Tag: vegetables

THE ADVANCE OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD IS INCREASING

THE ADVANCE OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD IS INCREASING

Alarms about a global food crisis are growing by the day. In a context of wars, especially Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, coupled with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the expectation of an economic recession, many countries have been forced to review their policies on GM foods.

According to UN estimates, 1.7 billion people in 100 countries will be affected by Ukraine’s dwindling grain supply this year, as the country is considered the “breadbasket” of Europe. However, this goes beyond the old continent as, post-pandemic, the number of food insecure people has risen to 276 million.

This, coupled with impending climate change that also puts crops at risk, has put GM foods at the centre of the conversation. These, also known as genetically modified organisms (GMOs), can be an alternative to secure food amidst adverse conditions.

 

What are GM foods and why are they controversial?

GM foods are foods whose genetic material has been deliberately altered, and which are not one that is likely to be produced naturally through breeding or selection. These modifications are usually obtained by introducing genetic material from one species into the genome of another xnxx.

There are different foods that have been modified, one of the best known of which is Bt maize. To achieve this, the gene of a bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis, is introduced, with the aim of making it resistant to certain types of pests, and therefore, it lasts longer. This maize is marketed in the United States.

What are GM foods and why are they controversial?

The controversy surrounding GM foods lies in their environmental impact. Once genetically modified seeds are used on a field, they cannot be used again without modification. And it is possible that, if these areas are not controlled, the planting of GM food will cause soil disturbance.

As most GM foods are intended to withstand heavy herbicide use, their use can have undesirable effects. For example, new “superweeds,” which are extremely resistant to herbicides, have been found in the United States and have impacted millions of acres in 22 states.

On the other hand, there are concerns that such foods may increase allergies or the risk of cancer or other diseases. On this issue, it can be said that research has been inconclusive, while voices within biotechnology defend its effectiveness in helping crops grow faster and even safer.

 

Why might the EU change its position on GM food?

In several countries the use of GMO foods is widespread, such as in the US, Brazil, Canada and India. Others are also beginning to lift regulations, such as Kenya and Colombia. However, the European Union is very wary of GM foods and their use is regulated by the European Regulation 1829/2003 on genetically modified foods.

In most EU member states, GM crops are banned, but pro-biotech voices claim that these bans are made for non-scientific reasons or under dubious research. Even so, the EU’s stance on GM crops is taking a turn.

In March, the EU approved the use of GM soy, rapeseed and cotton crops for the food and feed sectors, prompted by uncertainty over the invasion of Ukraine. Another country that could also change its position is the United Kingdom, especially after its independence following Brexit.

Although this position on GMOs is “transitional,” and only for grain exports in the context of the war, it may be the first step towards greater tolerance of this technology. After all, the climate crisis could also pose an obstacle to food security.

 

 

RELATED POST

 

All about the Vegetable Vaccine against Covid

All about the Vegetable Vaccine against Covid

Researchers at Medicago (a biotechnology company) in Quebec, collaborating with GlaxoSmithKline (a leading drug manufacturer), have developed a plant-based vaccine for Covid-19. The vaccine branded Covifenz is quite promising, with trial participants exhibiting a robust antibody response after getting the jab. The immune response is about ten times above that observed in individuals recuperating from the natural disease. The antibody levels are also higher than are those induced by other current vaccines. 

 

How it Works

Researchers must identify a method to produce antigens to develop a vaccine. Antigens are the molecular particles that induce an immune reaction in the body. In plant-based vaccines, plants serve as bioreactors for the production of antigens. A suitable plant candidate for vaccine development must exhibit susceptibility to infections by an array of pathogens porno. For the development of covifenz, Nicotiana benthamonia, a plant related to the tobacco plant, was the ideal plant. Researchers modify the plant to produce virus-like particles (VPLs), which serve as the antigen.

The process begins by inserting the genetic code for making the VLPs into the plant. The code is like an instruction manual to the plant. Next, The plant cells read the code and use the information to produce large amounts of VLPs. The VLPs are very complex molecular structures that closely resemble the virus that causes the covid-19; they mimic the organization and size of the virus. However, VLPs lack genetic information and are therefore not virulent – unlike the virus, VLPs cannot replicate or cause disease. Once injected into the body system, the VLPs trick the body’s immune defenses into action. The next step involves the purification of the VLPs.

Vegetable Vaccine against Covid

Aside from VLPs, the covifenz vaccine contains another key ingredient, an adjuvant produced by GSK GlaxoSmithKline. Adjuvants are essential in some but not all vaccines, and they strengthen the immune response. The inclusion of adjuvants is necessary, especially during a pandemic, because it boosts the immune response and reduces the quantity of antigen needed in a dose. This allows for the production of more vaccine doses to protect a larger population.

 

The Effectiveness of Plant-Based Vaccines

During its third phase of trials, covifenz (currently the only plant-based vaccine against covid-19) showed a general efficacy rate of 71 percent. According to researchers, virus-like proteins retain their structure as the blood transports them through the body. Other vaccines’ active molecules – spike proteins – quickly disperse in the bloodstream. Since VLP’s are delivered as a whole – resembling the virus – they elicit a more robust immune reaction. This could explain the excellent performance of the vaccine in different environments. The plant-based vaccine is 75.3 percent effective against the current dominant Delta strain and about 89 percent effective against the Gamma strain.

 

Advantages of Plants for Vaccine Production

Advantages of Plants for Vaccine Production

Plants are ideal for vaccine development because they yield high amounts of VLPs. It is also cheaper to produce vaccines using plants than other methods. Plant-based vaccines take a shorter time to make than conventional vaccine production methods. For example, the production of plant-based flu vaccine takes between five and six weeks. The same vaccine takes five to six months using the egg-based vaccine production method.

 

 

 

 

 

Healthier GM Potato Hits the Shelves

Simplot, a large food company from Idaho announced that they will begin with mass production of healthier genetically modified potato that is resistant to bruising. They spent more than a decade developing and perfecting this new sort of potato that will reduce the food waste and carry more healthy fats which might be appealing to the health conscious people who are interested in getting the right micro nutrients from their meals.

Besides the obvious changes in the appearance of the genetically modified potatoes who are bruise resistant, Simplot also developed a non-browning apple. They managed to do so by applying the so-called gene silencing technology that is a new way of genetically modifying various fruits and vegetables. The scientists extract certain genes from already cultivated products and they put them in the fruits or vegetables they are trying to improve. The extracted genes mute the ones that are already existing in a said product and modify the genetic sequence that is the cause of bruising, browning, etc.

Gene silencing is not a standard way of modifying the fruits and vegetables because no foreign genes are introduced, so this might be one of the new methods of biotechnology that will bring changes to the production in the future. Plus, gene silencing will activate numerous other processes in a crop that was treated with this method.

So what makes this potato healthier than the others? The gene silencing method modifies the acrylamide production in the said plant as well. Acrylamide is released during frying and it adds unnecessary carbohydrates to a potato. As you already know, excessive consumption of carbohydrates can lead to obesity and that is one of the main causes of health problems in the United States. As a matter of fact, numerous foods release larger quantities of carbohydrates during cooking, frying, or deep frying xxx.

Another concern is that a couple of unofficial studies have shown that acrylamide can be cancerous. Even though there is no concrete proof and further investigation should be done in order to determine the validity of these findings, numerous people started avoiding potatoes due to the fact that it produces this chemical when it is deep fried. However, Simplot’s potatoes are completely safe since it has very low amounts of acrylamide even after it has been cooked at very high temperatures.

On the other hand, we know for sure that acrylamide is a neurotoxin and that it is not harmful in low doses. It is released during frying but it cannot leave any permanent damage to human health even if you work in a restaurant and you are exposed to it on a daily basis. So if you still have any concerns about this chemical, using Simplot’s potato in your diet might be the way to go.

Simplot really did their best to develop this sort of potato and their efforts have been met with fairly positive feedback from the scientific community. However, it might not be as successful with the consumers because people are still concerned about the genetically modified foods and have reservations about buying the products that are being marketed as altered fruits and vegetables.

GMO plants and the impact on the environment

    Agricultural activities have in the past and even presently attributed to causing some effects on the environment. This can only mean that the genetically modified plants derived from biotechnological processes and research have the potential impact on the environment too. The effects of these GM plants can either be beneficial or destructive. This is by either accelerating the damaging effect of agriculture on the environment or improving the sustainability of agricultural practices for better environmental conservation. The evaluation of the environmental impact of GMO plants and the application of the novel technologies on the environment can only be done through comparison to those effects brought about by present practices.

    However, it is important to note that these GMO plants have adverse environmental effects because of the large scale growth and as a result, the human health is also jeopardized. The following are concerns that arise concerning the impact of GM plants on the environment;

    GM plants may have the ability to sexually hybridize with the non-GM plants through the transfer of their pollen grains. Additionally, GM plants may have the potential of becoming invasive weeds. Finally, the condition that is required for the growth of GM plants may pose a significant threat to the local wildlife population.

Researches revolving around GM plants and the environment

Gene transfers through seed dispersal

    Based on a study that was revealed to the public in 2001, there was substantial evidence pointing at the transfer of GM genes from GMO maize through cross-pollination with the wild type maize in Mexico thus causing a cross contamination of the local wild type. The validity of this particular study was highly disputed because the research that followed were not able to demonstrate the spread of the transgene and its presence in the wild maize. There are recent reports that GM herbicide-resistant is creeping bentgrass scientifically referred to as Agrostis stolonifera L. around the US region of Oregon was spotted growing outside its designated area. The postulation drawn from this was that its occurrence in other areas is due to effects of dispersal of pollen grains that crossed sexually with the wild plants and thus GM plants seed dispersal.

    Additionally, a study that was published back in 1999 raised the concern after genetically modified maize was found expressing insecticidal Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxin. This insecticidal Bt toxin was shown to have harmful effects on the larval stage of the Monarch butterfly. This was postulated that the larval stage of the butterfly depended on milkweed as its staple food, and it dusted itself with pollen from Bt maize. As a result, they ate less, had a slow growth rate and were susceptible to the high rate of mortality. Since then, a wide range of researches and discoveries have focused on the probability of the larval stage of the Monarch butterfly to get exposed to large quantities of Bt maize pollen and thus its ability to elicit a toxigenic response.

Effect of wildlife population

    Based on a four-year program research, there was evidence published concerning the effect of management practices that were associated with GMO herbicide tolerance on the wildlife as compared to conventional methods employed in controlling weeds. According to the study, three out of four of the crops tested led to a significant decline in the level of wildlife in GM fields compared to those in the non-GM field. However, this was quite opposite in the case of GM maize which the researches stated that the variation may have been due to different herbicidal regimes and not because of genetic engineering. This study paved the way for a government-funded platform that evaluates the impacts of GM plants and its hazardous impact on the environment. Despite this evidence, the government of the UK has permitted the commercial planting of GM maize that is resistant to herbicides.

Gene flows in the environment

    A wide range of strategies has been proposed to curb the movement of genes from GM plants to a wide variety of environmental entities. This is because of the particular concern of protein expression designed for utilization in the pharmaceutical industry. This gave rise to the discovery of strategies geared towards preventing the occurrence of this namely; physical isolation and genetic containment. Physical isolation involves breeding of the plant in isolation in isolated areas whether large or small-scale. Containment method involves the growth of the plants in contained greenhouse environmental conditions or other designated areas that are free from weeds and other food crops. Additionally, areas, where the GM plants have been previously grown, is supposed to be allowed to lie fallow to ensure no seed remains can grow in the next planting cycle.

     The employment of the genetic containment method is achieved through biotechnological means. This is through existing sterility and incompatibility strategies that ensure that pollen grains are not transferred. Additionally, this involves the use of Genetic Use Restriction Technologies that are aimed an interfering with seed fertility and seed formation. Another strategy discovery from these GM plants is the transfer of foreign genes into the genome of the chloroplast, and this is based on the fact that chloroplasts are inherited maternally and are not present in pollen grains.

    Another research is that in Canada based on two varieties of GM rapeseed. One is designed to have high levels of erucic acid while the other aims to have low levels of erucic acid. This acid is extracted from the high producing variety for use as a lubricant in industries. However, this variety is particularly harmful for human consumption. The low erucic acid producing variety is typically used in large scale production of canola cooking oil. Because of their differences, farmers in Canada have made it a routine to separate the two during growth and processing.

    In the future, other impacts of the GM plants in the environment may potentially emerge from biotechnological and scientific developments designed to alter plants with complex traits controlled by a large number of genes. This may have the benefit of extending marginal land or otherwise cause destruction to the fragile environment. For instance, drought tolerant maize may increase the supply of water-retention especially in semi-arid regions across the globe. This means that the threats and benefits of GM plants require a case-by-case assessment of the impact it has on the environment across different agro-ecological zones.

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. 

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.