Highlights from the 2002 review of transgenic crops commercialization.

Transgenic Bt cotton can halve pesticide application rates in Argentina while significantly increasing yields. Yield effects are bigger than in other countries, due to the current low levels of insecticide use. Although smallholder farmers are not currently using the technology, gross benefits are predicted to be highest for them. Biological model simulations show that rapid resistance buildup in pest populations appears to be unlikely if minimum non-Bt refuge areas are maintained.

In 2003, the global area of transgenic crops continued to grow for the seventh consecutive year at a sustained double-digit growth rate of 15% compared with 12% in 2002. The estimated global area of GM crops for 2003 was 67.7 million hectares; this includes a provisional conservative estimate of 3 million hectares of GM soybean in Brazil (the final hectarage could be significantly higher), officially approved for planting for the first time in 2003. It is noteworthy that a double-digit rate of 10% growth in GM crops was sustained in 2003, even excluding the Brazilian hectarage. The 67.7 million hectares of GM crops in 2003, equivalent to 167 million acres was grown by 7 million farmers in 18 countries, an increase from 6 million farmers in 16 countries in 2002. The increase in area between 2002 and 2003 of 15% is equivalent to 9 million hectares or 22 million acres.

In a follow-up to an earlier study, the National Center found that the six biotechnology-derived crops planted in 2003 (canola, corn, cotton, papaya, squash and soybeans) produced an additional 5.3 billion pounds of food and fiber and increased farm income $1.9 billion. The biotechnology-derived crops also reduced the use of pesticides by 46.4 million pounds.

The study provides a detailed view of biotechnology's value at the farm level and beyond the farm gate, where the crops — and the research and development that creates them — generate additional jobs, income and investment in the agrifood chain and public and private research community.

Enhancing agricultural productivity in those areas of the world bypassed by the Green Revolution will require new approaches that provide incentives and funding mechanisms that promote the translation of new innovations in plant science into concrete benefits for poor farmers. This article is an attempt to analyze both the constraints and the opportunities presented by the challenge to translate new discoveries in plant sciences into successes in agriculture for the benefit of the poor of the world.

An analysis of the Biosafety Protocol by Francis B. Smith, Executive Director of Consumer Alert and of a new organization, International Consumers for Civil Society. Ms. Smith follows the biotech issue closely, and was in Montreal throughout the negotiations.

The conceptual framework clarifies critical decision points in the development of a national biosafety system, systematically examines choices among policy options, and delineates some of the scientific and social dimensions of these options.

The majority of the pollen fell within a few meters of the corn field (approximately 90% falls within 5 meters). On average, pollen counts on leaves were lower than those known to be toxic to neonates less than one week following peak pollen shed (though the range of values included densities that approached the LD50 determined in our experiments). Further, only 5 meters from the field, pollen counts on milkweed leaves were close to zero.

A field study was performed to assess whether mortality of early instar black swallowtails was associated either with proximity to a field of Bt corn or by levels of Bt pollen deposition on host plants. It was concluded that Bt pollen of the variety tested was unlikely to affect wild populations of black swallowtails, thus suggesting that at least some potential nontarget effects of the use of transgenic plants may be manageable.

Further studies on the supposed effects of Bt corn pollen on the Monarch butterfly, based largely on laboratory observations.

Despite numerous future promises, there is a multitude of concerns about the impact of GM crops on the environment. Key issues in the environmental assessment of GM crops are putative invasiveness, vertical or horizontal gene flow, other ecological impacts, effects on biodiversity and the impact of presence of GM material in other products. These are all highly interdisciplinary and complex issues. A crucial component for a proper assessment is defining the appropriate baseline for comparison and decision.

Defying the expectations of scientists monitoring transgenic crops such as corn and cotton that produce insecticidal proteins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), target insect pests have developed little or no resistance to Bt crops thus far, according to USDA-funded scientists.

A review commissioned by the Swiss Expert Committee for Biosafety SECB of the available scientific data on ecological effects of commercially grown GM crops. Performed by the Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon Research Station ART, the study focuses on insect-resistant maize and herbicide-tolerant soybean and oilseed rape, respectively, representing three of the major GM crops of significance for Swiss agriculture, and their possible impact on the environment. Peer-reviewed journals, scientific books and reports from international organizations have been the main source of data for the study.

The sustainable development of biotechnology will require a renewed focus on stakeholders and their needs. This, in turn, demands a clearer understanding of public concerns as well as attention to issues of institutional structure and representation in decision-making processes. [PDF Format 198 KB]

The report is the work of leading scientists, ethicists and experts in the patenting and regulatory fields concerned with applications of biotechnology in the agricultural and food areas from throughout Europe. The intention in the report has been to produce a clear, concise and balanced distillation of these studies in non-technical language for ease of understanding and use.

The Council's Report, Genetically modified crops: ethical and social issues, provoked considerable discussion in 1999. Now, four years on, the Council has decided to produce a follow-up Discussion Paper, focusing specifically on the role of GM crops in developing countries.

This report shows just how, and how much, certain policy decisions and social changes will affect the world’s future food security. It projects the likely food situation in 2020 if the world continues on more or less its present course, and it then shows how alternative choices could produce a different future.

This report, the first published by the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology, provides an illustrative overview of what could be the “next generation” of genetically engineered agricultural products. This report is intended to underscore the broad scope of current agricultural biotechnology research and to illustrate some of its potential uses, many of which are dramatically different than those commercially available today.

This study has been prepared by an Expert Working Party that reports to the Canadian Biotechnology Advisory Committee (CBAC). It is the first comprehensive effort undertaken in Canada to examine biotechnology in relation to sustainable development.

Biological invasions have had profound effects on human society from the earliest times. The spread of the black death in the Middle Ages, the devastations of potato blight, the effects on indigenous species by grey squirrels, dutch elm disease and flat worms have all been seen as detrimental to man or the environment. Others are seen as bringing benefits: most of our crops evolved elsewhere in the world and many culinary and medicinal herbs were brought to Britain by the Romans. Perhaps the greatest invasion is the import of vast numbers of exotic plants to gardens and greenhouses. Ecological invasions are an intrinsic part of ecology and evolution and we only consider them bad if they impoverish our health, livelihood or living conditions. [PDF Format 349K]

It is concluded that herbicide tolerant gene-stacked volunteers of oilseed rape would be inevitable in practical agriculture in the UK. It is recommended that more emphasis would have to be placed upon post-harvest cultivations in order to minimise volunteer populations in subsequent crops. However, it is considered that there would be little impact on other agricultural practices if only genetically modified (GM) varieties tolerant to glyphosate (Roundup Ready) or glufosinate (Liberty Link) were introduced into the UK.

A systematic survey was conducted of maize seeds from 870 plants in 125 fields and 18 localities in the state of Oaxaca during 2003 and 2004 for the presence of transgene sequences. More than 153000 seeds were tested by PCR for the presence of two transgene elements from the 35S promoter of the cauliflower mosaic virus and the nopaline synthase gene (nopaline synthase terminator) from Agrobacterium tumefaciens. There was no evidence of either the 35S CaMV or NOS transgene sequences in this survey, which indicates that the frequency of transgenic seeds from maize grown in the sampled region was near zero in 2003 and 2004.

The latest European sample survey of public perceptions of biotechnology reveals widespread opposition to genetically modified (GM) food in much of Europe, but public attitudes to medical and environmental applications remain positive.

Support for biotechnology in Japan is declining, although it remains higher than the US or Europe.

Public attitudes to Dolly the sheep may mirror the perception of biotechnology as a whole.

Although a majority of US citizens remain supportive, opposition to biotechnology is on the rise.

This document provides a comparison of the regulatory frameworks in Argentina, Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. The objective is to situate Canada internationally with respect to the regulation of agricultural biotechnology products and highlight best practices in a manner that will help CBAC identify issues related to the governance and organization of Canada’s regulatory system.

A framework for applying the precautionary principle is developed and then, based on a brief survey of the public health and environmental costs and benefits of GM crops, the framework is applied to the broad range of consequences of a ban on GM crops.

A panel of experts, 10 each from the US and EU, were charged to consider the full range of issues of concern in crop biotechnology and provide their views and assessments of potential risks and benefits.

This report presents the findings from an exploratory investigation of the potential economic impacts if Canada were to introduce mandatory labelling of food products containing ingredients from biotechnology and non-biotechnology. The findings presented are based on a program of interviews with a limited number of Canadian industry participants at each level in the supply chain for grain and oilseed products plus a review of relevant secondary research.

In November, 2000 Health Canada’s Health Products and Foods Branch approached the Royal Society of Canada with a request to commission an Expert Panel to provide advice to ensure the safety of new food products being developed through biotechnology. The Society agreed to do so, and this report represents a consensus of the panel.

The paper examines the nature of the policy networks in both countries surrounding the issue of food safety risks in an effort to determine why there are differing policy responses, given the implications for policy capacity.

Information on how GMOs are currently regulated within the EU and the impact of Directive 2001/18, which is scheduled to come into force on 17 October 2002.

Regulatory approaches in Europe and North America are essentially different. In the EU, it is based on the process of making GM crops; in the US, on the characteristics of the GM product. Many other countries are in the process of establishing regulation based on either system or a mixture. Despite these differences, the information required for risk assessment tends to be similar. Each risk assessment considers the possibility, probability and consequence of harm on a case-by-case basis.

The Monograph first defines the precautionary principle and then explains how international bureaucrats and influential activist groups are using it as a vehicle to diminish America’s competitive position in the world economy and advance special interest agendas hostile to free enterprise and technology. Activists have made their deepest inroads in areas such as genetically enhanced foods and climate change, and Mr. Kogan provides an extensive analysis to those efforts, including a discussion of state and regional programs. The Monograph concludes with an insightful philosophical discussion of the precautionary principle’s broader international legal, political, and economic impact.

There is a growing body of scientifically valid information available that indicates no significant risk associated with the consumption of DNA or the resulting proteins from the GM crops that are registered in any of these countries. Based on the safety analyses required for each crop, consumption of milk, meat and eggs produced from ani-mals fed GM crops should be considered to be as safe as traditional practices

The report, Seeds of Opportunity, concludes that there is no significant difference between plant varieties created using agricultural biotechnology and similar plants created using traditional crossbreeding. It recommends that regulations at U.S. Department of Agriculture and proposed regulations at the Environmental Protection Agency targeting biotechnology products be changed to focus on the characteristics of a plant, not the process used to develop it.

Leading scientists have urged private corporations and research institutions to share their know-how on GM technology in order to help alleviate the problem of growing world hunger.

This document contains the executive summary, scientific assessment of human health and environmental risks, and insect resistiance management. [678K]

Report of the FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel Meeting, November 28, 2000, held at the Holiday Inn Rosslyn Hotel. A Set of Scientific Issues Being Considered by the US Environmental Protection Agency Regarding the Scientific Safety Assessment of StarLink Corn.

For each of the issues surrounding the safety assessment of genetically modified foods (e.g., toxicity, vertical gene flow, non-target effects, allergenicity and horizontal gene transfer), the report contains a review written by a notable scientific expert.

Summary of CDC's epidemiological investigation into cases of suspected allergenic reaction to Cry9C protein possibly present in foods containing event CBH351 (StarLink) maize. The findings did not provide any evidence that the reactions that the affected people experienced were associated with hypersensitivity to the Cry9c protein.

In 1998 the Royal Society issued the report Genetically modified plants for food use. The Society periodically issues updates on reports (recent examples include updates on bovine spongiform encephalopathies and stem cells) and the following update, which is based on research published in the last three years, specifically addresses human health aspects of genetically modified foods and the principle of substantial equivalence.

This document provides the scientific underpinnings and recommendations for assessing the safety and nutritional effects of crops with improved nutritional qualities. It includes terms and definitions for describing such products, identifies the key safety and nutritional challenges, and introduces potential approaches and methods to address those challenges.

The study reviews evidence in several broad areas related to genetically modified foods, including currently available products, the assessment of risks and benefits, the broader impact on societies and the existing regulatory capacity in countries.

Overarching report Entransfood, the European network on safety assessment of genetically modified food crops. ENTRANSFOOD provided a platform for participants from a wide range of different perspectives and disciplines to interact and to explore the interdependence of scientific, regulatory, and societal aspects of introducing GM food crops. Project participants and sponsors consider ENTRANSFOOD a trial model to inform future deliberations on how to structure multidisciplinary research projects on questions relating to risk.

The regulatory processes in place to assess the safety of biotechnology-derived crops have been effective in safeguarding public health. To date, there has been no authenticated case of an adverse health-related incident associated with the consumption of food or feed derived from modern biotechnology. The review of the currently available data concludes that meat, milk, and eggs produced by farm animals fed biotechnology-derived crops are as wholesome, safe, and nutritious as similar products derived from animals fed conventional crops.

In this report the various elements of the safety and nutritional assessment procedure for genetically modified (GM) plant derived food and feed are discussed, in particular the potential and limitations of animal feeding trials for the safety and nutritional testing of whole GM food and feed. The general principles for the risk assessment of GM plants and derived food and feed are followed, as described in the EFSA guidance document of the EFSA Scientific Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms.

A scientifically sound environmental risk assessment is required for crops derived from modern biotechnology (also referred to as genetically modified [GM]) prior to unrestricted release into the environment. The scientific principles underlying the environmental risk assessments completed for herbicide-tolerant and insect- protected GM crops commercialized to date are now being applied to crops currently under development that are modified for improved tolerance to abiotic stresses. These principles, and the processes built upon them, have been shown to be sufficiently robust to provide the appropriate information for regulatory decision making and to ensure an adequate level of environmental protection. This article describes the initial steps in the environmental risk assessment process and illustrates an approach that could be taken for GM crops tolerant to an abiotic stress (e.g. water, salt, cold, and heat).

This report examines the feasibility and cost implications of delivering and maintaining ‘GM avoidance’ policies in the EU food and feed supply chains. In the next 1-3 years, supply availability of non-GM material in the key soybean and derivative sector is likely to decline and the price differential between GM and non-GM material widen. This will make the continued absorption of additional non-GM related costs very difficult for any user sector with high levels of (non-GM) soybean/derivative usage because of the adverse impact on profitability.

What risks might Africa face if it decided to plant genetically modified (GM) agricultural crops? A rough calculation based on current export profiles for one sampling of eastern and southern African countries suggests that the commercial export risks incurred outside of Africa would be quite small. Most of Africa’s exports of goods that might be considered GM currently go to other African countries, rather than to Europe, Asia, or some other GM-sensitive destination. This raises a trade policy coordination challenge for Africa, but only a small commercial export risk beyond Africa.

The first genetically modified (GM) crop incorporated into Argentina’s agriculture was herbicide-tolerant soybean in 1996. From that date on, almost 900 field tests have been conducted on different crops and traits and nine additional events have been released commercially both for maize and cotton (herbicide tolerance and insect resistance). In the last growing season, GM varieties represented over 90% of the area planted with soybeans, 70% in the case of maize and 60% for cotton. As a result of this, Argentina has become the second largest producer of GM crops, after the United States, with over 17 million hectares planted. This review - commissioned by ArgenBio, the Argentine Council for Information and Development of Biotechnology - on the economic impacts of GM crops on the Argentinian agricultural sector concludes that the first decade of GM crops in Argentinian agriculture has been a period of large benefits, not only for the agricultural sector, but for the economy as a whole; however it has become clear that this process has not been free of both costs and uncertainties, issues that remain open and should be addressed and widely debated in the future.

This study presents the findings of research into the global socio-economic and environmental impact of GM crops in the eleven years since they were first commercially planted on a significant area. It focuses on the farm level economic effects, the environmental impact resulting from changes in the use of insecticides and herbicides, and the contribution towards reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.