Author: GMO Pundit

FSANZ response to Seralini et al.(2009), A comparison of the Effects of Three GM Corn Varieties on Mammalian Health,Int. J. Biol. Sci. 5(7): 706-726

Reports in the media refer to a newly published paper in the International Journal of Biological Sciences(December 2009) by Séralini and colleagues in which the authors claim to have identified adverse effects in rats fed GM corn using statistical analysis. Whereas a similar paper published in 2007 focused on MON863 corn, this paper applies the same statistical methodology to data from separate feeding studies for GM corn lines MON863, MON810 and NK603.

RESPONSE
• In their latest paper, Séralini and colleagues again use a statistical analysis approach to interpret data from animal toxicity studies. On this occasion, they apply their methodology to separate feeding studies in rats with GM corn lines MON863, MON810 and NK603, and claim that their analysis has identified “new side effects linked with GM maize consumption, which were sex- and often dose-dependent”.

•The authors claim that their results show “signs of toxicity” mostly associated with the kidney and liver, although other effects were reported to have been identified in heart, adrenal glands, spleen and haematopoietic system. Based on their reported findings, the authors argue strongly that longer-term (up to 2 years) feeding experiments are necessary in at least three animal species for in vivo safety evaluation of GM foods.

•In response to Séralini’s 2007 paper, an expert scientific panel dismissed similar claims made by these authors. FSANZ also independently investigated the material presented in the paper and concluded that the incidence of statistically significant differences in animals fed GM corn (MON863) is entirely consistent with normal background variability.

•In their most recent paper, Séralini and colleagues reject the consensus view and instead propose a cause-and-effect link between the findings and the new pesticides (herbicide or insecticide) specific to each GM corn, or associate the results with unintended effects arising from the genetic modification process itself. The authors do not offer any plausible scientific explanations for their hypothesis, nor do they consider the lack of concordance of the statistics with other investigative processes used in the studies such as pathology, histopathology and histochemistry.

•Séralini and colleagues have distorted the toxicological significance of their results by placing undue emphasis on the statistical treatment of data, and failing to take other relevant factors into account. Reliance solely on statistics to determine treatment related effects in such studies is not indicative of a robust toxicological analysis. There is no corroborating evidence that would lead independently to the conclusion that there were effects of toxicological significance. FSANZ remains confident that the changes reported in these studies are neither sex- nor dose-related and are primarily due to chance alone.
Background
Séralini and colleagues have now published several papers reporting on feeding studies with GM foods. In June 2009, Séralini and colleagues repeated claims made in an earlier article (Séralini et al., 2007) that a statistical re-analysis of the toxicity data originally reported by Hammond et al., 2006 provided evidence of hepato renal effects in rats fed GM maize for three months. No new data were presented in the article. Instead, the authors commented on a published report by an expert panel (Doullet al., 2007) that discussed the risk assessment conducted by Séralini et al. 2007. For reasons not stated, the authors did not address the numerous deficiencies of their statistical re-analysis that had been reported by several international regulatory agencies (FSANZ 2007; EFSA 2007a; EFSA 2007b; Monod 2007). Instead, they chose to focus on the issues raised in a later published report by Doullet al., 2007. In the absence of new data and the failure of the authors to acknowledge that the interpretation of toxicity studies does not only involve statistics but requires the need for biological context, FSANZ is of the opinion that the recent article from Séralini et al. provides no grounds to revise its previous conclusions on the safety of food derived from MON 863 corn. The FSANZ assessment concluded that food derived from MON 863 corn is as safe and wholesome as food derived from other commercial corn varieties.

References
Doull J, Gaylor D, Greim HA, Lovell DP, Lynch B, Munro IC. Report of an expert panel on the reanalysis by Séralini et al. (2007) of a 90-day study conducted by Monsanto in support of the safety of a genetically modified corn variety (MON 863).Food Chem Toxicol2007;45:2073-2085.
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) (2007a). Statement of the Scientific Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms on the analysis of data from a 90-day rat feeding study with MON 863 maize. Adopted 25 June 2007. http://www.efsa.europa.eu/cs/BlobServer/Statement/GMO_statement_MON863.pdf?ssbinary=true
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) (2007b). EFSA review of statistical analyses conducted for the assessment of the MON 863 90-day rat feeding study. 28 June 2007. http://www.efsa.europa.eu/cs/BlobServer/Scientific_Document/sc_rep_efsa_stat_review,0.pdf?ssbinary=true
FSANZ. Review of the report by Séralini et al., (2007): “New analysis of a rat feeding study with a genetically modified maize reveals signs of hepatorenal toxicity”. Food Standards Australia New Zealand July 2007. http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/_srcfiles/Review_of_Report_by_Seralini_et_al_July_2007.doc
Hammond B, Lemen J, Dudek R, Ward D, Jiang C, Nemeth M, Burns J. Results of a 90-day safety assurance study with rats fed grain from corn rootworm-protected corn.Food Chem Toxicol 2006;44:147-160.
Monod H., 2007. Expérience sur rats menée par Monsanto en 2001-2002 avec certains régimes comportant du maïs génétiquement modifié: analyse statistique des courbes d’évolution du poids. Study conducted upon request of the CGB (Commission du Génie Moléculaire, France).
http://www.ogm.gouv.fr/experimentations/evaluation_scientifique/cgb/autres_avis/Avis_CGB_MON%20863_15juin2007.pdf
Séralini G-E, Cellier D, de Vendomois JS. New analysis of a rat feeding study with genetically modified maize reveals signs of hepatorenal toxicity.Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 2007;52:596-602.
Séralini G-E, de Vendomois JS, Cellier D, Sultan C, Buiatti M, Gallagher L, Antoniou M, Dronamraju KR. How subchronic and chronic health effects can be neglected for GMOs, pesticides or chemicals.Int J Biol Sci 2009;5:438-443.
Spiroux de Vendomois J, Roullier F, Cellier D and Séralini G-E, A Comparison of the Effects of Three GM Corn Varieties on Mammalian Health.Int J Biol Sci2009;5(7):706-726.

See also

GMO Statistics Part 4
GMO Statistics Part 7 (EFSA Opinion)
Discover Magazine blog

GREENPEACE BACKING DOWN ON GMOs

Greenpeace has for the second time in eight years backed down on opposing the development of Golden Rice.

Kumi Naidoo of Durban , the South African born newly appointed executive director of Greenpeace International, in an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel, on the question of Golden Rice, said: “In view of developments like Golden Rice, Greenpeace must reconsider its position with regard to GMOs. We must make sure not to dismiss new and important developments.”

“This is a very welcome approach to the acceptance of GMOs in general and not only concerns Golden Rice. It will undoubtedly boost Africa’s endeavours to speed up the development of GM crops to alleviate hunger and poverty,” says Professor Jocelyn Webster, executive director of AfricaBio , South Africa , a biotechnology stakeholders’ organisation. “It is an encouraging move away from the usual radical view of activists to a more open approach where things can be discussed, which is a boon to GMO acceptance worldwide in general,” says Professor Webster.

This is the second positive statement from Greenpeace on Golden Rice, Prof Webster emphasised. She pointed out that in February 2001 at the BioVision Conference in Lyon , France , Benedict Haerlin, genetic engineering coordinator of Greenpeace, also backed down from the stand against GM crops. He admitted that Greenpeace would not oppose field trials of Golden Rice being developed to combat blindness in the Third World . (Daily Telegraph, London , 10 February 2001)

Golden Rice was developed to combat Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) which kills 6000 people daily and causes blindness in 500 000 children annually. (UNICEF 2007) “A single month of delay in the marketing Golden Rice would cause 50 000 children to go blind. This is the price to pay for opposing the development of this unique scientific breakthrough in human food.

At last it seems that Greenpeace is seeing the light that could save the loss of sight of 500 000 children annually in the developing world.”

“I’m sure that South African born Naidoo is encouraged by the success of GM crop production in South Africa over the past eleven years. There have been no adverse effects on human and animal health nor the environment. Main beneficiaries have undoubtedly been the thousands of smallholder farmers who have increased their yields by up to 30%, providing them with a sustainable food supply,” according to Prof Webster.

Commenting on Naidoo’s remarks, Professor Klaus Ammann, eminent Swiss scientist said: “Greenpeace’s aggressiveness towards Golden Rice and Naidoo’s encouraging stance will soon turn into a major success like Bt rice in China. China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of rice and has just approved the production of GM rice promising a yield increase of 8% and an 80% decrease in insecticides.” Golden Rice is scheduled to be launched in 2011/12.

END
goldrice/01-10/1

January 2010
Issued on behalf of AfricaBio
Issued by Hans Lombard Public Relations T. 011-476-6926

Update

8 February 2010: Greenpeace continue their anti-GM campaign, including particularly GM-rice. Seems likely this report was not indicative of a change in GP direction.

An article "GM corn health risks identified" appearing at Stock and Land 16 Dec 2009 features a new statistical study by French scientist de Vendomois and his colleagues. What wasn’t mentioned in Stock and Land is that de Vendomois uses a risky statistical approach called "data mining" to trawl through nearly 500 tests of GM corn safety in rats to find a small minority of test results that might have safety significance.

Data mining as used by this French group suffers a very real risk of giving false findings, as more fully documented in previous GMO statistics posts. [Note added — and by Australian food safety agency FSANZ see later Pundit post]

The Stock and Land article also quotes the opinion of anti-GM group Genethics’ that studies questioning GM safety are being ignored by the Australian food safety agency FSANZ . In fact, FSANZ and other food safety agencies frequently make detailed responses to such concerns, and contrary to Genethics assertions, the new French study illustrates that safety agencies have done substantial science while dealing with the very issues raised by the French investigators.

In a June 2007 report, the European food safety organisation EFSA made a detailed criticism of the same French group’s statistical methods, and convincingly demonstrate that de Vendomois had previously made false claims about GM safety using data dredging.

This 2007 EFSA report showed (in Appendix 5) that when there is correlation between results of different tests (which EFSA showed does occur in practice ), or when there are small real differences between groups being compared (as there are in feeding trials where animals are allowed to freely take as much food as they like, and random differences in rat appetite caused groups to differ in average weight) the numbers of positive results appearing by chance can be greater than expected from an ideal simplified model.

de Vendomois and others (2009) do not take these realistic complications into account, nor, rather oddly, do they even mention the telling 2007 EFSA critique of their approach, although it is obvious from the prominence of formal interviews of group member Gilles-Eric Seralini with the EFSA documented in it that they must know of its existence.

Genethics do not mention this crucial omission by de Vendomois.

As the latest French report does not properly correct the mistakes pointed out by EFSA, it is quite possible that it also has dredged out false results. We should all be careful about misusing or abusing statistics when it comes to understanding food safety. It’s not easy though :-).

See

GMO statistics Part 3. Trawling through lots of comparisons with tests designed for a singular decision is a recipe for trouble that starts with t.

Lies, damn lies and all that.

Il y a 3 mesonges…

Joel Spiroux de Vendomois and other (2009). A comparison of the effects of three GM corn varieties on mammalian health. Int. J Biological Sciences 2009 5(7):706-726.

Post script.

Statistics, of course, is not the be all and end all of the issue. A statistically meaningful difference is not necessarily a toxic effect, nor is it an abnormality if it falls within the range of common variation seen in rat populations in closely similar circumstances.

Update 2. A link to a later Pundit Post on the dredging event

FSANZ make a statement— very similar to the Pundit’s view, but with nice links.

From the comments to that later Pundit posting:

The new french commitee, the HCB (Haut Conseil des Biotechnologies)published a statement concluding the "new" Séralini analysis is as misleading and wrong at the previous one.
http://www.blogger.com/The

Update 3. Monsanto have put their response on their website. It’s comprehensive.

Letter to The Economist magazine December 2009

Against the prevailing wind

SIR – Passion is the root problem in what you term “the modern argument over climate change” (“A heated debate”, November 28th). You state, for instance,that the “majority of the world’s climate scientists have convinced themselves”that human activity is the cause of climate change. I know of no poll that confirms this, but your choice of words is telling. In science, our interpretations of nature are based on observation, experiment and evidence, not self-conviction.

Those of us who are dismissed, often derided, as sceptics have waited a long time for the chicanery behind the global-warming movement to come to light. But we should not blame scientists—however unprincipled—nor UN organisations, nor national governments. The true culprits are the latter-day Nostradamuses who, under their icons of cuddly pandas and polar bears, have misused science to stoke fear, guilt and a craving for atonement in the minds of the public. Governments have been browbeaten to respond to these catastrophists, and some scientists, dependent on public money, have fashioned their behaviour accordingly.

Nikolay Semyonov, a Soviet scientist and Nobel prize winner in chemistry, wrote that:
“There is nothing more dangerous than blind passion in science.This is a direct path to unjustified self-confidence, to loss of self-criticalness, to scientific fanaticism, to false science. Given support from someone in power, it can lead to suppression of true science and, since science is now a matter of state importance, to inflicting great injury on the country.”

Semyonov was referring to the ruthless manipulation of Soviet science by Trofim Lysenko and other opportunists. In a similar vein, it is time we recognise that we are becoming prey to a new fanaticism, a religious fervour that runs contrary to rational society.

Paul Reiter
Paris

Gene amplification confers glyphosate resistance in Amaranthus palmeri
　
The herbicide glyphosate became widely used in the United States and other parts of the world after the commercialization of glyphosate-resistant crops. These crops have constitutive overexpression of a glyphosate-insensitive form of the herbicide target site gene,
5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS).

Increased use of glyphosate over multiple years imposes selective genetic pressure on weed populations. We investigated recently discovered glyphosate- resistant Amaranthus palmeri populations from Georgia, in comparison with normally sensitive populations. EPSPS enzyme activity from resistant and susceptible plants was equally inhibited by glyphosate, which led us to use quantitative PCR to measure relative copy numbers of the EPSPS gene. Genomes of resistant plants contained from5-fold to more than160-foldmore copies of the EPSPS gene than did genomes of susceptible plants.

Quantitative RT-PCR on cDNA revealed that EPSPS expression was positively correlated with genomic EPSPS relative copy number. Immunoblot analyses showed that increasedEPSPS proteinlevel also correlated with EPSPS genomic copy number. EPSPS gene amplification was heritable, correlated with resistance in pseudo-F2 populations, and is proposed to be the molecular basis of glyphosate resistance. FISH revealed that EPSPS genes were present on every chromosome and, therefore, gene amplification was likely not caused by unequal chromosome crossing over. This occurrence of gene amplification as an herbicide resistance
mechanism in a naturally occurring weed population is particularly significant because it could threaten the sustainable use of glyphosate-resistant crop technology.

Todd A. Gaines, Wenli Zhang, Dafu Wang, Bekir Bukun, Stephen T. Chisholm, Dale L. Shaner, Scott J. Nissen,William L. Patzoldt, Patrick J. Tranel, A. Stanley Culpepper, Timothy L. Grey, Theodore M. Webster,William K. Vencill, R. Douglas Sammons, Jiming Jiang, Christopher Preston, Jan E. Leach, and Philip Westra,

Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 2009

www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.0906649107

AP INVESTIGATION: Monsanto seed biz role revealed
By CHRISTOPHER LEONARD (AP) – The Olympian
In this item from ST. LOUIS, competition in the seed maket is put under scrutiny. It says that confidential contracts detailing Monsanto Co.’s business practices reveal how the world’s biggest seed developer is squeezing competitors, controlling smaller seed companies and protecting its dominance over the multibillion-dollar market for genetically altered crops, an Associated Press investigation has found…

The item reports that Monsanto’s business strategies and licensing agreements are being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice and at least two state attorneys general, who are trying to determine if the practices violate U.S. antitrust laws. The practices also are at the heart of civil antitrust suits filed against Monsanto by its competitors, including a 2004 suit filed by Syngenta AG that was settled with an agreement and ongoing litigation filed this summer by DuPont in response to a Monsanto lawsuit.

The suburban St. Louis-based agricultural giant said it’s done nothing wrong.
“We do not believe there is any merit to allegations about our licensing agreement or the terms within,” said Monsanto spokesman Lee Quarles. He said he couldn’t comment on many specific provisions of the agreements because they are confidential and the subject of ongoing litigation…

Follow up:

The Monsanto Company have this response
　

BASF PLANT SCIENCE, MONSANTO ENTER INTO DEVELOPMENT AND COMMERCIALIZATION AGREEMENT FOR NUTRIDENSE®

Press Release
Nutritionally-Enhanced Corn Hybrids To Benefit Animal Producers And Corn Growers; Genuity™ VT Triple PRO™ and Roundup Ready® Expected To Launch in 2010; Genuity™ SmartStax™ Hybrids in 2011

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC, and ST. LOUIS, (Dec. 09, 2009) –BASF Plant Science and Monsanto today announced the signing of an agreement to develop and commercialize new corn hybrids with better nutrition for animal feed.

The new hybrids will contain BASF’s NutriDense® traits that are designed to enhance animal feed performance. NutriDense corn has higher levels of essential amino acids and energy, greater phosphorous availability and is more digestible.

BASF’s NutriDense traits will be combined with Monsanto’s Roundup Ready® Genuity™ VT Triple PRO™ and Genuity™ SmartStax™ corn. The new high quality hybrids are expected to deliver the best feed value and yields equivalent to elite conventional corn. Once launched, seed companies will market the new hybrids through licensing agreements.
“The addition of higher yielding NutriDense corn hybrids from Monsanto plus increased distribution through Monsanto regional brands and other partners will allow animal operations to contract the planting of the enhanced nutrition corn across a broad geography,” said Jonathan Bryant, managing director of BASF Plant Science LP.
Corn growers may benefit from the premium pricing opportunity on the product from animal feed operations.
“We believe this collaboration will produce new and high-value hybrids for farmers by enabling them to deliver a more nutritious source of corn for feed use to their customers,” said Cameron Ator, regional brand lead for Monsanto. “This is another example of Monsanto’s efforts to continue to provide innovative products that can help farmers maximize the yield and profit potential on their farms.”
Roughly 45 percent of the corn grown in the United States is used as animal feed, with the majority being fed specifically to swine or poultry. A better nutritional composition of the grain fed to the animal reduces costs and waste. This development and commercialization agreement will benefit animal producers by offering a greater number of high yielding, high nutritional quality hybrids specifically designed for the swine, poultry, and dairy segment.
“BASF Plant Science has a strong commitment to the feed industry and our work in corn enhancement and animal nutrition is delivering better corn for better feed,” Bryant added. “We are the only company investing in this manner and depth to provide solutions that improve animal performance and help producers increase their profitability.”

About Monsanto Company
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality. Monsanto remains focused on enabling both small-holder and large-scale farmers to produce more from their land while conserving more of our world’s natural resources such as water and energy. To learn more about our business and our commitments, please visit: www.monsanto.com . Follow our business on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MonsantoCo on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MonsantoCo, or subscribe to our News Release RSS Feed .

About BASF Plant Science
BASF consolidated its plant biotechnology activities in BASF Plant Science in 1998. Today, about 700 employees are working to optimize crops for more efficient agriculture, renewable raw materials and healthier nutrition for humans and animals. Projects include yield increase in staple crops, higher content of Omega-3s in oil crops for preventing cardiovascular diseases, nutritionally-enhanced corn for animal feed and potatoes with optimized starch composition for industrial use. To find out more
About BASF Plant Science, please see our internet web site at: http://www.basf.com/plantscience
About BASF
BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics and performance products to agricultural products, fine chemicals as well as oil and gas. As a reliable partner BASF helps its customers in virtually all industries to be more successful. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition and mobility. BASF has approximately 97,000 employees and posted sales of more than €62 billion in 2008. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN). Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com .

PRESS RELEASE : Eureka Science

Public release date: 8-Dec-2009
Precision breeding creates super potato

IMAGE: These are potatoes which exclusively contain amylopectin starch.(Source Fraunhofer).

Click here for more information.

The fall of 2009 was a truly special season for the Emsland Group: For the first time in the history of the largest German potato starch manufacturer, it processed Tilling potatoes, which exclusively contain amylopectin starch. Not only can nutritional starches for emulsifying soups and desserts be extracted from it – it can also be used for paste and smooth coating for paper and thread production. "This potato is the first product in Germany developed by Tilling that achieves market readiness," explains Prof. Prüfer of the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME.

Tilling – an acronym for "Targeting Induced Local Lesions in Genomes" – is a breeding process that researchers want to use to push evolution yet another step forward. In nature, evolution proceeds slowly: Through mutation and selection, plants and animal species adapt and change. Over the course of generations, those species develop that, due to their genetic make-up, are best adapted to the prevailing environmental conditions. Others became extinct. For millennia, humans have been using this evolutionary process for their own purposes, by focusing on highly productive- – and profit yielding – species. Modern breeding processes operate the same way, though the natural mutation rate is accelerated. "With the aid of chemicals, a vast number of mutants can be rapidly obtained," says Jost Muth of IME, who participated in the development of the new potato starch. "We are working here with natural principles. In nature, sunlight triggers changes in the genome. With chemistry, we accomplish the same thing – only faster."

Until now, mutation breeding was an exhaustive process. "Growers had to bring out the mutated seeds to the field, and then wait until they reached the end of their vegetation period in order to determine if one of the genetic modifications achieved the desired result. In addition, the majority of generated mutations could not be determined, since the characteristic is only expressed in a homozygous state," explains Prüfer. His team has succeeded in accelerating the implementation. In the laboratory at IME, the mutated seeds were germinated. As soon as the first leaves appear, it’s harvest time: The researchers take a leaf sample, break apart the cellular structure, isolate the genome and analyze it. This way they can find out within a few weeks if a mutation has attained the desired traits.

In a project sponsored by the "Nachwachsende Rohstoffe" agency, researchers at IME, in collaboration with the Bioplant and Emslandstärke companies, found the super potato germ. They had to examine 2,748 seedlings until just the right one was identified that exclusively produces the starch component amylopectin. From this germ, experts were able to generate the first generation of super potatoes. There are genes active in their genome responsible for the formation of amylopectin, whereas genes that trigger the formation of amylose are shut off. "Until now, potatoes always contained both starch types. Industry had to separate the amylopectin from the amylose – an energy and cost-intensive process," explains Prüfer. "With the Tilling potatoes, which only contain amylopectin, this process stage is superfluous. In Germany alone the paper and adhesives industry require 500,000 tonnes of highly purified amylopectin each year. Then there is the textile industry too, which uses the starch to glaze threats prior to weaving. The food industry is also relevant.

This fall, 100 tonnes of the new super potato that exclusively produces amylopectin were harvested. "They can be processed as usual in the production lines," reports Muth. "Special measures aren’t necessary, because the Tilling potatoes are totally normal breeds that contain no genetically modified material." The example shows that conventional or modern breeding methods will lead to success if the gene responsible for the expression of a specific trait is a natural part of the plant, and is known to scientists. The gene for the production of amylose in potatoes is one such gene. "Gene technology-based processes are indispensible and it is prudent to use them, when we want to integrate genetic material into a plant genome – , for example if we develop transgenic tobacco plants producing pharmacological substances," concludes Prüfer. "When it comes to dealing with genes, there is an easy rule: as much modification as needed, but as little as possible."

Contact: Professor Dr. Dirk Pruefer
[email protected]
49-251-832-2302
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

Link : Precision breeding creates super potato

 

Pundit warning;

Whether or not something is "natural" is unrelated to whether it is safe. Botox is natural, and so is the plant poison ricin.

The Economics of Genetically Modified Crops
Matin Qaim
Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development,
Georg-August-University of Goettingen, 37073 Goettingen, Germany;
　
Abstract
Genetically modified (GM) crops have been used commercially for more than 10 years. Available impact studies of insect-resistant and herbicide-tolerant crops show that these technologies are beneficial to farmers and consumers, producing large aggregate welfare gains as well as positive effects for the environment and human health.

The advantages of future applications could even be much bigger.

Given a conducive institutional framework, GM crops can contribute significantly to global food security and poverty reduction.

Nonetheless, widespread public reservations have led to a complex system of regulations. Overregulation has become a real threat for the further development and use of GM crops. The costs in terms of foregone benefits may be large, especially for developing countries. Economics research has an important role to play in designing efficient regulatory mechanisms and agricultural innovation systems.

Key Words

agricultural biotechnology, consumer acceptance, impacts, regulation, technology adoption
Annu. Rev. Resour. Econ. 2009. 1:665–93
First published online as a Review in Advance on June 26, 2009

For compelling economical, geopolitical, and environmental reasons, biofuels are considered an attractive alternative to fossil fuels for meeting future global energy demands. Melillo et al. (SCIENCE p. 1397, published online 22 October), however, suggest that a few serious drawbacks related to land use need to be considered. Based on a combined biogeochemistry and economic model, indirect land use (for example, clearing forested land for food crops to compensate for increased biofuel crop production on current farmlands) is predicted to generate more soil carbon loss than directly harvesting biofuel crops. Furthermore, increased fertilizer use for biofuels will add large amounts of nitrous oxide—a more effective heat-trapping molecule than carbon dioxide—to the atmosphere. Policy decisions regarding land and crop management thus need to consider the long-term implications of increased biofuel production.

This Week in SCIENCE Magazine, Volume 326, Issue 5958

But there is a more general impact by information providers in biasing the representation of the world one gets from the delivered information. It is a fact that our brain tends to go for superficial clues when it comes to risk and probability, these clues being largely determined by what emotions they elicit or the ease with which they come to mind.

In addition to such problems with the perception of risk, it is also a scientific fact, and a shocking one, that both risk detection and risk avoidance are not mediated in the "thinking" part of the brain but largely in the emotional one (the "risk as feelings" theory). The consequences are not trivial: It means that rational thinking has little, very little, to do with risk avoidance.

Much of what rational thinking seems to do is rationalize one’s actions by fitting some logic to them.
In that sense the description coming from journalism is certainly not just an unrealistic representation of the world but rather the one that can fool you the most by grabbing your attention via your emotional apparatus-the cheapest to deliver sensation.

Take the mad cow "threat" for example: Over a decade of hype, it only killed people (in the highest estimates) in the hundreds as compared to car accidents (several hundred thousands1)-except that the journalistic description of the latter would not be commercially fruitful. (Note that the risk of dying from food poisoning or in a car accident on the way to a restaurant is greater than dying from mad cow disease.)

This sensationalism can divert empathy toward wrong causes: cancer and malnutrition being the ones that suffer the most from the lack of such attention. Malnutrition in Africa and Southeast Asia no longer causes the emotional impact – so it literally dropped out of the picture. In that sense the mental probabilistic map in one’s mind is so geared toward the sensational that one would realize informational gains by dispensing with the news.

From

Fooled by Randomness
Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Penguin Books/Random House 2007

PRESS RELEASE

Cibus Global and NEU Seed to Develop Potato Crop Protection and Performance Enhancement Traits for North America

San Diego, California (December 2, 2009) — Cibus Global, a pioneering plant trait development firm, today announced that it has partnered with Naturally Enhanced United Seed (NEU Seed), a potato grower cooperative based in Idaho, to develop and market improved traits in potato using Cibus’ natural smart breeding tool, Rapid Trait Development System (RTDS™). The collaboration will initially focus on enhancing crop protection tolerance and reducing blackspot bruising, with the aim of improving both productivity by reducing pesticide usage and the overall quality of potatoes available to the consumer.

Potato bruising costs the U.S. potato industry nearly $300 million a year* and NEU Seed estimates that 60 percent of this is attributable to blackspot bruise. In addition to yielding significant economic advantages for farmers and consumers through reduced waste, NEU Seed and Cibus have focused on newly developed traits that are expected to reduce usage of pesticides and improve the sustainability of potato production. Eventually the partners intend to collaborate on the development of other important traits to create healthier potato plants with improved quality attributes that will benefit the consumer and potato industry.

RTDS is an environmentally safe, trait development procedure that will use the potato’s natural process of gene repair to effect a precise change in the genetic sequence. By mimicking natural methods in a highly targeted way, RTDS technology avoids the introduction of foreign genetic material into plants. RTDS has been recognized by the USDA as a mutagenesis technique, and is therefore not subject to the regulations applied to transgenic (or GM) crops. Mutagenesis-derived crops and traits are produced around the globe in a number of food categories, including grains (rice, oats, durum wheat), vegetable oil crops (sunflower, canola, flax), beer ingredients (barley, hops, yeast) and seedless fruits (grapes, citrus fruits).

Cibus President Dr. Keith Walker said, “RTDS technology is revolutionary in that it enables the development in plants of valuable traits that enhance overall efficiency and product quality through a natural process. Globally, potato is a very important food crop, and Cibus is proud to work with NEU Seed and the potato industry to enhance production and quality for the benefit of farmers, processers and consumers.”

“Cibus offers the potato industry a naturally accelerated breeding process that will lead to new and innovative technology solutions for the farmer,” said Dirk Parkinson, potato grower and President of NEU Seed, from Saint Anthony, Idaho. “The RTDS technology offers North American farmers the ability to develop valuable traits through a carefully targeted process that mimics what occurs in nature. This directed and efficient approach allows for lower production costs and significantly enhances the overall quality of our product for our customers.”

* ”Preventing Potato Bruise Damage,” edited by Michael Thornton and William Bohl. College of Agriculture, University of Idaho. 1998.

Cibus
North America
Shawna Seldon
[email protected]
212.255.7541

Europe
Jonathan Birt
[email protected]
+44 (0)20-7269-7205

NEU Seed
Keith Esplin
[email protected]
208.243.1824

Notes to Editors:

About Cibus Global

Cibus Global (http://www.cibus.com/) develops advantageous crop traits with far-reaching implications in agriculture, alternative energy and product development. Through its proprietary Rapid Trait Development System (RTDS^TM), Cibus creates traits in a directed way with more precision than traditional breeding techniques and without the introduction of foreign genetic material. RTDS has proven itself in the laboratory with several different applications, as well as in initial field trials of Cibus’ first commercial crop, canola. Cibus’ products will be brought to market through a number of strategic partnerships; in September 2009, Cibus announced an alliance with Israeli-based Makhteshim-Agan to develop five crops for the European marketplace.

About NEU Seed

Naturally Enhanced United Seed (NEU Seed) was formed in November 2008 to develop and market potato cultivars with new innovative traits for growers, processors and consumers. NEU Seed is a cooperative of seed potato growers, based in Rexburg, Idaho, with a membership of growers from both Idaho and Montana. NEU Seed has entered into partnering agreements with Cibus Global and is seeking seed potato grower members from other seed producing areas of North America to join with NEU Seed to bring value added potato traits to market.

Cibus – Cibus Press Releases

See also other GMO Pundit posts on Cibus’ RTDS

• New technique
• BASF and CIBUS join forces
• RTDS

Exclusive: Top rice producer China approves GMO strain

Checkbiotech

Friday, November 27, 2009

By Niu Shuping and Tom Miles

In this item from BEIJING – there is news that China has approved its first strain of genetically modified rice for commercial production, according to Reuters two scientists involved in the approval process . This potentially eases the way for other major producers to adopt the controversial technology.

The item indicates that approval of the locally-developed rice, as well as China’s first GMO corn, shifts the global balance of power in food trade and could prompt other countries to follow suit.

Exclusive: Top rice producer China approves GMO strain | Checkbiotech

MEDIA RELEASE
Friday 27 November 2009

Roundup Ready® canola Delivers Higher Yields – Again
Melbourne, Australia Friday 27 November 2009

Monsanto has released replicated demonstration trial results from a trial site based at Wallendbeen, NSW. The trial ran during the 2009 canola season and was focused on comparing the leading Roundup Ready, triazine tolerant and Clearfield ® canola varieties.

In the first of many replicated trial sites this year, the results again show Roundup Ready canola having a significant yield increase over triazine tolerant canola as initially demonstrated in 2008 – its first year of commercial release canola,
“Our trials with Roundup Ready canola have shown an 11 percent yield increase above the triazine to which is consistent with our previous findings and with growers’ experience. This proves you don’t need to sacrifice yield for weed control,” Dr James Neilsen, Monsanto canola technical specialist said.

The trial also demonstrated that yields from Clearfield varieties were impacted by heavy weed pressure from Group B herbicide resistant weeds.
This trial highlights the importance to growers of the benefits of the Roundup Ready system as it provides an system, alternative to other herbicide control systems.
“This is another tool in the grower’s toolbox and offers real choice to growers. Roundup Ready is a more flexible and environmentally friendly herbicide control system and, as it is a non esidual herbicide, you could say it’s a cleaner non-residual and greener canola,” said Dr Neilsen.

More data will be released in the coming months as other trial sites are harvested.

Marine viruses — major players in the global ecosystem
Curtis A. Suttle

Abstract of scientific article:

Viruses are by far the most abundant ‘lifeforms’ in the oceans and are the reservoir of most of the genetic diversity in the sea. The estimated 10^30 viruses in the ocean, if stretched end to end, would span farther than the nearest 60 galaxies. Every second, approximately 10^23 viral infections occur in the ocean. These infections are a major source of mortality, and cause disease in a range of organisms, from shrimp to whales. As a result, viruses influence the composition of marine communities and are a major force behind biogeochemical cycles.
Each infection has the potential to introduce new genetic information into an organism or progeny virus, thereby driving the evolution of both host and viral assemblages. Probing this vast reservoir of genetic and biological diversity continues to yield exciting discoveries.

Nature Reviews Microbiology Volume 5 October 2007 pages 801-812

Insect Resistance to Bt Crops can be Predicted, Monitored, and Managed

Since 1996, crop plants genetically modified to produce bacterial proteins that are toxic to certain insects, yet safe for people, have been planted on more than 200 million hectares worldwide. The popularity of these Bt crops, named after the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, comes from their ability to kill some major pests, allowing farmers to save money and lessen environmental impacts by reducing insecticide sprays.
However, since insects can evolve resistance to toxins, strategies must be implemented to ensure that Bt crops remain effective. A new study published in the December issue of Journal of Economic Entomology entitled “Field-Evolved Insect Resistance to Bt Crops: Definition, Theory, and Data” (http://www.entsoc.org/btcrops.pdf) analyzes insect resistance data from five continents, as reported in 41 studies, and concludes that existing theories and strategies can be used to predict, monitor, and manage insect resistance to Bt crops.

According to lead author Dr. Bruce E. Tabashnik, “Resistance is not something to be afraid of, but something that we expect and can manage if we understand it. Dozens of studies monitoring how pests have responded to Bt crops have created a treasure trove of data showing that resistance has emerged in a few pest populations, but not in most others. By systematically analyzing the extensive data, we can learn what accelerates resistance and what delays it. With this knowledge, we can more effectively predict and thwart pest resistance.”

Among the authors’ conclusions are:
· The refuge strategy (growing non-Bt crops near the Bt crops) can slow the evolution of insect resistance by increasing the chances of resistant insects mating with non-resistant ones, resulting in non-resistant offspring.
· Crops that are “pyramided” to incorporate two or more Bt toxins are more effective at controlling insect resistance when they are used independently from crops that contain only one Bt toxin.
· Resistance monitoring can be especially effective when insects collected from the field include survivors from Bt crops.
· DNA screening can complement traditional methods for monitoring resistance, such as exposing insects to toxins in the lab.
· Despite a few documented cases of field-evolved resistance to the Bt toxins in transgenic crops, most insect pest populations are still susceptible.
With Bt crop acreage increasing worldwide, incorporating enhanced understanding of observed patterns of field-evolved resistance into future resistance management strategies can help to minimize the drawbacks and maximize the benefits of current and future generations of transgenic crops.

The full article is available at http://www.entsoc.org/btcrops.pdf.
Bruce Tabashnik, the lead author can be contacted at [email protected] or 520-621-1141.

Nov 21 2009, 9:00 AM EST GEN Eng NEWS

Origin Agritech Announces Final Approval of World’s First Genetically Modified Phytase Corn

News source: Business Wire

In this item Origin Agritech Limited (NASDAQ GS: SEED) (“Origin”), supplier of crop seeds and agri-biotech research in China, is reported to have received the Bio-safety Certificate from the Ministry of Agriculture as a final approval for commercial approval of the world’s first genetically modified phytase corn. The item goes on to say Origin’s phytase corn is the first transgenic corn to officially introduce the next generation of corn product to enter the domestic marketplace. See link for details

News: Origin Agritech Announces Final Approval of World’s First Genetically Modified Phytase Corn.

Briefing note: 19 November 2009
Impact of genetically engineered crops on pesticide use: US Organic Center report evaluation by PG Economics

PG Economics welcomes the Organic Center (OC) latest release Impacts of genetically engineered crops on pesticide use: the first thirteen years by Charles Benbrook, which confirms the positive impact biotech crops have had on reducing insecticide use and associated environmental impacts. However, the OC’s assessment of the impact of biotech herbicide tolerant traits (HT) is disappointingly inaccurate, misleading and fails to acknowledge several of the benefits US farmers and citizens have derived from use of the technology.

For those reviewing the issues examined in the OC report, the following should be noted:

• Confirmation: of biotech insect resistant (IR) impact on insecticide use: the OC paper confirms the findings of other work that the use of IR technology has resulted in important reductions in
insecticide use on these crops that would otherwise have been used with conventional
technology;

• Failure to acknowledge the environmental benefits arising from use of HT technology. These include facilitation of no/reduced tillage production systems [2] which has resulted in important reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. For example, US HT biotech crops contributed, in
2007, to the equivalent of removing 9.48 billion pounds (4.3 billion kg) of carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere or equal to removing nearly 1.9 million cars from the road for one year. In
addition, whilst usage of broad spectrum herbicides, notably glyphosate (and to a lesser
extent glufosinate) has increased significantly, usage of less environmentally benign products
such as pendimethalin, metribuzin, fluazifop and metalochlor has fallen substantially, leading to net benefits to the environment [3];

• Inaccuracies: It uses assumptions relating to herbicide use on biotech crops in the US that do
not concur with actual practice. As a result, it overstates herbicide use on US biotech crops
significantly. For example, it overstates herbicide use on the HT crops of corn, cotton and
soybeans for the period between 1998 and 2008 by 63.4 million pounds (28.75 million kg) of
active ingredient;

• Misleading use of official data: The OC report states many times that the pesticide impact data
is based on official, government (USDA NASS) pesticide usage data. Whilst this dataset is
used, its limitations (namely not covering pesticide use on some of the most recent years and
not providing disaggregated breakdowns of use between conventional and biotech crops)
mean that the author’s analysis relied on own-estimates of usage and cannot reasonably claim
to be based on official sources. As a result, the herbicide usage assumptions on conventional
crops, if they replaced biotech HT traited crops, are significantly understated and unreliable.
Combined with the overstated use assumptions on HT biotech crops, it is therefore not surprising that the document concluded that biotech crops lead to an increase in US herbicide use. This contrasts sharply with the findings of PG Economics’ peer reviewed analysis [4] that estimated that biotech crop adoption in the US has reduced pesticide spraying in the US, eg, by 357 million lbs (162 million kg: -7.1% 1996-2007) relative to what might reasonably be expected if the crops were all planted to conventional varieties;

• Weak approach: the approach of the OC report author is based on personal assumptions of
herbicide use for biotech versus conventional crops and extrapolation of average trends in
total crop active ingredient use (from an incomplete dataset). It also does not present any
information about typical weed control regimes that might be expected in conventional
systems. Not surprisingly, this resulted in significant over estimation of herbicide use on
biotech HT crops (see above) and under estimation of usage on conventional alternatives. As
such, the approach delivers unreliable and unrepresentative outcomes. It is noted that the
OC author is critical of the approach used by other analysts5 to estimate the herbicide usage
regimes that might reasonably be expected on conventional crops if biotech HT traits were
not used in the US corn, cotton and soybean crops over the last thirteen years. The NCFAP/PG Economics approach, criticized by the OC report, is to present and estimate the conventional alternatives based on a survey of opinion from over 50 extension advisors in almost all states growing these three crops. Observers should note the key differences between the two approaches with the NCFAP & PG Economics approach being much more
reliable and representative.

Given the complexities of agricultural production systems and the nature of weed and pest control
systems, more detailed comment and critique of the OCS report is detailed below.(see linked PG Economics site for details).

For additional information: contact Graham Brookes, PG Economics on 00 44 1531 650123 or
[email protected]

PG Economics Home page

Some earlier GMO Pundit posts on Dr Benbrook:

Commentary on Charles Benbrook’s anti-GM tour heats up

US Big picture at variance with Benbrook comments

MONSANTO COMPLETES U.S. REGULATORY SUBMISSIONS IN SUPPORT OF VISTIVE III SOYBEANS THAT PRODUCE HEALTHIER COOKING OILS
Press release

Vistive III Oil Significantly Reduces Saturated Fats and Helps Eliminate Trans Fats

ST. LOUIS (November 12, 2009) – Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) has completed regulatory submissions to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Food and Drug Administration in support of the Vistive III soybean trait. This second-generation product builds on Monsanto’s existing Vistive product and would provide food companies with a healthier, more stable soybean oil for frying and baking that contains significantly lower levels of saturated fat and eliminates trans fats.
Research has shown that a diet low in saturated and trans fats promotes heart health.
“Vistive III is a win for farmers, food producers and consumers,” said Jerry Hjelle, vice president of regulatory for Monsanto. “This provides a glimpse into the next-generation of biotech products that can bring direct health benefits to consumers. We also expect farmers to benefit from the premium pricing opportunity the market is likely to offer for the oil once it’s commercialized. And food producers should benefit from a more stable and more healthful soybean oil to use in its food products”
Completing regulatory submissions in the United States is an important step forward in bringing the benefits of this next-generation soybean product to the market, he added.
Vistive III soybean oil is more stable at high temperatures and is shown to have significantly extended fry life when compared to commodity soybean oil, or existing low-linolenic soybean products.
“Application studies show that products fried in the new oil maintain optimum flavor quality,” said Richard Wilkes food applications lead for Monsanto.
Vistive III eliminates the need for hydrogenation, resulting in foods with zero trans fats and reduced overall saturated fat content, thus bringing health benefits to consumers.
“Vistive III anticipates the needs of my customers and will help me offer them the best soybean product today’s technology can create,” said John Buck, a farmer in New Bloomington, Ohio, who has been growing the first-generation Vistive soybeans for several years. This year, Buck is growing only soybeans with the Vistive trait. “As a third-generation farmer who has been in agriculture for a decade, I look forward to advancements in soybeans that continue to improve food quality and can help me and my family eat healthier while enjoying the foods we eat.”

About Monsanto Company
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality. Monsanto remains focused on enabling both small-holder and large-scale farmers to produce more from their land while conserving more of our world’s natural resources such as water and energy. To learn more about our business and our commitments, please visit: www.monsanto.com. Follow our business on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MonsantoCo, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MonsantoCo, or subscribe to our News Release RSS Feed.

WHOLE EARTH DISCIPLINE: AN ECOPRAGMATIST MANIFESTO
By Stewart Brand
Viking, $25.95, 336 pages
REVIEWED BY MAX SCHULZ  in the Washington Times

"If Greens don’t embrace science and technology and jump ahead to a leading role in both, they may follow the Reds into oblivion."

That’s strong, hard-hitting stuff. However, the author who derides environmentalists as anti-intellectual Luddites and compares them to communists isn’t Michelle Malkin or Glenn Beck. It’s Stewart Brand, one of the world’s leading environmentalists and a founder of the modern green movement.

…The green left’s policy prescriptions arise from a reflexive opposition to the things that have built our technologically advanced, urban society.

Hence, the greens have made theirs a movement of opposition. They oppose large-scale energy development and consumption. They push a regulatory structure that clamps down on private corporations and landowners in a bid to stop them from despoiling the environment. They oppose scientific efforts to improve food production to feed billions because that just means supporting more people who do damage to the planet.

Mr. Brand’s "Whole Earth Discipline" says, in effect, that it isn’t enough just to oppose. In fact, in some instances, that opposition has been disastrous.

"I daresay the environmental movement has done more harm with its opposition to genetic engineering than with any other thing we’ve been wrong about," he writes. "We’ve starved people, hindered science, hurt the natural environment and denied our own practitioners a crucial tool."

He notes that "Silent Spring" author Rachel Carson, patron saint of the modern environmental movement, actually encouraged pursuing the science of biotic controls, i.e. genetic engineering, but that greens have rejected that counsel in defense of a bizarre idea of what is "natural.

BOOKS: ‘Whole Earth Discipline’ – Washington Times