Genetically-Engineered Plants
Dan Eisenhardt
Background
The first successful genetically-engineered plant experiment was carried out in 1982 by scientists working for Monsanto, an agriculture biotechnology company. The plant that was experimented on was actually a tobacco plant, which had its genetic makeup modified to be resistant to herbicides and pesticides, so that it could be grown without interference from the many different chemicals that plants are exposed to. According to an article featured in the July-August 2000 issue of California Agriculture magazine, “The FLAVR SAVR tomato was the first genetically engineered crop product to be commercialized. The research and marketing efforts that produced the FLAVR SAVR tomato resulted in scientific success, a temporary sales success, and then commercial demise.”[1] The article continues on to talk about the FLAVR SAVR tomato. “Circumstantial evidence available in the 1980s suggested that the tomato fruit enzyme polygalacturonase (PG), because of its ability to dissolve cell-wall pectin, was key to fruit softening. Researchers at Calgene, Inc., in Davis, proposed to suppress PG accumulation in ripening tomatoes by introducing a reverse-orientation copy of the gene, an “antisense” copy designed to prevent or drastically reduce the formation of PG.”[2] The results were positive; according to the article, “Some of the resulting tomato lines generated as little as 1% of the PG found in conventional tomatoes. Based on the results from eight contained field trials, in October 1992 the U.S. Department of Agriculture determined that the PG-antisense tomato lines were not a “plant-pest” risk and no longer required permits for field testing or transport.”[3]
Turning Point
The turning point for genetically modified plants came in May 2012, when the European Food Safety Authority took down a ban on genetically modified corn in France. According to an article on realclearscience.com, “However, there is reason for hope that things are about to change. On Monday, the European Food Safety Authority struck down a French ban on a strain of genetically modified corn produced by Monsanto. Their reason? ‘There is no specific scientific evidence, in terms of risk to human and animal health or the environment’ to support a ban. This is a really big step forward for a continent that, as of 2011, only had approved two genetically modified crops. (Compare that to 90 crops in the US and 28 in Brazil.)”[4] Europe, a continent historically known for its stringent policies revolving food and medicine, approved genetically engineered corn as safe to consume, and lifted a ban on it—a good sign for the genetic engineering community.
Effect
When a society changes dramatically, chances are the way it feeds itself is going to change as well. According to The Landscape of Food: The Food Relationship of Town and Country in Modern Times by Tanja Vahtikari, “The explosive urban growth which began in some European areas during the nineteenth century is perceived, like the transition to industrial work, as an autonomous determinant of modernization. Both processes were accompanied by an almost totally new form of urban food supply.”[5] A similar change is happening today; now that we are into the first half of the 21st century, the age in which genetic engineering is the norm, our food supply is becoming more and more genetically engineered and modified. In some cases, this is good, because some studies have shown that genetically engineered or modified plants sometimes outlast their natural counterparts. However, there is no way of telling, even after testing, if a plant, genetically engineered or not, is truly safe. According to Genetically Modified Crops by Nigel G. Halford, “The fact is that very few foods consumed today have been subject to any toxicological studies, yet they are generally accepted as being safe to eat. The difficulties of applying traditional toxicological testing and risk assessment procedures to whole foods, GM or otherwise, makes it pretty well impossible to establish absolute safety. The aim of the substantial equivalence approach, therefore, is to consider whether the genetically modified food is as safe as its traditional counterpart, where such a counterpart exists.”[6] Whether genetically engineered plants will become the norm or not, only time will be able to tell.
[1] Briening, “The case of the FLAVR SAVR tomato.” 2000.
[2] Briening, “The case of the FLAVR SAVR tomato.” 2000.
[3] Briening, “The case of the FLAVR SAVR tomato.” 2000.
[4] Berezow. “A Turning Point for GM Crops in the EU?” 2012
[5] Hietala. Landscape of Food The Food Relationship of Town and Country in Modern Times. 2003
[6] Halford. Genetically Modified Crops. 2003.
Bibliography
Berezow, Alex. “A Turning Point for GM Crops in the EU?” Real Clear Science. 23 May 2012.
Bruening, G. & J.M. Lyons. “The case of the FLAVR SAVR tomato.” University of California. July-August 2000.
Halford, Nigel. Genetically Modified Crops. Imperial College Press. London. 2003.
Hietala, Marjatta & Tanja Vehtikari. The Landscape of Food The Food Relationship of Town and Country in Modern Times. Finnish Literature
Society. Helsinki. 2003
Dan Eisenhardt
Background
The first successful genetically-engineered plant experiment was carried out in 1982 by scientists working for Monsanto, an agriculture biotechnology company. The plant that was experimented on was actually a tobacco plant, which had its genetic makeup modified to be resistant to herbicides and pesticides, so that it could be grown without interference from the many different chemicals that plants are exposed to. According to an article featured in the July-August 2000 issue of California Agriculture magazine, “The FLAVR SAVR tomato was the first genetically engineered crop product to be commercialized. The research and marketing efforts that produced the FLAVR SAVR tomato resulted in scientific success, a temporary sales success, and then commercial demise.”[1] The article continues on to talk about the FLAVR SAVR tomato. “Circumstantial evidence available in the 1980s suggested that the tomato fruit enzyme polygalacturonase (PG), because of its ability to dissolve cell-wall pectin, was key to fruit softening. Researchers at Calgene, Inc., in Davis, proposed to suppress PG accumulation in ripening tomatoes by introducing a reverse-orientation copy of the gene, an “antisense” copy designed to prevent or drastically reduce the formation of PG.”[2] The results were positive; according to the article, “Some of the resulting tomato lines generated as little as 1% of the PG found in conventional tomatoes. Based on the results from eight contained field trials, in October 1992 the U.S. Department of Agriculture determined that the PG-antisense tomato lines were not a “plant-pest” risk and no longer required permits for field testing or transport.”[3]
Turning Point
The turning point for genetically modified plants came in May 2012, when the European Food Safety Authority took down a ban on genetically modified corn in France. According to an article on realclearscience.com, “However, there is reason for hope that things are about to change. On Monday, the European Food Safety Authority struck down a French ban on a strain of genetically modified corn produced by Monsanto. Their reason? ‘There is no specific scientific evidence, in terms of risk to human and animal health or the environment’ to support a ban. This is a really big step forward for a continent that, as of 2011, only had approved two genetically modified crops. (Compare that to 90 crops in the US and 28 in Brazil.)”[4] Europe, a continent historically known for its stringent policies revolving food and medicine, approved genetically engineered corn as safe to consume, and lifted a ban on it—a good sign for the genetic engineering community.
Effect
When a society changes dramatically, chances are the way it feeds itself is going to change as well. According to The Landscape of Food: The Food Relationship of Town and Country in Modern Times by Tanja Vahtikari, “The explosive urban growth which began in some European areas during the nineteenth century is perceived, like the transition to industrial work, as an autonomous determinant of modernization. Both processes were accompanied by an almost totally new form of urban food supply.”[5] A similar change is happening today; now that we are into the first half of the 21st century, the age in which genetic engineering is the norm, our food supply is becoming more and more genetically engineered and modified. In some cases, this is good, because some studies have shown that genetically engineered or modified plants sometimes outlast their natural counterparts. However, there is no way of telling, even after testing, if a plant, genetically engineered or not, is truly safe. According to Genetically Modified Crops by Nigel G. Halford, “The fact is that very few foods consumed today have been subject to any toxicological studies, yet they are generally accepted as being safe to eat. The difficulties of applying traditional toxicological testing and risk assessment procedures to whole foods, GM or otherwise, makes it pretty well impossible to establish absolute safety. The aim of the substantial equivalence approach, therefore, is to consider whether the genetically modified food is as safe as its traditional counterpart, where such a counterpart exists.”[6] Whether genetically engineered plants will become the norm or not, only time will be able to tell.
[1] Briening, “The case of the FLAVR SAVR tomato.” 2000.
[2] Briening, “The case of the FLAVR SAVR tomato.” 2000.
[3] Briening, “The case of the FLAVR SAVR tomato.” 2000.
[4] Berezow. “A Turning Point for GM Crops in the EU?” 2012
[5] Hietala. Landscape of Food The Food Relationship of Town and Country in Modern Times. 2003
[6] Halford. Genetically Modified Crops. 2003.
Bibliography
Berezow, Alex. “A Turning Point for GM Crops in the EU?” Real Clear Science. 23 May 2012.
Bruening, G. & J.M. Lyons. “The case of the FLAVR SAVR tomato.” University of California. July-August 2000.
Halford, Nigel. Genetically Modified Crops. Imperial College Press. London. 2003.
Hietala, Marjatta & Tanja Vehtikari. The Landscape of Food The Food Relationship of Town and Country in Modern Times. Finnish Literature
Society. Helsinki. 2003