A New Paradigm for
Genetically Modified Foods
Alec Lee
UBC-BCIT Biotechnology
Vancouver, Canada
Immediate Response
• GM foods incite discomfort in the public
– Safety?
– Exploitative economic scheme?
• We feel powerless in choosing GM or non-GM
Why I’m Here
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GM foods have been misrepresented
Agribusiness has tainted the image of GM foods
We do not have to be resigned about GM foods
The technology has great humanitarian potential
Who Am I
• A biotechnology student from Vancouver,
Canada with experience in:
– performing genetic modification of plants
– working with genetically modified organisms
• An advocate for the potential of GM foods
technology, not of its current use
Changing the Paradigm
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4.
Scope of the Technology
What Happened along the Way?
Out with the Old
In with the New
1. Scope of the Technology
How do we get genetically modified foods?
a. Identification of a problem
b. Identification of a target organism
c. Modification of the organism
Rice
Gene Gun
Golden Rice
• Flagship of humanitarian GM foods
• Rice is the staple of approximately half the world’s population
• 40% (approx. 250 million) of children in the developing world
under the age of 5 suffer from Vitamin A deficiency
• 250,000 to 500,000 children go blind every year due to
Vitamin A deficiency
• More than half of them will die within a year of going blind
2. What Happened Along the Way?
• Why don’t we trust the potential of GM foods?
• The technology was abused for monetary gain
• People became fearful of the health effects of
these strange foods
– Chemical-resistant
– Infection-resistant
– Weather-resistant
Roundup-Ready Soy
• Roundup-Ready Soy patented in 1995
• 87% of farmland with soybeans used
Roundup-Ready Soy
• Other Roundup-Ready Crops: canola,
cotton, alfalfa, sugar beet, and corn.
Terminator Gene
• In 1999, Monsanto pledged not to
commercialize plants with Terminator
• In 2003, Monsanto changed its mind
• Several countries have placed a
moratorium on Terminator seeds
Intellectual Property
• Patents provide ownership of an organism
and all its future generations
• Farmers no longer own their seed; they are
licensed to plant it
• Patents typically last 20 years
– Technology for Roundup-Ready Soy is due to
be free-for-all in 2015
3. Out with the Old
Why the Current Framework Does Not Work
To name a few:
a) Roundup-Ready Soybeans
b) Terminator Gene
c) Intellectual Property
Social Barriers
Many groups are deeply concerned about the
effects of the technology:
– genetic contamination of non-GM plants?
– toxicity effects in animals and humans?
– exploitation of the poor?
Back to Golden Rice
• Vitamin A and Zinc alone could save 4
million children annually
• Breeding institutions around the world can
develop the technology for free for
humanitarian use
– Some of the patents donated are owned by big
names in agribusiness, including Monsanto
Safety
• Little safety testing has been publicized by
independent groups
– Existing studies are not widely known
• Most safety testing is performed by
corporate-sponsored agencies
4. In with the New
We must reject the current paradigm of
GM foods and embrace a new one – a
paradigm focused on benefitting humanity
rather than profiting at humanity’s expense
Thank You
Works Cited
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Benedict, M. R. & Stine, O. C. (2007). Agricultural Adjustment Act. Retrieved November 23, 2007 from
http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/A/AG002.html
Golden Rice Humanitarian Board (2009). The science behind Golden Rice. Retrieved January 22, 2009 from
Golden Rice. Website: http://www.goldenrice.org/Content2-How/how1_sci.html
Golden Rice Humanitarian Board (2009). Golden Rice Risk Assessment. Retrieved January 22, 2009 from Golden
Rice. Website: http://www.goldenrice.org/Content2-How/how3a_biosafety.html
Pinstrup-Andersen, P. & Schioler, E. (2001). Seeds of Contention. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Ruse, Michael & Castle, David (2002). Genetically Modified Foods. New York: Prometheus Books.
Smith, Jeffrey M. (2003). Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies…: Yes! Books
World Health Organization. (April 1995). Countries Categorized by degree of public health importance of vitamin
A deficiency. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/vmnis/vitamina/prevalence/mn_vitamina_map_1995.pdf
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (2007). Finding of No Significant Impact (Petition for Non-regulated
Status for Soybean Line MON 89788 [APHIS 06-178-01p]). Retrieved Feb 1, 2009 from
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/brs/aphisdocs/06_17801p_ea.pdf
Vidal, John (1999). World braced for terminator 2. Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved Feb 1, 2009 from
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/1999/oct/06/gm.food2
www.etcgroup.org (2003). Monsanto Breaks Promise to Abandon Terminator Technology. Organic Consumers
Association. Retrieved Feb 1, 2009 from http://www.organicconsumers.org/monsanto/promise042403.cfm