DNA at the Dinner Table

1. DNA at the Dinner Table May 18, 1994, the Food and Drug Administration announced it had determined that a new tomato developed through biotechnology is as safe as tomatoes bred by conventional means. This was the first time FDA had evaluated a whole food produced by biotechnology.

2. The tomato was developed by Calgene, Inc., of Davis Calif. • called FLAV SAVRTM, Goes to market without being crushed and remains on the vine longer to ripen to full flavor before harvest. • Other tomato varieties must be harvested while they are green and firm before reaching full flavor. After shipment, processors induce ripening by treating the tomatoes with ethylene gas, the natural ripening agent in tomatoes.

3. Percent of Global Land Area Planted in Biotech Crops by Country • In millions of acres • From the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications • 2003 data

4. What is genetically modified food? • Anything where the DNA has been manipulated by the processes of modern science. It doesn’t include cross pollination • Recombinant DNA = combining genes from different organisms • Transgenic or Genetically engineered is what the resultant organism is termed

5. How do you make GM foods • 2 ways to introduce new DNA into the cell of a plant • Shotgun or biolistic transformation • Transfection with Agrobacterium tumefaciens

6. Shotgun • Obtain desired DNA • Coat with metal particles • Particles in a gun & fired in • Incorporated into Plant chromosome • Plant cells divide and grow into new plant

7. Transfection • Bacterium infects plant (since 1977) • Transfers DNA to plant • Gene with new property • Promoter signal • Terminator signal • Marker gene so the transformed cells can be selected (often an antibiotic)

8. http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~pubconf/whatis.html

9. US Safety Requirements • the purpose or the intended technical effect of the genetic modification • the source, function and stable incorporation of introduced genetic material • analytical studies to determine whether the genetic modification had any effects on the composition of the food (such as the levels of important nutrients and naturally occurring toxicants) • the safety of new or modified substances (for example, proteins, carbohydrates, fats, or oils) in the food.

10. Benefits of GM food • Crops • Enhanced taste and quality • Reduced maturation time • Increased nutrients, yields, and stress tolerance • Improved resistance to disease, pests, and herbicides • New products and growing techniques • Animals • Increased resistance, productivity, hardiness, and feed efficiency • Better yields of meat, eggs, and milk • Improved animal health and diagnostic methods • Environment • "Friendly" bioherbicides and bioinsecticides • Conservation of soil, water, and energy • Bioprocessing for forestry products • Better natural waste management • More efficient processing • Society • Increased food security for growing populations

11. Controversies • Safety • Potential human health impact: allergens, transfer of antibiotic resistance markers, unknown effects • Potential environmental impact: unintended transfer of transgenes through cross-pollination, unknown effects on other organisms (e.g., soil microbes), and loss of flora and fauna biodiversity • Access and Intellectual Property • Domination of world food production by a few companies • Increasing dependence on Industralized nations by developing countries • Biopiracy—foreign exploitation of natural resources • Ethics • Violation of natural organisms' intrinsic values • Tampering with nature by mixing genes among species • Objections to consuming animal genes in plants and vice versa • Stress for animal • Labeling • Not mandatory in some countries (e.g., United States) • Mixing GM crops with non-GM confounds labeling attempts • Society • New advances may be skewed to interests of rich countries

12. Viewpoints • Europe • Africa • Asia • USA

13. Europe • Only Spain and Germany have authorized the use of GM maize. • All other EU members do not accept it.

14. Africa • 2002: Responses differed across the region. • Swazi officials didn't have an objection to GM food • Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe all asked that GM seeds be milled before distribution to prevent their cross-breeding with local flora. • Zambia's President Levy Mwanawasa initially blocked GM food aid for the 2.5 million Zambians facing starvation, calling it "poison," but following popular outcry, sent a team of scientists to visit Oslo, Brussels, New York, Washington, and South Africa to study the safety of the GM foods before reaching a final decision.

15. Asia • The World Bank estimates that at the levels of micronutrient malnutrition existing in Southeast Asia, 5% of the United States’ gross national product is lost each year due to deficiencies in the intakes of just three nutrients, namely iron, vitamin A and iodine. By GM grains these deficiencies could be addressed. • What to SE Asians think? • Slightly more than half of those who attended a talk (n = 417) indicated that they were worried about GM foods and 86 percent agreed or strongly agreed that GM foods should be labeled. Issues relating to health, ethics, and perceived benefits were the major underlying concerns. J of Consumer Affairs 2000, 34:2

16. USA: Rice with human genes to be grown in US, 10 March 2007 • It may sound unappealing, but rather than end up on dinner plates, the rice will make human proteins useful for treating infant diarrhea • IT SOUNDS unappealing, but the rice will make human proteins useful for treating infant diarrhea in the developing world. • On 28 February, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) gave a provisional go-ahead for three types of the rice to be planted over 1300 hectares in Kansas. • Developed by Ventria Bioscience of Sacramento, California, the rice varieties have been given genes that • either make the human breast milk proteins lactoferrin and lysozyme or • the human blood protein albumin.

17. Summary • What is GM food? • How is it created? • What are some benefits? • What are some concerns?

18. Web Resources • http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/gmfood.shtml • http://www.ourfood.com/Genetic_modification_food.html#SECTION001300010000000000000 • http://www.newscientist.com/channel/life/gm-food