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STUDY
DOCUMENT ON THE USE OF 'GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD PLANTS' TO COMBAT
HUNGER IN THE WORLD
I.
INTRODUCTORY NOTE BY PRESIDENT NICOLA CABIBBO
During the
closed session of the Academy held during the Plenary Session many
Academicians expressed deep concern at the distorted way in which
recent scientific results, and in particular those relating to
genetically improved plant varieties, have been presented to the
public. It was decided to establish a committee with the task of
producing a document on this subject. The chairman of the committee
was A. Rich and its other members were W. Arber, TT. Chang, M.G.K.
Menon, C. Pavan, M.F. Perutz, F. Press, P.H. Raven, and R.
Vicuña. The document was examined by the Council at its
meeting of 25 February 2001, submitted to the members of the Academy
for their comments, and then sent to the committee for the
preparation of the final version. The document, which is included in
the Proceedings, expresses the concerns of the scientific community
about the sustainability of present agricultural practices and the
certainty that new techniques will be effective. At the same time, it
stresses the need for the utmost care in the assessment and
evaluation of the consequences of each possible modification, and on
this point we cannot but recall the exhortation of John Paul II
regarding biotechnologies made in his speech of 11 November 2000 on
the occasion of the Jubilee of the Agricultural World: 'they must be
previously subjected to rigorous scientific and ethical control to
ensure that they do not give rise to disasters for the health of man
and the future of the earth'. The document also expresses concern
about excesses with regard to the establishment of 'intellectual
property' rights in relation to widely used crops - excesses which
could be detrimental to the interests of developing nations.
A further
recommendation, clearly stated in the document, is that the
examination of the safety of newly developed cultivars should be
based on well documented methods and that the methods and results
should be openly discussed and scrutinized by the scientific
community.
The Academy
will devote an ad hoc meeting to the subject of genetically modified
food plants. This meeting will provide an opportunity to examine in
depth many issues which are raised in the document and which are of
special concern: the methods used in the testing and licensing of the
new cultivars; the comparative risks associated with different
methods of pest control; and the many scientific, ethical and social
issues raised by the introduction of a new and powerful technology
directed towards agricultural improvement.
II. RECOMMENDATIONS
The Challenge
1. The rapid
growth of the world population requires the development of new
technologies to feed people adequately; even now, an eighth of the
world's people go to bed hungry. The genetic modification of food
plants can help meet part of this challenge.
2. Agriculture
as it is currently practiced is unsustainable, as is indicated by the
massive losses of topsoil and agricultural land that have occurred
over the past few decades, as well as by the unacceptable
consequences of massive applications of pesticides and herbicides
throughout most of the world. Techniques to genetically modify crop
plants can make important contributions to the solution of this
common problem.
The Potential
of Genetically Modified Food Plants
3. Virtually,
all food plants have been genetically modified in the past; such a
modification is, therefore, a very common procedure.
4. The
cellular machinery of all living organisms is similar, and the mixing
of genetic material from different sources within one organism has
been an important part of the evolutionary process.
5. In recent
years, a new technology has been developed for making more precise
and specific improvements in strains of agricultural plants,
involving small, site directed alterations in the genome sequence or
some times the transfer of specific genes from one organism to another.
6. Genetically
modified food plants can play an important role in improving
nutrition and agricultural products, especially in the developing
world.
Conditions for
the Beneficial Use of this New Technology
7. The
scientific community should be responsible for the scientific and
technological research leading to the advances described above, but
it must also monitor the way it is applied and help ensure that it
works to the effective benefit of people.
8. There is
nothing intrinsic about genetic modification that would cause food
products to be unsafe. Nevertheless, science and scientists are and
should further be - employed to test the new strains of plants to
deter mine whether they are safe for people and the environment,
especially considering that current advances can now induce more
rapid changes than was the case in the past.
9. The methods
used for testing the safety of new genetically modified strains (or
more precisely, cultivars) of plants should be publicly available, as
should the results of these tests, in both the private and public sectors.
10.
Governments should have the responsibility for ensuring that the
tests and their results are conducted in line with the highest
criteria of validity. The protocols of evaluation should be made
widely accessible.
11.
Governments should increase their funding for public research in
agriculture in order to facilitate the development of sustainable and
productive agricultural systems available to everyone.
12.
Intellectual property rights should not inhibit a wide access to
beneficial applications of scientific knowledge. In the development
of this modern genetic technology for agriculture, efforts should be
made to facilitate cooperation between the public and private sectors
and to secure the promotion of solidarity between the industrialized
and developing worlds.
13. Special
efforts should be made to provide poor farmers in the developing
world with access to improved crop plants and to encourage and
finance research in developing countries. At the same time, means
should be found to create incentives for the production of vegetable
strains suit able to the needs of developing countries.
14. Research
to develop such improvements should pay particular attention to local
needs and to the capacity of each country to engage in a necessary
adaptation of its traditions, social heritage, and administrative
practices in order to achieve the success of the introduction of
genetically modified food plants.
Recommendation
for the Scientific Community
15. In order
to help governments, state funded researchers, and private companies
to meet the above conditions, and in order to facilitate the
development of common standards and approaches to this problem in
both developing and industrialized countries, the scientific
community, represented by its established worldwide umbrella
organizations, should offer its expertise. A suitably composed
international scientific advisory committee could be entrusted with
this all-important task.
III. BACKGROUND
The Pontifical
Academy of Sciences has traditionally stressed the application of
science to world food problems. Most recently, the study week
proceedings on "Food Needs of the Developing World in the Early
Twenty First Century" and "Science for Survival and Social
Development," two conferences held in 1999, emphasized the
special role of modern biotechnology in improving the characteristics
of plants. Here, the members of the Pontifical Academy are
considering newer aspects of these applications in a global context.
The world's
people have grown in number from 2.5 billion to more than 6 billion
over the past fifty years. One out of four lives in extreme poverty,
and one out of eight is chronically malnourished. These problems are
in part related to patterns of distribution of the available food, in
part to the low productivity of agriculture in certain regions,
including the loss of crops to pests, and in another part to an
unbalanced nutritional value in the daily diet. Enhanced production
of qualitatively improved food under sustainable conditions could
greatly alleviate both poverty and malnutrition. These are goals that
will become even more urgent as our numbers increase by an estimated
two billion additional people over the next few decades. Modern
science can help meet this challenge if it is applied in an
appropriately constructive social and economic context.
Historical Use
of GM Plants
Genetically
modified (GM) plants can play an important role in alleviating world
food problems. Recent discussions concerning GM plants have often
overlooked the fact that virtually all commonly used foods have been
genetically modified, often extensively, during the long history of
agriculture. Ever since the start of agriculture about 10,000 years
ago, farmers have selected plant variants that arose spontaneously
when they offered increased productivity or other advantages. Over
time, new methods for producing desirable genetic variants were
introduced, and have been used extensively for some two centuries.
Crossbreeding of different plant varieties and species, followed by
the selection of strains with favorable characteristics, has a long
history. That process involves exchanging the genetic material, DNA,
from one organism to another. DNA contains genes, and genes generally
act by expressing proteins; thus the newly modified plant obtained by
genetic crossing usually contains some proteins that are different
from those in the original plant. The classical method of crossing
plants to bring in new genes often results in bringing in undesirable
genes as well as desirable ones since the process could not be controlled.
New Technology
to Develop GM Plants
Almost 30
years ago scientists developed a new technology called recombinant
DNA that made it possible to select the particular gene that one want
ed to transfer to a plant. This process is very specific and avoids
the inclusion of genes that are undesirable. A number of useful new
plant strains have been developed in this way. Even though such
strains are considered to be genetically modified (GM), the same
label could be applied equally appropriately to all strains that have
been modified genetically by human activities - a process that owes
its success to selection for desirable properties. We now know a
great deal about the DNA in organisms. It contains the codes for
manufacturing different proteins. At the molecular level, the
products of genes, usually proteins, are made from the same materials
in plants, animals and microorganisms. The recent development of
technical means for sequencing the components in DNA gives us insight
into the similarities among organisms. All living organisms share
genes because of their common evolutionary descent. For example, the
sequence of a small worm was completed recently, and it was found
that the worm shares some 7,000 of its estimated 17,000 genes with
humans.1Likewise, the genes found in microorganisms are often very
similar to those found in humans as well as in plants.2 A large
number of genes in all placental mammals are essentially the same,
and about a third of the estimated 30,000 genes in humans are common
to plants, so that many genes are shared among all living organisms.
Remarkably, one has discovered another reason for the similarities
between DNA sequences in different organisms: DNA can at times move
in small blocks from one organism to another, a process that is
called lateral transfer. This occurs at a relatively high rate in
microorganisms, and it also occurs in plants and animals, albeit less
frequently. Once this has taken place, the genetic material that has
been transferred becomes an integral part of the genome of the
recipient organism. The recent sequence of the human genome revealed
that over 200 of our estimated 30,000 genes came from
microorganisms,3 demonstrating that such movements are a regular part
of the evolutionary process.
The new
technology has changed the way we modify food plants, so that we can
generate improved strains more precisely and efficiently than was
possible earlier. The genes being transferred express proteins that
are natural, not manmade. The changes made alter an insignificantly
small proportion of the total number of genes in the host plant. For
example, one gene may be introduced into a plant that has 30,000
genes; in contrast, classical crossbreeding methods often generated
very large, unidentified changes in the selected strains.
Many of the
statements made here in abbreviated form have been dealt with more
thoroughly in a number of publications. Among the more significant is
a report entitled "Transgenic Plants and World Agriculture",
which was prepared by a committee representing the academies of
sciences of Brazil, China, India, Mexico, the U.K. the U.S, and the
Third World Academy of Sciences. In summary, it reached the
conclusion that foods produced from genetically modified plants were
generally safe, that any new strains needed to be tested and that
further investigation of the potential ecological problems associated
with such new strains also needed further consideration. The French
Academy of Science also issued a very useful report, commenting on
many aspects of this issue and dealing especially with the problems
of deployment of GM plants in developing countries. The accumulating
literature in this field has become quite extensive. Traditional
methods have been used to produce plants that manufacture their own
pesticides, and thus are protected from pests or diseases.
They have also
been employed to produce herbicide resistant plants. When such plants
are grown, specific herbicides are used to efficiently control the
weeds growing among them without harming the basic crop. Another goal
of traditional agriculture has been the nutritional enhancement of
foods, either in terms of amino acid balance or in enhancing the
presence of vitamins or their precursors. All of these goals can be
attained more efficiently and precisely with the use of methods that
are now available involving the direct transfer of genes. Newer
goals, mostly unattainable earlier, include the development of plant
strains that can manufacture desired substances, including vaccines
or other drugs.
How to Make
Sure GM Plant Products are Safe
These goals
are highly desirable, but the questions that have arisen often
concern the method of genetic modification itself, not its products.
The appearance of these products has generated a legitimate desire to
evaluate carefully their safety for consumption by human beings and
animals, as well as their potential effects on the environment. As is
usual for complicated questions, there are no simple answers, and
many elements need careful consideration.
Contrary to
common perception, there is nothing intrinsic to the genetic
modification of plants that causes products derived from them to be
unsafe. The products of gene alteration, just like the products of
any modification, need to be considered in their own right and
individually tested to see if they are safe or not. The public needs
to have free access to the methods and results of such tests, which
should be conducted not only by companies that develop the
genetically altered plants, but also by governments and other
disinterested parties. Overall, widely accepted testing protocols
need to be developed in such a way that their results can be
understood and can be used as a basis for consumer information.
One of the
present concerns is that new genetically modified plants may include
allergens that will make them unhealthy for some people. It is
possible to test these plants to determine whether they have
allergens. Many of our present foodstuffs, such as peanuts or
shellfish, have such allergens, and they represent a public health
hazard to that part of the population with corresponding allergies.
It is important that any genetically modified crop varieties, as well
as others produced by traditional breeding methods, be tested for
safety before they are introduced into the food supply. In this
connection, we also note that the new technologies offer ready
methods for removing genes associated with allergens, both in present
crops and newly produced ones.
Another issue
concerns the potential impact of genetically modified plants on the
environment. Cultivated plants regularly hybridize with their wild
and weedy relatives, and the exchange of genes between them is an
important factor in plant evolution. When crops are grown near
relatives with which they can produce fertile hybrids, as in the case
of maize and its wild progenitor teosinte in Mexico and Central
America, genes from the crops can spread to the wild populations.
When this occurs, the effects of these genes on the performance of
the weeds or wild plants needs to be evaluated. There is nothing
wrong or unnatural about the movement of genes between plant species.
However, the
effects of such movement on the characteristics of each plant species
may vary greatly. There are no general reasons why we should fear
such gene introductions, but in each case, scientific evaluation is
needed. The results should be verified by the appropriate government
agency or agencies, and full disclosure of the results of this
process should be made to the public.
Improved Foods
There are many
opportunities to use this new technology to improve not only the
quantity of food produced but also its quality. This is illustrated
most clearly in the recent development of what is called "golden
rice",4 a genetically modified rice that has incorporated in it
the genes needed to create a precursor of Vitamin A. Vitamin A
deficiency affects 400 million people,5and it often leads to
blindness and increased disease susceptibility. Use of this modified
rice and strains developed with similar technologies will ultimately
make it possible to help overcome Vitamin A deficiency. "Golden
rice" was developed by European scientists, funded largely by
the Rockefeller Foundation and using some methods developed by a
private company. However, that company has agreed to make the patents
used in the production of this strain freely available to users
throughout the world. When successfully bred into various local rice
strains and expressed at high enough levels, it offers the
possibility of helping to alleviate an important nutritional
deficiency. This is just one of several plant modifications that has
the potential for producing healthier food.
More
Government sponsored Research is Needed
Research
involving the use of recombinant DNA technology to develop
genetically modified plants is carried out worldwide. It involves
government laboratories, independent institutes and private
corporations. During the period following World War II, most
international crop research was funded by the public sector and
through charitable foundations. This led to a spectacular doubling or
tripling of crop yields in large parts of Asia and Latin America.
This "Green Revolution" met the needs of millions of poor
farmers and consumers and alleviated starvation for tens of millions
of people. The revolution was a consequence of the production of
"dwarf" wheat and rice plants by the introduction of genes
from dwarf varieties into high yielding strains of grain. Substantial
public sector agricultural research still exists in North America,
Australia, Europe, China, India, Brazil and in the Consultative Group
for International Agricultural Research which comprises 16
international research centers. In recent decades, however, public
funding for agricultural research has dwindled, while funding from
corporations has increased markedly. Governments should recognize
that there is an important public interest element in this research,
even in market driven economies. Public contributions are important
because the results of such research work are made available to
everyone. At the same time it makes possible various opportunities
for public and private collaboration, so that the benefits of the new
technologies for genetic modification are brought to all of the
people throughout the world. It is also important that such research
not be inhibited by over protective intellectual property measures.
Special Needs
of Poor Farmers
A significant
distinction must be made between the use of genetically modified
plants in the developed world and their use in the developing world.
In the developed world, farmers can often afford to pay for expensive
seeds that yield disease resistant crops that require lower levels of
pesticides or that produce more food per hectare. This is also true
for many farmers in the developing world. For poor farmers in the
developing world, however, governments must intervene if they are to
be able to obtain the benefits of modern crop improvement technology.
Several private corporations engaged in agricultural research have
indicated their willingness to make available the results of their
research without charge for use in developing countries. Their
willingness should be recognized and encouraged. In this connection,
we endorse the recommendation of the seven academy group mentioned
above that an international advisory committee should be established
to assess the implications of genetically modified plants, especially
in developing countries. The committee would identify areas of common
interest and opportunity between institutions in the private and
public sectors. This could be one way of assuring that the benefits
of these new technologies are made widely available. Intellectual
property issues are of special importance in this context. We
recommend that this committee participate in the development of
generally accepted standards for testing and approval of new plant
strains and the foods derived from them, a development of great
importance for world commerce.
The Crisis in Agriculture
The loss of a
quarter of the world's topsoil over the past fifty years, coupled
with the loss of a fifth of the agricultural land that was cultivated
in 1950,6indicates clearly that contemporary agriculture is not
sustainable. To become sustainable, agriculture will need to adopt
new methods suitable for particular situations around the world.
These include greatly improved management of fertilizers and other
chemical applications to crops, integrated pest management to include
improved maintenance of populations of beneficial insects and birds
to control pests, and the careful management of the world's water
resources. (Human beings currently use 55% of the renewable supplies
of fresh water, mostly for agriculture.) It will also be necessary to
develop strains of crop plants with improved characteristics to make
them suitable for use in the many diverse biological, environmental,
cultural and economic areas of the world.
Genetically
modified plants can be an important component of efforts to improve
yields on farms otherwise marginal because of limiting conditions
such as water shortages, poor soil, and plant pests. To realize these
benefits, however, the advantages of this rapidly growing technology
must be explained clearly to the public throughout the world. Also,
results of the appropriate tests and verifications should be
presented to the public in a transparent, easily understood way.
An estimated
85 million birds and billions of insects7are killed annually in the
United States alone, as a result of the application of pesticides on
crops. Some 130,000 people become ill in this connection each year.
Genetically modified plants currently in use have already greatly
reduced the use of such chemicals, with great ecological benefits. It
is expected that such benefits will be significantly enhanced as
research and development efforts continue.
Hope for the Future
Finally, it is
important that scientists make an effort to clearly explain to the
public the issues concerning risk. All technological developments
have elements of risk, whether we refer to the introduction of
vaccines, new forms of therapy, new types of foodstuffs or new
pesticides. Risk cannot be avoided, but it can be minimized. The
long-term aim is to develop plants that can produce larger yields of
healthier food under sustainable conditions with an acceptable level
of risk. The latter can be determined by scientific studies, with the
results made freely available to the public. The developments we have
discussed here constitute an important part of human innovation, and
they clearly offer substantial benefits for the improvement of the
human condition worldwide. They are essential elements in the
development of sustainable agricultural systems capable of feeding
not only the eighth of the world's population that is now hungry, but
also meeting the future needs of the growing world population. To
make the best use of these new technologies and the agricultural
management opportunities they create is a moral challenge for
scientists and governments throughout the world.
1
The C. elegans
Sequencing Consortium, 1998. 'Genome Sequence of the Nematode C.
elegans: A Platform for Investigating Biology'. Science 282: 201218.
2
The
Arabidopsis Genome Initiative. 2000. Analysis of the Genome Sequence
of the Flowering Plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Nature 408:796815.
3
Venter, J.
Craig et al. 2001. 'The Sequence of the Human Genome'. Science 291:130451.
4
Potrykus,
Ingo. 2001. 'Golden Rice and Beyond'. Plant Physiology 125: 115761.
5
Ye, Xudong et
al. 2000. 'Engineering the Provitamin A (bCarotene) Biosynthetic
Pathway into (CarotenoidFree) Rice Endosperm'. Science 287: 3035.
6
Norse, D.et
al.1992. 'Agriculture, Land Use and Degradation'. pp. 7989. In Dooge,
J.C.I. et al. (eds.). An Agenda of Science for Environment and
Development into the 21st Century. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
7
Pimentel, D.
et al. 1992. 'Environmental and Economic Costs of Pesticide Use'.
BioScience 42: 75059.
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