THE DEVELOPMENT IMPACT TOWARDS NUTRITION, HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT
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Transcript of THE DEVELOPMENT IMPACT TOWARDS NUTRITION, HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT
THE DEVELOPMENT IMPACT TOWARDS NUTRITION,
HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT
GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS
DR NORHASMAH SULAIMANDEPARTMENT OF RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND
CONSUMER STUDIESFACULTY OF HUMAN ECOLOGY
WHAT ARE GM FOODS? ….Foodstuffs produced from GENETICALLY
MODIFIED ORGANISMS (GMO) that have had their DNA altered through genetic engineering (transgenic).
Six principal countries grew 99% of the global transgenic crop area.
Four main crops were grown on almost 100% of the total area of transgenic crop production.By Crop: Global area of transgenic crops
Total area of transgenic crop production
USA
63% Argentina21%
Canada
6%
Brazil4%
China4%
South Africa1%
Other
1%
Total area of transgenic crop production
Soybea61%
Maize23%
Cotton11%
Canola5%
Others, Squash, Papaya1%
In 2006, a total of 252 million acres of transgenic crops were planted in 22 countries by 10.3 million farmers
Commercially grown genetically modified Flavr Savr tomato, which was made more resistant to
rotting by Californian company Calgene. Release the tomatoes into the market in 1994 without any
special labeling. Price: two to five times higher than regular tomatoes. Problems:
Production Competition from a conventionally productbred
A variant of the Flavr Savr was used by Zeneca to produce tomato paste which was sold in Europe during the summer of 1996.
The labeling and pricing were designed as a marketing experiment, which proved, at the time that European consumers would accept genetically engineered foods.
GM PRODUCTS: BENEFITS 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
GOLDEN RICE 2 (2005): produce up to 23 x more beta-carotene
GM PRODUCTS:BENEFITS Animals
Increased resistance, productivity, hardiness, and feed efficiency
Better yields of meat, eggs and milk Improved animal health and diagnostic methods
Fish mature more quickly
Cows that are resistant to bovine spongiform encephalopathy
GM PRODUCTS: BENEFITS Environment
“Friendly” bioherbicides and bioinsecticides Conservation of soil, water and energy Bioprocessing for forestry products Better natural waste management More efficient processing
GM PRODUCTS:BENEFITS Society
Increased food security for growing populations
Food World Crisis (report FAO)- 2007 – Berita Harian
Sunday 23 December 2007
•World population 1957 – 3 billion
•World population 2007 – 9.5 billion
•854 million – hunger
•Increment – 4 million per year
GM PRODUCTS: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
Toxic GM-potatoes
GM PRODUCTS:CONTROVERSIES Access and Intellectual Property
Domination of world food production by a few companies
Increasing dependence on Industrialized nations by developing countries
Exploitation of natural resources
GM PRODUCTS:CONTROVERSIES Ethics
Violation of natural organisms’ intrinsic values Tampering with nature by mixing genes among
species Objections to consuming animal genes in
plants Stress for animal
GM PRODUCTS:CONTROVERSIES Labeling
Not mandatory in some countries (e.g., United States)
Mixing GM crops with non-GM confounds labeling attempts
PUBLIC PERCEPTION Belief in Future Benefits-Doubts on Biotech
Today Future: GM foods will bring benefits to a lot of people May
2000AgreeDisagree
SupportOppose
OpposeSupport
65%
21%
48%
34%
45%
45%
Present: Support or oppose “use of biotechnology in agriculture and food production”
April 2000
July 2005
Source: Gallup
Support for Required Labeling of GM Foods
82%86%
93%
Dec. 1998Time/CNN
June 2000Harris Interactive
June 2001ABC
What future hold for GMF? Applications of GMOs are diverse and include:
1. Drugs and vaccines2. Food and food ingredients3. Animal feeds etc.
Examples: Bananas that produce human vaccines against
infectious diseases such as Hepatitis B Shallots that will not make us cry (Mingguan Malaysia,
Ahad 17 Feb 2008)
What future hold for GMF? The next decade may see exponential increases
in GM product developments as researchers gain increasing access to genomic resources that are applicable to organisms.
Safety testing of these products will also at the same time be necessary to ensure that the perceived benefits will indeed outweigh the perceived and hidden costs of development.