Science's edible monster?

by Sarah Roe

Genetically modified organisms
Environmentalists, scientists and consumer lobbyists have condemned the production of GMOs, claiming that the food created is unnatural and once unleashed, can cause serious changes to the environment into which it is introduced. "The inserted genes may interact with micro-organisms living in soil and water, creating new varieties with unforeseeable results," argues Vera Mora of the Hungarian NGO, Energy Club, which spearheaded a campaign in Hungary against GMOs. "Current genetic systems took billions of years to develop," says Gyorgy Stuber of Greenpeace Sweden. "Genetic engineering manipulates them and sends them into the environment in a few years."

Scientists have developed ways to change an organism's genetic makeup by adding genes from other species to increase its resistance to disease, insects and herbicides, or to improve its taste or shelf life. In Poland, the human gene responsible for producing growth hormone was introduced to carp spawn to increase growth and maturity rate, while potatoes on the US commercial market include genes from the soil bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis, a natural insecticide.

GMO opponents believe such interactions could change the whole ecosystem and create new allergies and diseases. "Only 5 percent of the micro-organisms in soil are known," says Jan van Arken of Greenpeace Germany. "The whole ecosystem is a black box to us." The U.S.-based Union of Concerned Scientists has highlighted numerous risks of genetic engineering including the "genetic pollution" of surrounding environments if GM crops transfer their qualities to other species. New allergies are possible if consumers are not aware of products containing substances to which they are allergic. A University of Nebraska study showed that soya beans genetically modified to contain brazil-nut proteins caused reactions in individuals allergic to brazil nuts.

On the pro-side, companies and institutions involved in developing GM food say that benefits far outweigh risks, with assurances that detailed tests are carried out before GMOs are released commercially. The NewLeaf Russet Burbank potato, for example, a product of US-based biotech giant Monsanto, was researched for more than eight years and is the most extensively researched potato ever introduced, claims the company. Products must also be approved by numerous authorities, and in Europe new legislation has been introduced to regulate biotechnology.

Proponents emphasise that GMOs will revolutionise food production, making agriculture more efficient and thereby helping to solve the world's food crisis. Modified to withstand disease and pests, the new crops are a dream come true for farmers in constant battle with natural enemies, they say. Stronger crops need fewer chemicals like pesticides and herbicides — themselves a significant environmental problem. Fewer chemicals on food would also be a plus for consumers. "I think it's much better to have a new technology which is safe for human life than a dangerous product in the wrong hands," argues Istvan Olah, Country Manager for Monsanto's branch operations in Hungary. For many scientists, the new crops are an unprecedented result of human scientific progress. Public fears can be put down to ignorance and resistance to change, they say, much the same as when the first steam trains appeared more than a century ago.

GMOs in CEE
Pressure from consumers continues to stall commercial production of genetically engineered (GE) crops in Europe. As a result, GE companies have faced significant legal and political barriers to their introduction, from EU laws requiring the labelling of GM products to the outright banning of their production and import in Austria.

At the same time, American GMO imports found their way into Central Europe, although amounts remain uncertain. "Poland is the biggest importer of American corn in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)," says Darek Szwed of Polish NGO, Ekoland. "There is no screening of it so it may contain GMOs." In Hungary, NGOs estimate that over 10,000 tonnes of US soy meal were imported by Hungary in 1997 for animal feed and that at least 1-2 percent was genetically modified.

CEE scientists are by no means new to GMOs. Although the region lags behind in the bio-tech race, numerous GMO experiments have been carried out in state laboratories such as the Godollo and Szeged institutes in Hungary, the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Czech Institute of Biotechnology and the Bulgarian Institute of Genetic Engineering. More recently, multinational companies — in particular Monsanto and Swiss-based Novartis — have set up shop in CEE countries with a view to introducing GM crops.

Regulating GMOs in CEE
CEE countries slated for accession are keen to bring in EU-style legislation on GMOs, mainly to ensure harmonised regulations but also to prevent companies from using them as guinea pigs for tests and production outlawed in the West. Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic have drafted laws including provisions to label products containing GMOs.

For environmentalists, though, there is a twist in the tale. New legislation may only speed up what they have been trying to prevent. Instead of phasing out the modified crops, there is now a legal route for the commercial introduction of GMO products. And with multinational companies now occupying a significant chunk of the region's agricultural sector, farmers are likely to be attracted to science's new super seeds. That, according to environmentalists, could signal the end to a special opportunity for the region to produce organically grown crops for both Western and domestic markets.