Biotechnology & Third World

8/8/2019 Biotechnology & Third World

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Biotechnology & third world

Farid khan

Asst.Prof Dept. chemical



involvement

Third world organisations are seeking to

improve the living conditions of poor people

in developing countries. Their main interest in

biotechnology is in the impact of genetically

modified crops on the world food supply and

small-scale agriculture in developing

countries.

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general viewpoint

Third world organisations do not believe that

biotechnology will solve the problem of

hunger in the world. They believe that small-

scale, sustainable programmes, tailored to

local conditions, will prove to be a better way

of alleviating the food shortage in developing

countries than genetically modified crops.




ethical aspects

Most of the third world organisations'

objections to the way in which some

companies deal with biotechnology

applications are ethical. The organisations are

concerned, for instance, that the image of

poor, hungry people in developing countries is

being misused in order to promote publicacceptance of biotechnology.




genetic modification

Third world organisations are not in favour of genetic modification of animals.

Third world organisations are not in favour of genetic modification of plants because it willnot improve the living conditions of poorpeople in developing countries.

Third world organisations have not expresseda unanimous opinion on genetic modificationof microorganisms.




Applications

agriculture and food:Third world

organizations believe that genetically modified

crops will make very little contribution in the

long term to increasing the world food supply

or improving agricultural crop yields in

developing countries.




Healthcare:Third world organisations have not

expressed a unanimous opinion on the impact

of biotechnology on healthcare in developing

countries.

industry and environmental technology:

Third world organisations have not taken a

stance on biotechnology applications relating

to industry or the environment.




food safety: Third world organisations objectto selling food containing genetically modified

ingredients. They believe that these products

have too many disadvantages and risks andthat the long-term effects on public health

have not been sufficiently studied. They

mention the following risks:




resistance to antibiotics: Scientists use whatare referred to as 'helper genes' when

engineering genetically modified crops. These

create resistance to certain antibiotics.T

hisresistance might cross over to certain

pathogenic (i.e. disease-causing)

microorganisms, thus making them more

difficult to fight.




food allergies: New proteins can enter ourbodies via genetically modified organisms.

These might cause food allergies.

toxic substances: Genetically modified cropsmight produce new substances that are

detrimental to our health

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Biodiversity: Genetic traits inserted into cropsor animals may upset the balance of nature.Genetically modified plants or animals might,for instance, oust their wild relatives.

Moreover, an insecticide that has been builtinto a plant to protect it from harmful insectsmight also be lethal to useful insects. Theunintentional result might be thedisappearance of a species and a consequentdecline in biodiversity.

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pollination by genetically modified crops:

Pollen of genetically modified crops may be

carried by the wind and pollinate weeds and

crops in the fields of neighbouring farmers.The risk is that the new traits will be passed

on unintentionally (crossing over). This might

cause 'genetic pollution'.

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threats to ecological farming: Wind-blown pollen

may introduce a gene from a genetically modified

crop plant into the crop of an organic farmer, who

will then no longer be able to sell this crop as'gentech-free'.

Superweeds:Wind-blown pollen may introduce a

gene from a genetically modified crop plant into

the crop of an organic farmer, who will then nolonger be able to sell this crop as 'gentech-free'.

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dependence on pesticides and herbicides:Farmers can spray genetically modified crops that areresistant to a certain herbicide with unlimited amountsof that herbicide, without the plants dying. Farmersmight, therefore, spray more than needed to keep theirfields free of weeds. Third world organisations areconcerned that herbicide use may consequentlyincrease rather than decrease. In addition, third worldorganisations think that we should be striving forsustainable agriculture, with minimal use of herbicides.

Genetically modified crops, however, make farmersdependent on these chemical compounds.

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Resistance: Large-scale use of herbicides willin the long term make weeds resistant to

these herbicides. Insects could develop

resistance to genetically modified plants with

built-in insecticides in the same way. Both

developments are bad news for farmers. They

will have to find new herbicides and pesticides

because the traditional ones will no longer beeffective.

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freedom of choice: Third world organisations

are concerned that consumers will not be able

to buy products that do not contain

genetically modified material. Consumers willthen have no choice.

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world food supply : Third world organisations donot believe that biotechnology will solve theproblem of hunger in the world. There issufficient food available in the world to feed theworld's population, but it is not distributedequally and fairly. Biotechnology is not the rightway to increase world food supplies. Instead of applying high-tech technologies, third worldorganisations advocate improving local

productivity through sustainable agriculturalprogrammes that are tailored to local conditions.

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patents and the position of industry

Third world organisations do not approve of patentsbeing granted on genetically modified organisms.Companies should not be permitted to become ownersof plants and animals because nobody can own nature.

Third world organisations believe that companies havetoo much influence on the development of new crops.They believe that companies will not make much effortto develop crops that are adapted to local conditions in

developing countries. The potential markets will simplybe too small and expected profits too low.

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patents and the position of industry

Farmers who grow genetically modified cropshave to buy new seed from seed producers everyyear. They are not permitted to set aside seed forthe following year. Farmers also buy theherbicides and pesticides needed for spraying thecrops from the very same seed producers. Thirdworld organisations disapprove of this doubledependency on the grounds that it will give

companies too much influence on agriculture andfood supplies. Moreover, only large farmers canafford to buy these expensive seeds.

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economic interests: Third world organisationsbelieve that developments in biotechnologyare driven by economic motives.Biotechnology companies want to make

money from biotechnology applications.According to third world organisations, manycompanies take advantage of the image of poor, hungry people in the developingcountries in order to get their productsaccepted by the public.

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Biotechnology & Third World