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Hesitant Vindication of Transgenic Crops |
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By Julio Godoy*
French
scientists point to the benefits of genetically modified crops,
but admit that their findings are not conclusive. ''GM crops pose
potential benefits in theory, but it has not been definitively proven,''
Maxime Schwartz, head of a transgenics research team, acknowledged
in a conversation with Tierramérica.
PARIS - A report by the French food security
agency AFSSA highlights the benefits of transgenic crops was received
with skepticism in local scientific circles, where experts noted
the ambiguity of the study's conclusions.
The authors of the report say genetically modified (GM) crops can
reduce the need to use herbicides and pesticides in fields and prevent
contamination of toxic molds.
But they avoided making definitive statements, and couched their
words saying, ''it is very difficult to state whether the positive
effects would be guaranteed or widespread.''
The report was published in late July and coincides with a renewal
throughout Europe of the debate on whether to authorize the imports
of GM foods and experimental transgenic fields outside the laboratory.
Hervé Kempf, science reporter for the French daily Le Monde, says
AFSSA responded with a hesitant ''yes, maybe'' to the question formulated
in the title of its own report: ''Genetically Modified Organisms
and Food: Is it Possible to Identify and Evaluate Health Benefits?''
That response is accompanied by so many qualitative statements that
it quickly turns into ''maybe not, but further research is needed,''
says Kempf.
Biochemist Maxime Schwartz, director of the AFSSA research team,
acknowledged the lack of conclusive results.
''In general, GM crops pose potential benefits in theory, but it
has not been definitively proven. For this reason, it is essential
to continue the research,'' he told Tierramérica in an interview.
It is very difficult to measure ''the true impact'' of the new crops,
and currently there is only ''a situation of presumed benefits for
health,'' Schwartz said.
AFSSA based its report on studies conducted by scientific institutions
in other countries about the effects of genetically modified varieties
of maize, rice and beets.
''Avoiding any hurried generalization, it appears that genetic manipulation
has positive effects in two areas,'' says the agency.
''The introduction in North America and the Far East of plant varieties
resistant to insects has permitted a significant reduction in the
use of phytosanitary products'' like insecticides, states the report.
Furthermore, transgenics generate fewer micotoxins, harmful substances
produced by many types of molds that grow on crops at certain temperatures
and levels of humidity.
Apart from being a threat to health, including cancer risk, micotoxins
destroy up to 25 percent of food harvests worldwide, according to
FAO, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.
One of the micotoxins that develops most frequently in foods is
ocratoxin A (OTA), produced by some molds of the Apergillus and
Penicillium families. Another is fumonisine, which attacks corn.
AFSSA remarked that lower micotoxin contamination of transgenic
corn ''has allowed us to observe greater growth of swine and poultry''
that receive it as feed.
But the French food agency also notes that new herbicides like the
giant transnational Monsanto's RoundUp (based on glyphosate) --
used on the GM crops the corporation developed to be resistant to
the chemicals -- dissolves in water more easily than others, which
makes it more of a threat to the environment, even though it is
not a volatile substance and is not very soluble in human fatty
tissue.
In examining the production of sugar from transgenic sugarbeets,
which do not need herbicides, the agency concluded there are few
benefits, because the purification processes in refining white sugar
are already very effective.
''The positive results of genetic manipulation might be valid for
cotton, but not for corn,'' French farm leader José Bové, famed
anti-transgenics activist, told Tierramérica.
''If we plant only genetically modified maize'' to produce insect-killing
substances, ''the result will be that the insects mutate and become
resistant. That is why even the authorities in the United States,
the ones most interested in generalizing GM use, recommend maintaining
at least 40 percent of the field cultivated with natural maize,''
he said.
The United States is the world leader in transgenic crops.
According to Bové, scientists should analyze the effects on humans
''of the 'cocktail' of GM crops that the multinationals want us
to consume in the years to come.''
The day that AFSSA published its report -- July 23 -- Bové was preparing
to rip up the experimental crops of transgenic corn in Verdun sur
Garonne, in southwest France. He was accompanied in that protest
by around a thousand activists, including several members of the
European Parliament.
Mayors, regional council members, and members of farmers and consumers
groups have demanded a halt to planting any genetically modified
crops.
Bové faces a five-year prison sentence and a fine of 75,000 euros
(90,000 dollars) for his role in the destruction of fields planted
with transgenics.
* Julio Godoy is an IPS correspondent.
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