The Scorecard For Biotech

With the dawn of another new year comes another round of serious activity in the area of biotech crops. As always, some of these developments could be considered positives for the industry; others not so much.

Let’s start with a positive when it comes to biotech crops: Label­ing. Throughout much of the past two years, biotech crop opponents have repeatedly tried (and largely failed) to get various municipalities, cities and states to pass laws requiring the labeling of foods that might contain biotech-derived products. In all, hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on this cause — on both sides.

Advertisement

But what does the American public really think on this issue? In Decem­ber, an Associated Press/Gfk poll found that 66% of consumers favored biotech food labeling, with only 7% opposed to the idea. However, an important point was made by this 66% — they favored labeling “whether they care about eating foods that contain biotech materials or not.” In other words, if all products carry such labeling, their impact on consumer decisionmaking may not be as negative as some observers fear.

Top Articles
Bayer Pilots Unique Generative AI Tool for Agriculture

Definitely on the negative side for the biotech crop business was the European Union’s decision to allow member states to restrict or ban the cultivation of biotech crops on their territories “based upon their own environmental policy grounds and not just perceived risks to health and the environment as assessed by the European Food Safety Authority, which was previously the case. Ah, Europe …

Then there were a few efforts to expand biotech choices beyond row crops such as corn, soybeans and cotton. A few months back, I detailed how Golden Rice, enhanced with Vitamin A to fight blindness, was coming along in its effort to make it to market. Another more recent “friendly” biotech offering comes from The J.R. Simplot Co., which created a biotech potato variety called the Innate. The potato has been altered to produce less of the chemical acrylamide, a suspected human carcinogen that potatoes make when they are subjected to high temperatures.

In my book, less cancer risk from one of the most consumed crops in the U.S. seems like a no-brainer. However, McDonald’s USA — a big customer for Simplot potatoes — has told the company “no thanks” when it comes to using the Innate. Hopefully, another, more “innovative-minded” potato buyer will step up, willing to promote “safer” potatoes to its customers.

Besides potatoes, there is speculation that wheat might be next up to give biotech a go. Although growers rejected the idea of planting biotech wheat back in the early 2000s, times might be changing. A recent survey by the National Association of Wheat Growers found that 76% of its members were ready to give biotech wheat a try. This could include a new drought-tolerant version currently being developed.

So when it comes to the scorecard for biotech crops, things are in flux. As always, stay tuned …

0
Advertisement