- 4 months ago
Genetically modified crops are under fire, even though scientists agree that genetic engineering is a key technology for boosting yields and profits, as well as contribute to environmental and climate protection.
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00:00Genetically modified foods have a bad reputation.
00:04Companies like Bayer, which sell these seeds, face heavy criticism.
00:08But is that really justified?
00:12One method in particular has drawn strong resistance,
00:16inserting genetic material, a transgene, from one organism into another.
00:20For example, a gene that makes a plant resistant to certain insects
00:24can be added to its genome. Or a gene that allows
00:28the plant to tolerate a specific herbicide. These are called
00:32genetically modified organisms, GMOs, and they're
00:36regulated worldwide. First of all, there have been fears from
00:40day one of the use of GMOs
00:44or development of GMOs, and those
00:48fears and concerns about health and environmental risks
00:52and corporate dominance, they have been
00:56deeply entrenched.
00:58That's Martin Keim,
01:00a member of Germany's National Academy of Sciences.
01:04The idea of inserting a foreign gene
01:06into a plant may feel unsettling.
01:08But let's look at the numbers.
01:10A large meta-study found that crop yields
01:14increased by 22% on average.
01:16Farmers' profits rose by as much as 68%,
01:20while pesticide use dropped by 37%.
01:26You can do insect resistance,
01:28you can potentially do drought tolerance,
01:30you can do fungal resistance,
01:32you can do heat tolerance,
01:34you can add vitamins, for instance.
01:38So, of course, the impacts will be different
01:40depending on what you're doing.
01:44Let's take a look at the wheat variety HB4.
01:48What makes it special is its reported drought tolerance.
01:50It was developed by the agribusiness
01:52BioCeres Crop Solutions in Argentina.
01:54The main characteristic
01:56is that it was developed in Argentina
01:58and that is based on
02:00a gene of girasol, because the girasol
02:02is a naturally resistant,
02:04better than tolerant,
02:06is the right word, to the hĂdrico stress.
02:08Under dry conditions, the company says,
02:10yields could increase 20% on average.
02:12HB4 wheat has been on the market since 2022
02:15and is currently improved in Argentina,
02:18Brazil, Paraguay, the U.S.
02:20and a few other countries.
02:22The fact that it has come to commercialize
02:24is very relevant.
02:26This is Jose Luis Reyes,
02:28who works at UNAM's Institute of Biotechnology.
02:30I think it's also surprising
02:32the fact that
02:34to change a single gene
02:36has achieved
02:38effects on the resistance
02:40of the plants of sequelae.
02:42That's something we discussed
02:43a lot between us,
02:44especially with the students,
02:46because one
02:48usually doesn't find
02:50a single gene that is responsible
02:52for such a wide variety of plants.
02:54Still,
02:56drought resistant varieties
02:58remain a niche market.
02:59In part, experts say,
03:01because the approval processes
03:02are complex and costly.
03:04But we'll come back to that later.
03:06It's a different story
03:07with other GMOs,
03:09at least in North and South America.
03:14In the 1990s,
03:15the first transgénicos
03:16approved in the 1994
03:17in the United States,
03:18and in the 1996 in Argentina.
03:19It gives you an idea
03:20that we were a lot of pioneers.
03:22In other countries,
03:23like Brazil
03:24and Latin American countries,
03:25we were a lot of late.
03:26The country has no
03:28un rechazo
03:29hacia los transgénicos.
03:30Today,
03:31the United States,
03:32Brazil,
03:33and Argentina
03:34are the three countries
03:35that cultivate
03:36the most genetically modified crops.
03:37They're followed by
03:38India,
03:39Canada,
03:40Paraguay,
03:41and China.
03:42Let's take a look at the U.S.,
03:43where alongside China,
03:44the most work is being done
03:45on a new form of genetic engineering,
03:47genome editing.
03:48Better known as molecular scissors,
03:50these tools are being used
03:51at places like Bayer and St. Louis.
03:54And it's something
03:55that has been really revolutionary
03:57in agriculture.
03:58It's a concept that allows you
04:00to go into a plant
04:01and really fine-tune a gene.
04:04Scientists say molecular scissors,
04:07also called CRISPR-Cas9,
04:09is a game-changer.
04:10It allows the genome
04:11to be cut at any chosen spot.
04:13A new gene can be inserted,
04:15or an existing one can be rewritten.
04:18The method is faster
04:20and more precise
04:21than earlier techniques.
04:23At Bayer, for example,
04:26researchers have used
04:27genome editing
04:28to develop a new corn variety
04:30that can withstand environmental factors,
04:32like strong winds.
04:33We've made it shorter
04:34and stronger,
04:35which actually helps
04:36the corn plant stand up
04:38in these winds
04:39versus tall corn.
04:40So instead of being
04:41two to four meters tall,
04:42we're now around two meters tall.
04:44So it's been a really amazing innovation
04:47that's been helping
04:48with climate change
04:49and helping growers produce more.
04:51Bayer is also working
04:53on drought-tolerant corn
04:54and new ways to combat pests.
04:57But if genetic engineering
04:58has so much potential,
05:00why does it still have
05:01such a bad image?
05:03I mean, when you're looking
05:05at who were the first
05:08and dominant players
05:10developing GMO technologies,
05:13it was Monsanto,
05:15it was Dupont,
05:16it was, you know,
05:18Syngenta,
05:19BioCropScience,
05:20all those multinationals
05:21that are known
05:22for producing pesticides.
05:24And they're also among
05:25the biggest players
05:26in the seed market.
05:27In 2015,
05:28just six companies dominated
05:30the global business
05:31for seeds
05:32and crop protection products.
05:34Together,
05:35their revenue was about
05:3661 billion US dollars.
05:38In the years that followed,
05:40three huge mergers
05:41reshaped the industry.
05:42Dow Chemicals with DuPont,
05:44ChemChina with Syngenta,
05:46and Bayer with Monsanto.
05:48According to the U.S. Department
05:50of Agriculture,
05:51all of these mergers
05:52raised antitrust concerns.
05:54Each corporation had to divest
05:56some of its assets.
05:57We'll return to the issue
05:59of corporate market power later.
06:01Bayer's acquisition of Monsanto
06:03was finalized in 2018.
06:05The U.S. seed giant
06:07had been a leader
06:08in developing genetically
06:09modified varieties of corn,
06:11soybeans, and cotton
06:12since the 1980s.
06:14In 1996,
06:15Monsanto launched
06:16the first herbicide-tolerant
06:18soybean.
06:19To recap,
06:20a gene is inserted
06:22that makes the plant
06:23tolerant to the toxin.
06:24In Monsanto's case,
06:26the herbicide was glyphosate,
06:28better known by its brand name,
06:30Roundup.
06:31It's still in the headlines today.
06:33In the United States,
06:34more than 60,000 lawsuits are pending
06:36over possible cancer links
06:37to the herbicide glyphosate.
06:39In the United States,
06:40more than 60,000 lawsuits are pending
06:41over possible cancer links
06:42to the herbicide glyphosate.
06:43Also, Monsanto
06:44has a great impact
06:45of the bad image of gene technology.
06:47Because you have not done
06:48with gene technology
06:49not to increase the resistance
06:51of the plants,
06:52but you have used them
06:54to use a certain plant
06:56protection product,
06:57the glyphosate,
06:58better market.
07:00This is Holger Hennies.
07:02He's a farmer in northern Germany
07:04and vice president
07:05of the German Farmers Association.
07:06In other words, Monsanto wasn't just selling
07:16herbicide-tolerant seeds.
07:18It was also selling the matching herbicide,
07:21Roundup.
07:22So does that mean genetic engineering itself
07:25is to blame?
07:26You can depict it in a way
07:28that this is all that GMOs have to offer.
07:31And that's obviously not true.
07:33Let's ban herbicide tolerance
07:35if we want.
07:36Let's do it.
07:37But let's be serious about
07:39some of the other potentials
07:40and some of the other
07:41much more interesting
07:43types of technologies.
07:45Take insect-resistant crops, for instance.
07:48Pesticide use dropped by an average of 42%,
07:51according to the meta-study.
07:53That helps boost yields,
07:55since fewer crops are lost to pests.
07:57And when yields increase on existing farmland,
08:00there's less pressure to clear new land.
08:05Higher yields, in turn,
08:07can also reduce agricultural emissions.
08:10And what about health risks
08:12associated with genetic engineering?
08:14Opponents still raise that as a major concern.
08:21I like to emphasize
08:22there has not been any harm
08:24to human health
08:25with any genetically engineered product
08:27anywhere in the world.
08:29That's Pamela Ronald,
08:30a leading plant geneticist
08:32who has conducted research
08:33at Berkeley, Stanford,
08:34and Cornell University.
08:36We've had genetic engineering
08:38for over 50 years,
08:39and it's been applied in medicine
08:41and food,
08:42beer making.
08:44And every independent scientific organization,
08:49including the National Academy of Sciences
08:53and the European Food Safety Authority,
08:56they have all come to the conclusion
08:59that the technique of genetic engineering
09:03is no more risky than other genetic techniques,
09:06such as conventional breeding.
09:08So while there is valid criticism
09:10of how some GM crops have been used,
09:13as with Monsanto,
09:14genetic engineering itself isn't the problem.
09:17After all,
09:18humans have been reshaping the genetics of crops
09:20for centuries,
09:21just in different ways.
09:22For example,
09:24crossing one variety with another
09:26can create entirely new traits.
09:32Mutagenesis uses radiation or chemicals
09:35to alter genetic material
09:37and produce new varieties.
09:39That's how durum wheat,
09:41the wheat used for pasta,
09:43was developed.
09:44And mutagenesis,
09:46crossbreeding,
09:47transgenes,
09:48and genome editing
09:49are all processes
09:50that can also occur in nature.
09:52But let's return
09:53to the power of large corporations
09:55and the concentration in the seed market.
09:59I think it's one of the main points
10:01where I wouldn't agree
10:05with the commercialization
10:08of the crops like it is at the moment.
10:11Because it creates dependence.
10:14There are few varieties
10:15that would be growing in the field,
10:18which may not be very good.
10:21If we have one single variety
10:23and if a plague comes out,
10:26then the plant will be lost.
10:30Seed patents are especially controversial.
10:33Multinational corporations
10:35file them to secure profits.
10:37So what should we make
10:38of the criticism
10:39that just a handful of companies
10:41dominate the market?
10:43The bottom line is,
10:44we still have to be paid
10:45for our innovation.
10:46If we can't be paid for it,
10:48we really can't launch it
10:49and we can't come up
10:50with new innovations.
10:51So there are different IP laws
10:54around the world.
10:55We have to comply with those.
10:56We launch new products
10:57as fast as we need them
10:58to be launched
10:59because of resistance
11:00and we need that protection.
11:01Bayer says that the development
11:03and approval for a new variety
11:05can take 10 to 15 years.
11:07Depending on the product,
11:08the process can cost anywhere
11:10from 100 to 150 million dollars.
11:13Is that why it's mainly the big players
11:15who invest in new varieties?
11:17Smaller companies don't really have
11:20the money to go through
11:21these rigorous regulatory standards
11:24and so that means only
11:26the very large companies
11:27can pay in very large crops
11:30that bring in a lot of money
11:32to move forward.
11:33So I would like to see
11:34the regulations streamlined
11:36so that small groups
11:38can also be innovative.
11:41So what needs to change
11:43in terms of regulation?
11:45Let's take a look
11:46at Germany and the EU.
11:48We've already met Holger Henness.
11:50He's harvesting potatoes.
11:52Together with other growers,
11:54he farms 700 hectares
11:56in northern Germany.
11:57As vice president
11:58of the German Farmers Association,
12:00he pushes for less stringent
12:02approval procedures.
12:03He's not a fan of patents,
12:05but he does support licensing.
12:07Companies should earn money
12:08for a limited time
12:09when their products are used.
12:11Without that,
12:12he says,
12:13the effort wouldn't be worthwhile.
12:16So far, the EU has approved
12:41only one insect-resistant variety
12:43of corn, MON 810.
12:45But it's only grown in Spain
12:47and Portugal.
12:48No other EU country
12:50has approved it.
12:51And what happens in the EU
12:53has a global ripple effect,
12:55even in countries
12:56where regulations
12:57are less strict.
13:01Other countries that want
13:02to export something to Europe
13:04or want to potentially export
13:07something to Europe
13:08will have to see
13:09how is Europe doing
13:11in terms of approving
13:12those things for imports
13:14that are GMO.
13:17And that is, you know,
13:19leading countries to,
13:22no, let's don't move forward
13:24with it because otherwise
13:25we're losing our export market
13:27to Europe.
13:28The EU is now debating
13:30how to change its rules
13:31on genome editing.
13:33The proposal is to regulate it
13:35less strictly
13:36than older GMO methods.
13:38But public opinion
13:39has a strong influence
13:40on policy.
13:41Surveys show
13:42many Europeans
13:43remain skeptical.
13:44So what role
13:45do NGOs play?
13:46Take Greenpeace.
13:48For decades,
13:49the group has campaigned
13:50against the approval
13:51of golden rice
13:52in the Philippines.
13:53The project was developed
13:55by an international team
13:56of researchers.
13:57The idea behind this project
13:59was to develop a fortified rice
14:03that the farmers could grow
14:04that had high levels
14:05of vitamin A.
14:06You would think
14:07that would be something
14:08that would be widely embraced,
14:09but there's been a lot
14:11of misinformation
14:12about this project.
14:14In 2016,
14:15more than 100 Nobel laureates
14:17took a stand.
14:18In an open letter,
14:20they called on Greenpeace
14:21to stop its campaigns
14:22against golden rice
14:23and genetically modified food,
14:25arguing that science
14:26had disproved their claims,
14:28but without success.
14:30Golden rice is only approved
14:32in countries like Australia,
14:34Canada and the US,
14:36but not in the Philippines
14:38where Greenpeace and local farmers
14:40filed yet another lawsuit.
14:42Greenpeace has also campaigned
14:44against Monsanto's
14:45insect-resistant corn in the EU.
14:47It's also said to have been
14:49active in China.
14:51And in China,
14:52European NGOs,
14:54such as Greenpeace,
14:55have been extremely successful
14:57in creating fears,
14:59especially when it comes to rice,
15:01in creating fears
15:02among consumers
15:03and policy makers
15:04to say,
15:05ah, that's something dangerous.
15:06We asked Greenpeace for their view.
15:09The studies,
15:10the it is currently
15:11there are,
15:12are mostly funded
15:13in the industry.
15:14That means,
15:15the results must be
15:16as a careful
15:18look at.
15:19The unabhängical studies,
15:20which are in the world,
15:21are also pointed out
15:22that there are
15:23environmental risks
15:24that can also appear
15:25in the old gene-technic.
15:26It's clear that
15:27the plants,
15:28which are already
15:29on the forests,
15:30whether they are
15:31herbicide-tolerant
15:32or a insecticide
15:33produce,
15:34the risks
15:35for the environment
15:36and therefore,
15:37do not be brought into the environment.
15:39Just as a reminder.
15:41The European Food Safety Authority,
15:43which is the highest authority
15:45in the EU
15:46for evaluating
15:48many of these new crops,
15:51have come to the same conclusion
15:53as our National Academy of Sciences
15:55and other major scientific organizations
15:57around the world,
15:58that these crops
16:00pose little risk
16:02and huge benefits.
16:04Some NGOs
16:05have shifted away
16:06from the topic of genetic engineering.
16:08Even activists
16:09like Mark Linus
16:10have changed their position.
16:12He was once part
16:13of a grassroots movement
16:14against genetically modified crops,
16:16including work with Greenpeace.
16:18We used to go out
16:21and destroy GMO crops at night.
16:24We used to tear them up,
16:25slash them down,
16:26and we managed to destroy
16:27all of the outside GM experiments
16:30in the United Kingdom
16:31at that time.
16:32When I realized that scientists
16:33were on the other side
16:34from the environmental movement
16:36on the GMO issue,
16:37I realized that that was inconsistent
16:39and that if you're going
16:40to support science
16:41and ask for people
16:42to take scientific evidence seriously,
16:44you can't be anti-science on GMOs
16:46and pro-science on climate change.
16:48So what's the takeaway?
16:50Rather than rejecting
16:51genetic engineering outright,
16:53we should evaluate it
16:54on a case-by-case basis.
16:56Some traits have proven beneficial,
16:58others have been harmful,
16:59but the science is solid.
17:01Approving a new crop variety
17:03is costly and time-consuming,
17:05and processes differ widely
17:07around the world.
17:09That shuts out the smaller players,
17:11leaving power
17:12with the big corporations.
17:14And yet, with climate change
17:16and food security at stake,
17:18scientists and farmers
17:20say we urgently need
17:21these new tools.
17:25We need new types
17:27of heat waves,
17:28like we had last week,
17:30to be better if it's 35,
17:3236 degrees,
17:33so that they don't die immediately.
17:35And just plants that
17:36have a better source,
17:37and have a better water efficiency,
17:39so that they can use
17:40the water better
17:42and use it more
17:43in supply.
17:44What are your thoughts
17:46on genetically modified food?
17:48We'd love to hear from you
17:49in the comments.
17:50We'll see you in the comments.
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