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The war about drugs: Coming to a corn patch near you
by Paul Beingessner
(Tuesday, March 2, 2004 -- CropChoice guest commentary) -- The results of a recent study carried out in the U.S. will come as no surprise to Canadian canola growers. The study looked at three main food
crops - corn, soybeans and canola - and concluded that more than
two-thirds of the seed samples from the 36 conventional varieties that
were tested contained genetically engineered strands of DNA. This is
consistent with research done at the University of Manitoba that found
stray DNA from genetically modified (GM) canola varieties in many of the
foundation seedstocks of conventional canola.
It is worth noting too, that the American experiments could not test for
many of the genetically engineered DNA sequences found in GM crops
because the sequences are trade secrets.
A spokesperson for the Biotechnology Industry Association in the U.S.
claimed this finding was neither surprising nor troublesome. The
industry believes there are no significant issues around food safety,
since the government does an adequate job of protecting consumers.
Contamination is inevitable, it says, and the real concern should be in
getting the world to adopt reasonable standards for contamination with
GM seeds.
It is interesting that, though GM crops have only been grown extensively
in North America for about eight years, contamination of the seed supply
of conventional crops in ubiquitous. The industry is correct in assuming
that systems currently in place to ensure seed purity cannot prevent
such contamination.
Avid proponents of GM crops, like the companies that produce them,
aren't too concerned about this. Some farmers take a similar point of
view. And, though consumers respond to surveys by saying they want to
know if their foods contain GM materials, they don't, at least in North
America, get too worked up about the answer.
All this could soon change. The reason is crops currently used
universally for food, crops like corn and soy, are also being engineered
for non-food purposes. Varieties of these crops are being developed to
produce everything from pharmaceuticals to plastics.
Many Canadian and American consumers are aware they are eating GM foods
with every bite of their cornflakes and every swipe of margarine on
their toast. Since they don't find their friends and neighbours dropping
like flies, they have come to believe this is relatively safe. It might
be a different story, however, if they thought they could be chowing
down on a crop grown for its pharmaceutical properties.
The French company, Meristem Therapeutics, found out last summer, the
concerns such an issue might raise. Meristem sought permission to grow a
plot of corn in Colorado that produces lipase, an enzyme used in the
treatment of cystic fibrosis patients. Concerns were raised about the
wisdom of growing a crop like this in an area where corn is grown for food.
In cases like this, companies like to fall back on the assurance that
regulations governing the isolation of these crops are adequate to
protect public safety. The finding that GM material has spread rapidly
through conventional varieties makes these assurances look a bit
deficient. Contamination is an ever-present possibility, whether through
pollen flow or human error. Corn growers in the U.S. are still
recovering from the damage they suffered when Starlink corn, a GM
variety intended only for animal feed made its way to Japan in shipments
destined for human consumption.
The consumer backlash that would occur if food crops became contaminated
with pharmaceuticals could make the Starlink scandal look like a walk in
the park. The GM industry says that keeping GM DNA out of conventional
crops cannot be done with current systems. The suggested solution is to
adopt tolerances that match the degree of contamination. At recent
international discussions on the issue, the U.S. suggested a 5%
tolerance would be reasonable. The tolerance in food crops for materials
from GM pharmaceutical crops would have to infinitely smaller than that.
Right now, there is no way this can be achieved if pharmaceutical crops
are grown with standard isolation and production techniques.
Production of these potentially useful medicines should be done only in
non-food crops and under the strictest conditions. The creators of these
technologies have failed to show they can control their unintentional
spread. Perhaps this is where they should focus their attention for a while.
(c) Paul Beingessner (306) 868-4734 phone 868-2009 fax
That Union of Concerned Scientists report Paul mentioned, "Gone to Seed," is available at http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_environment/biotechnology/seed_index.html | |
