1. Genetically Modified Foods
Group 1

2. Introduction
Genetically modified (GM) foods are foods derived from organisms whose genetic material (DNA) has been modified in a way that does not occur naturally, e.g. through the introduction of a gene from a different organism
Currently available GM foods stem mostly from plants, but in the future foods derived from GM microorganisms or GM animals are likely to be introduced on the market.
Existing GM crops have been developed to improve yield, through the introduction of resistance to plant diseases or of increased tolerance of herbicides.
In the future, genetic modification could be aimed at altering the nutrient content of food, reducing its allergenic potential, or improving the efficiency of food production systems

3. History
1946
Scientists discovered that DNA can Transferred between organisms.
1983
First transgenic plant was developed using anti biotic resistant Tobacco.
1994
Falvr Savr Tomato was approved by FDA to be marketed in US
1990s
Recombinant Chymosin was approved to be used in several countries.
1995
In US, Bt Cotton, GM Canola, Bt Corn and several other GM crops got approval
2000
Scientist developed Golden Rice in which nutrient value is enhanced for the first time.

4. GM Hormones and Animals
In some countries, GM bovine somatotropin or rBST is approved for administration to increase milk production.
No GM animals approved had been for use as food, but a GM salmon had been awaiting regulatory approval.
Major GM grown Plants are corn, soybeans, cotton, canola, sugar beets, alfalfa, and squash

5. Global Scenario Pakistan grows 2.8 million hectares of cotton
Argentina grows 23.9 Million ha
Canada grows 11.6 Million ha
India grows 10.8 million ha
China grows 4.0 million ha
South Africa grows 3.9 million
United States grows 69.5 Million ha

6. GM Process Flow Identification of Gene of Interest
Isolation of gene of Interest
Amplification of Gene into many copies
Association of Gene with Promotor and Insertion into Plasmid
Check Gene expression in Plasmid and extract out desired clone
Transformation of Gene into Target Animal
Check Gene Expression in Target Animal
Inheritance of Gene in further generation

7. Advantages & Disadvantages of GMOs

8. Advantages
With an ever increasing global population, massive 3rd world hunger, and with an estimation that a child dies for every two seconds world wide from starvation; this does not even take into account the number of people who are mal and undernourished, there is a great promise in the use of this technology to benefit not only the farmers, but also societies worldwide.

9. Cont.… Some opportunities to use GM foods for good is:
Creating plants better resistant to weeds, pest and other diseases; such as corn
corn is the most important and widely grown grain in the United States.
however, corn cannot reproduce without human aid.
corn is also vulnerable to many pests and diseases, and corn requires a lot of nutrients.

11. Cont.…
Bigger yields to create more efficient use of land, less uses of herbicides and other pesticides.
Foods with better texture, flavor and nutritional value.
Foods with a longer shelf life for easier shipping.
Finally, GM foods can create an essential sustainable way to feed the world

12. Positive Environmental Impacts of GMO's
Soil salinity has become a major problem in all agriculture especially in the San Joaquin Valley. This has made crops less able to grow and in some cases unable to grow at all. Notice the white soil, cause by excessive salt in the picture.

14. Cont…
Thus we need to research the possibility of using the genes of salt tolerant plants species (e.g. mangrove) in our agricultural crops.
Example of such crop; A gene from the grey mangrove, Avicennia marina, has been genetically implanted into a tobacco plant, making it able to tolerate salt stress as well as showing tolerance to other ionic stresses.

15. Creating sustainability through GMOs
Some of the most exciting advances in genetically altered plants are for non-food sources. Edible vaccinations are one such area.
The genetic engineering of plants has the potential to provide edible plant vaccines that could be used to immunize individuals against a wide variety of infectious diseases ranging from cholera to potentially AIDS.

16. Cont… One such example:
the transgenic potato plants that have been produced and tested successfully by utilizing a genetically engineered food to deliver a pharmaceutical immunization against diarrhea.

17. Disadvantages
The idea of producing food with desirable qualities paved the way for the development of genetically modified food worldwide. Scientists were able to isolate genes with favorable traits and insert them in crops to produce food that can resist drought, insects, pesticides and even is more nutritious.

18. Cont…
It started by developing a tomato with a longer shelf life in called Flavr Savr. But then, it was found that consumption of this engineered tomato caused stomach lesions in rats, thus, raising issues about the safety of genetically modified food in general. Since then, the debate raise on the disadvantages of consumption of genetically modified food.

20. Cont…
There are some examples of the list of disadvantages of such practice;
Genetically modified ingredients can cause cancer:
A consultant histopathologest at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Dr Stanley Ewen, raised the concern that food and water contaminated with genetically engineered material could increase the growth of malignant tumors upon contact with humans. Later, other studies suggested a link between engineered food and cancer.

21. Cont.… It could raise new allergy outbreaks in humans:
It was found that a genetically engineered soya bean containing Brazilian nut protein was allergenic to humans and was withdrawn from production.

22. Cont.… It is un-natural way of producing food:
There will always be unknown long term effects to the ecosystem and biodiversity when inducing unnatural ways to change the natural traits of crops.

23. Cont… Adverse effects on the immune system:
A study in 2008 showed that feeding mice engineered food for 30 days caused an immune reaction and altered the number of cells that regulated the immune functions in the body.

25. Cont.…
Under-Developed countries becoming more dependent on other communities:
This was raised when developing the golden rice, a genetically modified rice that contains larger amounts of vitamin A, which can be beneficial to poor people in developing countries. However, it is usually the large companies of the developed world that can produce such crop engineering which will increase the dependency of poor countries on the West world.

26. Cont.… The effects of genetic food engineering could be irreversible:
All the disadvantages mentioned above are probably irreversible, especially the harmful effects on the environment and human health which is an inevitable outcome to the fast pace development of biotechnology and genetic engineering.
Consuming the highest quality of nutrients is the best option for a healthy lifestyle that can even reverse the adverse effects already implemented by GM food.

27. Regulations on Genetically Modified Foods
Compared to other countries, regulation of GMOs in the US is relatively favorable to their development.  GMOs are an economically important component of the biotechnology industry, which now plays a significant role in the US economy
In 2013, 93% of the soybeans, 90% of the cotton, and 90% of the corn grown in the US were genetically engineered for either herbicide tolerance or insect resistance
-Public opinion on GMOs in the US is mixed. 
-Poll conducted over 5 years from , people did not have any understanding of biotechnology and what percent of GMOs are present in their food. Demanded labeling.

28. Regulations on Genetically Modified Foods
APHIS
Plant GMOs are regulated by the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) under the Plant Protection Act. 
FDA
GMOs in food, drugs, and biological products are regulated by the FDA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Public Health Service Act.
EPA
GMO pesticides and microorganisms are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act and the Toxic Substances Control Act.
The form of regulation varies depending on the type of GMO involved.

29. Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
APHIS regulates the planting, importation, or transportation of GM plants pursuant to its authority under the Plant Protection Act which authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to prohibit or restrict the importation, entry, exportation, or movement in interstate commerce of any plant, plant product.
APHIS grants authorization to use GM plants in three ways: through a notification process, a permitting process, or a determination of nonregulated status. 

30. Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
Notification process: The notification procedure is available to plants that are not classified as noxious weeds, or weeds in the release area, if certain criteria and performance standards are met.
Permit Procedure: The permit procedure requires an applicant to submit information concerning, among other things, the donor organism, the recipient organism, the composition of the regulated article etc.
Determination of Non-regulated Status: GM plants that have been tested and have been shown not to pose a risk may be eligible for a determination of nonregulated status
-Notification process: specie must be determined safe by NAPHIS, genetic material must be stable and do not result in a plant disease, Proper shipment and transfer standards. If the notification is denied then applicant may apply for a permit.
-Permit Procedure: info related to the expression of the altered genes, the locality where the donor organism or recipient, the quantity to be introduced, the destination and distribution
-Determination of non-regulated: include detailed biological info, whether the plant contain a pest

31. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The FDA encourages developers of new plant varieties intended for food use, including GMOs, to engage in a consultation procedure with the FDA, in order “to ensure that human food and animal feed safety issues or other regulatory issues (e.g. labeling) are resolved prior to commercial distribution.
Biological products (Vaccines, serums, blood products etc.) whether involving genetic modification or not, must be licensed by the FDA before they can be introduced.
FDA also asserts jurisdiction over genetically engineered animals, a NADA for a GE animal must include information on the animal’s identification; chemistry; clinical purpose; labeling; manufacturing procedure, safety etc.
NADA-new animal drug application
GE- Genetically engineered.
Public opinion on GMOs in the US is mixed. 
-Poll conducted over 5 years from showed that people did not have any understanding of biotechnology and what percent of GMOs are present in their food.
They demand proper labeling of GM food

32. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The EPA regulates the manufacture, sale and use of pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
FIFRA requires all pesticides to be registered with the EPA before they can be distributed commercially
EPA regulates plants that are genetically modified to produce substances intended to control pests as to both their environmental safety and their safety in food, termed plant-incorporated protectants (PIPs)
The EPA also has authority to regulate GMOs under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
The EPA has established regulations specifically for microorganisms that require submission of a Microbial Commercial Activity Notice (MCAN) before they are used for commercial purposes.
he Notice must include information describing the microorganism’s characteristics and genetic construction; byproducts of its manufacture, use, and disposal; health and environmental effects data; and other information

33. What does Islam say about GM Food?
Religious views on genetically modified foods have been mixed, although as yet, no "GM“ foods have been designated as unacceptable by religious authorities.
The major concern, echoing anti-GMO activist claims that genetic modification violates ‘nature,’ revolves around whether GM foods violate the natural order of things. 
Some Qurani verses stress that believers who feed the hungry will be rewarded in the afterlife. There are also passages in the Quran which “motivate Muslims to conduct research and investigate God’s creation.” 
On the other hand, environmental activist organizations have claimed that GM crops can harm humans and the environment.
So the debate has no end…

34. Authorizing Bodies in Pakistan
Ministry of Science and Technology
Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC)
National Bio-Safety Committee (NBC)
Environment Protection Agency (EPA)
NBC- approves commercialization of GM foods

35. Scenario in Pakistan
In Pakistan the introduction of genetically modified seeds in market has not faced any positive response due to Islamic concerns and lack of technology at majority farms.
The Lahore High Court has ordered the federal government to stop issuing licenses for genetically-modified (GM) varieties of cotton or corn until a legal framework is put into place to assess the new types of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that are fast cropping up every day.
The decision effectively halts and prohibits the supply and sale of fresh GM seeds in Pakistan including pest-resistant strains of Bt cotton and Bt corn. These varieties are genetically altered to be more resistant to certain types of pests and diseases.

37. Scenario in Pakistan
The Farmers Association of Pakistan has been complaining about the sale of poor quality Bt cotton seeds in the open market for quite some time. 
The commercialization of genetically modified (GM) crops, in the absence of a strong regulatory system, trained staff and well- equipped laboratory to deal with the issues involved are the biggest problems that have to be resolved in order to save the resources.
“The use of uncertified varieties of GM seeds increase input costs for farmers. The low levels of pest resistance in these seeds have increased insects’ immunity, necessitating the use of nearly double the normal amount of pesticides. The NBC also relaxed germination levels for crops from 75 per cent under Seed Act, 1976 to less than 50 percent,” Chaudhry Gohar, a progressive cotton farmer from Multan, told Dawn.
NBC- National Bio-safety Committee

38. Scenario in Pakistan
the NBC’s requirements and bio-safety standards are compromised when it comes to designing, monitoring, implementing and enforcing rules and regulations concerning GM crops.
“The NBC has been functioning without plant breeders, bio-safety experts, entomologists, agronomists, ecologists, biochemists, microbiologists, and other qualified staff not only to independently check data provided by seed producers but also to assist farmers in establishing refuge and buffer zones between GM and non-GM crops to delay resistance development in pests and prevent cross- pollination and contamination of GM crops”, an agriculture expert said.
NBC- National Bio-safety Committee

39. Monsanto is the biggest fish in seed market
Monsanto-Unethically and illegally spreading seeds. Some varieties banned in France and Europe. Used in Pakistan because of lack of regulation and testing procedure.

40. Thank You