GMOs and Related issues:

GMOs and Related issues:
What are GMOs?
Genetically Modified Organisms- Refers to the organisms such as yeast, plants, animals etc whose genes have been altered.
How are GMOs made?
Aim is to change the genetic make-up. So, it can be changed by inserting new gene or modifying existing one.
Can be done by- Making the cell membrane more porous and inserting new gene into cell by electric shock, gene gun, cold temperature shock etc
Occurs in nature too.
Use of GMOs?
-Better varieties of crops (more productivity, shelf life, flood and drought resistance) = Genetically Modified Crops (GMCs)
-Ornamental organisms (GloFish was the first such organism)
-Better meat (genes can be stimulated for more muscle growth)
-Gene therapy, research etc
Why is it in news?

1. Technical Expert Committee established by Supreme court recommended a 10 yr moratorium on field trials of GMCs

2. BRAI Bill

3. Mutation breeding technology developed by BARC

4. Human cloning

5. Next Generation Sequencing

6. Gene Therapy
Explanations:
1. TECs moratorium:
-The report criticizes the state of regulatory affairs with regard to modern biotechnology
-Moratorium until there is more definitive information from sufficient number of studies as to the long-term safety of Bt in food crops
-no desperate shortage of food in India. It recommended that the release of GM crops for which India is a centre of origin or diversity as in Bt brinjal should not be allowed.
Why GMCs should be allowed?

1. GM crops are already widely used. Last yr, 12% of global crop area was grown with GE varieties of Soyabean, maize, cotton, rapeseed, sugarbeet

2. Over next 50 yrs, global demand for agricultural products may double. Agricultural supply needs to be doubled without straining the environment

3. Agriculture needs to be treated as a knowledge driven industry, not just a traditional vocation

4. India has become a cotton exporting country from cotton importing one because of Bt Cotton. Yields increased by 25%. Insecticide spray reduced by 50%

5. China has 6000 PhDs in agri-biotech alone. India has 8900 PhDs in all Sciences put together. No field trials->No claim substantiated. Too many hurdles for scientists: funding, activists, loss of trial crops, no publications, no products
Conclusion: GMCs should not be considered as a substitute for improved agronomy or other innovations. But a moratorium is not the answer. GMCs require sensible regulation.
Points against GMCs:

1. GMCs have both serious scientific unknowns and lack a clear social benefit, atleast for now

2. GM is a distraction from investing in real solutions by trying to overcome the environment by using genetics

3. Herbicide use is increasing in US since it adopted GM Maize, soybeans and cotton. Insecticide use is much high in US compared to France which does not use GMCs

4. Patent problems- Process patents make the crop very expensive

5. Undermines biodiversity

6. No validated surveillance to know the effect of GMCs on human health
Conclusion- GM is not a permanent solution. Use technology to better soil health, irrigation. Organic farming is a solution too.
2. BRAI BILL: Biotechnology Regulatory Authority Bill
Status: pending in Lok Sabha
Objective: to promote safe use of modern biotechnology by enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of regulatory procedures.
Features: 1. The Bill establishes the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India [Authority= chairperson, two full time members, and two part time members]
2. Functions of the Authority: regulating the research, transport, import, containment, environmental release, manufacture and use of organisms and products of modern biotechnology. The Authority has the power to call for information, conduct an inquiry and issue directions for the safety of products or processes of modern biotechnology.
3.Authoritys permission will be required to conduct field trials for certain organisms or products
4. The Bill will not apply to the clinical trials of drugs, under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and food or food additives or any material under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
5. State level body: A State Biotechnology Regulatory Advisory Committee will act as a nodal agency between the state government and the Authority with regard to the regulation of modern biotechnology.
6.Appellate Tribunal: A Biotechnology Regulatory Appellate Tribunal will hear appeals against the decisions, orders or directions of the Authority. Headed by retd judge of Supreme Court or retd Chief Justice of a High Court
7.Penalties under the Bill: The Bill imposes a penalty for providing false information and conducting an unapproved field trial
3. Mutation Breeding Technology by BARC
Background: Mutation in genes occurs in nature but it is too slow and random. Desired mutation can be generated using genetic manipulation. MBT is a method for this genetic engineering.
MBT:
MBT started in 1973 with Trombay Groundnut (TG-1) which gave 15-20% higher yield than traditional varieties
BARC is now focusing on oilseeds and pulses as India imports 40% oilseeds and 20% pulses.
4. Human Cloning and IVF (3 parent)
Already discussed by Mrunal: http://mrunal.org/2013/09/science-tech-thehindu-june-july-aug-part-1-of-3-medical-research-healthcare-disease-opv-ipv-cloning-three-person-ivf-monocrotophos-mid-day-meal-deaths-pioglitazone.html#525
5.Next Generation Sequencing
NGS is a method to read whole genomes quickly and cheaply. Mainly chromosomes are looked upon to check for abnormality, diseases such as cancer, heart disease or Alzheimers
Why is it in news: A baby was born in US recently after the parents screened the genomes of embryos using NGS and chose the healthiest one for implantation. (First such baby!)
Advantages of NGS:
Pre implantation diagnosis will help so many parents who cant have a child. It will diagnose possible diseases and prevent miscarriages. [80% of IVF embryos dont implant or miscarry]
Disadvantages of NGS:
Itll usher an era of Designer babies (to look for specific behavioural traits, cosmetic traits). Ethical issues!
6.Gene Therapy:
Using genetic engg to cure diseases and disabilities is called Gene therapy. Human gene therapy has been ongoing since 1990, but most of that involved non-heritable genes, called somatic (non-sex cell) gene therapy.
3 parent IVF (already discussed by Mrunal) is a type of germline modification.

Why Germline gene therapy should be allowed?

1. Better lives for many who are condemned to live with genetic diseases

2. Itll be convergence of NBIC nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive science- to improve human performance. Welcomed by scientists.
Why Germline gene therapy should not be allowed?

1. Problem of designer babies (as in NGS)

2. A new class of underdogs- those who cannot afford gene therapy-would be created

3. Unforeseen, deleterious consequences: Until the child grows, itll be difficult to know the exact results.

by Sweety Gupta
References:

1. www.prsindia.org/billtrack

2. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/accept-expert-panel-report-on-gm-crops-forum/article4949788.ece

3. http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-08-26/national/41447104_1_seven-embryos-dagan-wells-ivf

4. www.gmwatch.org

5. The Hindu newspaper

6. http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article42383.html

GMO- FRIEND OR FOE..

Introduction-
A genetically modified organism (GMO) is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. Organisms that have been genetically modified include micro-organisms such as bacteria and yeast, insects, plants, fish, and mammals.
Genetically modified crops (GMCs, GM crops, or biotech crops) are plants, the DNA of which has been modified using genetic engineering techniques. In most cases the aim is to introduce a new trait to the plant which does not occur naturally in the species.
The first genetically modified plant was produced in 1982, using an antibiotic-resistant tobacco plant.
WORLDWIDE USE OF GM CROPS-
USA has the largest planted area for the GM crops followed by Brazil, Argentina, India and Canada. The share of the rest of the world is quite less. But the other developing countries are also trying to adopt it. India has 5-6% of its agricultural area reserved of plantation of GM crops.
ADVANTAGES-
GM crops grown today, or under experimental development, have been modified with traits intended to provide benefit to farmers, consumers, or industry. These traits include-

* improved shelf life,

* disease resistance,

* stress resistance,

* herbicide resistance,

* pest resistance,

* production of useful goods such as biofuel or drugs,

* ability to absorb toxins, for use in bioremediation of pollution.
DISADVANTAGES-

1. Harm to other organisms. For example genes and their effect included in a crop may turn out to be poisonous to insects (monarch butterfly poisoned by GMO corns).

2. Critics say GMOs may cause health problems.

3. Possible damages to the environment.

4. Additional costs of labeling.

GM CROPS IN INDIA-
The GM crops are mainly grown in the areas of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Gujarat and Karnataka. Bt(Bacillus thuringensis toxin) brinjal and cotton with few other crops were introduced in India. Bt cotton was very successful attempt as it increased the yield of cotton resulting in making India cotton exporting country instead of cotton exporting one. Bt cotton increased yields, profits, and living standards of smallholder farmers. The insects now had developed resistance against Bt cotton and thus decreasing the yield. Therefore, recently farmers suicide were attached with it.
On 1 January 2013, a new law came into effect that required all packaged foods containing any genetically modified organisms to be labeled to differentiate it with non-GM foods. This created outburst with reason that even USA doesnt allow labelling as both(GM and non-GM foods) are healthy foods and labelling will increase the cost.
Recently, the final report by technical expert committee (TEC) put the indefinite stoppage on all open field trials of GM crops and conditioned special risk protocols.
The use of GM crops in India had been widely the topic of debate. Lets understand the pros and cons of it as determined by scientific experts.-
Those who support say following-

* Earlier this month, Indias Parliament passed a bill aimed at delivering subsidized food to around 800 million people which means the production will increase and GM Increment in production will lead to more income of farmers and farmers suicides can be controlled and they can save their revenues.

* The increase in production will lead to less farmers suicide and they will be able to pay their debts.

* The health benefits for the poor farmers have also been increased especially the malnutrition can be removed.

* Millions of people and cattles all over the globe are eating Bt corn for over 30 years thus health and environment problems nowhere exist.

Those who oppose it say following-

* It had not shown the sustainable results in last 30 years as it had promised.

* The cost of the GM seeds is growing rapidly.

* GM products attract because of its intellectual property patents but the agriculture is about growing food.

* The organic farming is the alternate and the best way which can be used for agriculture. It even doesnt require the insecticides. The EU also doesnt use the GM crops but still have the production nearly equal to that of USA.

* There have been increasing risks of environment and health because of GM crops.

LEARN FROM CHINA-
Over this conflict, there are few things which we need to learn from our neighbor.

* China has almost 6000 PhDs in agriculture biotech alone while india has 8900 PhDs in all sciences put together. Thus the educational system must inspire students for further research works.

1. In india, MNCs ultimately decide the style of agriculture. Thus the scientific power of the country mostly remains unnoticed. China gives their scientist a chance and freedom and if they do not deliver, china haul them up. This s how it goes with both, MNCs and countrys scientists.

WHAT TO DO?-
We need all available agricultural technologies, including biotechnology, to meet the current and projected global demand for food, feed, fibre, and biofuels. Plant breeding and genetic modification should help.
The various concerns can be overcome if concerted efforts are made by government, public institutions, scientific community, private players and NGOs. We have built quite a rigorous regulatory regime. Field trials should not stop.
India cannot afford to go back at this stage after putting so much time, effort, energy and resources to build the requisite infrastructure and capacity.
A new centre for agriculture biotechnology was announced even in the last Budget, adding to the enormous public sector infrastructure at the Centre and the States. The stage is set for a robust biotechnology regime. Shunning it is surely not the best option.
We need to shed prejudice regarding Bt crops as somebody also said-
GM crops dont kill kids. Opposing them does.

SOURCES-

1. articles of the hindu newspaper dated August 12, sept 2, sept 7

2. http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/columnists/article3830725.ece

3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_crops#Controversy

4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_food_controversies#Indian_controversies

5. http://www.countercurrents.org/en-sharma050404.htm

by AGAM JAIN

GM CROP

GM CROP
Genetically-modified foods (GM foods) are been in the news lately. European environmental organizations, India and public interest groups have been actively protesting against usage of GM foods for months.
The former environment minister of India told the apex regulator of genetically modified organisms (GEAC) that it failed to properly use available science to determine the safety to human health and environment in 2010.
There is fierce opposition from activists even to the introduction of the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority Bill (BRAI) in Parliament, meant to evolve a scientific basis for the regulatory process.

What is GM CROPS?

* These crops have been modified in the laboratory to enhance desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content.

* The enhancement of desired traits are undertaken through breeding, but conventional plant breeding methods are time consuming and are often not very accurate.

* Transgenic (or genetic modification) technology, which includes Bt (Bacillus thuringensistoxin) crops, combats abiotic stresses and improve nutritive quality of the grain.

* Transgenic technology is only one component of agri-biotech, which includes non-GM options such as marker-assisted selection breeding (MAS), reverse breeding, grafting non-GM scion onto GM-root stocks etc.

* Genetic engineering can create plants with the exact desired trait very rapidly and with great accuracy. For example, plant geneticists can isolate a gene responsible for drought tolerance and insert that gene into a different plant. The new genetically-modified plant will gain drought tolerance as well.

* Not only can genes be transferred from one plant to another, but genes from non-plant organisms also can be used. The best known example of this is the use of B.t. genes in corn and other crops. B.t., or Bacillus thuringiensis.

Purpose of research on GM crops

* To overcome national issues concerning lost revenues for farmers, breeding companies and consumers, brain drain and lost technology innovations, reduced agricultural productivity and sustainability, foregone health benefits, especially reducing malnutrition.

* If rice could be genetically-engineered to contain additional vitamins and minerals, nutrient deficiencies could be alleviated. For example, blindness due to vitamin A deficiency is a common problem in third world countries





GM crop features

* GM is not a stand-alone technology. It can blend with conventional technologies, including organic farming. In fact, it is ideal to have a Bt crop as central to organic farming, since the overall objective is to decrease use of chemical pesticides.

* Thus, drought-tolerant maize and quality protein maize have been developed using Market Assistant Selective Breeding (MAS). Golden rice has been developed using the GM approach with two genes, one from daffodil and another from a soil bacterium.


* GM crop promises to meet needs in many ways like

Pest resistanceCrop losses from insect pests can be staggering, resulting in devastating financial loss for farmers and starvation in developing countries.

Herbicide toleranceFarmers often spray large quantities of different herbicides (weed-killer) to destroy weeds, a time-consuming and expensive process.

Disease resistancePlant biologists are working to create plants with genetically- engineered resistance to these diseases.

Cold toleranceUnexpected frost can destroy sensitive seedlings. An antifreeze gene from cold water fish has been introduced into plants such as tobacco and potato.

Drought tolerance/salinity toleranceCreating plants that can withstand long periods of drought or high salt content in soil and groundwater will help people to grow crops in formerly inhospitable places.

NutritionMalnutrition is common in third world countries where impoverished peoples rely on a single crop such as rice for the main staple of their diet. However, rice does not contain adequate amounts of all necessary nutrients to prevent malnutrition.


Reasons for embargo on GM crops

* Technical expert committee of India feels that the technology in the field of biotechnology is relatively new and there is limited information on safety, especially food safety.

* Effects of long-term and widespread consumption and commercial release of GM crops in the environment.

* No enough or extensive field trails to evaluate the health and environmental aspects of allowing GM crops.

* Concentration of intellectual property and resources for research on GM crops in the private sector was resulting in perverse and exploitative relationships of public institutions with the private sectors in developing countries and that these had not been successful in meeting the development and sustainability goals. ( this view held that the control of GM crop biotechnology by private sector was affecting the ability to deploy it towards the public good in developing countries).

* The cost of GM seeds is the fastest growing expense for U.S. farmers who are simultaneously suffering from weeds resistant to the herbicides excessively used on GM crops and pests resistant to the insecticides over-used in Bt crops. That likely would be Indias experience had it commercialized Bt brinjal which was developed with the least effective form of Bt for the target pest.

Transgenic (or genetic modification) technology in India and necessary developments and limitations

* In our country, agricultural biotechnology has been reduced to Bt (Bacillus thuringensistoxin)-crops and further restricted to Bt cotton and Bt brinjal.

* If India has become a cotton-exporting country from a cotton-importing one, Bt cotton has played an important role in this change. The sustainability of Bt cotton would require both gene pyramiding along with IPM, NPM strategies, including crop rotation.

* Livestock fed on Bt corn are the main source of meat products, imported even by Europe. One needs to worry about water availability, loss of soil fertility and hostile weather conditions. Scientists are already looking for a cold shock protein to overcome drought stress, or a nitrate reductase gene that lets the organism grow with 100 times less nitrogen than normal.











GM technology of US (vs.) NON-GMs of European countries

* Western Europes maize yields match or exceed the U.S. yields using less pesticide. The yields in wheat and oilseed rape are increasing at an even faster rate in Western Europe than in the U.S. and Canada.

* This indicates a dangerous trend: those countries choosing to innovate in agriculture using GM are demonstrating lower productivity increases and greater dependence on chemical inputs in all crops compared to economically and environmentally comparable countries choosing to not use GM crops.

* GM products attract the strictest intellectual property (IP) rights instruments possible in agriculture (e.g., process patents).

*
The very existing issue draws national concern as major part of Indian population is under poverty. Now as our whole country is expecting a lot from FOOD SECURITY BILL. At this very moment if we implement total embargo and oppose BRAI in parliament, it will not solve the problem of food scarcity and poverty in our country. Sole dependency on GM crops poses a greater threat in future for children suffering from under and malnutrition.
India being a part of GM technology needs genes from plants with deep roots that can use water and nutrients very effectively. These areas of research are extremely important and must be protected from hypothetical risks. Growing GM and NON-GM crops parallelly can ease some difficulties to a particular extent.
Supporting communities with education on nutrition and farmers with technologies that build up their soils manage pests with little or no application of pesticide and manufactured fertilizers gives them the means and independence to grow a variety of crops and livestock to meet their dietary needs and sell their surplus in local markets.
This investment in agriculture is not as good at making intellectual property, but better for growing food. To support Indias mainly small holder farming requires removing the penalties and incentives on the public scientist to develop primarily technologies that bring direct revenue to their institutions. Instead, invest in them with public money and measure their success by the yields of farmers, the reduction of pesticides and fertilizer they use, and the increase in their wealth and health.
India needs agriculture technology policy. Expert group need to decide year after year which crop, which trait and which strategy has to be used. Bt brinjal embargo cannot seal the fate of our country. These contentious issues can be debated only if the bill is introduced in our parliament.
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NAME: B BABLOO
REFERENCES: Sow the wind, reap a storm- The Hindu
Keep the pause button on GM pressed- The Hindu

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genetically-modified-food.html