Genetically Modified Herbicide-Tolerant Crops and Sugar Beet—Environmental and Health Concerns - Sweeteners: Nutritional Aspects, Applications, and Production Technology - page 369

GoldenRiceareanalyzedfroman ex ante perspective.VitaminAdeiciencyisaseriousnutritional
problem,causingmultipleadversehealthoutcomes.SimulationsforIndiashowthatGoldenRice
couldreducerelatedhealthproblemssigniicantly,preventingupto40,000childdeathseveryyear
(Qaim2010).AlthoughtheseexamplesclearlydemonstratethatGMcropscancontributetopoverty
reductionandfoodsecurityindevelopingcountries,theirpotentialimpactsonincome,poverty,and
nutritionindevelopingcountriescontinuetobethesubjectofpubliccontroversy,becausethereal-
izationofsuchsocialbeneitsonalargerscalerequiresmorepublicsupportforresearchtargetedto
thepoor,aswellasmoreeficientregulatoryandtechnologydeliverysystems.
Finally,supportersarguethatreductionsintheuseofchemicalpesticidesthroughGMcrops
couldalleviateenvironmentalandhealthproblemsassociatedwithintensiveagriculturalproduc-
tionsystems.Inanefforttoassesstheimpactofthistechnologyonglobalagriculturefromboth
economicandenvironmentalperspectives,BrookesandBarfoot(2008)examinedspeciicglobal
economicimpactsonfarmincomeandenvironmentalimpactsassociatedwithpesticideusageand
greenhousegas(GHG)emissionsforeachofthecountrieswhereGMcropshavebeengrownwithin
theperiod1996-2008.Accordingtotheiranalysis,therehavebeensubstantialneteconomicben-
eitsatthefarmlevelamountingto$6.94billionin2006and$33.8billionforthe11-yearperiod(in
nominalterms).Thetechnologyhasreducedpesticidesprayingby286millionkgand,asaresult,
decreasedtheenvironmentalimpactassociatedwithherbicideandinsecticideuseonthesecropsby
15.4%.GMtechnologyhasalsosigniicantlyreducedthereleaseofGHGemissionsfromthiscrop-
pingarea,which,in2006,wasequivalenttoremoving6.56millioncarsfromtheroads(Brookes
andBarfoot2008).
Bycontrast,biotechnologyopponentsemphasizetheenvironmentalandhealthrisksassociated
withGMcrops.Regardingtheenvironmentalaspectissues,aspoorknowledgeisavailableonthe
interactions among the different components of agroecosystems and natural ecosystems and on
potential hazards posed by unintended modiications occurring during genetic manipulation, the
majorityofthescientiicconcernsinvolvetherisksincurredwhenGMplantsaregrowninuncon-
trolledenvironments,suchasagroecosystems.Theincreasingamountofreportsontheecological
risksandbeneitsofGMplantsstressestheneedforexperimentalworksaimedatevaluatingthe
environmental impact of GM crops, taking also into account the fact that little is known of the
fate of transgenes after their ield release, except that, in nature, “everything goes everywhere”
andgenescanlowfromoneorganismtoanother(Giovannettietal.2005).Therefore,pesticide-
resistantcropscouldbetoxictonontargetorganisms,andtheirgrowthmaykillorharmnontarget
organismsbychangingsoilchemistry,whileherbicide-tolerantplantsfacilitatetheuseofcertain
herbicidesbyfarmers.Alloftheseenvironmentalhazardsarecompoundedbygeneticpollution.
Manycropplantsdispersepollen,whichmaybecarriedbywindorinsectpollinators;therefore,
geneticallyengineeredplantsmaycross-pollinatenonengineeredplants,introducingthenewgenes
intowildplantpopulationsandintotheecosystem,affectingthefoodchainwithseverallevelsof
consumers.
Asmentionedabove,doubtshavealsobeenraisedwithrespecttothesocioeconomicimplica-
tions in developing countries. Some consider high-tech applications per se as inappropriate for
smallholderfarmersanddisruptivefortraditionalcultivationsystems.Inaddition,itisfearedthat
thedominanceofmultinationalcompaniesinbiotechnologyandtheinternationalproliferationof
intellectualproperty rightswould leadto the exploitation of agriculturalproducers. In thisview,
GMcropsareconsideredrathercounterproductiveforfoodsecurityanddevelopment.
Asforhealthissues,concernsregardingGMfoodsforhumanusemainlyincludethepotential
allergenicity as well as toxicity of novel foods and the promotion of resistance to antibiotics. A
particularconcernisraisedintheU.S.,wheretraditionallyregulatoryagencieshavebeenstrong
in the protection of human health and the environment, but GM foods have entered the market
almostunregulated.In1992,theU.S.FoodandDrugAdministration(FDA)determinedthatGM
foodswereusually“thesameasorsubstantiallysimilartosubstancescommonlyfoundinfood”