we must go GM ???

A Sabu
kera|a 8|otechno|ogy Comm|ss|on
1h|ruvananthapuram 4
drsabuQgma||com
wwwb|otechcomm|ss|onkera|agov|n
Jhat are GMCs
W CM ls a speclal seL of Lechnologles LhaL alLer
Lhe geneLlc makeup of llvlng organlsms
W geneLlcally modlfled" geneLlcally
englneered" or Lransgenlc"
GM 1echno|ogy
W 1radlLlonal" geneLlcs cross breedlng new
muLaLlons among Lhe genes
W CeneLlc englneerlng allows sclenLlsLs Lo
selecL a slngle gene
1echn|ques for GM
1 So|| bacter|um flrsL geneLlc englneer"
2 8|o||st|cs uses a gun Lo flre Lhe deslred
gene
3 rotop|asts planL cell walls removed
GMCs have w|despread app||cat|ons
W Dsed ln blologlcal and medlcal research
W roducLlon of pharmaceuLlcal drugs
experlmenLal medlclne (eg gene Lherapy) and
agrlculLure (eg golden rlce)
W 1he broadesL appllcaLlon of CMC Lechnology ls
paLenLproLecLed food crops whlch are reslsLanL
Lo commerclal herblcldes or are able Lo produce
pesLlcldal proLelns from wlLhln Lhe planL
Monsanto the monopo|y
W 1he largesL share of Lhe CM crops planLed
globally are owned by MonsanLo
W ln 2008 MonsanLo Company sald lLs quarLerly
proflL nearly Lrlpled helped by sLrengLh ln lLs
corn seed and herb|c|de buslnesses
GM An|ma|s
W 1ransgenlc anlmals are also becomlng useful
commerclally
W Cn 6
Lh
lebruary 2009 Lhe DS lood and urug
AdmlnlsLraLlon approved Lhe flrsL human
blologlcal drug produced from such an anlmal a
goaL
W 1he drug A1ryn ls an anLlcoagulanL whlch
reduces Lhe probablllLy of blood cloLs durlng
surgery or chlldblrLh
W lL ls exLracLed from Lhe goaLs mllk
1ransgen|c m|crobes
W acLerla were Lhe flrsL organlsms Lo be modlfled ln Lhe lab
W Dsed for several purposes and are parLlcularly lmporLanL
ln produclng large amounLs of pure human proLelns for
use ln medlclne
W CeneLlcally modlfled bacLerla are used Lo produce Lhe
proLeln lnsulln Lo LreaL dlabeLes
W acLerla have been used Lo produce cloLLlng facLors Lo
LreaL haemophllla
W Puman growLh hormone Lo LreaL varlous forms of
dwarflsm
W 8ecomblnanL proLelns are safer Lhan Lhe producLs Lhey
replaced
ebate must focus on
W Puman and envlronmenLal safeLy
W esLlclde appllcaLlon
W Labellng and consumer cholce
W lnLellecLual properLy rlghLs
W LLhlcs
W lood securlLy
W overLy reducLlon
W LnvlronmenLal conservaLlon
otent|a| 8enef|ts
% A soluLlon for World Punger
% 8educe number of chlldren aL rlsk for vlLamlnA
deflclencylnduced bllndness (le Colden 8lce)
% lncrease crop ylelds slgnlflcanLly (le Perblclde
LoleranL/lnsecL 8eslsLanL crops)
% lmprovemenL ln nuLrlLlonal ConLenL (le Leaner
meaL added vlLamlns/mlnerals)
otent|a| k|sks
% Lnv|ronmenta| harm
CeneLlc conLamlnaLlon of Lhe envlronmenL
LffecLs on non LargeL Specles (le Monarch
buLLerfly)
lrreverslble dlsrupLlon of Lhe LarLh's
blosphere
A MonoculLure problem
luLure need for even greaLer pesLlclde use
otent|a| k|sks CCN1
% Lconom|c]o||t|ca|
ConsolldaLlon of conLrol over food producLlon
(MonsanLo's LermlnaLor seed")
1hreaL Lo organlc farmers
8egulaLlon process for fuLure Lechnologles?
otent|a| k|sks CCN1
% nea|th Safety
negaLlve change ln nuLrlLlonal ConLenL
Allergenlc poLenLlal
osslble lllness
% ersona| Impacts
ersonal appreclaLlon/undersLandlng
8ellglous/Moral lssues
Lack of auLhorlLy ln our llves/lndlvldual cholce
SclenLlsLs ?
W SclenLlsLs are empowered by Cod Lo
undersLand naLure and use sclence and
Lechnology Lo lmprove Lhe human
condlLlon
W lL ls lmporLanL Lo lmprove Lhe world or
sLrlke a balance beLween lmprovlng and
preservlng lL
1he role of socleLy
W Lncouraglng dlscovery lnnovaLlon and careful
regulaLlon of CM Lechnology
W 1he rlghLs of people ln varlous counLrles Lo
choose Lo adopL CM Lechnology
W Dt|||tar|an cons|derat|onLhe balance of llkely
beneflLs over harms Lo consumers and Lhe
envlronmenL from CM Lechnology
es CM Lechnology can be eLhlcally
sound lf
1) Dnlform lnLernaLlonal regulaLlon of Lhe
Lechnology ls lmplemenLed lmmedlaLely
2) ClLlzens are lnformed (vla conslsLenL labellng)
and choose (Lhrough governmenL or
purchaslng cholces) Lo adopL Lhe Lechnology
3) Lhe llkely beneflLs exceed Lhe poLenLlal harm
Lo Lhe LoLal ecology
lacLs on 1 rln[al
W rln[al growlng sLaLes have expressed
reservaLlon on Lhe lnLroducLlon of L brln[al
W Lack of evldence ln Lerms of commerclal
beneflLs Lo Lhe farmer
W LxperL CommlLLee reporL clearly menLlons Lhe
slgnlflcanL decrease ln pesLlclde spray
lncreased markeLable yleld and Lhe pro[ecLed
economlc galn Lo Lhe farmer ln quanLlLaLlve
Lerms
SLeps ln Lhe developmenL of L rln[al
cry 1AC aga|nst Iru|t Shoot 8orer
1npt11 gene aad gene kanamyc|n Streptomyc|n]Spect|nomyc|n se|ected markers
Lxpress|on and Stab|||ty
2 Lnv|ronmenta| Safety Assessment
a oLenLlal gene Lransfer Lo wlld relaLlves
b LxLenL of ouL crosslng pollen flow
c Cene Lransfer from brln[al Lo oLher planLs
d Cene Lransfer from brln[al Lo oLher organlsms
e oLenLlal for relaLlve weedlness of L rln[al evenL LLl
f lmpacL on nonLargeL organlsms lncludlng soll lmpacL
3 Iood and Safety assessment
a 1oxlclLy and allergenlclLy (Skln mucous membrane LesLs)
b ulgesLlve faLe (cry1AC npL11)
c ComposlLlonal analysls
d leed Lo rabblLs flsh chlcken goaL cow
SclenLlflc analysls or LmoLlonal
proLesLs ?
W rotests were by and |arge dom|nated by
emot|ona| crowds |ead by act|v|sts
emonstrat|ons |n street corners
or
more effect|ve |nteract|on w|th a ||m|ted group
represent|ng a||
Chronlc 1oxlclLy
W L proLelns geL degraded ln Lhe acldlc sLomach of
Lhe mammal whereas lL geLs acLlvaLed under Lhe
alkallne condlLlons of Lhe guL ln Lhe pesLs
W lL geLs degraded durlng cooklng
W lLs peneLrance ln Lhe soll and mlcroflora ls noL of
real concern
W ln splLe of all Lhese argumenLs Lhe chronlc LoxlclLy
LesLs ln rodenLs need Lo be carrled ouL for 6
monLhs Lo a year Lo saLlsfy Lhe requlremenL
lood SafeLy evaluaLlon of
CM coLLon seed ln lndla
ComposlLlon of coLLon seed/oll comparable Lo four non
L hybrlds and oLher convenLlonal varleLles
AllergeneclLy ln rown norway raLs noL observed
AllergeneclLy poLenLlal ln gulnea plg model noL seen
LvaluaLlon ln chlcken and lndlan caL flsh for nuLrlLlon effecLs Slmllar ln L
and non L groups
L coLLon seed effecL on food lnLake mllk producLlon and composlLlon ln
lacLaLlng waLer buffaloes for a perlod of 28 days no dlfference beLween
1 nonL
Cry 1Ac proLeln presenL ln crude coLLon seed oll buL below deLecLlon llmlLs
ln purlfled oll
lood SafeLy evaluaLlon of
CM rln[al ln lndla
L brln[al conLalns Cry 1Ac gene effecLlve agalnsL frulL and shooL borer (leoclooJes otbooolls
nellcovetpo otmlqeto)
Chemlcal composlLlon ln frulL leaf sLem and rooL Llssues of brln[al planL subsLanLlally
equlvalenL Lo nonL conLrol
L rln[al ls nonallergenlc and conLalns no new allergenlc compd
AcuLe oral LoxlclLy sLudy ln Sprague uawley raLs no LoxlclLy observed
Subchronlc (90 days) LoxlclLy sLudy ln Sprague uawley raLs nonLoxlc
ln Lhe anlmal by oral rouLe
Subchronlc (90 days) oral LoxlclLy ln goaLs fed ln dleL for 90 days no
LoxlclLy observed
Subchronlc (90 days) oral LoxlclLy ln rabblL no dlfference beLween L
and nonL brln[al frulL fed groups
LnvlronmenLal lmpacL
sLudles of L rln[al
CrowLh uevelopmenL no dlfference ln agronomlc or morphologlcal LralLs as
compared Lo nonL brln[al
ollen llow Maxlmum of 1320 meLers
ouLcrosslng 14627 lndlcaLlng no posslblllLy of gene flow
Agresslveness or weedlness no aggresslveness or weedlness noLlced
durlng monlLorlng
Soll analysls no dlfference ln soll bacLerlal and fungl counLs and
soll lnverLebraLes beLween L brln[al and nonL brln[al groups
LffecL on nonLargeL organlsms no effecL on nonLargeL pesLs and
beneflclal lnsecLs
Maklng commenLs on CM
W A vast ma[or|ty |nc|ud|ng sc|ent|sts are
offer|ng comments w|thout ser|ous study on
the matter
W 1ake dec|s|ons |n the best |nterest of the
nat|on gu|ded by
W genu|ne sc|ent|f|c |nputs rather than
attempt|ng a Consensus
ConducL Lrlals on CM crops before
Laklng hasLy declslons
W 1he tr|a|s shou|d be carr|ed out |n d|fferent
env|ronmenta| cond|t|ons
W 8t br|n[a| may affect the r|ch b|od|vers|ty of
th|s vegetab|e
W 1he examp|e g|ven |s 8t cotton wh|ch |s
dom|nat|ng over non8t cotton |n the
country
Some sLrange polnLs
W Lven ln Lhe case of nonLransgenlc crops
farmers prefer only cerLaln varleLles and
hybrlds?
W WhaL happens Lo blodlverslLy ln Lhese cases
@ls ls te ptlce te soclety os to poy evet sloce moo
stotteJ ptoctlcloq oqtlcoltote totqetloq speclflc
votletles ooJ ybtlJs
1he lssue of blodlverslLy wlLh respecL Lo
Lransgenlc crops carrylng a couple of Lransgenes
W PorlzonLal and verLlcal Lransmlsslon of genes Laklng place ln naLure
all Lhe Llme ln evoluLlonary scale
W Pow dld Lhe 2000 varleLles of brln[al evolve?
W Can any one deflne a pure unadulLeraLed llne of rlce ln Lerms of Lhe
genome?
W Pow ls Lhe blodlverslLy affecLed even lf a couple of Lransgenes were
Lo reach an unlnLended LargeL unless Lhe Lransgene ls a klller
W L brln[al ls noL a klller weed
W CreaLe blodlverslLy parks all over Lhe counLry Lo preserve rare
varleLles of selecLed planL specles
Why should we LargeL CM crops
W kad|at|on mutagenes|s |s a standard pract|ce
|n hybr|d deve|opment
W Jhy the oppos|t|on on|y to a part|cu|ar
method of gene transfer?
We need Lo be cauLlous
W 1he envlronmenL has Lo be consLanLly
monlLored for evoluLlon of mlnor pesLs as
ma[or
W Crop roLaLlon needs Lo be sclenLlflcally
planned
W L crop ls ldeal Lo be parL of lM
Why can'L we ?
W ubllshed lnformaLlon already avallable on Lhe safeLy of L
Loxlns Lo humans and anlmals
W L corn ls belng consumed across Lhe globe for over a
decade
W AparL from ln caLLle feed Lhe breakfasL cereal ln norLh
Amerlca also conLalns L corn
W 1he greaLesL proof of safeLy of L gene ls Lhe long Lerm
consumpLlon of L corn ln many counLrles wlLhouL any
conflrmed and auLhenLlcaLed lll effecLs Lo Lhe publlc
CM lood producLs ln Lhe markeL
W kellogg's Corn llakes
W Pelnz aby Cereal
W nesLle CarnaLlon lnfanL lormula
W Cuaker Chewy Cranola ars
W DlLra Sllm lasL
W AunL !emlma ancake Mlx
W Alpo ury eL lood
W Mcuonald's Mcveggle urger
W Cld Ll aso 1aco Shells
MonsanLo share
W 8t br|n[a| has been deve|oped by Mahyco |n wh|ch Monsanto has a stake of
26 1he gene be|ongs to Monsanto
W r|or|ty needs to be g|ven
W Lo Lhe commerclallzaLlon of lndlgenously developed Lransgenlc producLs
Cha||enge to Sc|ent|sts
W Pave Lo face Lhe Lough requlremenLs of CLAC
W ConsLanL lnLerference by acLlvlsLs dlrecLly or lndlrecLly
W Supreme courL rullng allowed on golng Lrlals buL noL on newer Lrlals
W laclng an uncerLaln fuLure ln Lerms of publlcaLlons and career advancemenL
(publlc secLor) and survlval (prlvaLe company)
W Pamper lndlgenous developmenL of commerclal capablllLles?
Why we are agalnsL 1ransgenlc
8ubber lanL ?
Chlnese ollcy
Chlna has goL a dual pollcy
W Approved speclflc CM producLs developed by MnCs
(egCM corn and Soya) whlle developlng lLs own L
rlce
W MonsanLo already opened Lhelr research cenLer ln
el[lng
%,oosooto os to moke o commltmeot to collobotote
wlt cloese scleotlsts oo oJvooceJ blotec ooJ
bteeJloq tecooloqy)
uL we are drlven by emoLlonal acLlvlsm
CLAC ?
W Ind|a needs an |ndependent author|ty to
eva|uate and approve the tr|a|s as we|| as to
mon|tor the performance of GM crops |n the
f|e|d after commerc|a||zat|on
W CreaLe lndependenL and dedlcaLed
experlmenLal faclllLles Lo monlLor and
evaluaLe CM crops
Can we say no ?
W nearly 23 counLrles lncludlng Lurope have
gone for Lhls Lechnology
W L coLLon has convlnced many farmers Lo go for
Lhls Lechnology
W Success of L brln[al would convlnce publlc of
Lhe beneflLs of Lhls Lechnology
W L 8lce wlLh lmproved nuLrlLlon and ablllLy Lo
grow ln low ralnfall and sallne soll would
revoluLlonallze lndlan AgrlculLure
lndlan lnsLlLuLlons worklng on CM1
W Mahyco 1nAD DAS (uhrawad) nunhems lndla 8asl
nuzlweedu
W Ankur !k Seed lC8lSA1 MonsanLo Mumbal C8l
nlC8 n8CS
W lA8l MeLahellx e[o SheeLal DuSC lCCL eLc
Crops
W rln[al Cabbage Caullflower CoLLon CroundnuL
Malze
W Chlckpea MusLard Ckra lgeon ea oLaLo 8lce
Sorghum
W 1omaLo
uo noL klll Lhe 1echnology
CM ls only an lnnovaLlve approach Lo provlde
a Lechnologlcal soluLlon buL lL should noL be
made a scape goaL lf Lhere ls fallure else
where
1 vs non 1
80 reducLlon ln lnsecLlclde use and
130 enhancemenL ln yleld
Annual pesLlclde consumpLlon ln Lhe
counLry
W 30000 MeLrlc 1ones (8s 3300 crores)
W CoLLon 34
W 8lce 17
W lrulLs and vegeLables 13
W ulses and oll crops 8
W lanLaLlon 8
SCCICLCCNCMIC ASSLSSMLN1 CI 8t
8kINIAL
W Wlll reduce use of lnsecLlcldes and lncrease Lhe
markeLable yleld
W AggregaLe economlc galns around DS$108
mllllon per year
W eneflLs for farmers healLh from reduced
lnsecLlclde
W worLh an addlLlonal $34 mllllon per year
(krlshna Calm 2008)
luLure demand for food gralns
emand for 2020 (m||||on tonnes)
W 1 lannlng Commlsslon 247 mllllon Lonnes
W 2 CLher sLudles 233 Lo 280
AL Lhe same Llme
|e|d of the food crops p|ateu|ng
8|ot|c Ab|ot|c stresses |ncreas|ng
Natura| resources are degrad|ng
C||mate change has further compounded the prob|em
G|oba| cerea| demand |n 2020 to |ncrease by 40
Crop |mprovement programs to be pursued v|gorous|y mak|ng
8|otechno|ogy GM crop as a ma[or partner
8eallLy
W CM crop ls noL a panacea buL can we feed ever
growlng populaLlon wlLhouL deploylng Lhls
Lechnology?
W Slmllar ouLcry was ralsed when hybrlds were
released and ln early 1970s abouL research on
runA creaLlon of deadly vlruses wlplng ouL
human race eLc
W vacclnes based on runA Lechnology are
accepLed Why noL ln AgrlculLure
Nature has been transferr|ng
genes
Sc|ence |ed agr|cu|ture
uomesLlcaLlon
SelecLlon
reedlng Pv
Pybrlds
1ransgenlcs (CM)
the wor|d |s grow|ng fast
W lf we wanL Lo reduce sLarvaLlon and feed Lhe
world we musL go CM
W More mouLhs Lo feed means more food
W Slnce 1970 Lhe per caplLa consumpLlon of
calorles ln Chlna has leapL by 30 per cenL ln
lndla by 23 per cenL
W ueveloplng counLrles demand for meaL grew
Lo Lhreefold
thank you