A New Paradigm for

Genetically Modified Foods

Alec LeeUBC-BCIT Biotechnology

Vancouver, Canada

Immediate Response

• GM foods incite discomfort in the public– Safety?– Exploitative economic scheme?

• We feel powerless in choosing GM or non-GM

Why I’m Here

• GM foods have been misrepresented• Agribusiness has tainted the image of GM foods• We do not have to be resigned about GM foods• The technology has great humanitarian potential

Who Am I

• A biotechnology student from Vancouver, Canada with experience in: – performing genetic modification of plants– working with genetically modified organisms

• An advocate for the potential of GM foods technology, not of its current use

Changing the Paradigm

1. Scope of the Technology2. What Happened along the Way?3. Out with the Old4. In with the New

1. Scope of the Technology

How do we get genetically modified foods?a. Identification of a problemb. Identification of a target organismc. Modification of the organism

Rice

Gene Gun

Golden Rice

• Flagship of humanitarian GM foods• Rice is the staple of approximately half the world’s population• 40% (approx. 250 million) of children in the developing world

under the age of 5 suffer from Vitamin A deficiency• 250,000 to 500,000 children go blind every year due to

Vitamin A deficiency• More than half of them will die within a year of going blind

2. What Happened Along the Way?

• Why don’t we trust the potential of GM foods?• The technology was abused for monetary gain• People became fearful of the health effects of

these strange foods– Chemical-resistant– Infection-resistant– Weather-resistant

Roundup-Ready Soy

• Roundup-Ready Soy patented in 1995• 87% of farmland with soybeans used

Roundup-Ready Soy• Other Roundup-Ready Crops: canola,

cotton, alfalfa, sugar beet, and corn.

Terminator Gene

• In 1999, Monsanto pledged not to commercialize plants with Terminator

• In 2003, Monsanto changed its mind• Several countries have placed a

moratorium on Terminator seeds

Intellectual Property

• Patents provide ownership of an organism and all its future generations

• Farmers no longer own their seed; they are licensed to plant it

• Patents typically last 20 years– Technology for Roundup-Ready Soy is due to

be free-for-all in 2015

3. Out with the Old

Why the Current Framework Does Not Work

To name a few:a) Roundup-Ready Soybeansb) Terminator Genec) Intellectual Property

Social Barriers

Many groups are deeply concerned about the effects of the technology:– genetic contamination of non-GM plants? – toxicity effects in animals and humans?– exploitation of the poor?

Back to Golden Rice

• Vitamin A and Zinc alone could save 4 million children annually

• Breeding institutions around the world can develop the technology for free for humanitarian use– Some of the patents donated are owned by big

names in agribusiness, including Monsanto

Safety

• Little safety testing has been publicized by independent groups– Existing studies are not widely known

• Most safety testing is performed by corporate-sponsored agencies

4. In with the New

We must reject the current paradigm of GM foods and embrace a new one – a paradigm focused on benefitting humanity rather than profiting at humanity’s expense

Thank You

Works Cited– Benedict, M. R. & Stine, O. C. (2007). Agricultural Adjustment Act. Retrieved November 23, 2007 from

http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/A/AG002.html– Golden Rice Humanitarian Board (2009). The science behind Golden Rice. Retrieved January 22, 2009 from Golden Rice. Website:

http://www.goldenrice.org/Content2-How/how1_sci.html– Golden Rice Humanitarian Board (2009). Golden Rice Risk Assessment. Retrieved January 22, 2009 from Golden Rice. Website:

http://www.goldenrice.org/Content2-How/how3a_biosafety.html– Pinstrup-Andersen, P. & Schioler, E. (2001). Seeds of Contention. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press– Ruse, Michael & Castle, David (2002). Genetically Modified Foods. New York: Prometheus Books.– Smith, Jeffrey M. (2003). Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies…: Yes! Books– World Health Organization. (April 1995). Countries Categorized by degree of public health importance of vitamin A deficiency.

Retrieved from http://www.who.int/vmnis/vitamina/prevalence/mn_vitamina_map_1995.pdf– Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (2007). Finding of No Significant Impact (Petition for Non-regulated Status for Soybean

Line MON 89788 [APHIS 06-178-01p]). Retrieved Feb 1, 2009 from http://www.aphis.usda.gov/brs/aphisdocs/06_17801p_ea.pdf– Vidal, John (1999). World braced for terminator 2. Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved Feb 1, 2009 from

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/1999/oct/06/gm.food2– www.etcgroup.org (2003). Monsanto Breaks Promise to Abandon Terminator Technology. Organic Consumers Association.

Retrieved Feb 1, 2009 from http://www.organicconsumers.org/monsanto/promise042403.cfm