Battle Lecturer Questions Effectiveness of Genetically Engineered Foods

Has agricultural biotechnology lived up to its promise?

This is the question that Dr. E. Ann Clark explored in the first Helen Battle Lecture of the year. Dr. Clark is an Associate Professor in Plant Agriculture at the University of Guelph whose regular academic research studies pasture and grazing management. On her own time she examines the policies and implementation of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO), Genetically Engineered (GE) Foods and Mutagenically altered herbicide tolerant species. At the beginning of her talk, she mentioned that the Canadian Biotechnology Strategy (CBS) states as a premise that such technologies should enhance the quality of life of Canadians and infers that the risks are both manageable and detectable. Clark then asked, “How well founded are these premises?”

It has been nine years since agricultural biotechnology has been introduced as a commercial enterprise and, according to Clark, the time is ripe to assess whether the conflicting mandates of corporations and government have kept the promise set forth by the CBS. She then presented the argument that agricultural biotech has been oversold with little or no societal benefits.

As it stands right now, only the United States, Canada and Argentina account for 90% of all the GE foods produced in the world where China, Brazil and South Africa take up most of the remaining share.

Differences also exist in regards to what crops are being modified within these countries. In Canada, canola, corn and soybeans are the three main food crops that are subjected to this treatment while South Africa focuses on cotton. Health Canada has also authorized GE tomatoes, potatoes, flax and wheat for production. Clark explained that although these additional crops were approved, the European markets refuse to buy the altered potatoes and tomatoes, while flax producers refused to grow the treated seed.

There are other factors to consider, Clark says that the majority of GE production in plants is focused on herbicide tolerance or introducing a gene from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis which effectively turns every cell of the plant into an insecticide. According to Clark, $ 700 million of taxpayers money is channeled into this technology with very little to show for it. Two commercialized traits, four industrial crops in six countries. Which begs the question, “If this is so great, why doesn’t the planet adopt it?”

Clark contends that there are other questions that should be investigated as well. Does GM increase yield, profit or pesticide dependence? “No one knows since no federal or provincial studies have been done to answer these questions.” Take the example of canola oil and canola meal, "the US is the only major buyer of these products, most other countries don’t want them." As for corn produced in the US, it seems that the European markets reject it outright even though only 35% of the US growers use GM corn.

The remainder of the lecture focused on herbicide tolerant (HT) plants which Clark says actually increase the use of herbicides. As weeds become naturally tolerant to one spray, farmers find it necessary to add another type of herbicide to deal with weeds. Clark describes this method as a symptom oriented approach that ends up promoting dependence on herbicides which is counter to the proposed benefits of GMOs. In effect, these methods are not working to eliminate the cause of weeds.

Clark suggests that the current farm management practice, through linear thinking, sustains the problem. She maintains that a holistic approach would decentralize the benefit to companies and pass them on to farmers and consumers. In one example, she mentions a farm where chickens are left to roam and graze underneath raspberry canes. The raspberries benefit as weeds are kept to a minimum and receive nitrogen rich waste from the hens. The free-ranging poultry in turn supplement their diet.

When successful holistic management strategies are compared to the track record of biotechnology developments, Clark says that GM doesn’t live up to its promise.

The Helen Battle Lecture series was established in honor of Dr. Helen Battle who was a Western alumna. She graduated with a BA in Honors Zoology in 1923 and completed her MA in 1924. Dr. Battle earned her PhD in Zoology from the University of Toronto in 1928 and was the first woman in Canada to earn a PhD in marine biology. She earned many honours in her lifetime, including the Canada Centennial Medal in 1967, honorary degrees from Western and Carleton, and the UWO Alumni Association Award of Merit. She died in 1994 at the age of 90.

The November 25 lecture was co-sponsored by the Biology Undergraduate Society and the Department of Biology.

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