SAFETY CONCERNS REGARDING TRANSGENIC CROPS

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Umendra Dutt

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Feb 12, 2008, 11:10:55 PM2/12/08
to punjabec...@googlegroups.com, enviro-hea...@googlegroups.com, environmental-...@googlegroups.com

Look at the press release below. The PIB, for the MOEF put out the following too, in case they are accused of being one sided...they ARE of couse one sided if you read the press release...
 
kavitha

From: "Madhu Sarin" <msa...@satyam.net.in>
To: <BioD...@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2008 16:28:06 +0530
Subject: [BioDWatch] SAFETY CONCERNS REGARDING TRANSGENIC CROPS



 
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Ministry of Environment and Forests
 

SAFETY CONCERNS REGARDING TRANSGENIC CROPS
15:12 IST
BACKGROUNDER

GM crops using recombinant DNA techniques have advantages over the conventional crops. However as more and more GM crops are being released for field-testing and commercialization, concerns have been expressed regarding the risks arising from their use due to potential risks to both human health and environment.

These apprehensions arise because GM technology crosses the species barrier as compared to classical selection techniques, thereby permitting the gene transfer among microorganisms, plants and animals. There is no evidence that any unique hazards exist in the development of GM crops, because of novel combinations of genes. It is not true that all GM crops are toxic or are likely to proliferate in the environment. However, specific crops may be harmful by virtue of novel combinations of traits they possess. This means that the concerns associated with use of GMOs can differ greatly depending on the particular gene-organism combination and therefore a case-by-case approach is required for assessment of safety concerns.

Potential risks from the use of GM crops broadly fall under two categories, risks to human and animal health as well as risks to environment.

RISKS TO HUMAN AND ANIMAL HEALTH

Risks to human health are related mainly to toxicity, allergenicity and antibiotic resistance of the new products.

The risk of toxicity may be directly related to the nature of the product whose synthesis is controlled by the transgene or the changes in the metabolism and the composition of the organisms resulting from gene transfer. Most of the toxicity risks can be assessed using scientific methods both qualitatively and quantitatively.

The introduction of newer proteins in GM crops from the organisms, which have not been consumed as foods, sometimes has the risk of these proteins becoming allergens. However, it may be noted that there is no evidence that GM crops pose more risks than conventional products regarding the development of allergies. Further, the new GM crops can be tested for allergens prior to the commercial release. For example, when it was found that the consumption of GM soybean with a methionine producing gene from the Brazil nut could trigger an allergic response in those sensitive subjects who were allergic to Brazil nut, the product was not released for sale. 14 Issues Related to Genetically Modified Crops.

The use of genes for antibiotic resistance as selectable markers have also raised concerns regarding the transfer of such genes to microorganisms and thereby aggravate the health problems due to antibiotic resistance in the disease causing organisms. Although, the probability of such transfer is extremely rare,steps are being taken to reduce this risk by phasing out their use.

There have been apprehensions about danger from eating the foreign DNA in foods derived from GM crops i.e. the pieces of DNA that did not originally occur in that food plant. DNA being present in all living things such as plants, animals, microorganisms is eaten by human beings with every meal. Most of it is broken down into more basic molecules during the digestion process whereas a small amount that is not broken down is either absorbed into the blood stream or excreted. So far there is no evidence that DNA from GM crops has any additional risk to human health than DNA from conventional crops, animals or associated microorganisms that are normally eaten. In cases where the GM crops is to be used for animal feed, the similar concerns as explained above are addressed.

RISKS TO ENVIRONMENT

Risks to environment due to release of GM crops include impact of introduced traits on the other related species, the potential build up of resistance in insect populations, effect on biodiversity and unintended effects on non-targeted organisms.

Accidental cross breeding between GM crops and traditional varieties through pollen transfer can contaminate the traditional local varieties with transgenes. The consequences associated with such gene transfer may impact intellectual property, increase weediness if transferred to compatible weedy relatives or lead to extinction endangered varieties of the same genera. However, these risks can be anticipated easily and then evaluated by experiments prior to any commercial release.

The gene transfer into a crop or the resultant products can actually remain in environment leading to environmental problems e.g. in case of Bt crops, it was suspected that insecticidal proteins can persist in the environments but experiments have proved that these are degraded in the soil. Further there are concerns about possible interaction that may occur between other organisms in the environment following the release of a GM crop. Environmental concerns have also been raised about the development of increased insect resistance, virus resistance and weediness following the introduction of GM crops.

KP/Hb

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--
Kavitha Kuruganti
Centre for Sustainable Agriculture
12-13-445, Street # 1, Tarnaka
Secunderabad 500 017
www.csa-india.org; www.indiagminfo.org

Phone: +91-9393001550




--
Umendra Dutt
Executive Director
KHETI VIRASAT MISSION
Bishnandi Bazar
JAITU-151202
District-Faridkot,Punjab
Phones:01635-503415
09872682161
umendradutt.blogspot.com

God is omni present in entire nature and hurting nature is violence against the God
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