OPINION: Should the Seed vault on Svalbard collect and preserve GMO-seeds?

By: Fern Wickson, GenØk - Centre for Biosafety

Biotechnology is rapidly evolving through developments in genome editing and synthetic biology, giving birth to new forms of life.

This technology has already given us genetically modified (GM) plants that produce bacterial pesticides, GM mosquitos that are sterile and GM mice that develop human cancers.

Now, new biotechnological techniques are promising to deliver a whole host of new lifeforms designed to serve our purposes – pigs with human organs, chickens that lay eggs containing cholesterol controlling drugs, and monkeys that develop autism. The possibilities seem endless.

But do these genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have conservation value?

The biodiversity of life on earth is globally recognised as valuable and in need of protection. This includes not just wild biodiversity but also the biodiversity of agricultural crop plants that humans have developed over thousands of years.

But what about the synthetic forms of biodiversity we are now developing through biotechnologies? Does anyone care about this synbiodiversity?

It’s a question I was compelled to ask while conducting research into the Svalbard Global Seed Vault (SGSV).

A frozen ‘Noah’s Ark’ for seeds

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How do we care for GM crops?

The model of freezing seeds in genebanks and backing up those collections at the SGSV is one way to conserve biodiversity. Another, however, is the approach of continuing to cultivate them in our agricultural landscapes.

While this model of conservation has generated and maintained the biodiversity of traditional crop varieties for thousands of years, there is now a significant shift taking place. More than 90% of traditional crop varieties have now disappeared from our fields and been replaced by genetically uniform modern varieties cultivated in large-scale monocultures. Meaning, there may be no GM crops frozen in the SGSV, but there are plenty in the ground.

So this leaves me questioning what it is we really cherish? Are we using our precious agricultural resources to expand the diversity of humanity’s common heritage?

Or are we rather placing our common heritage on ice while we expand the ecological space occupied by privately owned inventions? And who cares about synbiodiversity anyway?

Fern Wickson, Senior Scientist & Program Coordinator, GenØk - Centre for Biosafety

The Center for Food Safety celebrated a huge victory in Sonoma County, California, on Wednesday when voters approved a measure that will prohibit genetically engineered crops from being planted in the county. The passage of the Sonoma County Transgenic Contamination Ordinance, better known as Measure M, will protect local and organic growers and producers who choose not to plant GMO seed.

Currently the only approved genetically modified plant in Slovakia is maize.

A ban on growing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and their use in foodstuffs needs to get approval in Slovakia, according to the activists who handed in petition sheets calling for such action to the Agriculture and Environment Ministries.

The petition has been signed by more than 16,700 people from across Slovakia.

“A basic requirement [of the petition] is to approve a ban on GMOs in Slovakia,” said Daniel Lešinský of the petition committee, as quoted by the TASR newswire.

The Nigerian federal government has ordered superstore operators in the country to withdraw all genetically modified (GM) products from their shelves or face sanctions from the regulatory body.

The Danone yogurt company of France, including it’s US subsidiary Dannon, announced it is moving toward reducing and eliminating genetically modified ingredients in its products in a three year programme.

About the same time Dannon released its first non-GMO products this summer, it also bought the WhiteWave company which produces a very successful soy milk, along with a range of organic foods including milk, yogurt, and salads. Although the purchase was not directly related to the non-GMO programme, it will help push the move.

Under the draft German law, applicants seeking EU approval to cultivate GMO crops will be asked by the German government to remove Germany from the area in the EU where the crops are approved for growing.

If this is refused, a ban on growing the GMO crop in Germany can be imposed even if the EU approves the plant strain as safe to cultivate.

Critics hail decision as 'beginning of the end' for use of the crops in the UK

- Waitrose meat, milk and eggs will not come from animals on GM feed

- Move is a huge blow to the controversial 'Frankenfood' technology

- Campaigners are now demanding that other stores follow suit

Waitrose's meat, milk and eggs will no longer come from animals fed a genetically modified diet.

The retailer is dropping GM soya feed on its farms in a huge blow to the controversial 'Frankenfood' technology.

Critics of GM have hailed the decision as the 'beginning of the end of the last large-scale use of GM crops in the UK'.

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The retailer said the non-GM soya used on its farms will now come from the Danube region. It is also using other alternatives, such as clover for sheep and cattle, and faba beans for pigs, chickens and ducks.

The first shipment of non-GM soya arrived in October and went to Waitrose's dedicated pork supplier, Dalehead Foods.

LONDON — The controversy over genetically modified crops has long focused on largely unsubstantiated fears that they are unsafe to eat.

But an extensive examination by The New York Times indicates that the debate has missed a more basic problem — genetic modification in the United States and Canada has not accelerated increases in crop yields or led to an overall reduction in the use of chemical pesticides.

The promise of genetic modification was twofold: By making crops immune to the effects of weedkillers and inherently resistant to many pests, they would grow so robustly that they would become indispensable to feeding the world’s growing population, while also requiring fewer applications of sprayed pesticides.

Twenty years ago, Europe largely rejected genetic modification at the same time the United States and Canada were embracing it. Comparing results on the two continents, using independent data as well as academic and industry research, shows how the technology has fallen short of the promise.

Newly developed labelling standards for GM free plant based foods and products of animal origin are said to be another step in the harmonization of regulations for a GM free Europe.

Nestle's US refrigerated pasta and sauce brand Buitoni has committed to sourcing ingredients that do not contain GMOs.

Announcing the move, the company said it was the "next step" in a drive to offer US consumers brands that they "know and trust".