GM foods explained

Presented by MADGE

Mothers are Demystifying Genetic Engineering

Who is MADGE?

• A network of mothers concerned about the introduction of GM foods and crops

• We want to be confident about the safety of our food

• We believe we have the right to know what is in our food

Getting to know you

Hands up if:

• You are a mother

• You are a farmer

• You are a councillor

• You feel like you already know a lot about GM

• You feel like you don’t know much about GM at all

GM on our plates & in our fields

• The Victorian government lifted the moratorium on growing GM crops in 2008

• Farmers can now grow GM canola

• What’s the situation? – Where are GM foods on our plates?

– Where are GM crops in our fields?

GM Crops in Australia

Can you tell the difference?

Neither can we and that’s the problem!

Non GM canola GM canola

The supermarket challenge • Are any of these foods GM?

Most GM foods aren’t labelled

You may have heard that GM foods are labelled, but…

• Most GM foods don’t need to be labelled, because of exemptions to labelling laws:

– Food from restaurants and food outlets

– Meat, dairy and eggs from animals fed GM

– Highly refined foods like sugars, starches & oils

– Additives, processing aids & flavours

– “Accidental” GM contamination up to 1% of ingredients

DNA, Genes & Proteins

• DNA - the ‘instructions for life’

• Genes thought of as sections of DNA with instructions for making particular proteins

• Proteins are large organic compounds that perform essential jobs and participate in every process within cells.

Genetic modification is not the same as traditional selective breeding

• Traditional selective breeding involves the union of 2 complete sets of whole chromosomes – DNA and all it’s binding proteins packed together

• Idea of GM = take a gene with a specific characteristic from one species and ‘insert’ it into a ‘host’ plant to give it that characteristic– Like moving lego blocks

around – simple!

• Genes, or pieces of DNA code, may be from a wide variety of life forms, or may be synthetic, or both

• They are chosen for a specific purpose or need

• There are two methods of ‘inserting’ DNA– The Agrobacterium Method– The Gene Gun Method

• Let’s demonstrate…

Selecting and Inserting the genes

Is it really that simple?

• Last year, 300 scientists from 4-year research project called ENCODE found that:

– The idea of one gene - one protein is wrong– Genes can combine in different ways to make

different proteins– Every part of the DNA is used

• “… we remain too ignorant of how the genome works to anticipate all the consequences, subtle or obvious, immediate or long-term, of those manipulations”

Professor David Suzuki, 2007 (Geneticist, Author, Environmentalist)

Are GM foods safe to eat?

We don’t know because…

• Our government regulatory authorities don’t independently test GM crops for health impacts before approval

• They make safety assessments by reviewing test data submitted by biotechnology companies

• There is no monitoring of the effects of GM food on public health

GM Crop Food Approvals - Australia

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Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ): Genetically Modified Foods & Their Approval Status, http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/foodmatters/gmfoods/gmcurrentapplication1030.cfm

Hospital admission rates for anaphylaxis in Australia have increased dramatically

Hospital admission rates for anaphylaxis - financial years 1993-94 to 2004-05

*Rate per million populationPaediatric food allergy trends in a community-based specialist allergy practice, 1995-2006, Raymond J Mullins, MJA Vol. 186 No. 12 pp 618-621

Anaphylaxis Admissions vs GM Crop Approvals

Is there a link between allergy increases and the introduction of GM foods?

Is there evidence of possible harm from GM foods?

• There are only a small number of independent safety studies of GM foods, but they have shown adverse effects

• Dr Judy Carman, nutritional biologist and epidemiologist

“Effects have been found on the liver, kidney, pancreas, testes, digestive system, respiratory system, immune function (including allergy) and reproduction”

Many scientists are concerned…

• “Governments should never have allowed these products into the food chain without insisting on rigorous testing for effects on health”

Editorial, The Lancet, 29 May 1999

• “There have been no studies into whether any of the millions of people who have been hospitalized or died since GM crops were introduced got ill due to eating these crops”

Dr Judy Carman, Canberra Times, 28 July 2008

World Scientists Statement

Scientists are extremely concerned about the hazards of GMOs to biodiversity, food safety, human and animal health, and demand a moratorium on environmental releases in accordance with the precautionary principle.

The statement has been signed by 828 scientists from 84 different countries, including:

Dr. David Bellamy, Biologist and Broadcaster, London, UKProf. Liebe Cavalieri, Mathematical Ecologist, Univ. Minnesota, USADr. Thomas S. Cox, Geneticist, US Dept. of Agriculture (retired), IndiaDr. Tewolde Egziabher, Spokesperson for African Region, EthiopiaDr. David Ehrenfeld, Biologist/Ecologist, Rutgers University, USADr. David Suzuki, Geneticist, David Suzuki Foundation, Univ. British Columbia, CanadaDr. Vandana Shiva, Theoretical Physicist and Ecologist, India

Questions we are entitled to ask

• Why haven’t studies showing adverse health effects of GM foods in animals been repeated?

• Why don’t our Government authorities carry out independent animal feeding studies before introducing GM crops into our food system?

• Why aren’t all GM foods labelled to facilitate traceability in the food system and monitoring of public health effects?

Crop and seed contamination

• Occurs through wind & insect pollination

• Canola seeds are the size of 100’s and 1000’s - contamination can occur during harvesting, storage and transport

• In Canada, 32 of 33 certified non-GM canola seed stocks were contaminated

—Agronomy Journal 95, 2003

• 216 cases of GM contamination have been recorded in 57 countries worldwide

Chaos on the ground

• Liability & insurance - who pays?

• Only VIC & NSW have lifted GM canola bans

• Non-GM farmers have concerns about the plan for segregating GM from non-GM crops

• Harvesters are concerned because it takes a week to ‘decontaminate’ a harvesting machine

• Beekeepers need to certify what their bees have fed on

• How can farmers certify crops as non-GM if they don’t know where GM crops are growing?

Who owns our food? Seeds & patents

• Farmers & gardeners have developed saved & swapped seeds for 1000’s of years

• Now domestic & international laws grant patents to corporations to ‘own’ seeds

• Farmers can’t save patented seeds

• In the 1970’s there were 1000’s of seed companies, now 10 companies own 57% of world trade in seed

Being a food detective

First the good news…

• We have lots of wonderful food in Australia that isn’t GM

– Fruit & vegetables– Pasture-fed meats & dairy– Australian-grown cereal crops (except canola from

November)– Foods labelled ‘Product of Australia’

• But ingredients like additives & enzymes may be imported & may be GM

• Cottonseed could be GM & canola from November

• Many producers have GM-free policies – look for the labels or call the information lines

• Organic foods are GM-free

What foods might be GM? • Australian cottonseed oil, ‘vegetable oil’ & (from November)

canola oil– Find out what your chips are cooked in

• All other GM will be imported, mostly from the Americas– The main international GM crops are soy, corn, canola and

cotton

• Look out for soy lecithin/protein, corn/maize syrup/starch – think laterally!

• A handful of soy lecithin is thrown into almost everything processed

• Food additives & processing enzymes

How can I avoid GM foods?

• Eat unprocessed foods – ‘make your own’ out of lovely Australian ingredients– Except for cottonseed oil and soon canola

• Use the Greenpeace True Food Guide

• Look for products labelled GM-free

• Buy from local farmers markets

• Buy organic

• Ring information numbers on food packaging

• Be a food detective!

If you’re concerned, what else can

you do? • Be informed - sign up to the MADGE newsletter

• Go through your cupboards, and contact food manufacturers to find out whether your foods contain GM ingredients– Tell MADGE what you find out, so we can let others know– Tell food manufacturers and retailers how you feel about GM

foods

• Tell food manufacturers and retailers how you feel about GM foods – Right now, Australian food companies are deciding whether

to use GM canola in their products

• Tell your State and Federal politicians your concerns• Sign the Greenpeace ‘GM Food - Our Right to Know’ petition

At the very least it is imperative that any GM produce be labelled

Stephanie Alexander

People have a right to know what they are eatingMargaret Fulton

If we are to get GM canola, it should be labelled, and if it is not labelled, we should all ask why

Dr Rosemary Stanton, Nutritionist

‘GM Food - Our Right to Know’

It’s our food, we need to act

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world

Margaret Mead