If there's one topic that's receiving international
attention lately it's food biotechnology. While this technology offers
great promise in feeding the world's population, improving the health of
Asian populations and helping the environment, a lot of speculation and
emotion is involved in the discussions. AFIC has undertaken research in
several Asian countries to identify some of the more common questions
about food biotechnology. The following article seeks to shed some light
and provide the science behind some of the more common misperceptions
about food biotechnology.
MYTH:
The application of biotechnology to crops and foods is very
different from traditional agricultural methods.
FACT:
Biotechnology is an evolution of traditional agricultural methods.
Over the past 10,000 years, people have routinely used their
knowledge of plants to improve food production. Biotechnology is the
latest development in the evolution of agricultural methods. Farmers
used to rely on plant breeding to add or eliminate specific genetic
traits in a plant. For example, because of plant breeding, corn
today looks nothing like it did one hundred years ago. Although it
typically took several growing seasons to produce a plant that
expressed a desired trait, farmers were eventually able to produce
crops that:
were resistant to drought, insect pests or diseases
possessed stronger stalks to withstand strong winds
produced higher yields
Genetic modification is a more efficient and
precise way to achieve the benefits of crop improvement. Using new
technologies, scientists are now able to pin-point the specific gene
responsible for a particular trait and then extract or add that gene
to a specific plant.
MYTH:
Foods produced using biotechnology have not been established as safe
and are not adequately regulated.
FACT:
Biotechnology is one of the most extensively researched and reviewed
agricultural developments in our history. The World Health
Organization, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the US
Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) have all certified the safety of these foods and work
together to ensure that crops produced through biotechnology are
safe to eat. Governments around the world including Canada,
Australia, Singapore, Europe and Japan have reached agreement on the
safety of these foods.
MYTH:
Crops produced using biotechnology will negatively impact the
environment.
FACT:
Biotechnology is an element in sustainable agriculture that will
benefit the environment. Benefits include reduced pesticide use,
water and soil conservation and greater safety for workers and the
ecosystem.
Many crops - including tomatoes, corn, potatoes
and cotton - now have the internal ability to repel insects.
Consequently, fewer applications of insecticide need to be applied
to the plant. A certain type of corn used to feed hogs will reduce
the phytic acid in animal waste that traditionally cause algae to
grow in water supplies. Finally, the ability to obtain greater crop
yield from existing land decreases the need to convert forests to
farmland.
MYTH:
The production of crops resistant to certain pests and weeds will
lead to "Superbugs" and/or "Superweeds" that are immune to existing
methods of pest and weed management.
FACT:
There are no scientific studies suggesting this kind of scenario
could occur as a result of crops produced using biotechnology. There
are, however, many systems in place – including crop rotation,
hybrid rotation and integrated pest management - as a precautionary
measure to help prevent it from occurring. Insects and weeds already
evolve and develop tolerance or resistance to their environment, so
biotechnology can potentially better manage this evolution in
resistance.
In May 1999, Nature magazine published a letter from researchers at
Cornell University that reported findings suggesting further
research is needed into the relationship between pollen from select
strains of Bt corn (corn which has been genetically modified to
produce a protein to protect against insects) and the Monarch
caterpillar. Since that publication, many university researchers,
including others at Cornell, have stepped forward to stress that the
Monarch study did not represent natural conditions and that
extensive environmental research has established the safety of Bt
corn on non-target insects, such as the ladybird beetle, honeybee
and the green lacewing, in the natural environment.
Dr John Losey, the Cornell University entomology
professor who conducted the research, agreed with the researchers
and noted, "Our study was conducted in the laboratory and, while it
raises an important issue, it would be inappropriate to draw any
conclusions about the risk to Monarch populations in the field,
based solely on these initial results."
As with any scientific issue, several studies are
needed before conclusions can be made.
MYTH:
Biotechnology cannot relieve world hunger.
FACT:
Biotechnology can help alleviate hunger worldwide. In the next 50
years the global population is expected to double, reaching more
than 8 billion people by 2050. Population growth and diet upgrading
will require the world food supply to increase at least 250 percent
from its current quantity. The amount of land currently committed to
food production - approximately 36 percent of the earth's cumulative
land area –cannot yield the amount of food needed by this
increased population. Although forests could be cleared to obtain
needed acreage, a better approach is to find ways of getting greater
crop yield from existing land. Biotechnology can increase the
quantity of the harvest by addressing the factors that traditionally
deplete crops such as pests, weeds, drought and wind. Plants from
biotechnology can deal with these hardships and dramatically
increase the percentage of crops that survive and are harvested each
year.
MYTH:
The long-term effects of foods developed using biotechnology are
unknown.
FACT:
From years of research, scientists know that the benefits of food
biotechnology are enormous. The scientific consensus is that the
risks associated with food biotechnology products are fundamentally
the same as for other foods. Current science shows that foods
produced using biotechnology are safe to consume and a host of
regulatory authorities including the US FDA, the United States
Department of Agriculture and the US Environmental Protection Agency
have determined that these products are safe to introduce into the
food supply.
While there is no such thing as "zero risk" for any
food, consumers can be confident that foods produced using biotechnology
meet the same stringent safety standards as foods producing using
conventional methods.
