GM Omega-3 Trojan Horse Threat Arrives At The Gates Of Troy - Genetic Engineers Look To Introduce More 'Novel Foods' On 'Health' Grounds

Remember How They Said
Margarine Was Good For You?
Now GM Omega-3 Trojan Horse Threat
Arrives At The Gates Of Troy
www.nlpwessex.org/docs/gmormega3.htm
Genetic Engineers Look To Introduce
More 'Novel Foods' On 'Health' Grounds

"Crops genetically modified to contain fish oil could be fed to hens to boost the health of humans eating chicken and eggs. Scientists are working on putting omega 3 fatty acids - which help prevent heart disease and Type 2 diabetes - into plants such as linseed and oil seed rape. It could boost the omega 3 in a single portion of chicken breast to a third of an adult's weekly need without it tasting fishy. ..... Prof Johnathan Napier, of Rothamsted Research, said: 'We're three to five years away from something which could be grown in a field.' Prof Judy Buttriss, of the British Nutrition Foundation, said: 'If we don't get this sorted we're going to have massive health bills.'"
GM fish oil crops may be fed to chickens
Mirror, 16 November 2007

"In recent years, trans-fats have risen to the top of the food-and-health agenda. A number of studies have linked trans-fats to coronary heart disease and, as a consequence, food manufacturers, governments and consumers are increasingly concerned about trans-fats..... About 100 years ago the discovery was made that liquid oils could be converted to solid fats (which were more useful in food manufacture) by a procedure called hydrogenation. As hydrogen was added to liquid unsaturated oil it gradually became a solid saturated fat (also called a hydrogenated fat). After the Second World War the process for making hydrogenated and hardened fats from cheaper sources of vegetable oils was widely adopted. Margarines were developed and marketed as alternatives to butter, and vegetable shortenings increasingly replaced the animal fats in cooking..... It is now generally accepted that trans-fats are actually worse for the health than the saturated animal fats they were designed to replace....The artificial hardening of vegetable oils by hydrogenation would have been fine were it not for the fact that some of the kinks unexpectedly change shape during the process and form unhardened trans-fats, which cannot be properly digested by the body.... The simplest advice in the absence of any specific labelling is to avoid all foods that list hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats or shortenings on their labels. When cooking at home use liquid vegetable oil for frying and only margarines and shortenings that are labelled trans-fat free.... as we now know that they are not digested normally we should avoid eating them if possible....Initial concern was first raised in the UK as early as the 1970s and further scientific research was needed to substantiate these early worries.... Modern margarine processing does not now produce trans-fats "
Trans-fats - Prof Tony Blake
BBC Online, July 2007

"Dr. Walter Willett, chairman of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard University School of Public Health, praised New York health officials for considering a ban, which he said could save lives. 'Artificial trans fats are very toxic, and they almost surely causes tens of thousands of premature deaths each year,' he said. 'The federal government should have done this long ago.'"
NYC Health Department Proposes Ban on Trans Fats
Associated Press, 27 September 2006

"The FDA has stated that there is no room in a healthy diet for any level of trans fat—a fat found in partially hydrogenated oils that raises bad cholesterol and lowers good cholesterol, thereby contributing to heart disease.... Monsanto and DuPont (Wilmington, DE, USA) are working on products that blend conventional breeding and genetic engineering to produce soybean oils that have even healthier fat profiles and that can be used for different applications, such as baking, frying and processing..... DuPont, for example, has a transgenic high-oleic-acid soybean making its way through regulation now."
Functional foods from biotech—an unappetizing prospect?
Nature Biotechnology 25, 525 - 531 (2007)

"The real bright prospect for GM is to produce varieties that could provide immunity to a disease or improve the health characteristics of traditional food, like canola oil with high-beta carotene content or vitamin A supplemented rice. This 3rd generation of GM called nutraceuticals or 'functional foods' is designed to produce medicinal qualities and/or food supplements within the plant."
Economic Impacts of Genetically Modified Crops on the Agri-Food Sector
European Commission, Working Document Revision 2

".....functional food GM traits are taking longer to see the light of day than the 'rosiest projections'of ten years ago. The more complicated traits usually involve synthesis pathways to make or increase a nutrient, and using multiple enzyme genes can also shift the makeup of a food in unintended ways. In other words, such traits may require metabolic engineering to find ways to increase a desired nutrient without a concomitant decrease in other desirables or increase of unwanted by-products..... "
Functional foods from biotech—an unappetizing prospect?
Nature Biotechnology 25, 525 - 531 (2007)

"Fat is making headlines again. In a recent study, Harvard researchers confirmed what's been suspected for some time--that a little trans fat goes a long way toward increasing your risk of heart disease. ...... Hydrogenated fats have become nearly ubiquitous in our food supply, used in everything from margarines, shortenings (e.g. Crisco), crackers, cookies, baked goods and peanut butter, to fast foods and even some soups, beans and cereals. In the Harvard study, a long-term look at the eating habits of more than 80,000 nurses found that those with the most trans fats in their diets had the highest risk of heart disease--regardless of their total fat intake. The researchers then estimated that cuting back on trans fats (by about four grams a day in the study) could slash the risk of heart disease in half."
What to make of recent news that butter is better than margarine
Environmental Nutrition, Jan, 1998 - Click Here

"Three years after the [New York] city banned smoking in restaurants, health officials are talking about prohibiting something they say is almost as bad: artificial trans fatty acids. The city health department unveiled a proposal Tuesday that would bar cooks at any of the city's 24,600 food service establishments from using ingredients that contain the artery-clogging substance, commonly listed on food labels as partially hydrogenated oil. Artificial trans fats are found in some shortenings, margarine and frying oils and turn up in foods from pie crusts to french fries to doughnuts. Doctors agree that trans fats are unhealthy in nearly any amount.....Under the New York proposal, restaurants would need to get artificial trans fats out of cooking oils, margarine and shortening by July 1, 2007, and all other foodstuffs by July 1, 2008. It would not affect grocery stores. It also would not apply to naturally occurring trans fats, which are found in some meats and dairy..... The U.S. Food and Drug Administration began requiring food labels to list trans fats in January.Dr. Walter Willett, chairman of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard University School of Public Health, praised New York health officials for considering a ban, which he said could save lives. 'Artificial trans fats are very toxic, and they almost surely causes tens of thousands of premature deaths each year,' he said. 'The federal government should have done this long ago.'"
NYC Health Department Proposes Ban on Trans Fats
Associated Press, 27 September 2006

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article2879567.ece

From The Times
November 16, 2007

GM crops are the only way to solve Britons’ diet failings, say scientists
Mark Henderson, Science Editor

Genetically modified crops will be the only sustainable way of solving
Britain’s dietary shortcomings, scientists claim.

Barely one in four British adults consumes close to the recommended
quantities of critical omega3 fatty acids found chiefly in oily fish.
Genetic engineering is the sole practical means of getting more of them into
the food chain without damaging fragile fish stocks, researchers said.

Two long-chain omega3 acids, EPA and DHA, are known to play important roles
in health, protecting against heart disease, diabetes and hypertension and
promoting the growth of brain cells in the young.

Both acids, however, are produced only by algae and reach the human body
through the fish that eat them, or from meat, milk or eggs from animals
reared at least partly on fish meal. Raising dietary levels of the nutrients
would thus place further pressure on fisheries that are already under
threat.

Crops enhanced with genes from algae, however, can make DHA and EPA. These
can then be used as feed to boost the quantities found in chicken and other
animal products.

Experimental GM linseed and oilseed rape have been produced at Rothamsted
Research, in Hertfordshire, which expects to seek regulatory approval for
commercial use within three to five years.

In the longer term, it may be possible to produce GM crops with omega3 acids
that could be eaten directly, allowing vegetarians to benefit from the
nutrients that are usually almost absent from their diets.

Professor Johnathan Napier, who leads the Rothamsted team, said that GM was
the only way of making DHA and EPA in crops, because the genes that allow
their synthesis existed only in marine micro-algae. “That’s why we have to
take the GM route. There is no alternative,” he said. “We can’t use
mutagenesis or conventional breeding – the genes aren’t there in crop plants
in the first place.”

While the Government recommends consuming 450mg of the acids daily, average
consumption is only 244mg, according to research by the European Union
Lipgene project, which is investigating links between nutrition and
cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Most people’s intake falls well below even this level, as 70 per cent of
British adults never eat oily fish, such as salmon, mackerel, herring and
fresh tuna. The problem could be addressed if people were to eat a portion
of oily fish each week, through supplements or through chicken and other
meat that has been enhanced with DHA and EPA.

In each case, however, the acids would have to come ultimately from wild
fish, placing unsustainable pressure on fisheries. Farmed fish are no
solution, as they are fed on fish meal and oil that comes from wild sources.

Lipgene research has indicated that people are open to accepting GM
technology if it has clear nutritional and environmental benefits.

“There has been a lot of concern and resistance about GM technology in the
food chain, but things can change,” said Professor Ian Givens, of the
Nutritional Sciences Research Unit at the University of Reading.

“When the issue about sustainability of fish oils becomes clearer and people
can see more clearly what the benefits are from this sort of approach, I
suspect mindsets will change.”

Professor Judy Buttriss, of the British Nutrition Foundation, said: “The
project has looked at consumer attitudes to GM, and we were quite surprised
to see that there was openness when people could see benefits for themselves
and their families.”

Professor Napier said: “There isn’t an alternative to this. The question is,
where are you going to source these fatty acids if your only source is in
decline and unsustainable. You can’t just be a naysayer.”

Oiling the wheels
— There are two long-chain, polyunsaturated omega3 fatty acids that play
important roles in human health: eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and
docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)
— Both reach the human food chain only through oily fish, such as salmon,
mackerel, herring and fresh tuna. Canned tuna is low in the acids. The fatty
acids are created originally by marine algae, which are then eaten by fish
— Research has established firmly that EPA and DHA protect against
conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure,
which together are known as “metabolic syndrome”
— DHA is also involved in brain development, in the formation of nerve cells
during the last trimester of pregnancy in the first year of life. Some
evidence also suggests that it protects against cognitive decline and
dementia in the elderly
— Official recommendations are for adults to consume 450mg of the acids
daily, the equivalent of a portion of oily fish once a week. The average
intake in Britain is only 244mg, and most people consume much less than this
as 70 per cent of the population do not eat oily fish
Source: Lipgene

"There was a time when the Western diet included plenty of omega-3 fatty acids naturally, as they bioaccumulated in livestock grazing on a wide variety of plants. Modern agriculture, however, has obliterated this with the practice of fattening cattle in feedlots on primarily corn and hay. In many cases, modern breeding has selected for yield at the detriment of nutritional value and has created a need to add back nutrients somewhere...."
Functional foods from biotech—an unappetizing prospect?
Nature Biotechnology 25, 525 - 531 (2007)

"Even in the United States, it seems that GM foods have lost ground in consumer opinion polls..........functional food GM traits are taking longer to see the light of day than the 'rosiest projections'of ten years ago. The more complicated traits usually involve synthesis pathways to make or increase a nutrient, and using multiple enzyme genes can also shift the makeup of a food in unintended ways. In other words, such traits may require metabolic engineering to find ways to increase a desired nutrient without a concomitant decrease in other desirables or increase of unwanted by-products..... For commercially biofortified products, Beachy says the only ‘pull’ large enough to override GM food concerns is a government mandate to improve health. Just such a mandate kickstarted the one type of GM functional food that is moving forward through development. The FDA has stated that there is no room in a healthy diet for any level of trans fat—a fat found in partially hydrogenated oils that raises bad cholesterol and lowers good cholesterol, thereby contributing to heart disease. Beginning in January 2006, the FDA required all food nutrition labels to list the amount of trans fat. And in December 2006 and February 2007, New York City and Philadelphia, respectively, banned the use of trans fat in the cities’ restaurants, a step that numerous other locales are pondering as well, including Calgary, Boston and the state of California.... Monsanto and DuPont (Wilmington, DE, USA) are working on products that blend conventional breeding and genetic engineering to produce soybean oils that have even healthier fat profiles and that can be used for different applications, such as baking, frying and processing..... DuPont, for example, has a transgenic high-oleic-acid soybean making its way through regulation now. Oil from this product would have a higher stability for frying foods. And a third-generation product, a high-oleic-acid, high-steric-acid oil, could be used in baked goods—yes, even donuts. Similarly, Monsanto’s Vistive3 soybean, currently in laboratory testing, combines three traits: low-lin, high-oleic and lower saturated fats. Timothy Conner, senior director of oil seeds and food technology at Monsanto, says he expects the company to launch Vistive3 sometime early in the next decade. Both companies are also pursuing GM soybeans that have omega-3 essential fatty acids added, recognizing that a demand already exists for an inexpensive and sustainable source of omega-3s...... The companies are also banking on both their expertise in guiding GM soybeans through regulation and consumers’ recognition of the health benefits of omega-3s....."
Functional foods from biotech—an unappetizing prospect?
Nature Biotechnology 25, 525 - 531 (2007)

'Genetic Roulette' - The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods - Click Here
GM Food Health Risks - Summary - Click Here
Will GM Crops Deliver Benefits To Farmers? - Click Here
The Acceptable Face Of Ag-biotech - Click Here