In This
Issue:
BIOTECH CONTRIBUTES
$33.5B TO U.S. GDP
The
United States Department of Commerce’s first survey on biotechnology
activities in the US reveals that this sector contributed 0.33%
or about $33.5 billion to the country’s gross domestic product
in 2001. In the same year, a total of $16.4 billion was invested
in research and development. These are the highlights of a preview
released by the said department in a report published in the August
2003 (Vol. 21, No. 8) issue of Nature.
The
report also reveals that roughly 18% of the firms surveyed were
engaged in industrial and environmental biotechnology. Furthermore,
some 40% of the firms were found to be either profitable or breaking
even. Eric Roberts, managing director at Lehman Brothers, New York,
considers this as encouraging because five years ago, very few
companies were earning profits.
The
survey was conducted on all firms engaged in biotechnology, from
chemical to seed firms, to pharmaceutical companies. The survey
is expected to shape policies on healthcare or agriculture as it
highlights the importance of biotechnology and how it has become
a contributor to the economy.
The
article by Alexandra Goho can be read online at
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nbt/journal/v21/n8/full/nbt0803-837.html
‘ GOLDEN
RICE’ HAS FUTURE IN PHILIPPINES SAYS CORNELL RESEARCHER
Golden
Rice appears to have a promising future in Nueva Ecija, the Philippines’ ‘rice
bowl’. Village leaders hardly had any awareness or knowledge
on Golden Rice but this will not deter them from possibly planting
it in the future, especially if it is high yielding, is proven
safe for human consumption, and has sufficient market demand. These
were the findings of Mark Chong of the Department of Communication
in Cornell University in an exploratory study conducted on May
2003 to assess the risk perceptions on Golden Rice among rice farmer
leaders in a major rice province in the Philippines.
Chong’s
findings for Golden Rice show that the latter must demonstrate
yields or cost savings equivalent to (or higher than) those of
the best currently grown non-transgenic varieties if it is to be
successfully introduced and adopted. Water efficiency might also
be added as a critical trait as its lack was frequently cited as
the biggest technical problem facing farmers.
Farmers,
according to Chong, consider the Department of Agriculture and
the Philippine Rice Research Institute to be the most trusted sources
of information on agriculture. The Cornell researcher averred that
people who have social trust in the institutional actors involved
in the technology perceive more benefits and fewer risks. Clearly,
he said, lack of previous knowledge did not stand in the way of
farmer acceptance, hence, technology adoption may precede knowledge
acquisition and attitude development.
View
the Nature article online at http://www.nature.com.
EU PUBLISHES
DOCUMENTS ON GM SAFETY ASSESSMENT
EuropaBio,
the European Association for Bioindustries, has published new industry
documents that provide a common industry approach on how to meet
the health, environmental, food and feed safety standards for genetically
modified (GM) crops. The guidelines complement those of the European
Union, World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization,
and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Adeline
Farrelly of EuropaBio says that the guidance documents are designed
for industry, international organizations, and competent authorities
involved in the safety assessment of GM crops.
“We
wanted to create a harmonized industry approach to meeting the
technical requirements of EU authorities who are responsible for
approving GM crop products. We believe a common industry approach
will help ensure a high standard of safety and consistency in meeting
requirements in the EU,” says Dr. Hilde Willekens, chair
of the Technical Advisory Board. TAG is an advisory group to the
Plant Biotechnology Unit of EuropaBio.
Copies
of the documents can be downloaded from http://www.europabio.org/pages/eu_workgroups_detail.asp?wo_id=14
UN REPORTS ON
IMPACT OF NEW BIOTECHNOLOGIES
Biotechnology
presents unique opportunities for developed and developing countries
and small and large enterprises. It is in the interest of humanity
that safe biotechnology applications are used as widely as possible.
This would require the development and implementation of science
and technology policies that would encourage the adoption, use
and development of innovations in developing countries. This is
the gist of the United Nations 58th General Assembly Report of
the Secretary General distributed in May 2003.
The
report entitled “Impact on New Biotechnologies, with Particular
Attention to Sustainable Development, Including Food Security,
Health and Economic Productivity” provides the following
information:
- Global
development goals and the biotechnology revolution
- Factors
affecting technology transfer to developing countries
- Current
biotechnology status in developing countries
- Proposals
for biotechnology development and technology of biotechnology
- Proposed
role of the United Nations
Policies
governing biotechnology, according to the report, have to be harmonized
so that they do not disadvantage developing countries and countries
with economies in transition. The report concludes that “unless
developing countries keep up with advances in biotechnology, they
may lose out again. The cost of leaving some countries behind may
be higher than the cost of empowering them to become players in
mastering and benefiting from biotechnology.”
EC REJECTS AUSTRIA’S
REQUEST
The
European Commission (EC) rejected the Austrian government’s
request to ban, for three years, the use of genetically modified
organisms (GMOs) in Upper Austria. This was done after the EC consulted
the scientific committee of the European Food Safety Authority
(EFSA).
The
Austrian government made this request under Article 95(5) of the
EC Treaty which allows Member States to derogate from EU legislation
under strict conditions. These conditions may include the emergence
of new scientific evidence that would attest that GMOs indeed pose
a risk to human health and the environment.
The
request to ban was filed by Austrian authorities in light of the
issue of co-existence between GM and non-GM methods of agricultural
production, which is yet to be resolved. However, the EC stated
that there is no new scientific evidence that would justify a general
prohibition of the cultivation of GM seeds and propagating material,
the use of transgenic animals for breeding purposes, and the release
of transgenic animals in Upper Austria.
Says
Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom, “I have full respect
for the concerns of the Austrian authorities for the protection
of the environment and human health, and have no problem to recognize
that co-existence is an important issue to be addressed. However,
I would like to point out that these are common concerns, shared
by many regions across Europe, for which is it possible to find
a viable response within the existing legal framework.”
The
document paper is available at http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.
gettxt=gt&doc=IP/03/1194|0|RAPID&lg=EN&display=.
NEW YORKERS
SPLIT OVER BIOTECHNOLOGY
Consumers
from New York, USA appear to be less concerned about biotechnology,
with almost a third of them or 29 percent showing ambivalence towards
the use of biotechnology in food and agriculture. This was the
major finding of a survey conducted by the Survey Research Institute
at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
The
survey, which is based on 888 statewide telephone survey interviews,
also shows that consumers are similarly divided on whether biotechnology
poses risks to human health and the environment. Opponents of biotechnology
are likely to be female, ideologically liberal and young. Proponents
of biotech, on the other hand, tend to be male and ideologically
moderate.
The
special-topics survey on biotechnology, which is part of the 2003
Empire State Poll, aims to determine the knowledge, interest and
opinions of local consumers about biotechnology, and how the science
is being covered by the local media.
Other
highlights of the survey are as follows:
- Thirty-nine
percent (39%) of New Yorkers oppose the use of GM food, 33% support
its use, while 29% are undecided about the use of biotechnology.
- Thirty-seven
percent (37%) believe that the risks of using biotechnology in
food are greater than any benefits, 36% say that the overall
benefits supercede any potential risks, and 28% think that the
benefits and risks posed by the technology are just on equal
footing.
- Opponents
of biotechnology are less likely to pay attention to news on
science and biotechnology, are less aware or informed about biotechnology
issues, and have fewer years of achieved education.
- Proponents
of biotechnology tend to pay more attention to news about science
and biotechnology, are aware or informed about the subject, and
have more years of achieved education.
- New
York consumers that are still undecided are the least aware or
informed about the issues, but they have the most years of achieved
education, as compared to the opponents and proponents of the
technology.
Email
Linda Myers at lbm3@cornell.edu for
more information about the survey.
GENE CLONED
FOR RESISTANCE TO POTATO LATE BLIGHT DISEASE
Potato
late blight disease, caused by the pathogen Phytophthora infestans,
is considered to be the most damaging potato disease in the world.
Controlled by extensive application of fungicide in the US and
developed countries, the disease is still responsible for multi-billion-dollar
losses annually in potato and tomato production.
Recently,
a group of scientists from the US Department of Agriculture, the
University of Wisconsin (Madison), the University of California
(Davis), and the Institute of Genomic Research, Rockville, cloned
the major resistance gene, RB gene, from a wild diploid potato
species, Solanum bulbocastanum, using standard genetic
techniques. Through Agrobacterium-mediated transformation,
Jiming Jiang and his colleagues developed the transgenic Katahdin
potato plants that show resistance to various P. infestans isolates
by significantly delaying the onset of infection and restricting
the spread of infection to the lower leaves.
With
this research breakthrough, the cloned RB gene does not only provide
additional understanding on disease resistance mechanism in plants,
but also offers an important resource to develop late-blight resistant
potato cultivars through genetic engineering.
For
additional information about the research, email jjiang1@wisc.edu or
access the full article at the Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences (100, 9128-9133, 2003) with URL address: http://www.pnas.org.
TRANSGENE ESCAPE
TESTED IN SUNFLOWER PLANTS
In relation
to the risks commonly associated with transgene escape, John M.
Burke and colleagues from the Department of Biological Sciences
at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, conducted
a research on the fitness consequence of a gene, rather than the
rate of gene flow.
In this
study, Burke and colleagues examined the effects of a transgene
(oxalate oxidase or OxOx) that confers resistance to white mold
(Sclerotinia sclerotiorum) following its ‘escape’ from
cultivated into common sunflower (Helianthus annuus).
The
insertion of the OxOx gene would provide susceptible plants a mechanism
for resistance as the said gene is believed to play a key role
in the pathogenecity of white mold.
Results
also indicate that the escape of the OxOx transgene will do little
more than diffuse neutrally, and therefore, will have little effect
on the evolutionary dynamics of wild sunflower populations.
For additional information about the research, email john.m.burke@vanderbilt.edu.
The research paper can also be downloaded at http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2003/news03.sep.html.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
NEW GKC
K-SHEET
“Issues
on US-Europe Trade Dispute,” is the latest K (Knowledge)
Sheet of the International Service of the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech
Applications-Global Knowledge Center. This K-Sheet summarizes the
brief released recently by the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology.
It highlights the history of the GM food issue in Europe, the legislation
recently passed by the EU Parliament, impacts on US-EU agricultural
trade, and other background issues dividing the US and EU.
Download
the summary from http://www.isaaa.org/kc.
WORKSHOP ON GENE FLOW AND BIODIVERSITY
The
Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology (PIFB), and the US-Mexico
Foundation for Science (FUMEC) will hold a workshop entitled “Gene
Flow: What Does It Mean for Biodiversity and Centers of Origin,” on
September 29 to 30, 2003 in Mexico City, Mexico. Experts from the
industry, government, academia, and media are set to discuss the
key questions surrounding the issues of gene flow and biodiversity.
For more information, email geneflow@fumec.org.mx or acevedo@fumec.org.mx.
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