Monsanto – GMO SAFETY

Canola and GM Canola plant

Introduction

Canola refers to a rapeseed and s scientifically referred to as Brassica napus. This is an oilseed plant that is cultivated for the production of high-quality oil that is used in many foods such as Margarine as well as cooking oil. Additionally, it is canola that is used as a seed meal because it contains high quality and quantity of fiber that is left after processing. T is the high protein content that makes Canola cultivated thus promoting its value as a stock feed. Canola plant has been grown in the Southern grain belt regions of Australia since the late 1960s. However, recently in the year 2010 and 2011, over 450 thousand tons of Canola was produced with a gross value of over 300 million US dollars. It is also important to note that Canola possesses beneficial effects on wheat by significant reduction of soil-borne diseases. This only happens when the plant is integrated as part of the crop rotation crops. This is because the wheat that is produced after canola has an increase of yield by over 20 % as compared to planting wheat following wheat.

GM Canola

Two genetically engineered canola varieties have been developed so far in Australia. These include the Roundup Ready canola and InVigor canola. The Roundup canola variety was produced by the Monsanto Company while the InVigor canola variety was introduced by the Bayer CropSciences Company. For purposes of effectiveness, each one of these varieties has been engineered to confer tolerance to specific herbicides. This is under a defined crop management system.
Roundup Ready GM Canola confers tolerance to glyphosate while the InVigor GM canola demonstrates tolerance to herbicide glufosinate. The company trials of growing these plants in the US have shown that GM canola that is produced through a specified crop management system proves to have a superior control over weeds as compared to current plant practices. Additionally, there is evidence that the amount of yield for these genetically engineered canola plants have increased and thus boosting the management savings that is earned from its growth. The herbicides that are utilized in controlling weeds for these crops have been shown to be favorable to the environment as opposed to the herbicides that are used on the traditional/conventional canola that is a bit harsh.

This means that the control of weeds particularly derived from canola Brassicaceae family that are characterized by broad leaves through the application of herbicides during the planting season plays a role in determining the quality and the quantity of the grain that is produced. This is based on the fact that weeds often compete with the canola plant for space and nutrients in the soil as well as other factors such as moisture and sunlight. Because of these reasons, there is a possibility that the yield that is lost due to weed is significant in the canola crop. Additionally, there is increased chance that the cross contamination factors will pose a significant effect on the seeds during harvesting. These factors are taken under control by the growing of GM canola that is resistant to weeds by possessing herbicide resistant genes.

The growth of the GM canola for commercial purposes first took place in 2008 in Victoria and NSW as well as WA in 2010. The most important thing to bear in mind is the fact that Roundup Ready canola is the only GM canola that is available today. Because of this reason, its approval by the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR) has been done. Based on a study that was conducted in Victoria, there was evidence that over 190 farmers in the region planted over 36000 ha of land in 2010 for canola. This paved way for the growth and increase of GM canola that occupied an area of over 15000 ha alone in 2012. There was a high level of yield in the growth of GM canola as demonstrated through the satisfaction that the farmers had. This is because of improved control of weeds as opposed to the conventional varieties of canola.

According to scientists, there is evidence that GM canola express a purpose for processing oils for consumption by humans. This is because the GM canola plant is characterized by ease of growing as well as low price. It has been the efforts of the food companies since the 1970s to try and produce canola that is low in fats to reduce the levels of heart disease-related cases. To achieve this canola was the target plant. However, conventional canola plant has high levels of erucic acid that is poisonous to both animals and human beings. This is because of the high levels of erucic acid that causes lesions in the heart. GM Canola, which has low levels of erucic acid, gave a brilliant alternative while supplementing it with elevated levels of nutrients such as omega six fatty acids beneficial for human porno.

Conclusion
Since the introduction of the genetically engineered canola varieties that are resistant to such components as glyphosate, glufosinate, imidazolinones, as well as bromoxynil, a wide range of benefits, have been realized. These benefits include; a significant rise of GM canola that is resistant to herbicides in the market thus contributing to the rise of market shares by over 70 % in Canada compared to conventional canola. The adoption of this plant that is genetically modified has grown across the globe to regions where it thrives well. This is because of its ease in growing and maintenance on the farm, the decrease in the control of weeds due to its resistance as well as high yield that is realized. This has, in turn, promoted the significant increase in the amount of financial returns as a function of the high yield, decrease in cost of herbicides as well as reduced docking. Despite the difficulty the management of the GM canola varieties, practices such as crop rotation and its widespread adoption have been very much beneficial to the growers of the plant.

The Legacy of the GMO movement- the Flavr Savr tomato

Each movement has its mascots and icons that are emblazoned in the minds of the public as being representative of the whole. For cloning animals it had been Dolly the sheep, for transgenic animals it had been the goats who had spider silk producing genes implanted in them to make their milk into spider silk fibers, and for the genetically modified plant movement the Flavr Savr tomato by Monsanto had become the face of what some worried was the future of their gardens.

What the Flavr Savr tomato had hoped to accomplish in the early days would be seen as tame by the ambitions set forth by modified plants today. As the name suggests, the only alteration to the tomato had been to allow the tomato to ripen for longer on the vine, which would have hopefully resulted in a longer shelf life and a better, more full taste. This was accomplished through the deactivating of one of its processes. As the article “Tomatoes” on gmo-compass explained, the process to create the tomato was called the Antisense approach and it occurred by the deactivating of the creation of an enzyme, called polygalacturonase, that was in charge of the fruit softening.

What ended up happening was much different, though. Though the Flavr Savr tomatoes had passed the legislation necessary to be on market back in the day, they had turned out to be a market failure, not recouping the cost of their creation and distribution. In addition to that, modified tomatoes have had a lengthy battle in the European Union, where they had trouble being passed as safe for consumption. The same article on gmo-compass states that tomato puree had been very popular in Great Britain, but that nearly all other states could not decide whether they had wanted to legalize the sale and consumption of the plant, and whether they had deemed it safe, which eventually led to the removal of all pending applications by modified crop producers. There are no modified tomatoes for sale in any markets in the EU now.

This doesn’t mean that the tomato was a total loss. There are plenty of scientists today who are trying to figure out ways to alter the tomatoes to give them more traits like better herbicide and pesticide resistance, or a natural defense against pesticides. With the strides made in the modifying of other fruits and vegetables, there are always more options to apply to tomatoes before they are sent for approval to the market again.

But in a young biotech industry the fact was that what captured the imagination of the public about the possibilities had been a small red tomato called the Flavr Savr. For some it was the opportunity at technology making a better life for people once again, preserving taste and serving as a gateway to a future of even better traits and possibilities for what crops could be for people around the world. The tomato had also served as a scary beacon of the overreach of science, with a new technology that was too young to be fully studied in the biological ramifications it caused to consumers and to a crossing of the natural boundaries where we weren’t meant to tread.

The Flavr Savor became a casualty of a culture war over genetic modification the world over, but for both good and bad it cemented itself as the progenitor of what would become one of the most contested and transformative scientific movements the world had ever seen.

Source:
Gmocompass. (2016). Tomatoes. Gmo-compass. Retrieved on May 5, 2016 from http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng/grocery_shopping/fruit_vegetables/15.genetically_modified_tomatoes.html

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.