Date: Fri, 7 Mar 1997 16:48:30 -0500
To: richard@ottawa.com X-UIDL: 857772758.005
From: rwolfson@concentric.net (Richard Wolfson)
Subject: GE News - Joes Newslette, vol 2 #2
Gene Tinkering Blues
Vol. 2 issue 2, January 1996 'Plant-Pesticides'
Much of the emphasis in crop genetic engineering has been in producing
crops containing pesticides or organisms that can be sprayed on crops to
destroy major economic pests of the crops. Such genetically engineered
forms for fighting crop diseases are called 'Plant-Pesticides'. Crops resistant
to insects because they contain Bt Toxin or virus resistance factors (mainly
genes from the viruses) are being marketed. An insect virus, Baculovirus,
is being modified with genes, such as scorpion toxin gene, diuretic hormone
gene, juvenile hormone gene or mite toxin gene to make a potent insect
virus to spray on crop plants to protect the crops from insect pests.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined that
such modified crops and viruses should be regulated like chemical pesticides
but the companies patenting the modified crops argued that food should
not be labeled as being pesticides. Pesticides require extensive acute
and chronic tests to assure that they are safe. Such tests are very expensive
and slow the release of gene tinkered products. The giant seed company
Northrop King (now named Novartis Seed) was fined for importing Bt tinkered
corn seeds from South America that had not been approved by EPA. The fine
was very small ($162,500) and the EPA officials were almost apologetic
about the law breaking. In Canada, government officials try to avoid upsetting
large companies who pay them handsomely (see the last issue of Gene Tinkering
Blues 'Paying Off Agriculture Canada').
The biotechnology industry has launched a huge propaganda campaign warning
of negative consequences if the amount of required safety-testing and regulation
on these 'plant pesticides' is raised. The biotech industry says increased
regulation would result in: - Increased expense for developing pest resistant
forms - The growth of bureaucracy - Use of more chemical pesticides - A
competitive disadvantage for US Biotechnology The biotechnology industry
wants its products to be tested by consumers and they wish to avoid the
liability resulting from pesticide poisoning whether in crops or chemical
sprays.
The use of plant- pesticides is not a new idea: 'natural' tolerance to
insects, fungus and bacteria has been selected by plant breeders well before
the science of genetics was understood. Unfortunately such pesticides are
as likely to cause cancer, birth defects, nerve damage or reduced immunity
as their man-made chemical relatives. Celery was treated with gene damaging
chemicals and an insect resistant form was selected. The natural production
of a natural insecticide, psoralen, was enhanced to make a highly resistant
variety. Unfortunately the insect tolerant variety caused skin problems
in celery pickers and produce managers in supermarkets, the celery caused
cancer in experimental mice. The modified variety had to be withdrawn from
the market. The celery incident is typical of plant-pesticides which are
frequently chemicals produced by plants in response to stress from the
attack of pests.
Of the natural pesticides tested, a sizable proportion are carcinogens
while many others are mutagens. The known carcinogens include estragole
(basil), safrole (natural root beer), symphytine (comfrey tea), hydrazine
(mushrooms) and allyl isothiocyanate (brown mustard). These plant-pesticides
are not threatening until their levels are amplified in the crops using
genetic engineering.
There is clearly evidence that plant-pesticides are likely to be cancer
causing and to cause other problems such as skin rashes or nerve damage
typical of the man made pesticides. Such pesticides must be tested to protect
the public.
Agriculture Canada has not been very happy about regulating man made pesticides
and seems to prefer to ignore plant-pesticides. For example, the herbicide
Glyphosate (Round-Up) is used on grains including barley and wheat, oil
seeds including Canola and soybean, along with dry pea, lentil and white
bean during the fall to hasten the maturation of the crop seeds. A 1994
study showed that about 8% of the crops were treated with Glyphosate (while
20% of the white beans were sprayed with Glyphosate) even though such use
was not yet allowed by federal registration. The government responded to
such illegal application of a pesticide by changing the regulation retroactively
to permit the illegal applications. The government would prefer to ignore
the clear and present danger posed by plant-pesticides to allow rapid growth
of an unhealthy industry. The illness and suffering caused by the crops
will be ignored for the present.
Average people will have to ensure that the government bureaucrats are
controlled by politicians and not visa-versa. Plant-pesticides must be
labeled in the market and adequately tested in the laboratory.
References:
ISB News Report-January 1997 "EPA Oversight of Plant-Pesticides"
Gene Exchange 7, Dec.1996 "EPA fines Northrup King over Bt corn"
Risk Assessment ed.B.Paustenbach, Wiley 1989 B.Ames, R.Magaw and L.Gold
"Ranking Possible Carcinogens: One Approach to Risk Management "
pp1082-1104
Prof .Joe Cummins,
Emeritus Professor of Genetics
University of Western Ontario
738 Wilkins Street
London, Ontario N6C4Z9 Canada
phone&FAX 519 681 5477
E-Mail: jcummins@julian.uwo.ca
Richard Wolfson, PhD
Campaign to Ban Genetically Engineered Food
Natural Law Party
500 Wilbrod Street
Ottawa, ON K1N 6N2
Tel. 613-565-8517 Fax. 613-565-6546
E-Mail: rwolfson@concentric.net
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