1. THE DEVELOPMENT IMPACT TOWARDS NUTRITION, HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS DR NORHASMAH SULAIMAN DEPARTMENT OF RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND CONSUMER STUDIES FACULTY OF HUMAN ECOLOGY

2. WHAT ARE GM FOODS?  ….Foodstuffs produced from GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS (GMO) that have had their DNA altered through genetic engineering (transgenic).

3.  Cell division and reproduction

4. 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% Argentina 21% Canada 6% Brazil 4% China 4% South Africa 1% Other 1% Total area of transgenic crop production Soybea 61% Maize 23% Cotton 11% Canola 5% Others, Squash, Papaya 1%

5. In 2006, a total of 252 million acres of transgenic crops were planted in 22 countries by 10.3 million farmers

6. 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.

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. GM PRODUCTS:CONTROVERSIES  Labeling Not mandatory in some countries (e.g., United States) Mixing GM crops with non-GM confounds labeling attempts

16. GM PRODUCTS:CONTROVERSIES  Society New advances may be skewed to interests of rich countries

17. PUBLIC PERCEPTION  Belief in Future Benefits-Doubts on Biotech Today Future: GM foods will bring benefits to a lot of people May 2000 Agree Disagree Support Oppose Support 65% 21% 48% 34% 45% Present: Support or oppose “use of biotechnology in agriculture and food production” April 2000 July 2005 Source: Gallup

18.  Support for Required Labeling of GM Foods 82% 86% 93% Dec. 1998 Time/CNN June 2000 Harris Interactive June 2001 ABC

19. What future hold for GMF?  Applications of GMOs are diverse and include: 1. Drugs and vaccines 2. Food and food ingredients 3. 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)

20. 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.

21. Conclusions  Scientific evidence Experts: Physiology, medicine, toxicity, nutrition, microbiology, biochemistry etc.  Regulation and guidelines (esp. on labeling) Related research projects: Co-Extra, SIGMEA, Transcontainer etc.  Traceability (“unique identifier”) Given to any GMO when it is approved