent decree
ending a ban on genetically modified (GM) crops. The Federal Regional
Court of Brasilia recently overturned a ruling that allowed the
growing and marketing of Monsanto GM soybeans.
The
decree will extend permission for the sale of GM soybeans from
this year's harvest to include planting starting next month, but
is also likely to signal legislation permanently enabling the planting
and sale of GM crops. While GM soybean had been banned, many farmers
in the Southern states were known to be sowing transgenic seeds
acquired illegally from Argentina. Up to 30% of the country's crop
is estimated to be GM.
Brazil
is the world's second-largest producer of soybeans.
Related
news is available at http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/scitech/
SciTechRepublish_953172.htm
OPTIONS TO ENSURE
BIOTECH ACCESS & BENEFITS FOR THE POOR
Biotech
research and the commercialization of genetically engineered (GE)
crops are observed to be concentrated with private firms based
in industrialized countries. This dominance has raised concerns
for the poor farmers in developing countries. Based on this set-up,
the common notion is that poor farmers may not benefit from biotechnology
because either it is unavailable, or is too expensive.
This
perceived dominance of industrialized countries, and the said concerns
raised by poor farmers from developing countries was examined by
Carl E. Pray and Anwar Nassem in the paper entitled “Biotechnology
R&D: Policy Options to Ensure Access and Benefits for the Poor.”
Pray
and Naseem reviewed the status of crop biotechnology research worldwide,
analyzed the influence of intellectual property rights and market
concentration on the development and diffusion of new technology,
and public-private partnerships.
Based
on the analysis of the authors, they stated that farmers and consumers
are the primary beneficiaries of GM crops. They also suggested
that even if genetic use restriction technologies (GURTs) are developed
and commercialized, the farmers would still benefit from biotechnology.
Pray
and Naseem concluded that “biotechnology research by itself
cannot eliminate poverty and food insecurity, but it can help reduce
it substantially.” The authors also suggested three groups
of policy options that would increase the farmers’ access
to the technology. These are as follows:
- Policies
to encourage private investments in research and marketing biotech
that meets the needs of the poor.
- Policies
on the conduct of more public research on the problems of the
poor.
- Policies
on public-private joint ventures that are needed for the efficient
use of propriety technology developed in industrialized countries.
The
full paper can be downloaded at http://www.fao.org/es/ESA/wp/ESAWP03_08.pdf.
CONSUMER SENTIMENT
RE GMOS INFLUENCE FOOD BUYERS
Highly
negative consumer sentiment towards genetically modified organisms
(GMOs) in Europe seems likely to continue to influence food buyers.
However, there is no evidence that the presence of GMO food crops
in a country causes negative perceptions, in general, of food from
that country. This is the gist of a report on “Trust and
Country Image: Perceptions of European Food Distributors Regarding
Factors That Could Enhance or Damage New Zealand’s Image-Including
GMOs.”
John
Knight and colleagues from the Otago School of Business, University
of Otago in New Zealand, added that GM applications in non-food
areas are unlikely to damage perceptions of country image in relation
to supply of food products from that country.
The
researchers conducted a series of interviews in five European countries
with major companies and organizations that the New Zealand Trade
Commissioners regarded as major “gatekeepers.” They
sought to explore the significance and intensity of the postulated
GMO risk in the wider context of factors impacting on country image.
Based
on their findings, the team recommended a few points:
- Exaggeration
and over-publicizing perceived risks, e.g. GMOS, should be avoided
as it could be highly damaging.
- Communication
systems for rapidly disseminating authoritative information should
be developed by Government to moderate adverse impacts in foreign
markets.
- Great
caution should be exercised in approving commercial GMO release
in any crop situation where a conventional or organic version
of that crop is currently exported to European markets.
- New
Zealand should proceed to develop GMO-based technology in non-food
areas such as biopharmaceuticals.
View
the full report online at http://marketing.otago.ac.nz/Marketing/trustandcountry/
trustandcountry.pdf
WILLS ON THE
PROBLEMS OF GE CROPS IN NEW ZEALAND
“Continuation
of the moratorium on applications for the release of genetically
(modified) organisms into the environment of New Zealand is probably
the only way to preserve our opportunity of remaining virtually
free of contamination and other problems associated with GE crops,” says
Peter R. Willis of the Department of Physics at the University
of Auckland in Auckland, New Zealand.
This
was Wills’ conclusion in his paper entitled “Genetic
Engineering: Policy and Science since the Royal Commission: Insoluble
Problem.” In his summary of analysis, Wills stated that the
decisions of the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification (RCGM)
has, so far, served the interests of the genetic engineering (GE)
industries.
RCGM
refused to endorse a GE-free policy under which normally accepted
level of contamination would be set at zero. The Commission, on
the other hand, recommends that the precautionary threshold for
GE organisms in New Zealand should be lowered.
Wills’ paper
was based on recent international scientific reports that have
renewed skepticism concerning assessments of the safety of GE food
and the effects of GE crops on agricultural and natural ecosystems.
The
full paper can be downloaded at http://www.lifesciencesnetwork.com/Repository/
GE_report_Times.pdf.
FUTURE USES
OF BIOTECH TO ENHANCE QUALITY OF LIFE
The
potential uses of plant biotechnology in the future will be more
wide-ranging than the pest management biotech crops today. According
to A.M. Shelton, professor of entomology at Cornell University,
plants are being developed that serve as production “factories” for
medically important crops, sources of alternative energy, adhesives,
lubricants, and plastics.
Shelton
adds that consumers will see plants that are genetically engineered
to have enhanced health benefits such as disease fighting chemicals
or increased amounts of essential vitamins and minerals.
To ensure
a proper role for this technology, Shelton suggests that a healthy
and well-informed discussion on the risks and benefits involved
in agricultural biotechnology is needed.
The
paper entitled “The Role of Plant Biotechnology in the World’s
Food Systems” can be downloaded at http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/ites/0903/ijee/shelton.htm.
UK PUBLIC UNEASY
ABOUT GM, SAYS REPORT
“GM
Nation? The Findings of the Public Debate” has just been
released and submitted to the United Kingdom government for comment.
The report synthesizes the national debate on genetic modification
issues held in the UK, a series of discussion workshops that started
November 2002 to let the general public frame the issues for debate.
The
report presented seven key messages that came from the participants
in the open debate, and in a parallel series of discussion groups
conducted at the same time. These are:
- People
in the UK are generally uneasy about GM
- The
more people engage in GM issues the harder their attitudes and
more intense their concerns
- There
is little support for early commercialization of GM crops
- There
is widespread public mistrust of government and multinational
companies involved in GM
- People
generally want to know more and want more research to be done
The
debate arose from a recommendation of the Agricultural and Environment
Biotechnology Commission, the independent body which provides strategic
advice to government on biotechnology issues and their impact on
agriculture and the environment.
Professor Malcolm Grant, chairman of the independent GM Debate Steering Board,
which organized the debate, said “We promised to report the voices and
the views we heard in the debate to Government. This we have done. It is a
report from an independent steering board, and it does not attempt to judge
the public’s views.” The report clarifies that it merely attempted
to reveal what the British public thinks and feels about GM issues and not
to say whether they were right or wrong about any issue.
Read
the full report online at http://www.gmpublicdebate.org/docs/gmnation_finalreport.pdf
EU PRESIDENT:
RECOGNIZE IMPORTANCE OF BIOTECH
Italy, as President of the European Union (EU), called on other EU Member States
to recognize the importance of biotechnology as a key tool to make the
European industry competitive. EuropaBio, an association of bioindustries,
reports that Ministers were discussing the EU’s biotechnology strategy
and action plan to help Europe improve its economy.
The
European Commission proposed the EU strategy on biotechnology in
January 2002. “Biotech is an important technology for the
development of Europe’s major industries to engineer new
products, processes and pathways,” says Feike Sijbesma, a
member of the Board of DSM, a producer of life science products. “We’d
like to see Ministers developing a coordination mechanism to help
different ministries and countries to do this.”
The
full article is available at http://www.europabio.org/pages/index.asp
FIRST BIOTECH SOCIETY IN ZAMBIA LAUNCHED
The
Biotechnology Outreach Society of Zambia was launched just recently
in Lusaka, Zambia. The Society aims to launch an aggressive awareness
campaign for all stakeholders in Zambia. Zambian scientists are
hopeful that, thru these awareness campaigns, the Zambian government
will change its negative attitude towards agro biotechnology, and
eventually make informed choices regarding the technology.
The
Zambian government is said to be, at present, developing one of
the most comprehensive biosafety policies and regulations in Africa.
The draft five-year National Biosafety and Biotechnology Strategic
Plan is due for approval later this year by the Minister for Science
and Technology.
If approved
by the parliament, the said plan will persuade the Zambian government
to sign the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, and aid in the introduction
of genetically engineered (GE) cotton in the country. The said
GM crop was introduced in the country two years ago but its use
was discontinued due to lack of biosafety legislation.
Says
Bruce Siamasonta, an official from the Zambia Cotton Development
Trust, “technology will not wait for us, it is advancing.
Therefore if we do not go for it now, it will come to us later,
at a price.”
Read
the full story at http://www.biosafetynews.com/story1.htm.
BIOTECH SEMINAR IN SARAWAK
An international
seminar which promotes the understanding and acceptance of biotechnology
based on an Islamic perspective was held last September 9 to 10,
2003 at Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.
Highlighted
during the seminar were several issues about agricultural biotechnology.
These are as follows:
- Biotechnology
is a growing industry and is an essential solution to the problems
in developing countries. The involvement of Islamic institutions
in the public debate on biotechnology should be encouraged, and
also its collaboration with other religious entities.
- Biotechnology
is a never-ending issue. Thus, public perception and awareness
of the science should be increased. More surveys need to be conducted
as it is very important to measure public perception, and help
determine appropriate plans of action, for both biotech research
and information campaigns.
- The
evaluation of ethical issues associated with biotechnology, in
itself, is a very challenging process. Partnership between the
National biotechnology committee and the "fatwa" (Islamic
law) council is necessary in order to arrive at the right decisions.
- People
who do voluntary "dawa" (preach Muslim faith) and are
opinion leaders in the rural areas should be made to understand
the science of biotechnology for them to make the right decisions
about the technology. Opinions leaders may be invited to visit
research centers and speak with scientists. They should also
be provided with related materials, and discuss among themselves
the risks and benefits. Regulatory and safety issues are also
important matters for discussions.
For
more information about the seminar, email Motaz A. Moniem at ebic_mz@ageri.sci.eg.
RESISTANCE TO
BT TOXIN ABSENT FROM PESTS
Target
insect pests have developed little or no resistance to Bacillus
thuringiensis (Bt) crops says scientists from the University
of Arizona and Cornell University. These results suggest that transgenic
Bt crops could enjoy more extended, more profitable commercial
like cycles and that the measures established to mitigate resistance
before the crops were introduced are paying off.
Bruce
Tabashnik of the University of Arizona says that more than 500
species of insects have evolved resistance to one or more conventional
insecticides. However, this was not seen in Bt. “In the field,
only one pest, the diamondback moth, has evolved resistance to
Bt sprays, and none has evolved resistance to Bt crops. Despite
this success, the incredible adaptive ability of insects means
that resistance remains a threat,” he added.
The
article entitled “Resistance to Bt Toxin Surprisingly Absent
from Pests” is published in the September 2003 issue of Nature
Biotechnology (Vol. 21, No. 9).
NEW DROUGHT
TOLERANT WHEAT VARIETY
Graingene,
a Commonweath Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO)
joint venture organization, has released a new drought tolerant
wheat variety called “Rees”. According to Richard Richards,
CSIRO scientist, the variety produces about five percent more grain
over comparable wheat cultivars.
The
variety was developed using scientific gene selection criteria
based on measuring a plant’s carbon isotope signature. Using
the techniques has enabled scientists to breed varieties of wheat
that more efficiently exchange atmospheric carbon dioxide for water
during photosynthesis.
Rees
is claimed also to be resistant to major wheat diseases and has
excellent yellow alkaline noodle qualities.
A Rees
fact sheet is available at http://www.csiro.au/rees.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON MARKER ASSISTED
SELECTION
An
international workshop on “Marker assisted selection: A fast
track to increase genetic gain in plant and animal breeding?” will
be held on October 17 to 18, 2003 at Turin, Italy. Organized by
the Fondazione per le Biotechnologie, the University of Turin,
and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the workshop aims
to discuss the advantages and drawbacks of molecular marker application
to crop and animal breeding and its benefits to developing countries.
See http://www.fobiotech.org/marcatori_molecolari.htm or
contact mail@fobiotech.org for
more information.
IPR SYMPOSIUM IN SWITZERLAND
The
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and the International
Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) will
hold a symposium on October 24, 2003 in Geneva, Switzerland. Entitled "WIPO-UPOV
symposium on intellectual property rights in plant biotechnology,” details
of the said symposium are available at http://www.upov.int/en/news/index.html or
contact upov.mail@wipo.int.
GMO BIOSAFETY & RISK ASSESSMENT
WORKSHOP
A workshop
entitled "Introduction to biosafety and risk assessment for
the environmental release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs):
Theoretical approach and scientific background, “ will be
held on April 19 to 23, 2004 in Trieste, Italy. Organized by the
International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology,
the closing date for applications is on November 10, 2003. See http://www.icgeb.org/~bsafesrv/bsfn0309.htm#anchor442802 or
contact
courses@icgeb.org for more information. | 
