Editorial – Page 5

Plenish Soybeans and the Genetic Reduction of Trans Fats in Oil Use

Soybeans are an incredibly useful crop necessary around the world for their protein content and their use in creating oils. However, the health liabilities of using soybean oil cause a danger to the public- soybean, when cooked or fried on intense heat create trans-fat- and so DuPont has created “Plenish” soybeans genetically engineered to reduce the amount of trans-fat in their soy.

To put into perspective how in demand soybean oil is, the website Soyconnection states in their article “Soybean Oil Uses and Overview” that, due to its use in numerous food products such as margarine, shortenings, mayonnaise, salad dressings, frozen foods, imitation dairy and meat, and baked goods, soybean oil is the most highly used food oil in America and takes up 55% of the market of vegetable oils. While this is obviously good for those in the industry there is a problem with such widespread use of soybeans as oil- the health content.

As reported on GMO-Compass.org, the amount of oleic content available in soybeans is around 23% with higher linoleic acid content. Genetically modified soybeans have a much higher available amount of oleic content at 86%, with a correspondingly lower amount of linoleic acid. The report, “Soya Bean”, goes on to state that it is the linoleic acid that causes the formation of trans fat during the high temperature heating/frying process, and that soybeans like Plenish form less trans-fat as a result.

The health benefits do not end there. The article “A GMO Soybean, Engineered to Improve Your Health” on fastcoexist.com reports that in addition to lessening the amount of trans-fat, the higher oleic acid content contributes in other ways. The monounsaturated fatty acid is already a main component of heart healthy oils in general, and they contain lower saturated fats in addition to trans-fats, which are culprits in exacerbating high blood pressure. Furthermore, oleic acid plays a large role in maintaining the shelf life of soybean products, improving it to about two to three times the length of normal soybean oil products on the market.

There’s a practical farming benefit to the use of modified soybeans over, say, high oleic canola oil. Soybeans are both a highly planted crop, taking up lots of farming space, and they are also very resilient, allowing much of the crop to be harvested even in times of hardships or distress. Making healthier soybeans used in the majority of vegetable oils then aims to be a win-win scenario: there are more plentiful and resilient soybeans to be used in the most produced type of oil in America.

Time will tell if it catches on, though. As the fastcoexist article goes on to mention, unfortunately for DuPont their visual of popular low trans-fat products took too long to make a reality. Because of the time it takes for genetically modified plants to pass rigorous testing and inspections, not only has rival Monsanto come out with their own version named “Vistive Gold”, but producers of other oil products (like that of the aforementioned canola oil) have already moved to corner the market on less trans-fat oils. In addition to that, the stigma surrounding the use of genetically modified plant products, with modified soybeans being a particular focus, has limited the planting and sale of the Plenish soybeans on the world market. There is hope that soybeans can serve as an ambassador of sorts about the wondrous benefits of genetic modification, but in case there isn’t enough interest or market share left for them as edibles there one more option- industrial uses, like use in foam packing and hydraulic fluid.

Sources:

United Soybean Board. (2016). Soybean Uses and Overview. SoyConnection.

Gmo-Compass. (2010). USA: New GM soybean with higher oleic acid content approved. Gmo-Compass.org.

Schwartz, A. (2014). A GMO Soybean, Engineered To Improve Your Health. Fastcoexist.

Examining Inborn Defenses against Pests in Leptra Corn

One of the most prevalent traits of genetically modified plants is their ability to resist insects that would normally consume and destroy the plant. One recent addition to the family of gmo plants created to protect itself from insects is a hybrid plant created by DuPont Pioneer and is known as Optimum Leptra. The website states that the modification is to the corn plant and is designed to reduce the ear feeding of lepidopteran pests which delivers cleaner ears with less kernel damage and that it eliminates the major risk of development of molds and mycotoxins in harvested grain (“Optimum Leptra Hybrids”).

An article by Clarin Rural, covering news in the Latin American regions, talked about how the corn will soon be introduced in Argentina after having the Ministry of Agro Industry approve the marketing of the plant (“Resistant corn comes with four transgenic events”). The article gives more details on the function of the modifications, stating that two of the events protect against stem borer and isoca Tang, a double event for protection against fall armyworm and glufosinate ammonium with a room for glyphosate. The corn has already been made available in Brazil and hopes carry to better yields with it in Argentina.

In the United States the protections on the crop protect it from different pests. In the article “DuPont Pioneer releases Optimum Leptra Hybrid” on AGProfessional, in the United States the insects repelled by the modifications of the corn include European and Southwestern corn borers, the corn earworm, and black and western bean cutworms. In the article, penned by the DuPont Pioneer Company, they cite figures of 98% reduction in ear feeding damage using their crops. The plants are also resistant to herbicides, protecting them from more types of poison control.

Some of the traits found in the corn have long been used in other genetically modified plants produced by DuPont, and have long known mechanisms for working. For example, Herculex I, a trait available in Leptra to kill bugs functions by being ingested by larva who feed on the modified plant. The protein binds to receptors in the gut of the larva and causing a series of reactions which ultimately lead to the death of the larva (“Herculex FAQ”).

As with any genetically modified food, of course, there are questions about the effects these different traits may have on the ecology around it. Modified plants that have natural pesticides and that are resistant to herbicides and pesticides have been shown to cause resistant strains of weeds and pest insects to survive and reproduce, causing a drop in the effectiveness of the traits modified in the plants. The article “How pesticides develop” by Michigan State University explained that worldwide more than 500 species of pests have developed a resistance to pesticides due to the growth of resistance among their populations.

Even so, the Clarin Rural article goes on to state that the importance of the Leptra crop is that, since it has so many different resistance traits it makes it easier to rotate the amount of herbicides and pesticides needed for cultivating the crop. In addition, the natural pest defenses the corn has should also reduce the amount of poison needed as it is targets the greatest pests that threaten the growth of corn plants in the regions the crop is planted in. All of these different additions may prove to be fundamental in helping feed a world that is highly defendant on its corn plants on production, if they can get past the stigma of genetic modification and scientific uncertainty.

Sources:

Clarin. (2016). Argentina approves new GMO corn with four traits for insect, pesticide resistance. Genetic Literacy Poroject.

Dow AgroSciences. (2016). Herculex I FAQ. DowAgro.

DuPont Pioneer. (2013). DuPont Pioneer releases Optimum Leptra hybrid. AGProfessional.

Gut, L., Schilder, A., Isaacs, R., & McManus, P. (2016). How Pesticide Resistance Develops. Michigan State University.

Pioneer. (2016). Optimum Leptra Hybrids. DuPont Pioneer.

Arctic Apples and the Benefit of Modified Aesthetics

Humans are a visually driven species, now more than ever. The unfortunate result of this has implications through numerous parts of our society, including the food we eat. According to a National Geographic article, “How Ugly Fruits and Vegetables Can Help Solve World Hunger”, 27.5% of all fruits in North America are thrown away either by distributors or consumers at home before they can be eaten, often due to the fruit being damaged or “ugly”. Arctic Apples, a creation of Okanagan Specialty Fruits in Canada, hopes to keep their apples from being discarded due to ugliness through a genetically modified trait they added in- “non-browning” of their apples.

Scientific American explains that apple browning occurs when an apple is sliced into or bruised it introduces oxygen into the cells that activates enzymes called polyphenol oxidase or PPO enzymes in their chloroplasts. These enzymes rapidly oxidize phenolic compounds into something called o-quinones that produce the browning by reacting to form amino acids (“Why do apple slices turn brown after being cut”). It is that browning, resulting from bruising during picking, transportation, and handling, which often has distributors trashing apples without giving them a chance. Then at the home, when a consumer cuts into the apple the browning may be enough to cause them to trash the apple themselves, and it is these two phenomena that led to the introduction of the Arctic Apples that are trying to avoid the fate that befalls so many others altogether.

The way Arctic Apples were created is simple, based on the information Okanagan Specialty Fruits provides on its website. By modifying four specific apple genes in a petri dish the company was able to silence the ability of the apple to produce PPO, which means that when the apple is bruised or sliced and oxygen is introduced there is very little to no ability of the apple to go through the process that leads its browning. With the successful application of the genetic modification the company has developed apple trees which it is planting to grow more of their Arctic Apples to put on the market.

On the website again, the question is answered about whether PPO and the action of browning serves any purpose for apples naturally. The website states that in tomatoes the high amount of PPO is used defensively to protect the fruit from pests, but given that apples produce comparatively less PPO the company theorises that it is just a left over artifact of its development. For its part, the earlier Scientific American article states that brown coloration we are used to and in fact desire- in our teas, coffee, and cocoa- are the product of the PPO process as well.

A Cnet article, “Non-browning apples may be on store shelve soon(ish)” reports that the entire process of creating the Arctic Apples and putting them through the rigorous testing standards to be allowed in store shelves took over ten years. However, even given all that work there could still be many more years until the apples are widely released, and in 2016 the apples are being tried out in test markets to assess viability.

Despite the seeming simplicity of the engineering involved in Arctic Apples, there is still backlash against the fruit. An EcoWatch article, “3 Companies Say No to GMO”, states that Wendy’s, McDonalds, and Gerber have all said they don’t plan on using any Arctic Apples in their apple slice meal options. Even on their website there are dozens of comments going back and forth about the danger of cross pollination of the apples with non-modified trees and whether they present any danger to human consumption or other use. Only time will tell whether Arctic Apples can help to dramatically reduce food waste as advertised.

Sources:

Friends of the Earth. (2015). 3 Companies Say ‘No’ to GMO Arctic Apples. EcoWatch. Kooser, A. (2015). Non-browning apples may be on store shelves soon(ish). CNet.

Okanagan Specialty Fruits. (2016). How’d we “make” a nonbrowning apple? Arctic Apples.

Royte, E. (2016). How ‘Ugly’ Fruits and Vegetables Can Help Solve World Hunger. National Geographic.

Scientific American. (2007). Why do apple slices turn brown after being cut? Scientific American.

Revisiting the Usefulness of Aesthetic Genetic Modifications with Innate Potatoes

Innate potatoes, developed by the agency J.R. Simplot, are the first genetically modified potatoes to be approved by the FDA for consumption. The potatoes have a wide verity of inserted genes added for the benefit of the crop, the farmers growing them, and consumers who purchase them. In the article “What Varieties of Potato are GMO?” on Livestrong, it is reported that the potatoes come in three different varieties- Ranger Russett, Russett Burbank, and Atlantic. Also in the report it was listed that, in their March 2015 press release about their evaluation of the crop and decision that the potatoes passed criteria such as toxicity, potential for allergic reaction, stability of unintended side effect, and more.

The main benefit that is highlighted in media coverage of the Innate potatoes are the same benefits that Arctic Apples were designed to have- a resistance to unattractive bruising and brown spotting on the inside. NPR goes into further detail in “GMO Potatoes Have Arrived. But Will Anyone Buy Them?”, explaining that the reason the agency named the potatoes “Innate” was because the genes used to silence the reaction in the spuds that caused the browning are actual native to potatoes themselves, but that they went unused after a while. Much of the food waste in the world comes from the distribution process, either when processers discard unattractive foods or when consumers at home discard their bruised fruits and vegetables before eating them. The hope is that this process keeps potatoes looking more healthy and attractive so that less will be wasted in the trash.

Another potent benefit of the modified potato, as mentioned in the NPR article, is that the Innate potatoes contain much less of a chemical known as acrylamide, which is triggered in the frying process. Studies on lab rates have shown that consumption of acrylamide increases the potential of cancer in lab rats, a litmus test often showing parallels in humans.

There are a host of other benefits, explains the article “Genetically Modified Potatoes Are Making Their Way to the Produce Section” from Fortune. The potatoes are designed to resist the blight that led to the Irish Potato famine, an inserted gene from another species located in Argentina that grew to resist such pathogens. This kind of blight protection is handy for farmers, as it allows the plant to protect itself from the most common diseases they would have to look out for. The potato is also designed to be able to be stored for a longer period of time at lower temperatures, allowing them to be kept in stores and sold over a greater duration. This is also hoped to reduce the spoils of food waste on the distribution side.

Although there are a great number of seeming benefits to the use of these potatoes, Simplot agency faces the same problems as do the other producers of genetically modified plants- there is still a heavily negative perception of such crops and a reluctance to adopt their use. Big retailers such as the McDonalds Corporation (who has worked with Simplot for many, many years), Frito-Lay, and ConAgra foods have all publically stated they will not use the modified plants. Even with a successful FDA evaluation of the crop, Simplot will have to do more on its end to prove to consumers that their new potatoes are worthy of interest and will do more good for public health than bad. This will be an important obstacle to overcome to a huge market as potatoes are reportedly the third most consumed food crop in the world, according to the International Potato Center.

Sources:
Addady, M. (2016). Genetically Modified Potatoes Are Making Their Way to the Produce Section. Fortune.
Charles, D. (2015). GMO Potatoes Have Arrived. But Will Anyone Buy Them? NPR.International Potato Center. (2016). Potato. International Potato Center.
Renee, J. (2015). What Varieties of Potatoes Are GMO? Livestrong.