Biofoods in India: 4. Sting in the tail

Like the Midas touch that literally turned food, water and even people to gold, every boon to humankind is double edged. Advanced biotechnology is no exception. In genetically engineered biofoods, the resistance to disease vary with the conditions - individual or environmental differences could actually change the disease profile into something completely unexpected.

The 1960s “green revolution” too, carried a sting in its tail. Within a few decades, farmers using the technology found that the much hyped “food sufficiency” came at a price. The hybrid seeds required the intensive use of fertilisers, pesticides and irrigation. The techniques then best served those who could afford the technology, could count on ample rainfall or had access to irrigation facilities.

Further, certain problems refused to go away, or new ones were created in their stead. The agricultural pests soon attained pesticide resistance, or mutated to new forms. Other chemicals were needed to protect the crops from these new, developed strains. New hazards to health and the environment were also being created. The pesticides permeated the air, diffused into the earth, and eventually, seeped into the ground water. They thus affect not only insects and bacteria, but also the entire food chain.

The chemical deluge diffusing through the environment poisoned plant and animal systems. Children felt the effects from birth itself, with many being “born blue” suffering cyanosis. Families living along the farming belt found members developing cancer. There was depletion of groundwater levels, salinising of prime farmland, loss of biodiversity and destruction of other wildlife. The environmental degradation and income inequality made the rich richer and the poor poorer.

Scientists examined the properties of toxic contaminants that contribute to pollution of the environment – soil, water and air. They studied the biochemical nature of various plants, insects and animals and devised advanced processes to improve human health. Genetic engineering “injected genes” from one species or genus into another. Investigative journalist Coale explains,

…researchers implanted a gene from a fish that swims in icy arctic waters into strawberries and tomatoes to help the vulnerable fruits ward off frost.

This process makes the conventional method of spraying strawberries and tomatoes with water to protect them from the harsh weather redundant.

“Designer genes”, they reasoned, would ensure that crops carry higher contents for vitamins, other nutrients, as well as various vaccines for immunization. The genetic manipulations of plants would make them immune to viruses and bacteria. Crops would become far more hardy then before and able to withstand extremes of weather and temperature. In India, proposals were made to cultivate grain and vegetables similarly resistant to agricultural pests and herbs.

For instance, the commercial release of insect-resistant Bt corn was hailed around the world. The product also met the protocol standards of environmental impact, food safety, nontarget effects, and pest resistance the regulators had set up. Extensive field tests with livestock feed in Iowa USA showed a reduction in their “vulnerability to mycotoxin-producing fungi”. These myotoxins are the disease carriers that pass from the plants to humans and other animals.

Malnutrition is a recurring problem in India, with millions suffering from anaemia, blindness, goitre, etc. Traditionally these have been dealt with supplement tablets like vitamin A or fortifying common foods like salt with iodine. “Biofortifying” grains or seeds with micronutrients are considered both cheaper and more effective in alleviating the health problems of the masses. There have also been proposals for bio-fortifications whereby essential micronutrients may be genetically introduced into grain, like Golden Rice that contains carotene or Vitamin A to combat night blindness.

Sadly the process has a catch – called allergens. The first generation of GM bio-foods are best described as ‘experimental’ because the nature of the errors that occurred were never visualized at the drawing boards. The new gene that is introduced causes formation of entirely new class of proteins, originally absent in the host. The “allergen” is a reaction-producing protein. It may be a miniscule part of the food, but it causes an immunological response in the plant or body by itself, or by its reaction to bacteria existing in the digestive tract of its consumers.

For example, in the mid-1990s, a biotechnology company had attempted to boost the content of protein in soybean by introducing a specific gene from Brazil nut. The protein content was enhanced as expected, but the new gene produced a new virulent allergen in addition, and the project had to be abandoned. The lesson to be learned here is that long-term safety testing of engineered products needs to be mandatory.

Next…the threat