Biotechnology and Food
Personal Choices & Public Policies
Thomas M. Zinnen
Biotechnology Policy & Outreach Specialist
University of Wisconsin-Madison/Extension
Science Outreach
• Sharing Science with Wisconsin
• Transforming How People View & Do
Science
• Tours & Workshops on Campus
• Workshops Anywhere in Wisconsin
Science Outreach
in Public Policy
• SEE Biotechnology: USDA Grant for
Research and Extension in Social,
Economic & Ethical Issues of Ag
Biotech
• 2000-2001 AAAS & Institute Of Food
Technologists Congressional Science
Fellow with House Committee on Ag
Science Outreach
Biotechnology and food is a
profound issue because it affects
so many basic parts of life: our
bodies, our families, our
environment, our view of what is
right.
Communicating with the public
A key part of ensuring that consumers can
enjoy the benefits of new tools while
minimizing risks and offering consumer
choice.
Distinctions
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Public Education vs Public Relations
The Difference is in Keeping Score
Understanding vs Acceptance
Developing Science Savvy:
Transforming How People View, Do &
Use Science
Cream Into Butter
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Hands on
Kinetic
Interactive
Concrete
Experiment
Proof
The Parable of the DNA Tube
What is Science?
• Is it something that only takes place in
the Ivory Tower?
•What are its roles in personal choices
and public policies?
How is Science Different From
Other Ways of Knowing?
Some Other Ways of Knowing
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Reason
Logic
Math
Intuition
Instinct
Tradition
Authority
More Ways of Knowing
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Empiricism
Experiment
Inference
History
Literature
Revelation
Prophecy
Mysticism
Still More Ways of Knowing
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Mythology
Experience
Superstition
Imagination
Naïve Theories
The powers & limits of science
• Is science about what we know?
• Or is science more about figuring out
what we don’t know yet?
• Going to see the solar eclipse in
Cornwall
What is Food?
• Name three foods that come from things
that have not been alive.
The Biology and Nature of
Food
• Nearly all our food comes from living
things.
• Plants, Animals, Microbes
• From these, humans select or develop
crops, livestock and cultures.
• Traits such as taste, color, ease of
preparing, yield, vigor, nutrition
Traits = Genotype x
Environment
• Manipulate the Genes
• Manipulate the Environment
• Manipulate both the Genes and The
Environment
• This is Becoming a Fundamental Fork
in the Road
Breeders Need Sources of
Genetic Variation
• Gene Pool
• Methods for Selecting Desirable Traits
Gene Flow and
Recombination in Nature
• Within a species
• Between species
• Transformation, Transduction,
Conjugation, Cell Fusion, Viral Infection
• DNA: The Carrier of Genes
From Recombining DNA to
Recombinant DNA Technology
• 1973 Cohen & Boyer
• The Gene Pool Becomes a Gene
Ocean
• Any Organism on Earth is a Source for
Genes for Use by Breeders
• Recombinant DNA Technology is one of
the most powerful tools ever invented.
Human Perceptions and
Understanding about Genes
• Our understanding about how genes change
and flow affects how humans convert
knowledge into technology.
• For example, the concept of “species” and of
“species barrier”
• For example, the developing idea of “genes in
context”
Hearing and Speaking the
Difference
• Science as Statements about Nature
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• Science as Statements about Our
Understanding of Nature
How Many Methods Do
Humans Use to Genetically
Modify Organisms?
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Selection
Breeding
Cloning
Grafting
Hybridization
Mutagenesis
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Tissue Culture
Somaclonal Variation
Embryogenesis
Anther Culture
Cell Fusion
Transposons
Viral Infection
What Is Biotechnology?
• Definitions Back to 1917
• Can include selection, breeding,
fermentation, tissue culture, genetic
analysis, gene splicing, and DNA
analysis (genomics)
What is Biotechnology?
• Gene Splicing or Recombinant DNA
Technology
• The Controversial Technology
• Recombinant DNA Technology: From
Gene Pool to Genetic Ocean
What is Genomics?
• Finding the Sequence & Function of All
the Genes of an Organism
• Challenging How We View the Nature of
Life and the Life of Nature.
• Evolution
• Vitalism: Essence vs Substance
• A Shared Genetic Heritage
Biotechnology is
Controversial
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It touches on so many fundamentals
Our Bodies
Our Families
Our Land
Our Sense of Right and Wrong
Genesis, Genie, Ingenuity
• Understanding Concerns about Genetic
Manipulation
• The Joys of Etymology:
Genie
Genetique
• Genesis
• Genesis
• Genes
• Genesis
• Genes
• Genie
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Genesis
Genes
Genie
Genius
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Genesis
Genes
Genie
Genius
Ingenious
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Genesis
Genes
Genie
Genius
Ingenious
Ingenuity
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Genesis
Genes
Genie
Genius
Ingenious
Ingenuity
Ingenieur
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Genesis
Genes
Genie
Genius
Ingenious
Ingenuity
Ingenieur
Engineer
Biotechnology is Controversial
• Differences in Values
• Versus
• Differences in Conceptions and
Misconceptions
A Spectrum of Values About
Food
• Wholesome
• Holistic
• Holy
Wholesome vs. Loathsome
• A wholesome food can be loathsome,
based on tradition, habit, taste or
religion.
Ethics vs Squeamics
• Ethics--from ancient Greek ethos,
meaning “character” or “custom”
• Distinguishing between that which is
unacceptable behavior and that which
makes us uncomfortable
Perception is Reality
Perception is Reality
• Except, Often It is Not
• Whose job is it to point this out?
• Ask Galileo if it’s easy.
The Challenge of Perception
is the Potential for The Feeling
of Deception
• How Consumers Think New Foods Are
Developed, Tested and Regulated
• How New Foods Are Actually
Developed, Tested and Regulated
Learning vs UnLearning
• “It’s not that people don’t know.
• It’s that so much of what people know
just isn’t so.”
Criticisms of Recombinant
DNA Technology from
Prophets, Princes, Priests and
People
• Perversion
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Poison
Promiscuity
Profit
Power
And Proof
Perversion
• Transfer of genes from one species to
another is an abomination
• ‘The realm of God and of God alone’
Poison
• The introduced gene itself may be a
poison
• Introducing new genes may turn on
dangerous genes or turn off beneficial
genes
Promiscuity
• The introduced gene may make the
crop a superweed
• The introduced gene may flow to wild
relatives, polluting their gene pool
• The introduced gene may flow to related
weeds, making them superweeds.
Profit
• Companies are concerned primarily with
making a profit
• “Food for people, not for profit”
Profiteering vs Propheteering
Power
• Biotechnology by its need for
infrastructure concentrates power in
countries rich in infrastructure
• Biotechnology companies by their drive
for profits seek patents, preclude the
free use of the technology, purchase
competitors, prevent farmers from
saving seed
Power, continued
• Biotechnology sucks resources away
from research and economic
development based on sustainable
agriculture, including especially organic
methods.
The Pivotal ‘P’ Word:
The Nature of Proof
Fairness in Proof and in
Proving
• Comparable Scrutiny
• What Every 6 Year Old Knows: What’s
Fair, and What’s Unfair
• What is a Fair Compare?
Is Biotechnology Safe?
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Yes or No
Black and White
Cut and Dried
Guaranteed
And Certain
Is Biotechnology Safe?
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Distinguishing between
The Process and its inherent risks
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The Specific Gene and its inherent risks
Is Biotechnology Safe?
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The Possibilities: Risks of rDNA are
Greater Than,
Equal To,
Less Than,
Or Different From Risks from other genetic
modifications?
Is there evidence that gene
splicing is riskier than other
methods of genetic
modification?
Genetic Modifications of
Crops
• In how many ways are crops genetically
modified today?
Genetic Modifications of
Crops
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Selection
Breeding
Cloning
Grafting
Hybridization
Mutagenesis
Tissue Culture
Somaclonal Variation
Embryogenesis
Cell Fusion
Transposons
Viral Infection
Genetic Modifications
• Which of these are “natural”?
• Which of these occur in Nature in the
absence of The Hand of Humanity?
• Does it matter, as a point of risk?
• Manipulate, Maneuver, Manufacture
How are the risks of these
genetic modifications
managed and reviewed?
• Should the threshold of safety for crops
developed using these methods serve
as the threshold of safety for crops
developed using recombinant DNA
technology?
Is Biotechnology As Safe As
Other Methods of Genetic
Modification?
• Key principle based on 1987 report from
the National Academy of Sciences
• Safety assessments “should be based
on the nature of the organism and the
environment into which it will be
introduced, not on the method by which
it was modified.”
Is Biotechnology As Safe As
Other Methods of Genetic
Modification?
• 1987 National Academy of Science: “no
conceptual distinction exists between
genetic modification of plants and
microorganisms by classical methods or
by molecular methods that modify DNA
and transfer genes.”
Is Biotechnology As Safe As
Other Methods of Genetic
Modification?
• 1989 National Research Council report
• “Crops modified by molecular and
cellular methods should pose risks no
different from those modified by
classical genetic methods for similar
traits.”
Revisiting the Issue of
Relative Risk
• A Committee of the National Research
Council has again reviewed the issue of
relative risks of recombinant DNA technology
• The committee’s report in April 2000
reaffirmed that there is no evidence that the
risks of recombinant DNA technology are
different from those of other methods of
genetic modification.
"Is It Safe?" vs.
"Is It Safe Enough?”
• Science can assess the risk
• Politics draws the threshold of
acceptance
• For example, what are the roles of
science and of politics in setting speed
limits?
What is the Benchmark of
Safety?
• How safe is safe enough?
• Should transgenic crops be less safe,
as safe, or safer than other genetically
modified crops?
• If safer, how much safer? How
measured? How long?
What is the Benchmark of
Safety?
• The Method of Heft vs.
• The Double Scales of Justice
• We may not know how risky two
approaches are, but we can consider
which weighs more
• Conventional Methods as the Standard
of Acceptable Risk
• Comparable Scrutiny for Comparable
Risk?
• Uncomparable Scrutiny for Comparable
Risk?
Product vs. Process
• Where lie the risks?
• Where do people perceive the risks lie?
Two Types of Regulations
• Regulations to protect the public from
the risks of biotechnology
• Regulations to protect biotechnology
from the fears of the public
• What are the benefits and pitfalls of
such ‘reassurance regulations’?
In Labeling, what should be:
• Compulsory?
• Permitted?
• Prohibited?
Labeling in US: The Product
• Composition
• Adulteration
Labeling in US: The Claims
• Truthful
• And Not Misleading
Defensive Labeling
• "May Contain”
• Tolerances of Content
The Consumer Sovereignty
Argument:
• The consumer has a right to know what
goes in the consumer’s body.
• WWW2NO: Whatever We Want to
Know
• Rights vs Remedies
• The strength of the right is really in the
power of the remedy
The Consumer Sovereignty
Argument
• Right to Know vs Demand to Know
• Right to Know vs. Obligation to Divulge
• Compare to other rights: to free press,
to free education, to bear & keep arms,
to free conscience
• If the consumer right to know is
absolute, then how far does it go?
Are There Limits on
Consumer Sovereignty?
• For example, what if a majority of
consumers demand to know the religion
of the producer?
Is the power of a right in the
remedy?
• Do you have the right to know whatever
you want to know about the food you
are buying?
• At a market? At a store? At a
restaurant?
• Remedy: choose not to use if the seller
cannot or will not provide the
information.
The Economic Justice
Argument:
• Labeling as an Economic “Good or
Service”
• Beyond information on composition and
safety, extra labeling information should
be treated as economic goods or
services
The Economic Justice
Argument
• Those that value the good should pay
for it
• Those that don’t value it should not
have to pay for it
Economic Justice is the Basis
for Labeling Kosher and
Organic Food
StarLink
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Cry9c protein and gene
Potential for Allergenicity
Confusing A posteriori & A priori?
The Split Approval:
– Standards of Practice of Hybrid Seed Corn
– Standards of Performance
Contaminant vs Adulterant
The Precautionary Principle
and the “Questions Remain”
Argument
• What are the powers and limits of
science as a way of probing the
unknown?
• Is science omniscience?
• Since omniscience is never possible,
how do we decide in the face of
uncertainty?
The “Questions Remain”
Argument
• Questions remain about gene splicing.
• However, this is true for even the most
familiar methods of genetic modification.
• Is familiarity a function of risk or a factor
in acceptance?
• Should we care about the distinction?
Philosophies of Proof
• European
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• North American
Why? vs. Why Not?
• Continental Europe: Unless it is
permitted, it is prohibited
• English and North American: Unless it
is prohibited, it is permitted
The Nature of Proof
• Whom do we trust? vs.
• What do we trust?
• The difference between assuaging the
fear and assaying the risk
The Burden of Proof:
• Caution
• Precaution
• Pretense & Paralysis
The Jane Austen Analysis of
Science as a Way of Dealing
with Uncertainty
• Sense and Sensibility
• Pride and Prejudice
• The Roles of Science in Choosing to
Use or Choosing to Refuse
• The Roles of Science in Negotiation,
Mediation and Arbitration
Jerry Caulder: A Crisis of
Epistemology
• Be aware of how society has changed
historically in assessing truth.
• "We had an Authoritative System : the
pope, the king, the prince decided what was
right."
• "Then we moved into the Scientific Method:
reason and experience and experiment
tested our ideas."
• "Testability is the one difference between
science and faith. That's what scientists do-they test, and retest. The problem is you're
wrong alot. But the ultimate defense that
you're moving toward the truth. Can anybody
else make that claim?"
• "But in the last few years we've moved
into the Egalitarian Method: let's just
vote on what the truth is.”
• "We vote on what the truth is rather than
trying to figure out what it is.”
Science as a Source of
Freedom and Fairness
• The Uses of Science in Accommodating
Profound Concerns Unfounded by the
Data
• The Roles of Science and of Public
Opinion in Shaping Public Policy as to
What will be Compulsory, Permitted and
Prohibited
Agricultural Puritanism
• Certainty, Zeal -- and Intolerance
• Bombing buildings (late 1980’s), wrecking
field trials, and breaking windows-anonymously and at night (Oct. 1999 in
Wisconsin)
• Is Propheteering any better than Profiteering?
Wholesome Holistic & Holy
• Understanding Perspectives of Food
• Discerning between Loathsome and
Unwholesome
• The Powers and Limits of Science
In Labeling, what should be:
• Compulsory?
• Permitted?
• Prohibited?
Labeling in US: The Product
• Composition
• Adulteration
Labeling in US: The Claims
• Truthful
• And Not Misleading
Defensive Labeling
• "May Contain”
• Tolerances of Content
The Economic Justice
Argument:
• Labeling as an Economic “Good or
Service”
• Beyond information on composition and
safety, extra labeling information should
be treated as economic goods or
services
Economic Justice is the Basis
for Labeling Kosher and
Organic Food
The Economic Justice
Argument
• Those that value the good should pay
for it
• Those that don’t value it should not
have to pay for it
The Consumer Sovereignty
Argument:
• WWW: Whatever We Want
• Rights vs Remedies
• The strength of the right is really in the
power of the remedy
Are There Limits on
Consumer Sovereignty?
• For example, what if a majority of
consumers demand to know the religion
of the producer?
International Trade Issues
• The Idea of Fungibility
• Accommodating The Concept of
Commodities
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Labeling
Segregation
Detection of “contamination”
Tolerance of Crops with Transgenes
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Boycotts by Consumers
Embargoes by Countries’ Governments
Non-tariff Trade Barriers
Sleepless in Seattle
Responses to Intimidation
• Is it fair to say that neither might nor
fright makes right?
The Montreal Accord
• The BioDiversity Treaty vs
• The Global Agreement on Tariffs &
Trade
• The Precautionary Principle vs
• Substantial Scientific Evidence
US vs EU on The Newshour
1.31.00
• Frank Loy, Undersecretary of State
• John Richardson, Deputy Ambassador
of European Commission
• EU: Consumer concern over
environmental impact
• EU: can reject a crop if there is
scientific doubt, by invoking the
precautionary principle
EU Concerns
• EU: has been motivated by concerns of
voters
• “If our voters want us to be cautious,
then our politicians need to be cautious”
• “It’s not about our farmers, it’s about our
consumers”
US: EU position has been
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Not scientific
Political
Unfair
Damaging to farmers
• A final method called the Humanitarian
Approach described by the idea that
"You're a nice fellow, so we'll give
credence to your ideas.”
Is Biotechnology Safe?
BSE & nvCJD: The Crux
• March 1996
• The Event That Crumbled Public Trust
in Scientists and Perhaps in Science
• Is there a difference between saying
“We have no evidence that English beef
is less safe than other sources of beef”
and saying “It’s safe”?
Weighing Risks:
Why Words Matter
• Can we hear the difference between
statements about biology and
statements about biologists?
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Weighing Options:
Churchill’s Readiness
Spectrum
Alive
Awake
Aware
Arouse
Alert
Alarm
(So why are gene-spliced
crops called GMOs?)
• I don’t knows.
• Confusing, isn’t it?
• Misleading, too?
GMO?
• It’s misleading and not truthful to use
the term “genetically modified organism”
to mean exclusively those modified
using recombinant DNA technology.
• But it’s the European convention
• It’s the Grossly Misleading Option for
describing gene-spliced crops.
Considering Risks: Inherent
to the Process of Gene
Splicing
• Gene insertion: gene interruption to
activate, inactivate, or change
expression
• Inserting a foreign gene: vitalism
• Vitalism: The tomato with fish fins
Considering the Risks:
The Process or The Gene?
• Allergenicity
• Superweeds
• Transfer to ‘land races’ or special
varieties of a crop that differ by color,
size, hardiness, etc, that farmers have
cultivated in specific places for
generations
Considering the Risks:
Antibiotic Resistance Genes
• Why use antibiotic resistance genes or
markers?
• Coupling a valuable but hard-to-find
gene with an easy-to-find gene.
• How to find a golden needle in a
haystack: duct-tape a steel needle to it,
and use a magnet.
Considering the Risks
Antibiotic resistance genes
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How often is the antibiotic applied?
When?
Where?
Why is this different from routine use of
antibiotics as a feed supplement for
livestock and poultry?
Considering the Risks:
The Antibiotic Resistance
Genes
• Where do the antibiotic resistance
genes come from?
• What is the worst-case scenario?
• If the antibiotic resistance genes in
crops originally come from bacteria, and
the possible threat is that the genes will
move from crops to bacteria, where’s
the risk?
Considering the Risks:
Introducing a New Protein
• How many ways can proteins previously
not in the food supply be introduced into
crops?
• What is the level of scrutiny (due
diligence) for introducing new proteins
by conventional genetic modifications?
• What should be the level of scrutiny for
gene splicing?
The Idea of Substantial
Equivalence
• A regulatory concept borrowed from the
process used to review new medical
devices.
The Unanswered Ethical
Question: Unintended
Consequences of Boycotts
• Opportunity Cost
• &
• Opportunity Lost
Wholesome vs. Loathsome
• A wholesome food can be loathsome, based
on tradition, habit, taste or religion.
• Who should pay for information about the
loathsomeness of food?
• What are the limits on the consumer right to
know?
• What are the legal remedies when the right is
violated?