The Use and afety of Genetic Technologies in Agriculture ICET 2014 Beijing Roger N. Beachy, Ph.D. Executive Director rbeachy@ucdavis.edu
WORLD FOOD CENTER Our goals Transformative knowledge and practical solutions Enhance research capacity Increase impact
WORLD FOOD CENTER Thematic Pillars A stable future for agriculture economy and for consumers Healthier outcomes from food Realizing sustainability in agroecology Leveraging knowledge: WFC as the go-to source of info in food and agriculture
WORLD FOOD CENTER Challenges in Agriculture of the 21 st Century ource: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
WORLD FOOD CENTER Challenges of Agriculture in the 21 st Century To feed/nourish another 2+ billion people In a world that is richer and more urban On the land area now used + ~10%, with less predictable available water Increase food production 70%: grain production by 43%, and meat production by 75% Made more difficult by Competing demands for bioenergy/biomaterials Negative impacts of climate change, water security
Bigger disruption is coming: IPCC 2007 scenarios Last time T was 2ºC above 1900 level was 130,000 yr BP, with sea level 4-6 m (?) higher than today. EU target T 2ºC Last time T was 3ºC above 1900 level was ~30 million yr BP, with sea level 20-30 m higher than today. Note: haded bands denote 1 standard deviation from mean in ensembles of model runs IPCC 2007
Harm is already occurring: floods & droughts Weakening East-Asia monsoon attributed to global climate change -- has meant less moisture flow outh to North, producing increased flooding in outh, drought in North B Precipitation trend (mm/decade) 20 40 60 <-60-60 -40-20 0 >60 Qi Ye, Tsinghua University, May 2006
Consider the ystem of Global Demand- Platform technologies Natural resources management Water upply Gap Farmer productivity Trade, logistics & processing Output Market Access Feed Crop improvement technologies Photosynthesis Crops Food Local Outputs Global Platform tech: oil Cash crops for scarce resources, processing, nutrition Data, Policy and Analysis: Develop evidence-based policy
A History of Agriculture Technology 8,000 BC 19thC Ea 20th C Md 20th C 1930s 1940s 1950s 1970s 1980 1990s 21 st C Cultivation elective Cross breeding Cell culture omaclonal variation Embryo rescue Mutagenesis and selection Anther culture Recombinant DNA Marker assisted selection ---omics Bioinformatics Genetic engineering RNAi/ GEENs (genome editing)/ Epigenetics/network engineering/ Novel Breeding ynthetic biology ystems Biology
Local Cotton 1,028 Kg/Ha GM Cotton 2,141 Kg/Ha Field trials in Burkina Faso and Kenya Potential to cut pesticide use Potential to increase yield and revenues for small, poor farm families Potential to help hundreds of thousands in Burkina, Chad, enegal, Cameroon, Kenya, Uganda, etc. Opportunity cost to delay Improving the Human Condition through Plant cience
Molecular crop improvement Bt maize Non-Bt maize http://www.apsnet.org/online/feature/btcorn/images/healthy%20ear.jpg
Biotech Crops 2013: 432 million acres, up 7 million - 3% growth 27 countries (19 emerging economies) 18 M farmers 90% (16.5M) resource-poor U 70.1Mhas (173Mac), ~90% principal biotech crops BT corn. HT oybean BT Cotton (27% stacked traits world wide) Golden rice (Vit A deficiency) on course to be approved in Philippines 2014 ource: IAAA
Benefits to Date $177M (60% costs - 40% in yield (377M Tons) 497 million kg a.i. of pesticides(18% in footprint) James, 2014 aved 91 million hectares (123 MH 1996-2012); Conservation Tillage 93% reduction erosion Preservation of 1 billion tons of top soil 70% reduction in herbicide run-off 80% reduction in phosphorus in water >50% reduction in fuel use 26.7 billion kgs reduction in CO 2 emissions ~11.8 million cars off the road; (Brookes Barfoot, 2014) BT corn 90% reduction in mycotoxin total U benefit estimated at $23m annually (Wu, 2006) Phytase maize (China) improved bioavailabilty of P and divalent ions increased nutrition decreased pollution (Origen Agritech Approved 2009)
The Blue Revolution: Drop by Drop, Gene by Gene to Increase Drought Tolerance Public ector (China) MEs (Performance Plants, Inc) MNCs (Monsanto) cience (2008) 320: 171-173 Improving the Human Condition through Plant cience
(MIT Review, 2013) Despite heavy use of fungicides, late blight ruins estimated 1/5 of world s potatoes (greater than $4.3 billion due to loss and fungicide use) Potato has a narrow breeding base, is highly heterozygous and suffers from acute inbreeding depression, making introduction of resistance traits to market-adapted genotypes difficult. Fungal mating types enhances gene exchange leading to accelerated loss of genetic resistance and increased use of fungicides. Attempts to introduce various resistance genes from wild olanum but blight has evolved much faster, enabling it to counteract efforts. Blight-resistant potato (Rpi-blb1 and Rpi-blb2 NB-LRR) -UI study concluded for the major potatoproducing regions of the world savings would be $4.3 billion. (Newell-McGloughlin In press)
WORLD FOOD CENTER Additional products of agriculture biotech in marketplace or being near to market oybeans varieties that produce omega 3 oils: heart healthy Alfalfa that produces less lignin and is more easily digested by cattle Rice that contains pro-vitamin A and expected to reduce childhood blindness and death Potatoes, wheat, and other crops resistant to fungi and require fewer pesticides Crops that require less water and less fertilizer to produce high yields
Golden Rice A Real Need Vitamin A is and essential multi-functional nutrient critical component of vision. plays a significant role in the immune system crucial for growth and development Vitamin A deficiency is a disease primarily of the poor It kills between 1.9-2.8 million people annually mostly children under 5 and women. Golden Rice with genes for beta-carotene Only 40g provides the daily Vitamin A requirement to offset deficiency Cheaper, easier to distribute and more sustainable than other sources of Vitamin A ince 2002 estimates that the delayed application of Golden Rice in India alone has cost 1,424,000 life years - Ziberman Environment and Development Economics,
WORLD FOOD CENTER http://informahealthcare.com/bty IN: 0738-8551 (print), 1549-7801 (electronic) Critical Reviews in Biotechnol, 2014; 34(1): 77 88 2014 Informa Healthcare UA, Inc. DOI: 10.3109/07388551.2013.82359 REVIEW ARTICLE An overview of the last 10 years of genetically engineered crop safety research Alessandro Nicolia 1, Alberto Manzo 2, Fabio Veronesi 1,and Daniele Rosellini l le 1Department of Applied Biology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy and 2Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Policies (MiPAAF), Rome, Italy
General Consensus Food / Feed afety Approach for Biotechnology Crops Gene / Protein Gene(s) ource(s) Molecular characterization Insert / copy number / gene integrity Protein(s) History of safe consumption Function / specificity / mode-of-action Levels Toxicology / allergenicity Amino acid homology Digestibility Acute oral toxicity Food / Feed afety Modified Plant Crop Characteristics Morphology Disease Resistance Yield Food / Feed Composition Proximate analysis Key nutrients Key anti-nutrients Feeding studies Livestock nutrition / performance 22
Biotech Crops have proven safe to Eat An estimated 2 trillion meals containing GM ingredients have been eaten around the world over the last 16 years without a single substantiated case of ill-health. An overwhelming majority of scientists, medical experts, American Medical Association, National Academy of ciences and over 600 peer-reviewed scientific studies have all concluded that genetically engineered food products are safe. The World Health Organization has said that: No effects on human health have been shown as a result of the consumption of such foods by the general population. The French Academies of Medicine, Pharmacy & ciences: No evidence of health problems exists in the countries where GMOs have been widely eaten for several years EU: 150 Research projects 500 research groups over 25 years There is no scientific evidence associating GMOs with higher risks for the environment or for food and feed safety than conventional plants and organisms
WORLD FOOD CENTER Professional cientific and/or Medical Bodies with an Opinion on afety of GM Crops/foods Generally Positive Generally Negative The U.. National Research Council (NRC) U.. National Academy of ciences (NA) The American Medical Association, (AMA) U.. Department of Agriculture (UDA) U.. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) U.. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) European Food afety authority (EFA) American ociety for Plant Biology (APB) World Health Organization (WHO) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Royal ociety (London) Brazil National Academy of cience, Chinese National Academy of cience Indian National Academy of cience Mexican Academy of cience Third World Academy of ciences
WORLD FOOD CENTER Public Perception and Acceptance Private sector has not effectively messaged agriculture biotechnology to the public or government MNCs; control; biodiversity; environment, food safety Public sector support of science in regulatory and biosafety areas has not been vocally supportive Increasing transparency at all stages of process may be helpful The messaging is poorly effective: why?
The Use and afety of Genetic Technologies in Agriculture ICET 2014 Beijing Roger N. Beachy, Ph.D. Executive Director rbeachy@ucdavis.edu
WORLD FOOD CENTER Role of technologies in the food system/chain Using agri-chemicals to standardize production Using genetic solutions to improve crop yields DNA-based technologies to increase the rate of plant breeding and introducing new traits from wild relatives Random mutagenisis to create/uncover desired traits (color, nutrient value, resistance to insects and disease, yield, etc.) Directed mutagenesis to introduce new genetic traits and eliminate undesirable traits Genetic engineering to add one or more new genes to improve traits Nanotechnologies to improve production, packaging, etc E-methods to track products from the farm to market
Biotechnology Offers Better Alternatives Potato Late Blight - 75% crop loss Resistant potato contains two genes from wild Mexican potato Less spray, less loss = $4.3 B. potential savings Apple Fireblight controlled using antibiotic sprays cab Fungicides 'MacIntosh' trees - endo or exochitinase increased resistance Grapes- Pierce's disease Fusion two genes innate immunity and membrane lysis preferable to spraying malathion Citrus Greening Biotech the only solution Papaya No natural resistance so traditional breeding will not work Reduces viral reservoir thus protects all growers