Biocontainment of genetically modified organisms
Since the advent of
Overview
In the context of agriculture and food and feed production, co-existence means using cropping systems with and without genetically modified crops in parallel. In some countries, such as the United States, co-existence is not governed by any single law but instead is managed by regulatory agencies and tort law. In other regions, such as Europe, regulations require that the separation and the identity of the respective food and feed products must be maintained at all stages of the production process.
Many consumers are critical of genetically modified plants and their products, while, conversely, most experts in charge of GMO approvals do not perceive concrete threats to health or the environment. The compromise chosen by some countries - notably the European Union - has been to implement regulations specifically governing co-existence and traceability. Traceability has become commonplace in the food and feed supply chains of most countries in the world, but the traceability of GMOs is made more challenging by the addition of very strict legal thresholds for unwanted mixing. Within the European Union, since 2001, conventional and organic food and feedstuffs can contain up to 0.9% of authorised GM material without being labelled GM[1] (any trace of non-authorised GM products would cause shipments to be rejected[1][2]).
In the United States there is no legislation governing the co-existence of neighboring farms growing organic and GM crops; instead the US relies on a "complex but relaxed" combination of three federal agencies (FDA, EPA, and USDA/APHIS) and the common law tort system, governed by state law, to manage risks of co-existence.[3]: 44
Containment measures
To limit mixing in the first stages of production, researchers and politicians are developing codes of good agricultural practice for GM crops. In addition to the thorough cleaning of machinery, recommended measures include the establishment of "isolation distances" and "pollen barriers". Isolation distances are the minimum distances required between GM and non-GM cultivations for most of the GM pollen to fall to the ground before reaching non-GM plants. Pollen barriers attempt actively catch pollen, and can consist of hedges and trees which physically hinder pollen movement. Pollen barriers consisting of conventional crops of the same species as the GM crop have a special advantage, as the conventional plants not only physically limit the GM pollen flow, but also produce competitive, conventional pollen. During harvest, the buffer strip of conventional crops is considered part of the GM crop yield.[4]
Biological approaches
In addition to agricultural measures, there may be also biological tools to prevent the genetically modified crop from fertilising conventional fields. Researchers are investigating methods either to prevent GM crops from producing pollen at all (for example
While SIGMEA was focused on co-existence at the farm level, Co-Extra studies co-existence along the whole production chain, and has a second focus on the traceability of GMOs, since co-existence cannot work without traceability. To be able to monitor and enforce compliance with co-existence regulations, authorities require the ability to trace, detect and identify GMOs.
Regulation and policy
The development of a regulatory framework concerning genetic engineering began in 1975, at
In 1982 the
The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety was adopted on 29 January 2000 and entered into force on 11 September 2003.[11] It is an international treaty that governs the transfer, handling, and use of genetically modified (GM) organisms. It is focussed on movement of GMOs between countries and has been called a de facto trade agreement.[12] One hundred and fifty-seven countries are members of the Protocol and many use it as a reference point for their own regulations.[13]
In the face of continuing concerns about the economic losses that might be suffered by organic farmers by unintended intermixing, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture convened an Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture (AC21) to study the issue and make recommendations as to whether to address these concerns and if so, how. economic losses to farmers caused by unintended presence of genetically engineered materials, as well as how such mechanisms might work. The members of AC21 included representatives of the biotechnology industry, the organic food industry, farming communities, the seed industry, food manufacturers, State government, consumer and community development groups, the medical profession, and academic researchers. The AC21 recommended that a study should be conducted to answer the question of whether and to what extent there are any economic losses to US organic farmers; recommended that if the losses are serious, that a crop insurance program for organic farmers be put in place, and that an education program should be undertaken to ensure that organic farmers are putting appropriate contracts in place for their crops and that neighboring GM crop farmers are taking appropriate containment measures. Overall the report supported a diverse agriculture system in which many different farming systems could co-exist.[14][15]
Compensation for failure to maintain separation
Since GM-free products yield higher prices in many countries,
Notable escapes
Mixing can occur already at the agricultural stage. Fundamentally, two reasons exist for the presence of GMOs in the harvest of a non-GM cultivation: first, that the seed has been contaminated already or, secondly, that the plants in the non-GM field have received pollen from neighbouring GM fields. Mixing may also occur post-harvest, anywhere in the production chain.[20][21]
1990s
In 1997,
In 1999 scientists in Thailand claimed they discovered glyphosate-resistant genetically modified wheat that was not yet approved for release in a grain shipment from the Pacific Northwest of the United States, even though transgenic wheat had never been approved for sale and was only ever grown in test plots. No one could explain how the transgenic wheat got into the food supply.[26]
2000s
In 2000,
In 2005, scientists at the UK
In 2006, American exports of rice to Europe were interrupted when the U.S. crop was contaminated with rice containing the
In 2007, the U.S. Department of Agriculture fined Scotts Miracle-Gro $500,000 when modified genetic material from
In 2009 the government of Mexico created a regulatory pathway for approval of
2010s
A study published in 2010 by scientists at the
In 2013,
References
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External links
- Co-Extra – EU research programme on co-existence and traceability along the whole production chain
- SIGMEA – EU research programme on co-existence in agriculture
- Transcontainer – EU research programme on biological containment systems for genetically modified plants Archived 2011-09-26 at the Wayback Machine
- GMO-Compass – facts, numbers, and news about GM crops in Europe
- Research projects: Biological confinement of new genes - methods for containing the spread of genetically modified plants