genetically modified organism (gmo) 101

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Genetically Engineered Foods 101

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Food & Water Watch

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Date

What is “GE”?

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• Genetically engineered (GE) plants and animals (also called genetically modified organisms (GMOs)) are altered with inserted genetic material to exhibit a desired trait.

• Examples: herbicide-tolerant corn, insect-resistant cotton, Golden Rice, rBGH in milk, GE salmon.

Who’s Regulating It?

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• The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) share regulatory oversight of GE plants and animals.

• The agencies do not conduct safety testing of their own. Biotechnology companies, like Monsanto, submit safety data and the agencies review it prior to making an approval.

• There is no labeling requirement of foods containing GE ingredients.

Approved Genetically Engineered Crops

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Herbicide-Tolerant Insect-Tolerant Other In the Pipeline

RR Corn Bt Corn Amylase Corn Golden Rice 2

RR Soybean Bt CottonHigh Oleic Acid Soybean

Freeze-tolerant Eucalyptus

RR Alfalfa Bt SoybeanVirus-resistant Papaya Non-browning Apple

RR CanolaVirus-resistant Squash

2,4-D tolerant Soybean

RR SugarbeetVirus-resistant Potato

Dicamba-tolerant Soybean

RR CottonDelayed-ripening Tomato

LibertyLink Corn Drought-resistant Corn

LibertyLink Rice*Data from the USDA Petitions for Non-regulated Status Granted or Pending by APHIS as of January 10, 2012; Golden Rice Humanitarian Board

Source: USDA

Since GE corn was first commercialized in 1996, 89 GE crops have been approved for commercialization.

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GE Sweet Corn

• Monsanto's sweet corn, expected to be planted in 2012, combines genetically engineered traits that were approved in 2005 and 2008.

• The "stacked" combination of these traits for herbicide tolerance and pesticide production has never been through a safety evaluation of any kind.

• These traits have never been engineered into a food that will be consumed directly by people — most of the GE corn that is currently grown is eaten by animals or processed into corn ingredients that show up in processed food.

Why is this issue so important? 1. This is the first GE crop

that Monsanto is marketing for direct human consumption.

2. It will not be labeled.

3. It hasn't been tested for human safety.

GE Animals

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Source: USDA

• As of the beginning of 2012, no GE animals have been approved for human consumption in the United States.

GE Animal Pipeline Includes:

GE Salmon (Aquabounty) Enviropig (University of Guelph, Canada)

GE Mosquito (Oxitec)

Biotech Share of U.S. Cultivation

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Source: USDA

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 20110

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Corn Cotton Soybean

Per

cent

Bio

tech

GE Myths Debunked

GE crops do not yield more than non-GE crops.

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Long-Term Yield Trends Unchanged

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0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Corn Soybean

(bu./acre)

GE introduced

Source: USDA

GE Myths Debunked (cont.)

GE crops do not yield more than non-GE crops.

GE crops do not reduce costs for farmers.

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Roundup Herbicide Costs($/gallon)

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2005 2006 2007 2008

$33.80

$29.30 $28.90

$40.50

Source: USDA

Monsanto recommends applying 2 gallons of Roundup an acre, or $40,000 for a 500 acre farm

Biotech Corn Seed More Expensive($ per 80,000 kernels)

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2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

$113 $115 $122

$131 $137

$154

$184

$86 $91 $91 $93 $95 $100

$115

GE Corn seed Non-GE Corn seed

Source: USDA

GE Myths Debunked (cont.)

GE crops do not yield more than non-GE crops.

GE crops do not reduce costs for farmers.

GE crops are not more sustainable and often require even more herbicide use.

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GE Myths Debunked (cont.)

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• Glyphosate use on Roundup Ready crops has grown steadily. Between 2001 and 2007, annual U.S. glyphosate use doubled to 185 million pounds.

• Ubiquitous Roundup application has spawned glyphosate-resistant weeds, driving farmers to apply even more toxic herbicides and more intensive management practices.

• Farmers may resort to other herbicides to combat superweeds, including 2,4-D (an Agent Orange component) and atrazine, which have been associated with health risks including endocrine disruption and developmental abnormalities.

Fighting Back -First stop: Walmart

We’re calling on U.S. consumers and grocery stores to reject Monsanto’s GE sweet corn – starting with Walmart.

Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and General Mills have already agreed not to sell GE sweet corn.

Whether you shop at Walmart or not, they are the largest U.S. food retailer, and if they won’t sell GE sweet corn, it’s likely that farmers won’t plant it.

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Goal:• Get Walmart to commit to not sell GE Sweet

Corn by April 1st • (this is when sweet corn would start to be planted)

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Tactics:

What does Walmart care most about? Their image. We’re going to make them feel the pressure with targeted, public actions to they’ll reject Monsanto’s GE corn.

• Petition deliveries to Walmart stores• Call-in days to customer service• Parking lot/ in-store actions• Media/social media campaigns to raise visibility

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