scholarly journals Well informed Farmers and Consumers are positive about GM Crops in Europe and Africa

Afrika Focus ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Gheysen ◽  
J. Maes ◽  
M. Valcke ◽  
E.I.R. Sanou ◽  
S. Speelman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Key Words ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Gm Crops ◽  
The Political ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Gm Crop ◽  
Crop Cultivation ◽  
Gm Food ◽  
Public Reaction ◽  
The Eu

Genetically modified (GM) crops are cultivated globally on more than 185 million hectares, but the use of GM crops in Europe and Africa is very limited. Politicians are reluctant to allow such crops because they fear negative public reaction. The political hostility in the EU towards GM crops also has a significant impact on how African policy makers form their opinions for accepting GM crops in their own countries. However, studies reveal that specific types of GM food are welcomed by consumers and that few Europeans avoid GM labels when buying food. Similarly, African farmers and consumers are generally positive about GM crops. Policy makers should take these results into account when a decision needs to be made on whether or not to allow GM crop cultivation in their country. KEY WORDS: ACCEPTANCE, AFRICA, CONSUMERS, EUROPE, FARMERS, GM CROPS

scholarly journals Well Informed Farmers and Consumers are Positive About Gm Crops in Europe and Africa

Afrika Focus ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-56
Author(s):  
G. Gheysen ◽  
J. Maes ◽  
M. Valcke ◽  
E.I.R. Sanou ◽  
S. Speelman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Gm Crops ◽  
The Political ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Gm Crop ◽  
Crop Cultivation ◽  
Gm Food ◽  
Public Reaction ◽  
The Eu

Genetically modified (GM) crops are cultivated globally on more than 185 million hectares, but the use of GM crops in Europe and Africa is very limited. Politicians are reluctant to allow such crops because they fear negative public reaction. The political hostility in the EU towards GM crops also has a significant impact on how African policy makers form their opinions for accepting GM crops in their own countries. However, studies reveal that specific types of GM food are welcomed by consumers and that few Europeans avoid GM labels when buying food. Similarly, African farmers and consumers are generally positive about GM crops. Policy makers should take these results into account when a decision needs to be made on whether or not to allow GM crop cultivation in their country.

scholarly journals Current Status of Genetically Modified Crops in Iran and the world: Overview of Production and Consumption Challenges

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abolfazl Baghbani-Arani ◽  
Mona Poureisa ◽  
Hossein Alekajbaf ◽  
Rezvan Karami Borz- Abad ◽  
Khodadad Khodadadi-Dashtaki
Keyword(s):  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Genetically Modified Crops ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
Gm Crops ◽  
Food Allergies ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Gm Crop ◽  
Gm Food ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
The World

Abstract Transgenic technologies expanded in many countries regarding the nutritional needs of the increasing population. There are, however, some concerns about possible risks in growing genetically modified (GM) food such as threats of biodiversity and food allergies making it a challenge. This study aimed at examining the economic effects and political scopes of GM food in the production sector and policies made by different countries in the world and Iran. Moreover, essential (practical and legal) solutions and guidelines for GM food production and consumption are provided, which are useful for governmental entities and Iranian politicians and consumers' rights. transgenic technology has been accepted by high-rank farmers to produce genetically modified crops due to an increase in net profit caused by improved yield in spite of the high cost of transgenic seeds. Among 11 countries producing GM crops in the world in 2018, the USA is the first country followed by Brazil and Argentina at second and third ranks. In 2018, 78, 76, 30 and 29% of soybean, cotton, corn and canola production areas respectively were under cultivation of GM varieties. Although Iran has been one of the leading Asian countries not only in the field of transfer of technical knowledge of genetic engineering, but also in the development of specialized knowledge of biosafety, and despite the production of several transgenic plant lines by Iranian researchers, no GM crop has obtained release and cultivation license except for genetically modified rice that its growing process was banned after government change. This study implies that GM crops growing and production process does not follow the global trend owing to scientific and legal infrastructures.

BRAZILIAN GMO REGULATION: DOES IT HAVE AN ENVIRONMENTAL APPROACH?

2012 ◽  
Vol 14 (02) ◽  
pp. 1250013 ◽  
Author(s):  
DENISE GALLO PIZELLA ◽  
MARCELO PEREIRA DE SOUZA
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Risk Analysis ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Genetically Modified Crops ◽  
Gm Crops ◽  
Gm Crop ◽  
Institutional Issues ◽  
Institutional Aspects ◽  
Biosafety Evaluation

Brazil is the second largest producer of genetically modified crops (GM crops) and the National Technical Commission on Biosafety (CTNBio) the decision making agency on this matter. The country uses Risk Analysis (RA) and project EIA as tools for biosafety evaluation. This paper aims to review the appropriateness of these tools for evaluating the environmental impacts of GM crops, also considering institutional aspects. An overview of the process of release of GM crops in Brazil along with important operational and institutional aspects is provided. The results indicate that project EIA could be applied to GM crops in specific sites and RA could give support to the evaluation of GM crop itself. Regarding institutional issues, it is concluded that decisions should be made by the environmental bodies, and not by the CTNBio.

scholarly journals The Effect of Genetically Modified Food on Infertility Indices: A Systematic Review Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Parisa Keshani ◽  
Mohammad Hossein Sharifi ◽  
Mohammad Reza Heydari ◽  
Hassan Joulaei
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Adverse Effects ◽  
Sperm Motility ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Sperm Head ◽  
Gm Crops ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Gm Crop ◽  
Gm Plants ◽  
Sperm Abnormality

Background and Objectives. With the increase in the growth of genetically modified (GM) crops, concerns as to the adverse effects of GM crops have risen in the community. The present systematic review seeks to assess the GM plants’ potential impacts on the sperm parameters, including sperm head, sperm motility, sperm abnormality, and fertility index. Materials and Methods. A structured literature search was independently performed by three authors on Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and Embase in January 2019. A total of 1467 publications were obtained by the search strategy after eliminating the duplicates. Moreover, the review only included articles written in English language. Other pertinent peer-reviewed publications were chosen (“snowballing”) from the reference lists in the selected publications. To assess the GM crop effects on infertility, experimental studies designed with the control group were selected. On the basis of abstract screening and full-text reviewing, 39 relevant publications were selected, seven of which were used in our review. To access the quality of articles, we used the Cochrane checklist. The collected articles were scored independently by three authors, and the publications with the eligibility criteria were included in our review. No article was excluded due to quality assessment. Results and Conclusion. Our findings indicated that GM products had no adverse effects on infertility indices such as the sperm head, sperm motility, sperm abnormality, and fertility indices. Long-term research still seems to be strongly necessary to ensure that the use of GM plants does not cause any harm to consumers, especially in infertility area.

scholarly journals Perception and Attitude toward GM Technology among Agribusiness Managers in China as Producers and as Consumers

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haiyan Deng ◽  
Ruifa Hu ◽  
Carl Pray ◽  
Yanhong Jin
Keyword(s):  
Regression Models ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Gm Crops ◽  
Special Interest Groups ◽  
Business Managers ◽  
Food Crop ◽  
Major Barrier ◽  
Gm Crop ◽  
Gm Food ◽  
Food Crop Production

China is one of the biggest consumers of genetically modified (GM) products, importing maize, soybeans and canola, and producing GM cotton. The cultivation of GM food crop, however, is still not permitted. Many studies argue that consumers’ attitude toward GM food safety is a major barrier to GM food crop production in China. Recent studies suggest that special interest groups such as biotechnology scientists with an economic interest in biotechnology are more supportive of the technology than groups with nothing to gain. Others believe that agribusiness groups influence the debate about GM food production. This is the first study that examined agribusiness managers’ attitudes toward GM biosafety and their support for GM crop production. The sample was 160 firms in the seed, pesticide, feed and food processing industries. We found most agribusiness leaders are concerned about GM food consumption and oppose GM crop production. Using regression models, we found business managers’ attitudes toward GM crop cultivation are more supportive if they expect to profit, if they are already using GM crops in their firm or are doing research on GM crops.

scholarly journals Optimizing the Use of Zebrafish Feeding Trials for the Safety Evaluation of Genetically Modified Crops

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 1472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Gabriëls ◽  
Lucia Vergauwen ◽  
Marthe De Boevre ◽  
Stefan Van Dongen ◽  
Ronny Blust ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Safety Evaluation ◽  
Potential Effect ◽  
Gm Crops ◽  
Equivalence Testing ◽  
Oral Toxicity ◽  
Gm Crop ◽  
Natural Response ◽  
Feeding Trials ◽  
Response Variation

In Europe, the toxicological safety of genetically modified (GM) crops is routinely evaluated using rodent feeding trials, originally designed for testing oral toxicity of chemical compounds. We aimed to develop and optimize methods for advancing the use of zebrafish feeding trials for the safety evaluation of GM crops, using maize as a case study. In a first step, we evaluated the effect of different maize substitution levels. Our results demonstrate the need for preliminary testing to assess potential feed component-related effects on the overall nutritional balance. Next, since a potential effect of a GM crop should ideally be interpreted relative to the natural response variation (i.e., the range of biological values that is considered normal for a particular endpoint) in order to assess the toxicological relevance, we established natural response variation datasets for various zebrafish endpoints. We applied equivalence testing to calculate threshold equivalence limits (ELs) based on the natural response variation as a method for quantifying the range within which a GM crop and its control are considered equivalent. Finally, our results illustrate that the use of commercial control diets (CCDs) and null segregant (NS) controls (helpful for assessing potential effects of the transformation process) would be valuable additions to GM safety assessment strategies.

scholarly journals Pollen from genetically modified plants in honey – problems with quantification and proper labelling

2013 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 5-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewelina Żmijewska ◽  
Dariusz Teper ◽  
Anna Linkiewicz ◽  
Sławomir Sowa
Keyword(s):  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Detection Methods ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Food Ingredient ◽  
Gm Food ◽  
Gm Plants ◽  
Pollen Content ◽  
Food And Feed ◽  
Total Pollen ◽  
The Eu

Abstract Maize can be a valuable source of pollen when plants attractive for bees are not available. Honeybees can forage from conventional maize as well as from genetically modified (GM ) maize. The Court of Justice of the European Union (EU ) ruled that pollen in honey must be treated as a food ingredient and therefore falls within the scope of Regulation 1829/2003/EC on GM food and feed and requires authorization. GM pollen unauthorized in the EU cannot be present in honey at any level, and honey must be labelled if it contains more than 0.9% of pollen from authorized GM plants in relation to total pollen content. However, currently available analytical methods allow only for estimation of GM pollen quantity in honey. Therefore, Directive 2001/110/EC related to honey needs to be amended so that pollen can be regarded as a natural constituent of honey. Because the EU is a big honey importer, validated and harmonized detection methods are necessary for the control of GM pollen in honey.

scholarly journals Assessing the Allergenicity of Proteins Introduced into Genetically Modified Crops Using Specific Human IgE Assays

2004 ◽  
Vol 87 (6) ◽  
pp. 1423-1432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard E Goodman ◽  
John N Leach
Keyword(s):  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Safety Evaluation ◽  
Genetically Modified Crops ◽  
Specific Ige ◽  
Detection Sensitivity ◽  
Gm Crops ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
Gm Crop ◽  
Crop Varieties ◽  
Specificity Of Binding

Abstract Global commercial production of genetically modified (GM) crops has grown to over 67 million hectares annually, primarily of herbicide-tolerant and insect protection crop varieties. GM crops are produced by the insertion of specific genes that either encode a protein, or a regulatory RNA sequence. A comprehensive safety evaluation is conducted for each new commercial GM crop, including an assessment of the potential allergenicity of any newly introduced protein. If the gene was derived from an allergenic organism, or the protein sequence is highly similar to a known allergen, immunoassays, e.g., Western blot assays and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay tests, are performed to identify protein-specific IgE binding by sera of individuals allergic to the gene source, or the source of the sequence-matched allergen. Although such assays are commonly used to identify previously unknown allergens, criteria have not been established to demonstrate that a protein is unlikely to cause allergic reactions. This review discusses factors that affect the predictive value of these tests, including clinical selection criteria for serum donors, selection of blocking reagents to reduce nonspecific antibody binding, inhibition assays to verify specificity of binding, and scientifically justified limits of detection (sensitivity) in the absence of information regarding biological thresholds.

scholarly journals Attitude Gaps with Respect to GM Non-Food Crops and GM Food Crops and Confidence in the Government’s Management of Biotechnology: Evidence from Beijing Consumers, Chinese Farmers, Journalists, and Government Officials

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 324
Author(s):  
Changxin Yu ◽  
Haiyan Deng ◽  
Ruifa Hu
Keyword(s):  
Soybean Oil ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Gm Crops ◽  
Food Crops ◽  
Chinese Consumers ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Gm Food ◽  
Gm Foods ◽  
Soy Meal

Most soybean oil consumed in China is made from imported genetically modified (GM) soybeans, while livestock are fed imported GM soy meal and GM corn. However, no GM food crops are allowed to be planted in China at present. That puts China in a confusing situation where GM foods can be eaten but cannot be grown. Many studies suggest that it is partially due to Chinese consumers’ and government officials’ opposition to GM technology. This is the first study that examines different stakeholders’ and journalists’ attitudes toward the commercialization of GM non-food crops and GM food crops and investigates the attitude gaps with respect to these crops. From 2015 to 2016, surveys were conducted face-to-face and by email with 1730 respondents, including 1460 consumers, 54 farmers, 70 journalists, and 146 agricultural officials. We find that nearly 60% of respondents are supportive of the commercialization of GM non-food crops, but less than 30% of respondents support the commercialization of GM food crops. Around 50% of respondents have no confidence in the government’s management of biotechnology, while only 17% have confidence in the government’s management. Those with lack of confidence in the government’s management are less likely to support the commercialization of GM crops.

“Rolling Up the Sleeves”1 How EU policy towards Serbia and Montenegro acts as the glue that holds the State Union together?

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marko Papic
Keyword(s):  
Science Research ◽  
Research Community ◽  
The Political ◽  
Potential Candidate ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Serbia And Montenegro ◽  
Eu Foreign Policy ◽  
Political Conditionality ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Eu

The most powerful tool of EU foreign policy in dealing with potential candidate countries (and beyond) is that of political conditionality. The successes of this policy, as well as its spectacular failures, have been largely well documented by the political science research community. Far less research, however, goes into explaining the scenarios where the EU goes “beyond conditionality” (Teokarevic 2003) in its dealings with potential candidates for membership in the EU. The goal of this paper is to explain the extremely intensive and pro-active EU involvement in the drafting of the Constitution of Serbia and Montenegro and the subsequent attempts by Brussels to determine the future nature of the union between these neighboring republics. In answering this question the paper looks at the history of EU’s involvement in the region and attempts to provide a theoretical framework that can best provide the explanation for the motivation of EU’s policy makers to utilize such a direct strategy of involvement that goes far “beyond conditionality”. Full text available: https://doi.org/10.22215/rera.v2i2.170

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