Transcript Main title slide - Mothers are Demystifying Genetic

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
Non GM canola
GM canola
Can you tell the difference?
Neither can we and that’s the problem!
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!
Selecting and Inserting the genes
• 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…
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
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Number of GM Crops Approved
Through the Food System
GM Crop Food Approvals
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 population
Paediatric 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
Anaphylaxis Admissions vs GM
Crop
Approvals
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, UK
Prof. Liebe Cavalieri, Mathematical Ecologist, Univ. Minnesota, USA
Dr. Thomas S. Cox, Geneticist, US Dept. of Agriculture (retired), India
Dr. Tewolde Egziabher, Spokesperson for African Region, Ethiopia
Dr. David Ehrenfeld, Biologist/Ecologist, Rutgers University, USA
Dr. David Suzuki, Geneticist, David Suzuki Foundation, Univ. British Columbia, Canada
Dr. 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
‘GM Food - Our Right to Know’
At the very least it is imperative that any GM produce
be labelled
Stephanie Alexander
People have a right to know what they are eating
Margaret 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
It’s our food, we need to act
Never doubt that a small group of
thoughtful, committed citizens can
change the world
Margaret Mead