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Genetic food and animals
Genes are the stuff of life - all organisms - plants, bacteria, animals contain them. They carry information that tells the organism what chemicals it needs in order to grow and reproduce. This information is the result of three billion years of evolution. Genetic Engineering turns Evolution on it's head. Thanks to Bio-technology, we don't have to wait for Mother Nature to make up her mind. Now we can simply take a gene from one species and insert it into another to create a new strain of life. But if you want a glimpse of the potential effects of genetic engineering on living creatures, we need look no further than the animal kingdom.
Professor Brenda Wingfield from the University of Pretoria comments: "Effectively, I suppose you could almost call it genetic mining. You can go and mine genes in any group of organisms and transfer it into plants. The one example that comes to mind is a gene that was isolated from Flounder Fish. These fish are able to withstand quite cold temperatures. They isolated that exact gene and they put that into potatoes and that makes potatoes that much more resistant to frost." Besides the dilemma that transfering animal genes into plants poses for vegetarians, the fact remains that in nature, a marriage of this sort will be completely impossible. But so what - just because change is rapid and profound, does not mean that it's bad - does it? Critics say that it goes against nature. The genetic combinations that presently exist on earth, were arrived at through generations of selective advantage. It's a delicate balance that humans may upset in the pursuit of selfish objectives. Genetic engineering spokesperson for Earthlife Africa, Glenda Lindsay, explains: "All across Europe, the U.K.and Brazil, people are turning against genetic engineering. Unfortunately most South Africans are desperately ignorant of the fact that they are already eating genetically engineered food that comes in from other countries. There's already 50 000 hectares of B.T. engineered maize and cotton, that's been grown and harvested just recently." Genetic Engineering means destroying or replacing part of the DNA. In both cases the risk is the same. It's what army generals refer to as "Collateral Damage" - unforeseen consequences. Thus far, most animal research has been driven by the food industry in the attempt to boost productivity.
The truth is that Genetic Engineering has more to do with the bottom line than human welfare. This will be less relevant if the technology was fail safe, but the simple truth is that problems do occur. It is a risky business. Director Muffy Koch from Innovation Biotechnology explains: "It's very difficult to say once you've approved one genetically modified crop, that all genetically modified maize is safe. This has to be a case by case study. We need to look at each modification - each gene that goes in and in each different crop it might have different impact. So it's a case by case study. Every single modification must get an approval." Apart from the practical risks, animal welfare groups are up in arms about the suffering that often accompanies these experiments and some scientists are sceptical about the medical benefits of using animal models. They say that no matter how many mice you use, they can never add up to a human being. But recently a sheep called Tracy has been genetically engineered with excellent results. A protein in her milk is used to treat humans with emphysema - so, why the uproar? Glenda Lindsay continues, "The reason the U.K. has become so much more proactive in having genetically modified foods removed from the supermarket, is they have had the direct experience of messing with matter and we know that the cows that developed that "Mad Cow" disease were fed animal food that had bonemeal in it. There could be a link. Japanese scientists now have been able to have mice in the laboratory produce human sperm - awful!" Peter Turner comments: "I think the logic would dictate that in the U.K., after five food scares in less than fifteen years, that anyone that is doing anything to food is going to come under very close scrutiny and there has been a lot of hysteria in the U.K. as a result of that - particularly as it follows so close after Mad Cow Disease. But it's a totally unrelated science or even issue - Mad Cow Disease versus Genetic Modification. In fact, Genetically modified foods were available in the U.K., even before the Mad Cow Disease scare."
In the next few years, the manipulation of human DNA will become commonplace. The issues that pertain to the animal kingdom - commercial exploitation, genetic pollution across species and unforeseen illnesses, could soon pertain to human experience. If, as the proverb says, "we reap what we sow", then we have every reason to be careful now, while the future is still in it's infancy. Contacts
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Scientists are learning more and more about tampering with genetic code.
As a result, genetically altered crops and animals are changing the face of the food industry. But how safe is Bio-engineered food and what are the consequences for the humans that eat it and for the environment in which it is grown?
Humans have been cross-breeding farm animals for centuries, but this is a slow process that takes many generations. Genetic engineering is a short-cut. By injecting foreign genetic material into fertilised eggs, it's possible to transform a species within a single generation and unlike traditional breeding, DNA can be transferred between totally unrelated species.
In 1982, human genes that produce growth hormone were injected into fertilised mice ova. Unusually large mice were the result. This test was done to see if meat production could be increased, but most people in the world eat very little meat. Economically, animals are a less efficient food source than plants.
But the issue of animal welfare conceals the broader question of how we regard animals - as sentient creatures who deserve certain rights, or as objects suitable for human use and consumption. Genetic Engineering raises the question of the role of human beings in nature. Are we a competitive species like any other or do we have a greater responsibility.
