GM genetically modified plants

Entering the twenty-first century, the world population has increased dramatically while agricultural area has been decreasing due to urbanization and industrialization.

In just 7 years, from 2000 to 2007, Vietnam's agriculture has lost over 500,000 hectares because of this process.

With such an increase / decrease, the world needs to produce twice as much food to feed 8 billion people by 2025, more than three times to feed 10 billion people by 2050.

Since Crick & Watson created the DNA map (1953), the biotechnology industry has made great progress, with genetic breeding taking spectacular steps. Genetic engineering has shown to be able to make a leap, far more than the classical Mendel breeding technique in the 'green revolution' of the 60s of the last century, which is now bare, no longer available. capable of increasing high productivity as before (75%), only about 1.5% / year.

Tomatoes are also one of the genetically modified plants.(Artwork: Topnews)

Genetically modified techniques not only increase productivity and quality of crops (thanks to pest and disease resistance, heat and cold climate, weeds, extend storage time .), but also improve the environment (reducing the amount of history). using fertilizers and pesticides), protecting the health of farmers (less access to chemicals and pesticides) and consumers (food without chemical residues).

After the biotech companies Calgene and Monsanto (USA) successfully researched and marketed a variety of genetically modified plants, there are many advantages such as pest resistance and herbicide tolerance. The use of genetically modified plants exploded, becoming one of the fastest-growing tree groups in world agricultural history.

In just 13 years from 1995 to 2008, the area of ​​transgenic agricultural crops has skyrocketed from 1.6 million hectares to 125 million hectares. Most of them are the United States (63%), Argentina (21%), Canada (6%), India (8%), Brazil (4%), China (4%) and South Africa (1%) . In the United States farmers used a lot of genetically modified plants, such as soybeans, accounting for 89% of the total cultivated area, cotton (83%), canola (75%), corn (60%) ), Hawaii papaya (+ 50%), and a few varieties of tomatoes, sugarcane, sugar beets, and rice, etc. Although there are only 22 genetically modified plants, they are present almost in all. 500 types of food are sold in the US supermarket, from baby food, chocolates, chips, to pasta dishes, cakes, breads.

But massively, but unlike computer and mobile technology that is being hunted by the whole world, genetic engineering - especially genetically engineered foods - encounters various gender reactions. consumption, in which Europe and Japan are the most strongly opposed, Australia and New Zealand are more conservative, allowing consumption but must be labeled. Particularly in Africa - where hunger often happens - the reaction is fierce. In 2003, the Zambian government refused to accept UN aid just because aid corn was genetically modified. This action made Zambia's famine so bad that in 2005 the government had to change its attitude and receive aid, while Zambia's Agriculture Minister still insisted that the ban on genetically modified food remains. effect. He said: ' We do not want genetically modified food and we hope that we all continue to produce non-GM food '.

Thirteen years is not yet a long way to conclude about genetically modified plants. But with that time, we have also seen some of the following results worth considering:

1. Productivity: Of all the genetically modified varieties currently in use, there are no varieties that aim to directly increase productivity because there are no high yielding genes. The yield of genetically modified plants is only higher than that of normal plants if normal plants are not sprayed to prevent weeds or pests. A review of 8,200 studies at US universities showed that soybean RR yields 7-10% less than the control variety (Brendrook, 1999).

2. Crossbreeding : Research shows that hybridization between transgenic plants and wild plants occurs with them. Research by Professor Alison Snow at Ohio University in the United States has demonstrated a hybridization of ' Round-Up Ready Sunflower ' sunflower varieties with wild sunflower varieties. This hybrid sunflower variety gave more than 50% of the seed to commercial varieties without being controlled by Round Up herbicide.

Transgenic technology will create more varieties for higher productivity and quality.

Research on the same canola strain also has similar results. Thus, hybrid weed has become 'super weed' because it resists even Round Up.

3. Varieties and breed rights: Genetically modified varieties do not have pure varieties (OP) and F1 hybrids as usual but are genetically modified and managed by seed companies. For example, the US Monsanto Company - a transgenic breeder - has a rigorous process for selling and managing their seeds because the cost to produce a genetically modified variety is expensive, up to millions of dollars (GM Flavr Savr tomato costs $ 2.5 million).

Anyone who wants to grow genetically modified varieties must buy and sign a contract with the production company. Like genetically modified varieties that cannot be stolen because they have patented on genes, not on breeds, so just having a DNA map is suing the thieves right away.

Monsanto Canada's case against peasant Schmeiser in 2004 at the Canadian Superior Court is a testimony of Monsanto Company's toughness in protecting their rights. So once a GM crop is planted, farmers are bound to a seed production company, not as sluggish as we usually do, and run to a representative store to buy a few seeds of seeds.

Monsanto and DuPont are two US companies, controlling 38% of the world market, so if Vietnam cultivates genetically modified plants such as soybeans, corn, genetically modified cotton, the probability of being tied to a very high-profile US seed company, as we are bound to Chinese hybrid rice, we have to import 9,000 tons of rice every year.

4. Isolation or non-isolation - traceability: In the United States and Canada, the Government does not require labeling on products so farmers want to plant genetically modified plants or not, depending on the buyer. Sold is planted. But in other countries like the whole of Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and even in Malaysia, there is a law that requires labeling so that customers know if the product is in the presence of genetically modified plants. Therefore, in Australia, the Government is forced to delineate " planting GM crops " (GM plants) to avoid hybridization.

The main purpose in zoning is to distinguish GM products, not to rely on confusion (not isolation) to boycott Australian non-GM products.

5. Effects of modified genes: Each of the characteristics of a plant is often controlled by one or more genes. For example, in tomato, Fusarium disease has gene I, Verticilium disease and Ve gene, Meliodogyne spp. then there is Mi gene, etc. So in transgenic plants, any gene implantation can control that trait.

In the United States, stem borers (Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner) are pests on corn, cotton and vegetables. Every year the cost of subtracting this worm is billions of dollars, so when it comes to genetically modified Bt ( Bacillus thuringiensis) in Bt corn, Bt cotton, the plant can eliminate the pest immediately, without spraying pesticides The thing of this stem borer has many lines so it has to transfer more genes 1, 2 genes etc. . it is said that one gene, two genes are so.

A research institute in Asia said testing of US cotton Bt cotton was still being attacked by stem borer. If not sprayed, productivity will also be severely affected. For Round Up soybean varieties, in fact, Round Up herbicide spraying is 5-10 times more than normal (Bendrook, 1999).

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Dr.Nguyen Quoc Vong (Hanoi Agricultural University; RMIT University, Melbourne Vic 3083, Australia)