Martin Donohoe

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The engineering of plants to produce pharmaceuticals such as enzymes, antibiotics, contraceptives, abortifacients, antibodies, chemotherapeutic agents, other medications, vaccines, and industrial and research chemicals

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Rationale:
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Farmers/farms cheaper than technicians/manufacturing plants
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Seeds/silos may be cheap storage system
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?Cheaper drugs? – doubtful given history of pharmaceutical industry pricing patterns; also, multiple externalized costs
Approximately 400 field tests worldwide since 1991 (over 100 in
U.S.)

1 – Nebraska
2 – Hawaii
3 - Puerto Rico
4 – Wisconsin
5 – Iowa
6 – Kentucky
7 – California
8 – Texas
9 – Florida
10 – Washington
11 – North Carolina
12 - Maryland

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More than 15 companies involved in US (75 companies worldwide)
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USDA conceals crop locations from public and neighboring farmers, in most cases hides identity of drug or chemical being tested, citing trade secrets
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Even state agriculture regulators often unaware of info re drug or chemical involved

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Corn
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Soybeans
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Tobacco
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Rice

Drug/Chemical Use Test Crop
Laccase
Folic acid
Erythropoeitin
Textiles, adhesives
Vitamin
Anemia
Corn
Tomatoes
Tobacco

Drug/Chemical Use Test Crop
Essential fatty acids
Cell membrane production
SARS vaccine Immunization
Vaccine against pollen allergies
Immunization
Soybeans
Tomato
Rice

Drug/Chemical Use Test Crop
Traveler’s and other Diarrheas
Insulin
Insulin-like
Growth Factors
Immunization/
Drug
Treatment of
Diabetes
Diabetes, Growth,
Carcinogen
Rice, Potatoes and
Corn
Safflower
Rice

Potentially Harmful Biopharmaceuticals
Substance
Acanthocyanin in tomatoes
Aprotinin in corn
Use Known or
Potential
Effects
Unknown Antioxidant, anticancer agent
Blood clotting Pancreatic disease, allergic reactions

Potentially Harmful Biopharmaceuticals
Substance Use Known or
Potential Effects
Anti-sperm antibody in corn
Trypsin in corn
Avidin in corn
Contraception Adverse reproductive impacts
Enzyme research, industrial uses
Research
Occupational asthma
Vitamin B deficiency, allergic reactions

Potentially Harmful Biopharmaceuticals
Substance Use
Ebola immune complex in Nicotiana benthamiana
Vaccine against highly pathogenic, dangerous virus
Known or Potential
Effects
Immune system effects
Taliglucerase alfa in carrots
Gaucher’s Disease Two similar drugs made in mammalian cells already available

Potentially Harmful Biopharmaceuticals
Substance
Tricosanthin in tobacco
Use
Failed anti-HIV drug
Alpha-amylase in corn
Digests starch to sugars (aids biofuel production)
Known or
Potential
Effects
Highly toxic allergic reactions, induced abortions unknown

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National Academy of Sciences
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Union of Concerned Scientists
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British Medical Association (favors moratorium on all GM foods)
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Consumers Union

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Grocery Manufacturers of America
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National Food Processors Association
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Organic Consumers Association
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Friends of the Earth
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Others

Biopharm Proponents Claims
Inflated/Unrealistic
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Farmers are unlikely to be major beneficiaries:
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Market forces, including foreign competition, will drive down farmer compensation
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Acreage required very small compared with commodity crop acreage, such that only a small number of growers will be needed

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GE algae (for use as fuel): dangers include worldwide spread and possible weaponization to destroy fish stocks
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Mercury-splicing bacteria for soil cleanup
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Removes Hg 2+ ions from contaminated soil and converts it into volatile elemental mercury, which is released into the atmosphere
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Problem - converted by phytoplankton to organic mercury, dispersed widely, and then works its way up the food chain

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Aquabounty Technology’s GE salmon (contains growth hormone gene from chinook salmon and genetic onswitch from the ocean pout)
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Designed for more rapid growth
Aquabounty states it will only produce sterile females
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Up to 15% may escape pens and interbreed with wild stocks, decreasing the species’ reproductive fitness
GE salmon have higher levels of IGF-1 (carcinogen)
WA, OR and MD have banned

Genetic Modification of Vertebrates
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Tilapia/clotting factor VII
“Ruppy” (Ruby Puppy)
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Glows red under UV light
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Developed using red fluorescent gene from sea anemones
Artist Eduard Kac:
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Glow-in-the-dark rabbit
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“Plantimal” (petunia-human hybrid)

Genetic Modification of Vertebrates
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“Popeye Pig” – Pig GM with spinach gene, designed to have less saturated fat
Pigs modified with roundworm gene to make their own
(heart healthy) omega-3 fatty acids
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Accidentally turned up in poutry feed sold throughout
Ontario(2004)
Goats GM to make anti-nerve gas agent

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“Enviropig” – GM modified with E. coli and mouse DNA to digest phytates, decrease phosphate in excrement
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Phytase (pig feed supplement) does same thing
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Pig feed can already be supplemented with phytase
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Idea shelved

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Cows modified to produce “human” milk
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Proposal to genetically modify human embryos to make all humans intolerant to red meat (to combat global warming and overuse of water)

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USDA Office of the Inspector General has criticized
USDA for lacking coordinated oversight of regulations behind R and D of GE animals and insects

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Inter-species breeding
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Ape-man, Ilya Ivanovich Ivanov, Guinea, 1927
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Stalin attempted to create interspecies (half-men/halfapes) “super-warriors”
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2011: Chimeric monkey created from 6 different parents

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UK scientists have created over 150 human-animal hybrid embryos to develop embyronic stem cells
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De-extincting Neanderthal using human womb
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Cloning of extinct species, “Pleistocene rewilding”

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Creation of DNA and organisms from scratch
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Applications:
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Biofuels
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Industrial chemicals
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Natural product substitutes - Rubber, vanilla, palm oil
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Biomedical applications - Vaccine production

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2002: Polio virus created at SUNY Stony Brook over two years
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2005: Mt Sinai, CDC researchers resurrect lethal 1918 flu virus and publish details of complete genome sequence
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2012: Nature published instructions on how to create plague virus

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Accidental release into wild
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Displacement of wild populations
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Ecosystem disruption
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Extinction

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DARPA Project to create living, breathing creatures with possible military applications
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Bio hackers (home and community laboratory creation of
GM organisms)