Good, Bad or Ugly?

A brief history of food Humans have manipulated food crops since ancient times. Agriculture is not natural. Humans select for certain traits, varieties in crops over generations: -Higher yield -Disease Resistance -Taste -Ease of farming -Aesthetic pleasure An Assyrian relief showing artificial pollination.

Selecting ‘better’ food Before the 1960s, farmers selected their BEST seeds. These seeds were replanted next year. Each year this process was repeated. So farmers selected their plants over many years -Improved yields… more food -Increased efficiency…less destruction of forests -decreased plant diversity…compare fields and forests modern wheat plant

GM, GE, Transgenics Genetic Modification Genetic Engineering Transgenic Crops: These refer to the new types of plants (and animals) that contain: …an artificially introduced foreign piece of DNA into a plant to modify its properties. Plants genetically modified by cloned foreign genes cannot be produced by nature. -Paul Lurquin in High Tech Harvest A tissue culture rose

Plant Genetic Engineering Process Cell Extracted DNA Cell division Transgenic plant A single gene Transformation Plant cell

Examples of GM food Tomatoes with anti-freeze genes from the flounder (a type of fish) - allows tomatoes to be grown in northern climates.

Examples of GM food Tomatoes with anti-freeze genes from the flounder (a type of fish) - allows tomatoes to be grown in northern climates. Golden Rice: Rice with beta-carotene (helps body makes Vitamin A) - an estimated 150,000 children in Asia will have better eyesight

Examples of GM food Tomatoes with anti-freeze genes from the flounder (a type of fish) - allows tomatoes to be grown in northern climates. Golden Rice: Rice with beta-carotene (helps body makes Vitamin A) - an estimated 150,000 children in Asia will have better eyesight Roundup Ready Soybeans (allows plant to survive herbicide) - hopes to decrease the amount of herbicide used on farms

Examples of GM food Tomatoes with anti-freeze genes from the flounder (a type of fish) - allows tomatoes to be grown in northern climates. Golden Rice: Rice with beta-carotene (helps body makes Vitamin A) - an estimated 150,000 children in Asia will have better eyesight Roundup Ready Soybeans (allows plant to survive herbicide) - hopes to decrease the amount of herbicide used on farms Bt. Cotton (plant makes pesticide to protect itself against insects) - decrease pesticide use and increase yield

Examples of GM food Tomatoes with anti-freeze genes from the flounder (a type of fish) - allows tomatoes to be grown in northern climates. Golden Rice: Rice with beta-carotene (helps body makes Vitamin A) - an estimated 150,000 children in Asia will have better eyesight Roundup Ready Soybeans (allows plant to survive herbicide) - hopes to decrease the amount of herbicide used on farms Bt. Cotton (plant makes pesticide to protect itself against insects) - decrease pesticide use and increase yield Bananas with Cholera vaccine (help fight disease in South Africa) - protect children from deadly disease

Examples of GM food Tomatoes with anti-freeze genes from the flounder (a type of fish) - allows tomatoes to be grown in northern climates. Golden Rice: Rice with beta-carotene (helps body makes Vitamin A) - an estimated 150,000 children in Asia will have better eyesight Roundup Ready Soybeans (allows plant to survive herbicide) - hopes to decrease the amount of herbicide used on farms Bt. Cotton (plant makes pesticide to protect itself against insects) - decrease pesticide use and increase yield Bananas with Cholera vaccine (help fight disease in South Africa) - protect children from deadly disease Roundup Ready Canola (again herbicide resistant) - reduce use of chemicals on farmland

Benefits of GM Crops Increase nutritional content of food - Addition of vitamin A gene to rice crops in Asia to prevent blindness. Decrease use of harmful pesticides and fertilizers - Bt cotton generates it’s own biological pesticide and doesn’t need chemicals. Edible vaccines - South Africa is adding a cholera vaccine gene to bananas to protect people. Make more food to feed growing population - Some genetically modified crops can produce 50% more food using the same land - Better use of land and can feed more people.

Dangers of GM Crops Safety (Franken-foods) - Addition of brazil nut gene in soybean made it allergic to some people. Decreased diversity - ‘good’ insects like butterflies, as well as some smaller farm animals may die. Transgenic contamination - seeds and pollen from plant can fly in the wind and take over new land affecting habitats. May increase poverty in world - most GM crops are owned by a few western companies - it is very expensive to buy these GM crops from these companies

Canola Case Saskatchewan, Canada

Patents If someone invents a new product, then that person or company can apply for a patent. A patent certifies that – 1.The person is the inventor of the new product or process. 2.The person/ company owns the new product/ process 3.The person/ company has the sole right to benefit from the product/ process 4.This sole right lasts from 8 years to 50 years depending on the type of product and country the person lives in. Patents are thought to encourage innovation and creativity because the inventor/ company has the ability to make lots of money from their new invention. Companies are more likely to invest in research if they stand to make money at the end.

Genes can be Patented! Monsanto owns the patent to an entire plant called Roundup Canola. This is because Monsanto introduced a foreign gene (from a bacteria) into the canola plant. This makes the canola plant immune to the herbicide Roundup. Monsanto makes Roundup. Roundup kills all plants when sprayed on land except for those plants that have this special gene in. Because the Monsanto Canola plant is not natural, it is considered a novel invention and has been granted a patent in Canada. The supreme court of Canada however refused to give a patent on a genetically engineered mouse made by Harvard University stating that ‘higher’ animals cannot be patented.

The CBC’s take:

References: d6.pdf compass

From Fish to Tomatoes