Fiction

Fact

1

To date neither conventional nor GM food crops have shown any tendency to invade the environment

2

The same argument is used against conventional vaneites and hybrids. South African farmers have access to some 3000 to 3500 varieties, more than ever before. GM crops will add to this diversity. Land races are conserved in international centres where the crops are preserved and studied, eg. the Maize and Wheat Research Institute in Mexico

3

GM crops have not reduced the use of pesticides

China saved 78 000 tons of pesticides through GM cotton alone; the USA 7000 tons of active ingredients. South African cotton farmers reduced pesticide sprays by 60-70%

4

Genes can flow from GM crops by cross-pollination

Yes they can, but cross pollination can only be a threat if the crop plant has a resultant advantage. Thus if a recipient plant is cross pollinated to become resistant to a herbicide but the farmer doesn't use that herbicide the plant will not have an advantage.

5

GM crops will become superweeds

There are no herbicide resistant GM crops that have become superweeds. One can always spray herbicide tolerant plants with another herbicide to kill it. addition crops have been bred by conventional means to be resistant to some herbicides and they have never become superweeds.

6

GM crops will result in pest resistance

This is possible in the long term just as pests become resistant to chemical pesticides. But why hasn't the cotton bollworm become resistant to Bt toxin after 40 years of its use as a spray-on insecticide? Farmers are required to implement resistance management strategies, by planting non Bt retugia, to minimize the chance of resistance developing. In addition many Bt genes are becoming available with different modes Of toxic effect, making resistanceless likely.

7

The initial tests on the Monarch butterfly that gave rise to scare stories were based on poor science. Many subsequent studies based on field assessments have totally disproved them. Spray-on insecticides are far more harmful as they kill target and non-target insects, as well as frog's and other fauna.

8

The paper that this story was based on used very poor scientific methods and races in Mexico the editors later acknowledged that it should not have been published. However, GM maize will cross pollinate other cultivated maize if grown close enough to it. The land races have been under constant cross pollination for decades as only the best will be used. Probably the land races presently grown in Mexico are very different from what they were a mere 20 years ago. Land races are not static.

9

We regularly eat Brassica foods (cauliflower, cabbages etc) which carry heavy the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) genes will loads of CaMV and there are no super viruses. create super viruses

10

Herbicide resistant crops will allow farmers to spray when they consider it necessary. This will result in the use of less herbicide. Data from the USA show that in addition to decreased use of herbicide there is less soil erosion due to decreases in tillage conservation tillage.

11

There is no evidence for this. However conventional crops often show genetic side-effects instability due to "jumping genes". Many variegated ornamental plants are based on this.

Food Safety

1

2

We do not know the long term effects of anything. However GM foods are subjected to the types of toxicological tests that scientists use to predict the long term safety of potential chemical toxins. No other food is subjected to these types of tests.

3

The experiments were flawed, could not be repeated and the results were inconclusive. However, the test was aimed at determining precisely if the gene used in the potatoes could result in toxicity. If it did it would not be further developed. This is precisely how scientists determine whether a particular gene is safe or not

4

allergic and certainly no-one died.

5

Phytoesterogens are normal components in many plants and the higher levels commented on are within the normal variation within so a beans.

6

cause pathogens to become resistant to antibiotics and is due largely to overuse, over-subscription and extensive application of antibiotics. The possibilities of GM crops adding to this problem is infinitesimal. However, antibiotic resistance markers are being fazed out as other markers can be substituted.

7

Increased incidences of food poisoning coincided

The Centres for Disease Control in the USA data do not confirms this trend. with the advent of GM crops in the USA and UK They do indicate that 30% of all food poisonings are due to organic and "natural" foods. The UK does not grow any GM crops.

ETHICAL ISSUES

ETHICAL ISSUES

1

Tampering with genes is unethical and against

Agriculture has been "tampering with nature" for the past 8 000 to 11 000 God's will/Mother Nature years. Most modern varieties of food crops contain genes transferred by breeders from wild species.

2

No one should be allowed to patent live or living

The same protaganists against patents are also pushing for farmers' rights to organisms seeds and plants. These are also living organisms.

3

GM leads to cloning which is immoral

The two processes are totally different. Cloning in this sense refers to making Identical copies of a plant, animal or human being. It has nothing to do with GM.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS

SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS

1

GM crops will make farmers dependent on multinationals

own seed they can do so, but remember this is only possible for non-hybrids, hybrid seed is bought every year, whether GM or not, and has been done for decades

2

GM crops will make people lose jobs

GM crops reduce time on weeding (usually done by women and girls, often keeping the latter out of school ), insecticide spraying (which also requires carrying water, usually done by women) enabling time for other activities.

3

The "terminator gene" requires farmers to buy seed

The "terminator gene ' has never been commercialized. Ironically, it could every year have major benefits to the anti-GM lobby, including organic farmers, as the seed would be sterile and therefore not spread.

4

GM benefits are unproven

Ask this question of the thousands of farmers who are embracing this technology every year. The uptake of GM technology is the highest of any new agricultural technology ever.

5

It would be easy to separate engineered from non- engineered foods

Many foods on supermarket shelves contain soybean or maize. These can range from canned soups to baby foods. America is one of the largest suppliers of soybean and some of their exported soybean may have been genetically modified for insect or herbicide resistance (approximately half of the crop of US soybean is herbicide resistant). However, &~l the soybeans are pooled. It is possible, but very expensive to separate the GMO from the non-GMO soybeans. Obviously, the soybeans will have been cooked during the preparation of the food items, a process which denatures proteins including the ones produced by the introduced gene(s).

6

It is easy to detect GM foods in any product on a supermarket shelf

It is possible to do this but it is a costly exercise. At present this expertise is not widely available in South Africa.

7

Saharan Africa it is just a question of distribution.

This is a naive attitude considering transportation problems on the sub-continent, wars and corruption, to name but a few impediments.

8

Patents will limit African access to GM crops

Many companies have agreed to make patented products and processes freely available for use in developing countries.

LEGISLATION

LEGISLATION

1

The GMO Act is inefficient and deficient

The decision-making Council, representing all relevant departments, is ahead of the USA and [U regulatory systems. Its scope of involving R&D trials and application of all GMOs is more advanced. South Africa has one of the first Acts world-wide that allows for the consideration of socio-economic impact in in the decision making and is favoured by many developing countries as a model for developing own system

2

Civil society was not properly consulted

Inputs were received from many stakeholders and the Act was published for public comments

3

South Africa has not GM labelling regulation

Existing regulations comply with Codex Allimentarius for mandatory labelling of foods which differ from conventional varieties. In other words if the food content of a tin containing GM soya bean is different from a tin containing non-GM soya bean it must be labelled. However, there is no requirement for a food product to be labelled if it is produced by a different method if we were to require this we should require that all food production methods be labelled eg. What chemicals, fertilizers, labour methods were used in its production? Label one must mean label all.