CHINA ALL OUT ON GM RICE
China's fear of being unable to produce enough rice to meet
domestic demand may impel the country to become the first in
the world to approve genetically modified (GM) rice. In an
article in the journal Nature, Hepeng Jia, K.S. Jayaraman and
Sabine Louet noted that China has increased its budget for
research and field trials of GM rice since 2001. Its biotech
budget for 2001-2005 is $1.2 billion, a 400% increase compared
with 1996-2000. About $120 million out of the current budget
is devoted to GM rice programs.
Jia and colleagues reported that Chinese researchers have
developed several GM rice varieties that are resistant to the
country's major rice pests and diseases, such as the stem borer,
bacteria blight, rice blast fungus and rice dwarf virus. Significant
progress has also been made with drought- and salt-tolerant
varieties of GM rice, which have been in field trials since
1998.
The article quoted Jikun Huang, director of the Center for
Chinese Agricultural Policy in Beijing, as saying that the
government thinks that high-output and insect-resistant GM
rice varieties may help solve the country's supply problem.
For the full article online see http://www.nature.com/
cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nbt/journal/v22/n6/full/
nbt0604-642.html.
PHILIPPINE DA AWARDS OUTSTANDING BT CORN FARMERS
Carlos Guevarra, a farmer from Pampanga, Philippines harvested
a record yield of 10.25 metric tons per hectare from planting
a biotech-enhanced corn variety during the last cropping season.
Similarly, Carmelo Dinopol from South Cotabato also harvested
about 10 metric tons in contrast to only 6.5 to 7 metric tons
per hectare from his previous harvests. Both farmers realized
significant increases in income with Guevarra being able to
buy a vehicle to transport his products to direct buyers.
Guevarra and Dinopol are two of the six Bt corn farmers who
were given plaques of recognition by Luis Lorenzo, Jr., Secretary
of the Philippines' Department of Agriculture during the celebration
of the Farmer and Fisherfolk Month. Lorenzo lauded the farmers
for being open to new technologies noting that they are helping
the country attain self-sufficiency in corn production. The
event coincided with a corn technology fair which showcased
organizations supporting corn production as well as demonstrations
on using corn waste materials.
The awarding ceremony was co-sponsored by CropLife Philippines,
an association of seed companies.
A RESURVEY OF FARMERS AND GROWERS' ACCEPTANCE OF GM
A study
conducted by Andrew J. Cook and John R. Fairweather, of Lincoln
University, New Zealand, entitled “New Zealand
Farmer and Grower Intentions to Use Gene Technology: Results
from a Resurvey,” examined the changes in the intentions,
attitudes, and beliefs of farmers and growers in New Zealand
regarding their use of biotechnology. Intentions to use gene
technology, attitudes towards using gene technology, and beliefs
about market acceptance, commercial viability, and environmental
risk from using the technology were gathered and compared against
similar surveys conducted in previous years.
According to Cook and Fairweather, farmers and growers appear
to be no more accepting or rejecting of gene technology than
they were two years ago. However, fewer farmers and growers
have agreed that New Zealand should become free of genetically
modified (GM) crops. Further, farmers and growers deciding
that risks to public health or personal health, damage to ecological
systems, and adverse effects on future generations were unlikely,
would have more favorable attitudes and intentions.
The
authors, likewise, enumerated three conditional factors that
should be addressed for gene technology to be accepted.
These were:
- Farmers
and growers must be convinced that the risks (damage to
ecological systems, adverse effects on future generations,
personal risk, and risks to public health) are acceptable.
- The
marketplace and consumers must be accepting of the use
of GM technology in agricultural production.
- Financial
rewards from either efficiency in production or better returns
for produce must be evident.
Read the full research paper at http://www.agbioforum.org/
v6n3/v6n3a05-cook.htm.
RICE TECHNOLOGY VS MALNUTRITION
“A large number of people living in predominantly rice-eating
countries suffer from various forms of malnutrition. Understanding
the causes of malnutrition is the only way to bring about sustained
improvements in overall health and well-being. Current advances
in rice technology may be able to alleviate the severe malnutrition
currently experienced. These advances must also be accompanied
by actions which alleviate the core causes of malnutrition,
namely, improvements in health care, sanitation and hygiene
and education,” says G. Kennedy, Consultant; B. Burlingame,
Senior Officer, Nutrition Planning, Assessment and Evaluation
Service; and V.N. Nguyen, Agricultural Officer, Crop and Grassland
Service; of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in
Rome, Italy.
According to Kennedy and colleagues, rice is a rich source
of carbohydrates and vitamin B, and with recent technological
breakthroughs, rice may now have the potential to also supply
other needed nutrients. However, the authors stressed that
caution should be observed when promoting any single food source.
A particular food product, no matter how extensively modified,
may not be able to provide all the necessary nutrients required.
Supplements, like vitamins and minerals, are still needed.
The authors also added that both agriculture and nutrition
scientists should work towards understanding the ways in which
nutrient composition is affected, and how to optimize the nutrient
composition of products.
The report
entitled “Nutritional contribution of rice
and impact of biotechnology and biodiversity in rice-consuming
countries” can be downloaded at http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/006/Y4751E/
y4751e05.htm#bm05
PLANT BIOINFORMATICS EXPAND APPLICATIONS
Advances in genomic technologies have led to an explosion
of data and in the growth of the science of bioinformatics.
More complex data integration across the '-omic' platforms
with a direct link to traditional genetics are now required.
Hence, bioinformatics is being challenged to integrate the
carried data generated by the expanding -omic technologies.
This was stressed by Australian researchers David Edwards and
Jacqueline Batley in an article published in the journal Trends
in Biotechnology.
Edwards and Batley said that linking gene expression, protein
sequence and protein structure data with genetic and physical
map data will integrate genetics, genomics, transcriptomics
and proteomics. The incorporation of metabolomic data and data
from phenotype studies will create the foundation for advanced
knowledge bases, thus facilitating queries across whole-systems
biology.
Read the
full article entitled “Plant bioinformatics:
From genome to phenome” in the Volume 22, No. 5 May 2004
issue of Trends in Biotechnology. The full text is provided
at http://www.sciencedirect.com. Contact David Edwards at his
email address: dave.edwards@dpi.vic.gov.au.
INSIGHTS ON SELLING BIOTECHNOLOGY
Media representations play a crucial role in framing public
understanding of science. Hence, the need to do more research
on the source, impact and nature of media representations as
well as long-term policy implications of the 'selling of the
science.' This view was forwarded by Timothy Caulfield of the
University of Alberta, Canada.
Caulfield
noted that the popular media is an important source of scientific
information and is often thought about as providing
inaccurate information. However, he said that the hyping of
research results in the popular media “might be part
of a more systematic problem associated with the increasingly
commercial nature of the research environment.” Researchers
and research institutions, for example, are pressured to justify
in terms of near-future economic benefits.
The article “Biotechnology and the popular press: Hype
and the selling of science” published in the journal
Trends in Biotechnology concluded by saying that governments
should consider the development of a system that enables both
the independent assessment of new technologies and the communication
of accurate and trustworthy information.
Contact Timothy Caulfield at tcaulfld@law.ualberta.ca.
IMPT OF THE CULTURAL CONTEXT IN SCIENCE COMM
Last week, the eighth international conference on the Public
Communication of Science and Technology (PCST-8) was held in
Barcelona, Spain. Attended by 650 delegates from 50 countries,
the conference highlighted the importance of understanding
cultural values, and respecting traditional knowledge to successfully
communicate science. Some of the delegates urged the scientists,
journalists and others involved in the communication of science
to take account of cultural factors and local knowledge in
their work. Another issue tackled was on how to effectively
communicate science in the local languages.
Says Yuwanuch
Tinnaluck of the ASEAN Handicrafts Promotion and Development
Association, in Bangkok, Thailand, “science
and local knowledge are not that far away from one another.
We need to share space and time between scientists and indigenous
people." She added that scientists should work together
with local people to 'co-create' knowledge.
Further,
Patrick Luganda, chairman, Network of Climate Journalists
in the Greater Horn of Africa, stressed that an appreciation
of traditional knowledge is essential for science to be communicated
successfully. "The message will be better understood and
better appreciated if you have an understanding of local knowledge.
The messages (often) get diluted as the information gets passed
on," says Luganda.
See
the article from SciDevNet entitled “Science communicators
'must respect cultural context” at http://www.scidev.net/
news/index.cfm?fuseaction=readnews&itemid=1417&language=1
NEW ROLE FOR SCIENTISTS
Until recently, scientists' major role was to simply acquire
knowledge. Now, it must also be to transfer knowledge to society.
This idea was stressed by Leroy Hood, Biotechnology Heritage
Award winner, during the Industry Pioneers plenary session
at BIO 2004. He noted that public acceptance will also be key
to scientific and product advances.
The five-day international biotechnology conference ended
June 9 in San Francisco which attracted 16,901 delegates from
61 countries. More than 50 high-level officials from at least
15 countries outside the United States attended the convention.
BIO represents more than 1,000 biotechnology companies, academic
institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations.
Members are involved in the research and development of health-care,
agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products.
For more information on the Bio Conference, visit http://www.bio.org/events/2004
ANNOUNCEMENTS
FIRST INT'L AGRICULTURAL VIRTUAL TRADE SHOW AND EXHIBIT
AHead Business Solutions Ltd is sponsoring the first international
agricultural trade show and exhibit via the internet starting
July 15 until October 15, 2004. This event is considered to
be the leading online resource event for manufacturers in the
different sectors of agriculture, such as: irrigation, agricultural
machinery, fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides, greenhouses,
research, packaging, organic agriculture, seeds, projects management,
fishing and gardening. For more information, visit http://www.agriahead.com.
NEW ARTICLE ON BIODIVERSITY
The
abstract of a new biotech article published in the European
Review
of Agricultural Biotechnology is available online at http://erae.oupjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/31/1/1.
Entitled “Biodiversity
versus transgenic sugar beet: the one euro question,” and
authored by Matty Demont, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven,
Belgium; Justus Wesseler, Wageningen University, Wageningen,
The Netherlands; and Eric Tollens, Katholieke Universiteit
Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; the publication analyzed the case
of herbicide-tolerant sugar beet in light of whether the European
Union (EU's) 1998 de facto moratorium on transgenic crops for
sugar beet is a valid decision from a cost-benefit perspective. |
