GE Foods
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INTELLECTUAL HONESTY GE FOODS _CONFERENCE JUNE 25-27 MOSCONE CENTER SAN FRANCISCO, CA 2009 TAKING AN HONEST LOOK AT GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOOD
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Transcript of GE Foods
INTELLECTUAL HONESTY
GE FOODS_CONFERENCE
JUNE 25-27
MOSCONE CENTERSAN FRANCISCO, CA
2009
TAKING AN HONEST LOOK AT GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOOD
ORGANICSCIENCE
UNATURAL GMOS
BIOTECH FOODS
GM CROPS
GE FOODSDNANATURAL
ENGINEERED FOODSGENETICALLY
MODIFIED FOODSGENETICALLY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
SCHEDULE
WHAT ARE GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOODS?
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF GE FOODS?
HOW PREVALENT ARE GE CROPS?
WHAT ARE THE CRITICISMS OF GE FOODS?
REGULATIONS AND THE GOVERNMENT’S ROLE
HOW ARE GE FOODS LABELED?
OUR SPONSOR
LOCATION MAP
MOSCONE CENTER & EXHIBIT HALL
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FIND OUT ALL THE DE TAILS ON THIS
EXCITING 3-DAY EVENT
THIS CONFERENCE IS ABOUT TAKING A HONEST
LOOK AT GE FOODS AND FORMING A HONEST
OPINION.
TAKE A MOMENT TO EXPLORE THE
MARKE TPL ACE FILLED WITH VARIOUS
INTELLECTUAL AND HONEST VENDORS
Genetically engineered foods have the potential to solve many of the world’s hunger and malnutrition problems, and also to help protect and preserve the environment by increasing yield and reducing reliance upon chemical pesticides and herbicides. Yet there are many challenges ahead for governments, especially in the areas of safety testing, regulation, international policy and food labeling. These issues can create unintentional side effects to humans and be a danger to the environment.
Many people feel that genetic engineering is the inevitable wave of the future and we can’t afford to ignore a technology that has such enormous potential benefits for humans and the environment.
INTELLECTUAL HONESTYTaking an Honest Look at GE Foods
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However, we must now proceed with caution, and consider both consider the pros and cons of GE foods, to avoid causing unintended harm to human health and the environment as a result of our enthusiasm for this powerful technology.
The opposing concerns about GE foods is a on going contentious issue that has created the spread of inaccurate information. The GE Foods: Intellectual Honesty Conference will be an opportunity for the public to learn about the pros and cons of genetically engineered foods from accredited scientist to help them develop a honest opinion.
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THURSDAY
2009 Conference
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FRIDAY
JUN
E 2
5T
H
JUN
E 2
6T
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DAY
1
DAY
2
Opening Reception
Breakfast Potluck: What’s the difference?
Exhibit Hall Open
Session 6: Testing
Session 7: Equivalence or Choice?
Session 5: Dr. Science
Session 1: In the Beginning
Session 2: Your Favorite Foods
Session 4: Open Discussion
Session 3: Regulations
11:00 am-Noon
9:00 am-10 :00 am
10:30 am-5 :00 pm
12:00 am-1:00 pm
1:15 am-2 :00 pm
10:30 am-11:30 pm
11:15 am-1:00 pm
2:00 -3 :00 pm
4:15 -5 :00 pm
3:15 -4 :00 pm
This three day conference learning about the both the positive and negative sides of genetically engineered food. The opposing concerns about GE foods is an on going issue that has created the spread of inaccurate information.
This convention will be an opportunity for the public to learn about the pros and cons of genetically engineered foods, from our accredited scientist, to help them develop a honest opinion about the issue. It will also address what we need to do to ensure that the public has a choice to whether they wish to eat GE foods and support their underlying values.
The convention will consist of 11 session that will include guest speakers and open discussions about the issue. There will also be exhibitors from around the world and local vendors exhibiting the their products.
Moscone Center
SATURDAY
JUN
E 2
7T
H
DAY
3
Exhibit Hall Open
Session 8: Natural or Unnatural?
Session 9: Can We Eat Pesticide Foods Safely?
Session 11: The Future of Organics
Session 10: Environ-mental Impacts
10 :00 am-4 :00 pm
10:00 -11:00 am
11:15 -Noon
1:15 -2 :00 pm
12:15 -1:00 pm
The Moscone Center is San Francisco’s premiere meeting and exhibition facility. Today more than 2 million square feet of building area include over 700,000 square feet of exhibit space, up to 106 meeting rooms, and nearly 123,000 square feet of prefunction lobbies.
The Moscone Center has long set the standard for U.S. convention centers in diverting lots of material from the waste stream. Beginning in 1998 with diversion of high volume materials from the exhibit floor and lobby areas, the program today targets materials from all areas and sources near by. Nearly two million pounds is diverted annually, with nearly 20% of that total as donations to local area non-profits.
The newest and most ambitious phase is a new food composting program that captures all organic material from food service operations in the building. While a kitchen-based program has been in place for some time, this newest phase includes capturing all food material as well as compostable serveware and utensils from all concession and catering locations throughout Moscone North, South, and West.
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What Are Genetically Engineered Foods?
GE Corn Production In 200335%
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28% 16% 9%
The term GE foods (genetically-engineered foods), also referred to as GMOS (genetically-modified organisms) is most commonly used to refer to crop plants created for human or animal consumption using the latest molecular biology techniques. These plants have been modified in the laboratory to enhance desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content. The enhancement of desired traits has traditionally been undertaken through breeding, but conventional plant breeding methods can be very time consuming and are often not very accurate.
Genetic engineering, on the other hand, can create plants with the exact desired trait very rapidly and with great accuracy. For example, plant geneticists can isolate a gene responsible for drought tolerance and insert that gene into a different plant. The new genetically-modified plant will gain drought tolerance as well. Not only can genes be transferred from one plant to another, but genes from non-plant organisms also can be used. The best known example of this is the use of B.t. genes in corn and
other crops. B.t., or Bacillus thuringiensis, is a naturally occurring bacterium that produces crystal proteins that are lethal to insect larvae. B.t. crystal protein genes have been transferred into corn, enabling the corn to produce its own pesticides against insects such as the European corn borer. DNA is the blueprint for the individuality of an organism. The organism relies upon the information stored in its DNA for the management of every biochemical process. The life, growth and unique features of the organism depend on its DNA. The segments of DNA which have been associated with specific features or functions of an organism are called genes.
Molecular biologists have discovered many enzymes which change the structure of DNA in living organisms. Some of these enzymes can cut and join strands of DNA. Using such enzymes, scientists learned to cut specific genes from DNA and to build customized DNA using these genes. They also learned about vectors, strands of DNA such as viruses, which can infect a cell and insert themselves into its DNA.
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Statewide percentage of total corn acres planted with genetically engineered corn hybrids in major corn producing states. Corn produced in these states represents 81% of US corn production.
With this knowledge, scientists started to build vectors which incorporated genes of their choosing and used the new vectors to insert these genes into the DNA of living organisms. Genetic engineers believe they can improve the foods we eat by doing this. For example, tomatoes are sensitive to frost. This shortens their growing season. Fish, on the other hand, survive in very cold water. Scientists identified a particular gene which enables a flounder to resist cold and used the technology of genetic engineering to insert this ‘anti-freeze’ gene into a tomato. This makes it possible to extend the growing season of the tomato and make them last longer.
Because GE corn is not separated from conventional corn by mills and processors at harvest time, all corn-based food ingredients are very likely to have been made from a mixture of GE and non-GE corn varieties. Corn-based food ingredients include corn starch, flour, masa, corn syrup, corn oil, sweeteners,
An estimated 40% of the US corn crop in 2003 was grown to genetically engineered corn hybrids.
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baking powder, alcohols, fillers used in pills and tablets, and some nutritional supplements, like Vitamin C. Sweet corn-- as fresh ears of corn-- is much less likely to be genetically engineered (3-5% of the US crop). Most US processors of canned sweet corn do not use GE varieties at all, and there is no GE popcorn on the market.
The world population has topped 6 billion people and is predicted to double in the next 50 years. Ensuring an adequate food supply for this booming population is going to be a major challenge in the years to come. GM foods promise to meet this need in a number of ways:
What Are Some of The Advantages of GE Foods?
There are many viruses, fungi and bacteria that cause plant diseases. Plant biologists are working to create plants with genetically-engineered resistance to these diseases.
Medicines and vaccines often are costly to produce and sometimes require special storage conditions not readily available in third world countries. Researchers are working to develop edible vaccines in tomatoes and potatoes. These vaccines will be much easier to ship, store and administer than traditional injectable vaccines.
Pharmaceuticals
Disease Resistance
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Unexpected frost can destroy sensitive seedlings. An antifreeze gene from cold water fish has been introduced into plants such as tobacco and potato. With this antifreeze gene, these plants are able to tolerate cold temperatures that normally would kill unmodified seedlings. (Note: There are no journal articles or patents that involve fish antifreeze proteins in strawberries, although there are reports in newspapers. In conclusion, nothing on this application has yet been published or patented.)
Cold Tolerance
Crop losses from insect pests can be staggering, resulting in devastating financial loss for farmers and starvation in developing countries. Farmers typically use many tons of chemical pesticides annually. Consumers do not wish to eat food that has been treated with pesticides because of potential health hazards, and run-off of agricultural wastes from excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers can poison the water supply and cause harm to the environment. Growing GM foods such as B.t. corn can help eliminate the application of chemical pesticides and reduce the cost of bringing a crop to market.
Pest Resistance
The 'Cornsilk Fly,' Euxesta stigmatias Loew, is an attractive, dark metallic green fly with distinctive wing patterns and wing flapping behavior commonly found throughout southern Florida agricultural
communities. Its normally saprophytic life style belies its destructive nature when it comes to its preference for sweet corn ears. Entire
fields may have to be passed up for harvest if they went untreated for this destructive pest or if individual treatments were missed due to
weather, time or other constraints that could cause harm.
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The average person will eat about 10,866 carrots in their lifetime.
A 100-calorie serving of peas, about ¾ cup, contains more protein than a whole egg.
The Super CarrotResearchers at the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas have genetically engineered a carrot to provide more beneficial calcium, according to a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
In the past, most genetically engineered products have been marketed to farmers, claiming to provide benefits such as herbicide resistance. The “super carrot,” however is part of a new trend toward products that claim to provide a direct benefit to consumers. Other researchers are working to modify potatoes to absorb less oil during frying, and to boost the cancer-fighting-chemical content of broccoli and other vegetables.
While carrots contain naturally occurring calcium, the mineral is poorly absorbed by the human body. In the modified carrots, a gene has been changed to allow calcium to move more freely across the carrot’s cell membranes.
To test the carrot, researchers fed both normal and genetically modified carrots to 15 women and 15 men between the ages of 21 and 29, then conducted urine tests to determine calcium absorption. The researchers found that participants absorbed 41 percent more calcium from the genetically modified carrot than from a different natural carrot variety.
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Carrots are nutritional heroes; they store a gold mine of nutrients. No other vegetable or fruit contains as much carotene as carrots, which the body converts to vitamin A. This is a truly versatile vegetable and an excellent source of vitamins B and C as well as calcium pectate, an extraordinary pectin fiber that has been found to have amazing cholesterol-lowering properties.
Not all GM plants are grown as crops. Soil and groundwater pollution continues to be a problem in all parts of the world. Plants such as poplar trees have been genetically engineered to clean up the heavy metal pollution from contaminated soil in the ground.
For some crops, it is not cost-effective to remove weeds by physical means such as tilling, so farmers will often spray large quantities of different herbicides (weed-killer) to destroy weeds, a time-consuming and expensive process, that requires care so that the herbicide doesn’t harm the crop plant or the environment. Crop plants genetically-engineered to be resistant to one very powerful herbicide could help prevent environmental damage by reducing the amount of herbicides needed. For example, Monsanto has created a strain of soybeans genetically modified to be not affected by their herbicide product Roundup ®. A farmer grows these soybeans which then only require one application of weed-killer instead of multiple applications, reducing production cost and limiting the dangers of agricultural waste run-off.
Phytoremediation
Herbicide Tolerance
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Golden Rice
Malnutrition is common in third world countries where impoverished peoples rely on a single crop such as rice for the main staple of their diet. However, rice does not contain adequate amounts of all necessary nutrients to prevent malnutrition, but if rice could be genetically engineered to contain the additional vitamins and minerals, nutrient deficiencies could be alleviated. For example, blindness due to vitamin A deficiency is a common problem in third world countries. Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Institute for Plant Sciences have created a strain of “golden” rice containing an unusually high content of beta-carotene (vitamin A). Since this rice was funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, a non-profit organization, the Institute hopes to offer the golden rice seed free to any third world country that requests it. Plans were underway to develop a golden rice that also has increased iron content. However, the grant that funded the creation of these two rice strains was not renewed, perhaps because of the vigorous anti-GM food protesting in Europe, and so this nutritionally-enhanced rice may not come to market at all.
Nutrition
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Vitamin A and Carotene can be obtained from either animal or vegetable sources. The animal form is divided between retinol and dehydroretinol whereas the vegetable carotene can be split into four very potent groups-alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, gamma-carotene and crypto-carotene. With enough beta-carotene available in the body, the body can manufacture its own vitamin A. Vitamin A is required for night vision, and for a healthy skin. It assists the immune system, and because of its anti-
oxidant properties is great to protect against pollution and cancer formation and other diseases. It also assists your sense of taste as well as helping the digestive and urinary tract and many believe that it helps slow aging.
It is required for development and main-tenance of the epithelial cells, in the mucus membranes, and your skin, and is important in the formation of bone and teeth, storage of fat and the synthesis of protein and glycogen.
According to the FDA and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), today there are about over 40 plant varieties that have completed all of the federal requirements for commercialization. Some examples of these plants include some tomatoes and cantaloupes that have modified ripening characteristics, soybeans and sugarbeets that are resistant to herbicides, and corn and cotton plants with increased resistance to insect pests.
Not all these products are available in supermarkets yet; however, the prevalence of GM foods in U.S. grocery stores is more widespread than is commonly thought. While there are very, very few genetically-modified whole fruits and vegetables available on produce stands, highly processed foods, such as vegetable oils or breakfast cereals, most likely contain some tiny percentage of genetically-modified ingredients because the raw ingredients have been pooled into one processing stream from many different sources. Also, the ubiquity of soybean derivatives as food additives in the modern American diet virtually ensures that all U.S. consumers have been exposed to GM food products. Soybeans and corn are the top two most widely grown crops (82% of all GM crops harvested in 2000), with cotton,
rapeseed (or canola) and potatoes trailing behind. 74% of these GM crops were modified for herbicide tolerance, 19% were modified for insect pest resistance, and 7% were modified for both herbicide tolerance and pest tolerance. Globally, acreage of GM crops has increased 25-fold in just 5 years, from approximately 4.3 million acres in 1996 to 109 million acres in 2000 - almost twice the area of the United Kingdom. Approximately 99 million acres were devoted to GM crops in the U.S. and Argentina alone.
In the U.S., approximately 54% of all soybeans cultivated in 2000 were genetically-modified, up from 42% in 1998 and only 7% in 1996. In 2000, genetically-modified cotton varieties accounted for 61% of the total cotton crop, up from 42% in 1998, and 15% in 1996. GM corn and also experienced a similar but less dramatic increase. Corn production increased to 25% of all corn grown in 2000, about the same as 1998 (26%), but up from 1.5% in 1996. As anticipated, pesticide and herbicide use on these GM varieties was slashed and yields were increased.
How Prevalent Are GE Crops?
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Thirteen countries grew genetically engineered crops commercially in 2000.Of these, the U.S. produced the majority. In 2000, 68% of all GM crops were grown by U.S. farmers. In comparison, Argentina, Canada and China produced only 23%, 7% and 1%, respectively. Other countries that grew commercial GM crops in 2000 are Australia, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Mexico, Romania, South Africa, Spain, and also in Uruguay.
68%U.S.
23%Argentina
7%Canada
1%China
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Environmental activists, religious organizations, public interest groups, professional associations and other scientists and government officials have all raised concerns about GM foods, and criticized agribusiness for pursuing profit without concern for potential hazards, and the government for failing to exercise adequate regulatory oversight. It seems that everyone has a strong opinion about GM foods. Even the Vatican and the Prince of Wales have expressed their opinions. Most concerns about GM foods fall into three categories: environmental hazards, human health risks, and economic concerns.
Last year a laboratory study was published in Nature showing that pollen from B.t. corn caused high mortality rates in the monarch butterfly caterpillars. Monarch caterpillars consume milkweed plants, not corn, but the fear is that if pollen from B.t. corn is blown by the wind onto milkweed plants in neighboring fields, the caterpillars could eat the pollen and perish. Although the Nature study was not conducted under natural field conditions, the results seemed to support this viewpoint. Unfortunately, B.t. toxins kill many species of insect larvae indiscriminately; it is not possible to design a B.t. toxin that would only kill crop-damaging pests and remain harmless to all other insects that are in close contact.
This study is being reexamined by the USDA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other non-government research groups, and preliminary data from new studies suggests that the original study may have been flawed. This topic is the subject of acrimonious debate, and both sides of the argument are defending their data vigorously. Currently, there is no agreement about the results of these studies, and the potential risk of harm to non-target organisms will need to be evaluated further.
What Are Some of The Criticisms Against GE Foods?
ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS
Unintended Harm To Other Organisms
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Just as some populations of mosquitoes developed resistance to the now-banned pesticide DDT, many people are concerned that insects will become resistant to B.t. or other crops that have been genetically-modified to produce their own pesticides.
Another concern is that crop plants engineered for herbicide tolerance and weeds will cross-breed, resulting in the transfer of the herbicide resistance genes from the crops into the weeds. These "superweeds" would then be herbicide tolerant as well. Other introduced genes may cross over into non-modified crops planted next to GM crops. The possibility of interbreeding is shown by the defense of farmers against lawsuits filed by Monsanto. The company has filed patent infringement lawsuits against farmers who may have harvested GM crops. Monsanto claims that the farmers obtained Monsanto-licensed GM seeds from an unknown source and did not pay royalties to Monsanto. The farmers claim that their unmodified crops were cross-pollinated from someone else's GM crops planted a field or two away. More investigation is needed to resolve this issue.
Reduced Effectiveness Of Pesticides
Gene Transfer To Non-Target Species
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75%
Of all processed foods in the U.S. contain a GM ingredient.
Many children in the US and Europe have developed life-threatening allergies to peanuts and other foods. There is a possibility that introducing a gene into a plant may create a new allergen or cause an allergic reaction in susceptible individuals. A proposal to incorporate a gene from Brazil nuts into soybeans was abandoned because of the fear of causing unexpected allergic reactions. Extensive testing of GM foods may be required to avoid the possibility of harm to consumers with food allergies. Labeling of GM foods and food products will acquire new importance.
HUMAN HEALTH RISKS
Allergenicity
There is a growing concern that introducing foreign genes into food plants may have an unexpected and negative impact on human health overall. A recent article published in Lancet examined the effects of GM potatoes on the digestive tract in rats. This study claimed that there were appreciable differences in the intestines of rats fed GM potatoes and rats fed unmodified potatoes. Yet critics say that this paper, like the monarch butterfly data, is flawed and does not hold up to scientific scrutiny. Moreover, the gene introduced into the potatoes was a snowdrop flower lectin, a substance known to be toxic to mammals. The scientists who created this variety of potato chose to use the lectin gene simply to test the methodology, and these potatoes were never intended for human or animal consumption. On the whole, with the exception of possible allergenicity, scientists believe that GM foods do not present a risk to human health.
Unknown Effects On Human Health
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Bringing a GM food to market is a lengthy and costly process, and of course agri-biotech companies wish to ensure a profitable return on their investment. Many new plant genetic engineering technologies and GM plants have been patented, and patent infringement is a big concern of agribusiness. Yet consumer advocates are worried that patenting these new plant varieties will raise the price of seeds so high that small farmers and third world countries will not be able to afford seeds for GM crops, thus widening the gap between the wealthy and the poor. It is hoped that in a humanitarian gesture, more companies and non-profits will follow the lead of the Rockefeller Foundation and offer their products at reduced cost to impoverished nations.
Patent enforcement may also be difficult, as contention of the farmers that they involuntarily grew Monsanto-engineered strains when their crops were cross-pollinated shows. One way to combat possible patent infringement is to introduce a "suicide gene" into GM plants. These plants would be viable for only one growing season and would produce sterile seeds that do not germinate. Farmers would need to buy a fresh supply of seeds each year. However, this would be financially disastrous for farmers in third world countries who cannot afford to buy seed each year and traditionally set aside a portion of their harvest to plant in the next growing season. In an open letter to the public, Monsanto has pledged to abandon all research using this suicide gene technology.
ECONOMIC CONCERN$
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One way to combat possible patent infringement is to introduce a “suicide gene” into GM plants. These plants would be viable for only one growing season and would produce sterile seeds that do not germinate. Farmers would need to buy a fresh supply of seeds each year. However, this would be financially disastrous for farmers in third world countries who cannot afford to buy seed each year and traditionally set aside a portion of their harvest to plant in the next growing season.
Suicide Gene
There are Governments around the world are hard at work to establish a regulatory process to monitor the effects of and approve new varieties of GM plants. Yet depending on the political, social and economic climate within a region or country, different governments are responding in different ways.
In Japan, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced in April 2001 that the health testing of GM foods will be mandatory. Currently, testing of GM foods is voluntary. Japanese supermarkets are offering both GM foods and unmodified foods, and customers are beginning to show a strong preference for unmodified foods, such as fruits and also vegetables.
India’s government has not yet announced a policy on GM foods because no GM crops are grown in India and no products are commercially available in supermarkets yet38. India is, however, very supportive of transgenic plant research. It is highly likely that India will decide that the benefits of GM foods outweigh the risks because Indian agriculture will need to adopt drastic new measures to counteract the country’s endemic poverty and feed its exploding population.
Some states in Brazil have banned GM crops entirely, and the Brazilian Institute for the Defense of Consumers, in collaboration with Greenpeace, has filed suit to prevent the importation of GM crops. Brazilian farmers, however, have resorted to smuggling GM soybean seeds into the country because they fear economic harm if they are unable to compete in the global marketplace with other grain-exporting countries.
In Europe, anti-GM food protestors have been especially active. In the last few years Europe has experienced two major foods scares: bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) in Great Britain and dioxin-tainted foods originating from Belgium. These food scares have undermined consumer confidence about the European food supply, and citizens are disinclined to trust government information about GM foods. In response to the public outcry, Europe now requires mandatory food labeling of GM foods in stores, and the European Commission (EC) has established a 1% threshold for contamination of unmodified foods with GM food products.
In the United States, the regulatory process is confused because there are three different government agencies that have jurisdiction over GM foods. To put it very simply, the EPA evaluates GM plants for environmental safety, the USDA evaluates whether the plant is safe to grow, and the FDA evaluates whether the plant is safe to eat. The EPA is responsible for regulating substances such as pesticides or toxins that may cause harm to the environment. GM crops such as B.t. pesticide-laced corn or herbicide-tolerant crops but not foods modified for their nutritional value fall under the purview of the EPA. The USDA is responsible for GM crops that do not fall under the umbrella of the EPA such as drought-tolerant or disease-tolerant crops, crops grown for animal feeds, or whole fruits, vegetables and grains for human consumption. The FDA historically has been concerned with pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and food products and additives, not whole foods. Under current guidelines, a genetically-modified ear of corn sold at a produce stand is not regulated by the FDA because it is a whole food, but a box of cornflakes is regulated because it is a food product.
GE Food Regulation and the Government’s Role
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A genetically engineered plant does not require a permit if it meets the following 6 criteria:
1 The plant is not a noxious weed.
2 The genetic material introduced into the GM plant is stably integrated into the plant’s own genome.
3 The function of the introduced gene is known and does not cause plant disease.
4 The GM plant is not toxic to non- target organisms.
5 The introduced gene will not cause the creation of new plant viruses.
6 The GM plant cannot contain genetic material from animal or human pathogens.
The FDA’s stance is that GM foods are substantially equivalent to unmodified, “natural” foods, and therefore not subject to FDA regulation. The EPA conducts risk assessment studies on pesticides that could potentially cause harm to human health and the environment, and establishes tolerance and residue levels for pesticides. There are strict limits on the amount of pesticides that may be applied to crops during growth and production, as well as the amount that remains in the food after processing. Growers using pesticides must have a license for each pesticide and must follow the directions on the label to accord with the EPA’s safety standards. Government inspectors may periodically visit farms and conduct investigations to ensure compliance. Violation of government regulations may result in steep fines, loss of license and even jail sentences.
As an example the EPA regulatory approach, consider B.t. corn. The EPA has not established limits on residue levels in B.t corn because the B.t. in the corn is not sprayed as a chemical pesticide but is a gene that is integrated into the genetic material of the corn itself. Growers must have a license from the EPA for B.t corn, and the EPA has issued a letter for the 2000 growing season requiring farmers to plant 20% unmodified corn, and up to 50% unmodified corn in regions where cotton is also cultivated. This planting strategy may help prevent insects from developing resistance to the B.t. pesticides as well as provide a refuge for non-target insects such as Monarch butterflies.
The USDA has many internal divisions that share responsibility for assessing GM foods. Among these divisions are APHIS, the Animal Health and Plant Inspection Service, which conducts field tests and issues permits to grow GM crops, the Agricultural Research Service which performs in-house GM food research, and the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service which oversees the USDA risk assessment program. The USDA is
concerned with potential hazards of the plant itself. Does it harbor insect pests? Is it a noxious weed? Will it cause harm to indigenous species if it escapes from farmer’s fields? The USDA has the power to impose quarantines on problem regions to prevent movement of suspected plants, restrict import or export of suspected plants, and can even destroy plants cultivated in violation of USDA regulations. Many GM plants do not require USDA permits from APHIS. A GM plant does not require a permit if it meets these 6 criteria: 1) the plant is not a noxious weed; 2) the genetic material
introduced into the GM plant is stably integrated into the plant’s own genome; 3) the function of the introduced gene is known and does not cause plant disease; 4) the GM plant is not toxic to non-target organisms; 5) the introduced gene will not cause the creation of new plant viruses; and 6) the GM plant cannot contain genetic material from animal or human pathogens .
The current FDA policy was developed in 1992 (Federal Register Docket No. 92N-0139) and states that agri-biotech companies may voluntarily ask the FDA for a consultation. Companies working to create new GM foods are not required to consult the FDA, nor are they required to follow the FDA’s recommendations after the consultation. Consumer interest groups wish this process to be mandatory, so that all GM food products, whole foods or otherwise, must be approved by the FDA before being released for commercialization. The FDA counters that the agency currently does not have the time, money, or resources to carry out exhaustive health and safety studies of every proposed GM food product.
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The FDA’s stance is that GM foods are substantially equivalent to unmodified, “natural” foods, and therefore not subject to FDA regulation.
25%
25%
50%
Are undecided.
Of the American public thinks GE foods are fine,
Are against them,
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How Are GM Foods Labeled?
Labeling of GM foods and food products is also a contentious issue. On the whole, agribusiness industries believe that labeling should be voluntary and influenced by the demands of the free market. If consumers show preference for labeled foods over non-labeled foods, then industry will have the incentive to regulate itself or risk alienating the customer. Consumer interest groups, on the other hand, are demanding mandatory labeling. People have the right to know what they are eating, argue the interest groups, and historically industry has proven itself to be unreliable at self-compliance with existing safety regulations.
The FDA’s current position on food labeling is governed by the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act which is only concerned
with food additives, not whole foods or food products that are considered “GRAS” - generally recognized as safe. The FDA contends that GM foods are substantially equivalent to non-GM foods, and therefore not subject to more stringent labeling. If all GM foods and food products are to be labeled, Congress must enact sweeping changes in the existing food labeling policy.
There are many questions that must be answered if labeling of GM foods soon becomes mandatory. First, are consumers willing to absorb the cost of such an initiative? If the food production industry is required to label GM foods, factories will also need to construct two separate processing streams and monitoring the production lines accordingly. Farmers must be able to keep GM crops and non-GM crops from mixing during planting, harvesting and shipping. It is assured the industry will pass along these additional costs to consumers with higher prices .
Secondly, what are the acceptable limits of GM contamination in non-GM products? The EC has determined that 1% is an acceptable limit of cross-contamination, yet many consumer interest groups argue that only 0% is acceptable. Some companies such as Gerber baby foods and Frito-Lay have pledged to avoid use of GM foods in any of their products. But who is going to monitor these companies for compliance and what is the penalty if they fail? Once again, the FDA does not have the resources to carry out testing to ensure compliance.
What is the level of detectability of GM food cross-contamination? Scientists agree that current technology is unable to detect minute quantities of contamination, so ensuring 0% contamination using existing methodologies is not guaranteed. Yet researchers disagree on what level of contamination really is detectable, especially in highly processed food products such as vegetable oils or breakfast cereals where the vegetables used to make these products have been pooled from many different sources. A 1% threshold may already be below current levels of detectability.
Finally, who is to be responsible for educating the public about GM food labels and how costly will that education be? Food labels must be designed to clearly convey accurate information about the product in simple language that everyone can understand. This may be the greatest challenge faced be a new food labeling policy: how to educate and inform the public without damaging the public trust and causing alarm or fear of GM food products.
In January 2000, an international trade agreement for labeling GM foods was established. More than 130 countries, including the US, the world’s largest producer of GM foods, signed the agreement. The policy states that exporters must be required to label all GM foods and that importing countries have the right to judge for themselves the potential risks and reject GM foods, if they so choose. This new agreement may spur the U.S. government to resolve the domestic food labeling dilemma more rapidly.
This may be the greatest challenge faced be a new food labeling policy: how to educate and inform the public without damaging the public trust and causing alarm or fear of GM food products.
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Location Map: Moscone Center
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Located in the urban heart of San Francisco’s downtown district, The Moscone Center is easily accessible by transit.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION:
DRIVING:
Bart
Caltrain
From San Francisco International Airport
North On Interstate 101
Ferries arrive in San Francisco at the Ferry Building. Walk through the Ferry Building and exit onto Embarcadero Boulevard. Cross the street to a streetcar platform. (You should now be facing the Ferry Building.) Catch the F-line streetcar and take it down Market Street to Third Street. Disembark. From Market Street, take Third Street and walk down two blocks. The facility is on your right, on either side of Howard Street. Moscone West is located at Fourth and Howard streets with a second entrance on Fourth Street between Howard and Mission Street.
Bart offers fast, convenient regional service and MUNI Metro provides light rail service throughout the City. To reach Moscone North & South, take BART or MUNI to Montgomery station. To reach Moscone West, take BART or MUNI to Powell station.
Caltrain offers a frequent schedule into the nearby station at 4th & Townsend Streets. All of these stations are within a few minutes’ walk of The Moscone Center.
Take the Lombard Street exit to Van Ness Avenue. Turn right on Van Ness. Travel south to Grove. This will be approximately two miles. Turn left on Grove Street. Continue to Market Street. Cross Market Street and travel south on 8th Street to Folsom. Turn left on Folsom, left on Third and left on Howard. The Moscone Center is located on the 700 block of Howard Street. You’ll find Moscone South on your left and Moscone North on your right. Moscone West is located at Fourth and Howard streets with a second entrance on Fourth Street between Howard and Mission Street.
Take the Fremont Street Exit to Howard Street and turn left on Howard. The Moscone Center is located on the 700 block of Howard Street. You’ll find Moscone South on your left and Moscone North on your right. Moscone West is located at Fourth and Howard streets with a second entrance on Fourth Street between Howard and Mission Street.
Exit airport “North on Interstate 101” then follow directions below. For information on ground access transportation to and from SF0 call 1-800-SF0-2008.
Via The Bay Bridge
Via The Golden Gate Bridge
Take 80 East. Then take the 4th Street Exit. Take a left on Bryant, a left on Third and a left on Howard. The Moscone Center is located on the 700 block of Howard Street. You’ll find Moscone South on your left and Moscone North on your right. Moscone West is located at Fourth and Howard streets with a second entrance on Fourth Street between Howard and Mission Street.
Ferryboat
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AREA MAP
PARKING
mos
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Moscone Center &Exhibit Hall Map
11:00 am-NoonOpening Reception
9 :00 am-10 :00 amBreakfast Potluck
10 :00 am- 4 :00 pmExhibit Hall Open
10 :00 -11:00 amSession 8: Natural or Unnatural?
11:15 -NoonSession 9: Pesticide Food?
1:15 - 2 :00 pmSession 11: The Future
12 :15 -1:00 pmSession 10: Environment
10 :30 am- 5 :00 pmExhibit Hall Open
12 :00 am-1:00 pmSession 6: Testing
1:15 am- 2 :00 pmSession 7: Equivalence or Choice?
10 :30 am-11:30 pmSession 5: Dr. Science
11:15 am-1:00 pm Session 1: In the Beginning
2 :00 - 3 :00 pm Session 2: Favorite Foods
4 :15 - 5 :00 pm Session 4: Open Discussion
3 :15 - 4 :00 pm Session 3: Regulations
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305
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LowerLevel
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THURSDAY, JUNE 25TH
FRIDAY, JUNE 26TH
SATURDAY, JUNE 27TH
The Intellectual Honesty GE Foods Conference 2009 will be held at the Moscone Center. Seesions will take place in Moscone South located on the Esplanade Upper Level. Exhibitors will be in the exhibit hall located on the lower level in Moscone Center South.
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ROOF TOP ATYERBA BUENA GARDENS
FOLSOM STREET
FOU
RTH
STR
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MISSION STREET
THIR
D ST
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YERBA BUENA GARDENS ESPL ANDEYERBA BUENA
CENTER FOR THE ARTS
301 309
308 307
304 305
302 301 SOUTH
NORTH
300
South Lobby
North Lobby
SOUTH DRIVEWAY Antique Carousel
HOWARD STREET
METREON
NORTH DRIVEWAY
THEATER
GARDENS AND FORUM
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Facts about GE Foods:
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Genetic engineering is a natural extension of traditional breeding; just as conventional breeding allows us to combine the valuable traits within closely related species, genetic engineering allows scientists to access genes from a broader range of organisms to produce more valuable, productive crops and livestock.
Genetic engineering uses artificial laboratory techniques, rather than natural reproductive mechanisms, techniques which breach natural reproductive barriers and combine genes from distant species in ways that could never occur in nature, suddenly altering genetic patterns that have developed over millions of years, and greatly increasing the likelihood of unanticipated side effects.
Certain genetically engineered potatoes and corn produce their own Bt, a pesticide that protects the crop from insects, thus decreasing costs and increasing yield with no negative impact on human health.
These foods are regulated as pesticides by the EPA. When Bt is sold as a pesticide, people are warned not to swallow it, breathe it, or get it in cuts. Yet potatoes and corn produce their own Bt are sold with no human testing. The use of genetic engineering in agriculture will increase crop productivity, and thereby reducing the demand for agricultural land, while it will reduce the use of herbicides and pesticides, thereby reducing the damage done to the environment through modern agrichemical farming technologies.
Since genetically engineered soy and corn are used in many processed foods, it is estimated that over 70% of foods in grocery stores all over the U.S. and Canada contain genetically engineered ingredients.
All of the European Union nations, Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand and many other countries require the mandatory labeling of foods that contain genetically engineered ingredients. As a result, food manufacturers in all those countries choose to use non-genetically engineered ingredients.
All of the European Union nations, Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand and many other countries require the mandatory labeling of foods that contain genetically engineered ingredients. As a result, food manufacturers in all those countries choose to use non-genetically engineered ingredients.
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Our Sponsor
The Intellectual Honesty GE Foods Conference 2009 would not be possible without the generous support of The National Academy of Sciences. It is with sincere gratitude that we acknowledge our sponsor.
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is an honorific society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare.
The NAS was signed into being by President Abraham Lincoln on March 3, 1863, at the height of the Civil War. As mandated in its Act of Incorporation, the NAS has, since 1863, served to "investigate, examine, experiment, and report upon any subject of science or art" whenever called upon to do so by any department of the government. Scientific issues would become even more contentious and complex in the years following the war. To keep pace with the growing roles that science and technology would play in public life, the institution that was founded in 1863 eventually expanded to include the National Research Council in 1916, the National Academy of Engineering in 1964, and the Institute of Medicine in 1970. Collectively, the four organizations are known as the National Academies.
Since 1863, the nation's leaders have often turned to the National Academies for advice on the scientific and technological issues that frequently pervade policy
decisions. Most of the institution's science policy and technical work is conducted by its operating arm, the National Research Council, created expressly for this purpose. These non-profit organizations provide a public service by working outside the framework of government to ensure independent advice on matters of science, technology, and medicine. They enlist committees of the nation's top scientists, engineers, and other experts, all of whom volunteer their time to study specific concerns. The results of their deliberations have inspired some of America's most significant and lasting efforts to improve the health, education, and welfare of the population. The Academy's service to government has become so essential that Congress and the White House have issued legislation and executive orders over the years that reaffirm its unique role.
The Academy membership is composed of approximately 2,100 members and 380 foreign associates, of whom nearly 200 have won Nobel Prizes. Members and foreign associates of the Academy are elected in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research; election to the Academy is considered one of the highest honors that can be accorded a scientist or engineer. The Academy is governed by a Council consisting of twelve members (councilors) and five officers, elected from among the Academy membership. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is the president of the National Academy of Sciences.
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