GM+organisms,+consumers,+food+safety,+and+the+environment

"Genetically Modified Organisms, Consumers, Food Safety, and the Environment." //FAO: FAO Home//. FAO Information Group, 2001. Web. 17 Sept. 2010. []. ** GMOs and Human Rights: **

 o Some ethical aspects of GMOs fall within the context of the right to adequate food, which is derived from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. ** - The Right to Informed Choices **  o This principle can be applied, for example, in the debate on labelling food derived from GMOs to ensure that consumers know what they are consuming and are able to make informed decisions. ** GMO’s and the Human Health ** ** - Risk Analysis **  o Many consider that decisionmaking based on science is the only objective way to set policy in a world of diverse opinions, values and interests. - **Risk Assessment**  o Risk in the context of safety includes two elements: **i)** hazard, an intrinsic factor (e.g. a biological, chemical or physical agent in, or condition of, food, with the potential to cause an adverse effect on health) that indicates the damage if the event occurs; and **ii)** the probability or chance that the event will occur.  o The two components of risk both contain a measure of uncertainty, and it is this measure of uncertainty that is the focus of many discussions.  o //Risk assessment //is a scientifically based process consisting of the following steps: **i)** hazard identification; **ii)** hazard characterization; **iii)** exposure assessment; and **iv)** risk characterization. ** - Risk Management **  o //Risk management //, 5 distinct from risk assessment, is the process of weighing policy alternatives in consultation with all interested parties, considering risk assessment and other factors relevant for the protection of consumersÕ health and for the promotion of fair trade practices as well as, if necessary, selecting appropriate prevention and control options.  o When a sound risk management strategy is applied to environmental problems, as distinct from safety problems, it will begin by describing a problem and the goals, objectives and values to be pursued by solving that problem.  o Rather than narrowing the analysis, this allows the creation of new options or combinations of options. - **Risk Communication**  o //<span style="font-family: Palatino-Italic+2; font-size: 10pt;">Risk communication //<span style="font-family: Palatino-Roman+2; font-size: 10pt;">is the interactive exchange of information and opinions among assessors, risk managers, consumers, industry, the academic community and other interested parties throughout the risk analysis process. <span style="display: block; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> o It is vitally important that risk communication with the public comes from credible and trusted sources. ** Safety of GM Foods ** <span style="display: block; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> o Because of the complexity of food products, research on the safety of GM foods is still thought to be more difficult to carry out than studies on components such as pesticides, pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals and food additives. <span style="display: block; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> o Factors taken into account when comparing a GM food with its conventional counterpart include: **<span style="font-family: Palatino-Roman+2; font-size: 10pt;">¥ **<span style="font-family: Palatino-Roman+2; font-size: 10pt;"> identity, source and composition; **<span style="font-family: Palatino-Roman+2; font-size: 10pt;">¥ **<span style="font-family: Palatino-Roman+2; font-size: 10pt;"> effects of processing and cooking; **<span style="font-family: Palatino-Roman+2; font-size: 10pt;">¥ **<span style="font-family: Palatino-Roman+2; font-size: 10pt;"> the transformation process, the DNA itself and protein expression products of the introduced DNA; **<span style="font-family: Palatino-Roman+2; font-size: 10pt;">¥ **<span style="font-family: Palatino-Roman+2; font-size: 10pt;"> effects on function; **<span style="font-family: Palatino-Roman+2; font-size: 10pt;">¥ **<span style="font-family: Palatino-Roman+2; font-size: 10pt;">potential toxicity, potential allergenicity and possible secondary effects; **<span style="font-family: Palatino-Roman+2; font-size: 10pt;">¥ **<span style="font-family: Palatino-Roman+2; font-size: 10pt;">potential intake and dietary impact of the introduction of the GM food. <span style="display: block; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> o If the GMO-derived food is judged to be substantially equivalent to its conventional counterpart, then it is considered to be as safe as the counterpart. ** GMOs and the Environment ** <span style="display: block; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> o The environmental impacts of introduced GMOs can be either ecological or genetic **<span style="font-family: Palatino-Roman+2; font-size: 10pt;">¥ **<span style="font-family: Palatino-Roman+2; font-size: 10pt;"> unintended effects on the dynamics of populations in the receiving environment as a result of impacts on non-target species, which may occur directly by predation or competition, or indirectly by changes in land use or farming practices; **<span style="font-family: Palatino-Roman+2; font-size: 10pt;">¥ **<span style="font-family: Palatino-Roman+2; font-size: 10pt;"> unintended effects on biogeochemistry, especially through impacts on soil microbial populations that regulate the flow of nitrogen, phosphorus and other essential elements; **<span style="font-family: Palatino-Roman+2; font-size: 10pt;">¥ **<span style="font-family: Palatino-Roman+2; font-size: 10pt;"> the transfer of inserted genetic material to other domesticated or native populations, generally known as gene flow, through pollination, mixed matings, dispersal or microbial transfer. - **Environmental Issues and GM Crops** <span style="display: block; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> o GM crops are commercially available and planted on more than 40 million hectares across six continents. <span style="display: block; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> o The majority of the area under GM crops is planted with varieties resistant to herbicides. <span style="display: block; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> o A 1998 international technical meeting, organized by FAO on Benefits and Risks of Transgenic Herbicide-Resistant Crops, found that: **<span style="font-family: Palatino-Roman+2; font-size: 10pt;">1. **<span style="font-family: Palatino-Roman+2; font-size: 10pt;"> The repeated use of one herbicide causes a shift in the weed flora because there is very high selection pressure on weeds to evolve biotypes that are resistant to the herbicides associated with transgenic plants bred to be tolerant of those herbicides. **<span style="font-family: Palatino-Roman+2; font-size: 10pt;">2. **<span style="font-family: Palatino-Roman+2; font-size: 10pt;"> Gene flow occurs with the spread of genes through pollen and outcrossing from herbicide-resistant crops to related weed species. In the absence of the particular herbicide, the possession of this trait is unlikely to improve the strength of the weeds but, when the herbicide is applied, it would improve the weedsÕ strength and could reduce the economic benefits of herbicide resistance. **<span style="font-family: Palatino-Roman+2; font-size: 10pt;">3. **<span style="font-family: Palatino-Roman+2; font-size: 10pt;">The risks of gene transfers are higher in areas of origin and diversification. Care needs to be taken to ensure that native germplasm, including weed and wild crop relatives, is not affected by the transfer of herbicide-resistant genes. ** Bt ** Bacillus thuringiensis ** DNA ** deoxyribonucleic acid ** GM ** genetically modified ** GMO ** genetically modified organism ** IPPM ** integrated pest and production management ** LMO ** living modified organism ** NASCO ** North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization ** NGO ** non-governmental organization