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But biotechnology isn't new. Our
ancestors learned to put living organisms to work in making wine,
beer, cheese and bread and in breeding wheat, rice and other crops
from wild ancestral sources. For more than 20 years genetically
engineered bacteria and yeasts have been used to produce
pharmaceuticals, vaccines, vitamins and nutritional supplements.
And, since 1995, biotech crops have been grown commercially.
"There is a sense of spirituality that
relates to the natural universe that prompts some to question the
wisdom of engineering transgenic plants," said Bruce Chassy,
professor of food microbiology at the University of Illinois and
associate director of the Biotechnology Center. "Their concern is
based on a belief that taking a gene from one organism and placing
it in another can have greater negative effects than conventional
plant breeding. But there is no data or evidence that this is true."
Chassy explained that the same
processes occur in nature and in conventional breeding, but they
occur more slowly. Natural crossbreeding can create undesirable
characteristics in plants. Hearty weeds and poisonous plants are
good examples. "In conventional plant breeding, there is actually
more potential for unintended effects."
Conventional breeding often crosses
wild plants with commercial varieties in order to bring in genetic
diversity. One example Chassy related was when scientists were
trying to develop a tomato that would be resistant to virus. "Wild
tomatoes have toxic compounds, so plant breeders needed to be
careful that the new varieties were not toxic," he said.
Biotechnology's skeptics say that we
need higher regulatory and safety standards, said Chassy, who
recently testified before the National Academy of Science Task Force
on Unintended Effects of Biotechnology.
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this article]
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Can there be unintended effects?
"Absolutely, that's a possibility. There can be unintended effects
even with the best science available, but this is true for all forms
of plant breeding," said Chassy.
"But when scientists are working on a
new pest-resistant plant, they think a lot about the consequences,"
he added. "They create thousands of candidates for new plants --
called events -- many of which may have been altered in unintended
ways, but only those plants that are normal in all respects are
selected for further research. They look at the mature plant to see
if it is sturdy, if it is growing properly, if it's normal. And
those are the ones they pick to continue propagating -- not the
abnormal ones. The same selection process is applied in conventional
plant breeding."
Some of the lack of acceptance of
genetically modified organisms, Chassy believes, is the result of a
lack of good information about the risks. In a list of what we
should be worried about when it comes to the safety of our food,
Chassy puts food-borne diseases at the top and GMOs at the bottom.
"There are many pathogens that can contaminate the foods we eat and
cause illness or death," said Chassy. "But GMOs are evaluated and
tested every step of the way. The risks are much lower."
Although it
appears that the majority of people have a positive view of the
potential benefits of biotechnology, opposition is still strong and
growing, according to Chassy. "It's almost like two locomotives
heading at one another on the same track. It's not clear who will
survive. One thing's for sure, with the world's growing population
and pressing environmental problems, humankind will need to develop
some way to produce more food in a more sustainable way. Hopefully
it won't take us another 10,000 years to figure it out."
[University
of Illinois press release]
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