Text and Photos by Henrylito D. Tacio
Every second, three people are born, the United Nations Population Fund reports. Every 7.67 seconds, one hectare of productive land is lost, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
“Unless we are ready to accept starvation, or place parks and the Amazon basin under the plow, there really is only one good alternative: Discover ways to increase food production from existing resources,” points out Martina Newell-McGloughlin, director of the Biotechnology Research and Education Program of the University of California Systemwide.
Dr. Norman Borlaug, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1970, shared the same view. “Global food security will not disappear without the effective application of new technology,” he said. “To ignore this reality will make future solutions to food security all the more difficult to achieve.”
Biotechnology — which comes from the two combined words: “bio,” which stands for biology or the science of life; and “technology,” the tools and techniques used to achieve a particular purpose — has been promoted as the new scheme.
As defined, biotechnology is the manipulation of biological organisms to make products that benefit human beings. Its definition evolved through time and so its context and scope. With the advances in cell and molecular biology, biotechnology emerged from classical or traditional (examples: brewing, wine making, cheese making, etc.) to modern or advanced biotechnology.
Modern biotechnology is closely associated with recombinant DNA technology or genetic engineering, a high-end science seen as having tremendous potential to increase agricultural productivity.
“Biotechnology is by default our best and, maybe, only way to increase production to meet future food needs,” says Dr. McGloughlin.
Biotechnology, when used among crops, allows a scientist to choose and move the single characteristic he wants — it’s streamlined, efficient, and produces superior results. “The techniques used in modern plant biotechnology provide plant breeders with precise tools that permit them to introduce desirable characteristics into a plant,” explains a fact sheet published by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA).
“They do so without having unwanted or extra traits that occur with traditional plant breeding,” the ISAAA fact sheet adds. “Because of the control that’s afforded with plant biotechnology, scientists can examine introduced traits in great detail.”
In 1994, Calgene’s delayed-ripening tomato became the first genetically modified (GM) food crop to be produced and consumed in an industrialized country. Since then, several GM food crops have been introduced or currently being studied.
In the near future, the following crops will be available: rice enriched with iron, vitamin A and E, and lysine; potatoes with higher starch content and inulin; edible vaccines in corn, banana, and potatoes; corn varieties with low phytic acid and increased essential amino acids; healthier oils from soybean and canola; and allergen-free nuts.
But all is not rosy, however. “I believe that this kind of genetic modification takes mankind into realms that belong to God, and to God alone,” commented Philip Arthur George Charles — more popularly known as Prince Charles — in 1998.
“By transferring genes across species barriers which have existed for eons,” said Dr. Peter Wills, a theoretical biologist at Auckland University, “we risk breaching natural thresholds against unexpected biological processes.”
One potential risk of biotechnology is out-crossing, the unintentional breeding of domestic crops with a related plant. In 1999, it was also reported that pollen from biotech corn had a negative impact on Monarch butterfly larvae. Another concern is that biotech crops may lead to the development of insect resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), a common soil bacterium.
Then, there’s that question about allergen (a protein that causes an allergic reaction) from GM foods which could be accidentally introduced into a food product.
Some GM crops contain genes for a trait called antibiotic resistance. Scientists use this trait as a market to identify cells into which the desired gene has been successfully introduced. Concerns have been raised that these marker genes could move from GM crops to microorganisms that normally reside in a person’s gut and lead to an increase in antibiotic resistance.
On the potential risks of biotech crops on the environment, ISAAA has this answer: “The environmental and ecological concerns potentially associated with GM crops are evaluated prior to their release. In addition, post-approval monitoring and good agricultural systems need to be in place to detect and minimize potential risks, as well as to ensure GM crops continue to be safe after their release.”
As to the health issues, the Geneva-based World Health Organization gives this assurance: “The potential direct health effects of GM foods are generally comparable to the known risks associated with conventional foods, and include, for example, the potential of allergenicity and toxicity of components present, and the nutritional quality and microbiological safety of the food.”
“Despite the current uncertainty over GM crops, one thing remains clear,” the ISAAA fact sheet claims. “This technology, with its potential to create economically important crop varieties, is simply too valuable to ignore. There are, however, some valid concerns. If these issues are to be resolved, decisions must be based on credible, science-based information.” —
