GMOEmily Sberna

Miami Valley Hospital Dietetic Intern

March 3, 2015

Objectives

Upon completion of this presentation, participants will be able to: Define the term “GMO.” Describe other methods used to

modify foods. List top common GM crops. List 3 proposed arguments against

use of GM foods. List 3 proposed arguments for use of

GM foods. Understand FDA labeling policies. Identify a food product as a non-GM

food.

What is a GMO?

Definition of GM food

Genetically modified organisms (GMO) or foods (GMF) are, “foods derived from organisms whose genetic material (DNA) has been modified in a way that does not occur naturally, e.g. through the introduction of a gene from a different organism.” (1)

Also known as “transgenic” or “bioengineered” foods. v. Isogenic = non-GM

Modern biotechnology, gene technology, or genetic engineering

Extends to medications, human insulin, and enzymes used in laundry detergents and cheese-making (2)

History of GMOs

1920s: mutagenesis breeding (3)Exposure to radiation Random variation

1970: Norman Borlaug wins Nobel Peace Prize (4) Experimentation with selective

breeding

Early 1980s: transgenesis breeding

Commercially available in 1996

htt

p:/

/w

ww

.ers

.usd

a.g

ov/d

ata

-pro

duct

s/adopti

on-o

f-geneti

cally

-engin

eere

d-

crops-

in-t

he-u

s/re

cent-

trends-

in-g

e-

adopti

on.a

spx

Not to be confused with… (4)

Traditional breeding Interspecies crosses Mark-assisted selection Mutation breeding Remember GM is between two

species that wouldn’t occur in nature while these four breeding methods are between same/similar species.

Most common GM foods

Majority of GM plants aren’t consumed as the food itself (5)

http://www.fda.gov/food/foodscienceresearch/biotechnology/ucm346030.htm

Arguments against use of GM foods (6)

1. Inadvertent creation of allergens, toxins, and byproducts harmful to humans, animals and/or the environment.

2. Environmental transfer between modified and non-modified crops.

3. Adaptation by insects to insecticides, creating “super bugs.”

4. Adaptation by weeds to herbicides, creating “super weeds.”

Arguments against use of GM foods (6)

5. Unforeseen soil and/or ecosystem and/or food-chain problems.

6. Potential reduction of agricultural biodiversity.

7. Monopoly concerns of the seed market and lack on non-GM seeds.

8. Playing God.

Creation of allergens (1)

Foods developed using traditional breeding methods are not generally tested for allergenicity, protocols for the testing of GM foods have been evaluated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and WHO.

No allergic effects have been found relative to GM foods currently on the market.

Excessive herbicide and/or pesticide residuals

Yes Repeated

application equates to increased residuals. (7)

One study showed that GM-soy contained more herbicide residue than conventional or organic soybean. (7)

No Recent study by

USDA found pesticide use on corn crops has dropped 90% since introduction of new Bt corn. (4)

Per EPA, “reasonable certainty of no harm from exposure to pesticide residues.” (2)

Nutritionally different: Yes Organic soybean contained

significantly more total protein and Zn, compared to conventional or GM soy. (7)

GM- soy contained less of the main sugars (glucose, fructose, sucrose, and maltose) compared to conventional and organic. (7)

Organic soybean had lower levels of linoleic acid and palmitic acid. (7)

Difference in alpha-tocopherol levels of two soybean varieties (8)

Nutritionally different: No Substantial equivalence (7) Padgette, S.R. The composition of

glyphosate-tolerant soybean seeds is equivalent to conventional soybeans. J. Nutr 1996, 126, 702-716. (8)

Berbich, S. A. Safety assessment of insect-protected cotton: the composition of the cottonseed is equivalent to conventional cottonseed. J. Agric. Food Chem. 1996, 44, 365-371. (8)

Oberdoerfer, R. B. D.H. Rice containing the bar gene in compositionally equivalent to the non-transgenic counterpart. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2005, 53, 1457-1465. (8)

Conflicting results were found, with most studies indicating that mineral nutrition is not affected by glyphosate tolerance trait or application of glyphosate. (7)

Creation of toxins: Yes (9)

Soybean Diet containing significant amounts of GM food seems to influence pancreatic metabolisms.

No isogenic line used. Soybean not grown under the same conditions. International standards not reached.

Maize Changes in cell nuclei of liver and pancreas.

Small effects. GM maize is substantially equivalent to conventional maize, but more metabolic research is needed in GI organs and immune response mechanisms.

Soybean GM soybean can influence some liver features during ageing.

No isogenic line used. Soybean not grown under the same conditions. International standards not reached.

Maize No differences in organ weights. Some minor histological changes in liver and kidney.

Changes are minor and don’t threaten the health of rats, but long-term feeding studies with GM crops should be performed in other species.

Creation of toxins: No (9)

Maize Small changes in milk composition and body weight in GM-fed cows but fall within normal range.

Safe, no long term effects. Bt-MON810 and its isogenic control are equivalent.

Soybean Lower body weight and fat mass in control group.

No differences observed between non-GM and GM groups in all parameters. Non-GM and GM groups substantially equivalent.

Rice With few exceptions, no significant difference in hematological or biochemical values between them.

No adverse effects on behavior or body weight, hematological, and biochemical variables. No pathological symptoms or histopathological abnormalities.

Potato No difference in all parameters.

Safe, no multigenerational effects. No use of isogenic line. Number of animals not mentioned.

Need for study improvement

90-day animal feeding studies do not search for one particular effect of a given molecule, but are supposedly designed to detect most of the changes that may occur, including those potentially generated by the GM as well as those resulting from a compositional change which is directly or not linked to transgene.” (9)

Equilibrium between studies indicating negative effects or no adverse effects. (10)

To summarize…

…the US has no GMO labeling and no epidemiological studies have been carried out.

Need to be vigilant but panic unnecessary at this time.

Arguments for use of GM foods (6)

1. Improved drought tolerance.

2. Improved temperature tolerance.

3. Improved herbicide resistance.

4. Improved pest resistance.

5. Increased salinity tolerance.

6. Increased crop yields.

7. Increased nutrient content.

8. Increased shelf-life after harvest.

9. Increased geographic growing ranges.

10. Reduced requirements for other pesticides and herbicides.

11. Phytoremediation (plants designed to treat pollution in soil, water, or air.)

Know the facts (4)

March 2014 – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that the world’s food supply in already jeopardized.

Climate change and population growth will make life increasingly precarious for… small farmers in the developing world – and for the people they feed.

UN forecasts that by 2050, the world’s population will grow by more than two billion people.

Millenium Development Goal (11)

SAM (severe-acute malnutrition) affects 20 million children under 5 years

of age each year and contributes to 1 million child deaths per year.

At least half of the world’s food-insecure people are poor smallholder farmers living in low-income countries cultivating on marginal lands without access to

productivity-enhancing technologies.

Childhood malnutrition, including fetal growth restriction,

suboptimum breastfeeding, stunting, wasting and Vitamin A and zinc deficiencies,

is an underlying cause of death in an estimated 45% of all deaths among children under five years of age. (12)

http://gamapserver.who.int/mapLibrary/app/searchResults.aspx

FDA labeling

Food and food ingredients derived from GE plants adhere to same safety requirements… that apply to food and food ingredients derived from traditionally bred plants. (13)

Statement of Policy: Foods Derived from New Plant Varieties or the 1992 Policy … FDA has no basis for concluding that

bioengineered foods differ from other foods in any meaningful or uniform way, or that, as a class, foods developed by the new techniques present any different or greater safety concern than foods developed by traditional plant breeding. (14)

Section 201(n) (14) If a bioengineered food is significantly

different from its traditional counterpart such that the common or usual name no longer adequately describes the new food, the name must be changed to describe the difference.

If an issue exists for the food or a constituent of the food regarding how the food is used or consequences of its use, a statement must be made on the label to describe the issue.

If a bioengineered food has a significantly different nutritional property, its label must reflect the difference.

If a new food includes an allergen that consumers would not expect to be present based on the name of the food, the presence of that allergen must be disclosed on the label.

The 1999 meetings (14)

“… expressions of concern about the unknown…”

“… not aware of any data or other information…”

“…FDA is therefore reaffirming its decision to not require special labeling of all bioengineered foods.”

FDA supports voluntary labeling of GM-containing food products.

Organic labeling considered umbrella for non-GM labeling

To label or not to label?(15&16)

How can you tell if it’s non-GMO? (17)

Avoid processed foods containing ingredients from corn, soy, canola, sugar beets, and cotton.

Look for non-GMO verified products at nongmoproject.org

Natural ≠ non-GMO

Verified organic = non-GMO (18 & 19)

Label reading

Buy locally grown foods.

Grow your own.

Food for thought… Would you feed (golden rice) to people

who would otherwise die of starvation in 10 days, knowing their risk of death would increase in 10 years? (20)

In countries where GM crops are banned, are the GM grape, rice, corn, and sugar-beet crops more dangerous than the tobacco…? (20)

A gene is inserted into a peanut so that herbicide or pesticide won’t kill it. What if that gene instead could eliminate what causes a peanut allergy, and put an end to death from peanut anaphylaxis? (21)

Questions?