Regulating GMOs: A Precautionary Approach

1
Regulating GMOs A Precautionary Approach

• Team SymBiotek
• Ayat Al-Bassam
• Darcy Helbig
• Vraj Rabadia
• Rob Urbanic

2
What is the future with no regulation?

• Two genes from daffodil and one from a bacterium
  have been inserted into rice. Golden rice
  produces beta-carotene, which the human body
  converts to vitamin A.
• Researchers are increasing the anti-oxidant
  properties of tomatoes by engineering them to
  synthesize more lycopene.
• Hiridin, a human coagulant protein, produced in
  transgenic canola, is available commercially in
  Canada.
• Corn has been genetically engineered to make an
  antigenic protein from HIV. Tests in animals are
  in progress for immune responses after ingestion
  of the transformed corn.

3
Regulation of Food Biotechnology Should Occur at
all Levels of the Food Supply Chain
Growth Hormones, Antibiotics
GM Feed
Consumer Products
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Current Canadian Regulations

• Regulatory guidelines are broad and loosely
  defined
• Guidelines are based on substantial equivalence
• Developer driven - companies responsible for
  providing data
• No formal criteria or decision making framework
  exists - decisions are made on a case-by-case
  basis

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Substantial Equivalence

• Essentially similar to its conventional
  counterparts OECD 1993
• Lack of specificity, ambiguity and loose format
• i.e. If it looks like a duck and it quacks like
  a duck, therefore we must assume that it must be
  a duck or at least we will treat it as a duck
• Not a scientific formulation for assessment it
  is a conceptual tool and it does not specify or
  limit amount of testing needed
• Biased interpretation can diminish the purpose of
  regulation

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Regulation of Environmental Issues

• GM-crops No reduction in chemical use! (Benbrook
  2003)
• Pre-mature technology Bt-cotton, Rr-canola
• Development of pest resistance European corn
  borer
• Effects on non-target organism Monarch Butterfly
• Superweeds and gene flow Isolation issues
• Biodiversity Domestication v/s Transformation
• Need for Long-term Environmental Impact Assessment

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Risks of GM Foods to Human Health

• Creation of novel toxicants or increased
  expression of known toxicants
• Creation of novel allergens
• Development of new allergies from
  increased total dietary exposure
• Anti-nutrients
• Antibiotic resistance genes used as selection
  markers

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Can the current system accurately predict the
risks?

• Identifying unintended effects pleiotropy
• Health Canada assumes substantial equivalence
• Toxicological testing at a whole food level is
  needed
• GM products with human food counterparts that
  carry restrictions on their use for non-food
  purposes
• StarLink

9
Socioeconomic Issues

• Intellectual property rights
• Broad patents restrict innovation
• Monopolistic restrictions
• Agro corporations have excessive control on
  agricultural practice
• Licenses, restrictive agreements
• Farmers traditionally retained seeds for the
  next season (brown bagging)
• Reduced acreage of GM crops
• Terminator gene and sterile seeds

Regulation must be based on social justice
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Labeling

• Current government policy supports voluntary
  labeling of GM foods
• Label should include allergens, composition or
  nutrition changes
• Labeling of GM foods should be mandatory
• GM foods/feeds
• Products containing GM ingredients
• Informed consumer choice
• Traceability of transgenic source
• Accountability for adverse events

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Recommendations

• Depart from assumptions (substantial equivalence)
  to scientific proof.
• Approval of novel GMOs should be based on
  rigorous scientific risk assessment conducted by
  open consultation with expert scientific
  community.
• Establish detailed guidelines describing the
  testing of GMOs for production, marketing and
  after-market surveillance (build databank
  listing).
• Implement more restrictive guidelines regarding
  the nature of intellectual property.