Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is a concept accepted by all countries in the Biosafety Protocol to the United Nations Convention, which is called "modified living organisms" or "genetically modified organisms" (GMOs). LMOs or GMOs refers to living organisms with new and different combinations of genetic materials obtained through modern biotechnology. In fact, the introduction of foreign DNA into the genome of an organism has caused genetic variation and changed the genetic composition of the organism, which is a transgenic organism. The emphasis here is on life, which is a biological entity that can inherit or copy genetic material. For example, a seed is a living body. Modern biotechnology mainly focuses on test-tube nucleic acid technology, DNA recombination or introduction of nucleic acid into cells or organelles, or cell fusion in super-classification disciplines, which is modern biotechnology.

Genetically modified foods are products or processed products of genetically modified organisms, which can be biological or abiotic. For example, direct products of genetically modified animals and plants, genetically modified rape, genetically modified tomatoes, and some soybean oil and soybeans, including tofu. These genetically modified foods mainly come from plant genetically modified organisms. At present, there are not many transgenic animals on the market, and there is almost no commercial production, mainly transgenic plants. Transgenic plants have been widely promoted since 1996.

At present, the cultivation of genetically modified organisms in the world is mainly concentrated in four countries. Among them, the United States and Argentina account for 90%, as well as Canada and China. These four countries add up to 99%. In terms of crops, it mainly focuses on four crops. Among them, soybeans and corn account for 80%, and cotton and rapeseed add up to 99%. Of course, there are dozens of genetically modified plants commercially produced, such as wheat, rice and genetically modified fish, which have yet to be released from the environment and have not been officially approved, but they have all been successful as genetically modified crops.

In terms of transgenic genes, it has three characteristics. One is the herbicide-resistant gene. Herbicide-resistant genes account for 77%, which are mainly used in soybean-round up ready, which is called roundup in Chinese. Roundup is actually a herbicide, glyphosate. After this gene transfer, when glyphosate herbicide was used, all other weeds died, except soybean. Therefore, work can be saved. In addition, insect-resistant genes account for 15%, mainly insect-resistant corn and cotton. For example, insect-resistant cotton grown in China can resist cotton bollworm. If the insect-resistant gene is transferred to cotton, cotton can express toxic protein, and insects will die after eating it. There is also bivalent, which is both herbicide-resistant and insect-resistant, accounting for about 8%.

All these genetically modified crops mainly come from Monsanto in the United States, as well as Syngenta and Avandis, which are relatively large. Among them, Monsanto provided 9 1% transgenic plant varieties. The United States is also the largest producer and publisher of genetically modified organisms, approving more than 1000 commercialization applications every year.

Since the late 1980s, the international community has paid more attention to this aspect. The United Nations Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 65438 to 0992 adopted an agenda for the 20th century called "2 1", which proposed to attach importance to developing countries and the application of environment-friendly biotechnology. Because developing countries are unable to cope with transgenic technology. Including the introduction of some genetically modified organisms, it has no ability to deal with environmental disasters after the introduction. Therefore, developing countries are particularly concerned. Therefore, the 1992 summit adopted a convention called the Convention on Biological Diversity. Articles 8 and 65-438+09 of the Convention on Biological Diversity all mention that all countries must formulate risks arising from the release of living organisms that can regulate, manage and control changes in biotechnology and may adversely affect the protection and sustainable utilization of biodiversity and human health. The Convention places special emphasis on the need for a protocol. At present, 65,438+003 countries have signed the Protocol and 46 countries have ratified it. The Protocol will enter into force when 50 countries ratify it. China is also in the process of approval. The focus of the protocol is to control transboundary movements, and the export of genetically modified organisms to another country requires the consent of the importing country before they can be imported. In addition, the imported genetically modified organisms should be evaluated, managed, labeled and provided with information, and all relevant information involved in this aspect should be provided to the importing countries. It also includes liability and compensation. After an environmental disaster or danger to human health occurs, there must be a statement, and there must be an agreement between countries on how to compensate.

Second, genetically modified organisms and food safety

At present, the international general standards for safety assessment of genetically modified foods, such as the United States or OECD countries, put forward a principle in 1993, which is the principle of substantive equality. In other words, whether this genetically modified organism is safe or not depends on its difference and comparison with traditional non-genetically modified products. If the composition of food is basically the same as that of traditional food, it is considered safe. However, many experts have questioned this principle, and think that it is safe or unsafe to evaluate not only the main nutritional components, but also all the basic concentrations of macro-micronutrients, anti-nutritional elements, plant endotoxin, secondary metabolites and allergens. The principle of substantial equivalence is still in doubt.

In the past few years, many experts have done a lot of research to study whether genetically modified organisms are safe. Everyone thinks that genetically modified organisms are risky. The source of risk. First, toxins, gene destruction or its instability may bring new toxins, causing acute or chronic poisoning. Second, the new protein produced by foreign genes may cause allergic reactions in human beings. Third, the nutritional composition of genetically modified products has changed, which may make the nutritional structure of human beings unbalanced. Fourth, the safety of genetically modified organisms is still uncertain. One of the main reasons is incomplete information or many unknown factors. Some biotechnology companies believe that intellectual property rights and trade secrets should be protected, and the information provided is incomplete, so the evaluation itself is incomplete. Another problem is the method. At present, the methods of exploring genetically modified food allergy have great limitations and are very limited. There is also the limitation and short-term nature of detection methods, which are only a few years now. It takes a long time to determine the safety and risks of genetically modified organisms, not years. These are all factors to be considered.

Have there been any unsafe incidents in recent years? Here are a few events. Although these incidents have happened, they are not necessarily unsafe, because many people still question them.

One is the Brazilian bean allergy incident, which is beyond doubt. 1996, the gene of a Brazilian bean was transferred to soybean, which caused some people to have allergic reactions. Later, the plan was abandoned and no longer done. From 65438 to 0998, experiments on genetically modified potatoes were carried out in Britain. After feeding transgenic potatoes continuously, the organs of mice grow abnormally, lose weight, and the immune system is destroyed. This caused a sensation all over the world at that time, but by 1999, there were also different opinions, saying that some methods and statistics were problematic. This is questioned. In 2002, Britain conducted a human residue test of genetically modified food DNA. Seven volunteers who had undergone surgery to remove large intestine tissue ate hamburgers made of genetically modified soybeans, and the residual DNA of transferred genes was detected in their small intestine bacteria. Because antibiotics are used as markers when genetically modified. Therefore, if you eat food containing this marker gene, it may make intestinal bacteria or oral bacteria develop a resistance to antibiotics. There are also doubts about this.

There are also several food contamination incidents. The well-known events are Star Alliance Corn and Star Alliance Corn in the United States. This kind of corn was approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency for commercial production in 1998. At that time, it was approved to be used as animal feed and not for human consumption, because it was allergic to human body and might cause rash and diarrhea. But in 2000, this corn ingredient was found in more than 30 kinds of corn foods on the market, so the US government ordered all genetically modified corn to be taken back. In addition, there are incidents in the United States in which medicinal genetically modified corn contaminated soybeans. A company developed a medicine corn for patients, not for ordinary consumers. It is used to treat diseases. Maybe this genetically modified corn is used as a medicine for some disease, AIDS or something. As a result, it was not eradicated in the field where medicinal corn was planted last year. Plant soybeans in the second year. When harvesting soybeans, the genetically modified drug corn was also harvested, and the whole soybean was polluted. So the American government ordered the destruction of all soybeans mixed with medicinal corn in the warehouse, totaling about 1 10,000 bushels. This incident shows that pollution is easy to produce, although some genetically modified organisms clearly indicate that they are not for people, nor for animals or drugs. But it is easy to pollute and cause food insecurity and hidden dangers.

Besides food pollution, it also has an impact on the environment. For example, 1999 butterfly incident in America. Pollen from transgenic insect-resistant corn was scattered on milkweed, and the butterfly tried to eat this weed and poisoned its larvae. Butterfly is a rare and endangered animal in North America, so it caused great repercussions all over the world at that time. More importantly, 200 1 found a problem of genetic pollution of Mexican corn. There is also an article published in Nature 200 1 about the event that Mexican corn was contaminated by genetically modified corn. Mexico does not grow genetically modified corn itself, which is prohibited by laws and regulations, but imports genetically modified corn from the United States as feed. The result may be that some farmers plant genetically modified corn and pollute the local corn after planting. Mexico is the origin of corn. If the genetic diversity of maize origin is polluted and the local genetic structure of maize is destroyed, the pollution problem will be very serious. This incident also has great enlightenment for China. China now imports genetically modified soybeans, and China is the origin of soybeans. Genetically modified soybeans are likely to cause genetic pollution to soybeans originating in China. Therefore, at present, the state has strict control over genetically modified soybeans and is not allowed to plant them.

However, it is normal that these incidents mentioned just now are questioned by some experts engaged in biotechnology. People engaged in biotechnology research have gone through hardships, developed varieties and achieved results. Although there are some problems, I don't like others to make irresponsible remarks. However, they have raised many questions themselves, and of course these questions are well-founded in themselves. Personally, I think there is a conclusion, that is, due to the existing scientific research and knowledge and time constraints, is genetically modified food harmful to human health? It is difficult to determine for a while, but it needs sufficient scientific basis and long-term practical test, and it takes time to test. I'm afraid it is too early to say whether it is harmful or harmless. Some Americans said that we had eaten it for five or six years, and no Americans were poisoned, and no one was poisoned. Some Europeans say that genetically modified things can't be eaten and there are risks. In fact, both aspects are more extreme. So we should have a clear head, that is to say, we haven't come to a complete conclusion yet. Therefore, before drawing a conclusion, the whole world needs to form a * * * understanding, that is to say, before sufficient scientific basis, the precautionary principle should be adopted, that is, the potential risks of genetically modified organisms and their products to the environment and human health should be fully evaluated and prevented.

For consumers, they should be given the right to know and choose food. There is no conclusion now, and the government can't tell you whether to eat or not. Let consumers choose for themselves. You should know what you are eating. You can choose whether you are willing to take the risk or not. It should be decided by consumers.

Third, the risk prevention of genetically modified food.

Faced with the uncertain risks of genetically modified foods, many countries have adopted the precautionary principle, that is, labeling genetically modified foods. EU 15 countries have adopted the mandatory labeling system, and the content of genetically modified ingredients exceeds 0.9%. The regulations formulated by the EU also have a traceability, that is, traceability. The labels of genetically modified products on the food on the shelves should be clearly written, including where they came from, what genes were transferred, and the donors, receptors and vectors of the genes. From the beginning, where it came from, there was a series to track and trace. Norway, Switzerland and many other countries have strict control. Including Australia and New Zealand. South Korea, an Asian country, began labeling in March of 20001year, but the requirements were relatively loose, requiring more than 3% of genetically modified ingredients to label. If you don't label it, you can be fined 6.5438+million won or imprisoned for three years. Japan also has a labeling system. Japan's requirement is 5%, which is relatively loose and is the loosest label in the world.

What is the attitude of consumers towards genetically modified foods? Japan conducted a survey in 2002. The survey results show that 80% of Japanese people are dissatisfied with the current logo, and think that 5% of the logo is too loose and should be stricter. 70% farmers in Germany are unwilling to grow genetically modified food, and they can't sell it if they grow it. Europeans don't like to eat genetically modified things, so they don't grow them. With the support of Greenpeace, Guangzhou Sun Yat-sen University conducted a survey of consumers in Guangzhou. 87% consumers demand the right to know, and 80% consumers demand signs, expressing a voice. But there are many people, about one-third of whom don't know what genetically modified food is, which shows that the public knows less about genetically modified food.

And the Nestle incident. Nestle's products were exposed by the media, and the Nestle products detected in the report contained genetically modified ingredients. The data were tested by an international authoritative biotechnology company entrusted by Greenpeace. According to the test results, the media criticized Nestle for adopting double standards, because Nestle promised in Europe that all foods do not contain genetically modified ingredients. However, food in China was found to contain genetically modified ingredients, which caused discussion and criticism on the Internet. It is said that more than 5000 people have paid attention to the online discussion. It shows that the public is still concerned about genetically modified foods.

In China, China's international level in biotechnology and genetic modification is not low. Apart from the United States, Japan, Germany and some developed countries in Europe, China may be second to none among developing countries and has reached the international advanced level in some aspects. There are more than 50 kinds of plants in China, including food crops, which are undergoing transgenic research, as are animals and fish. From 1997 to 200 1 the end of the year, the Ministry of Agriculture accepted 587 applications for environmental release and commercial production of genetically modified organisms. Finally, 4 15 items were approved for environmental protection release. Although environmental discharge can be planted, it is only allowed to be planted in a small area, and isolation measures should be taken. There are 46 items approved for commercial production. Commercial production has no isolation measures and can be planted at will, mainly 6 kinds. One is cotton. It is insect-resistant, transgenic Bt cotton; There are tomatoes, tomatoes resistant to cucumber mosaic virus, and a late-maturing tomato; It is also a sweet pepper resistant to cucumber mosaic virus Petunia; There are also some animal feed additives and microbial agricultural products.

At present, in our China market, there may be a small amount of truly domestic transgenic tomatoes planted in Hubei or Guangdong, which is said to be no more than 1 10,000 mu. Sweet pepper may be limited to Liaoning. One thing is that commercial production is very limited, because it may not pass the seed approval. The main genetically modified product is cotton, which can neither be eaten nor eaten, but its seeds can be used to extract oil. We did a survey. Many farmers in Hebei Province use cottonseed to extract oil, which is also food, so they eat genetically modified cotton oil.

The seed area of transgenic cotton is relatively large. From 1996 to 200 1 year, more than 30% of cotton planting area is genetically modified, and 70% of genetically modified cotton is seeds provided by Monsanto. There are still 30% transgenic cotton varieties cultivated by our domestic research institutes, the Cotton Institute of China Academy of Agricultural Sciences and many provincial agricultural academies, and the amount of 30% is still quite large. Therefore, China has become one of the four countries that plant genetically modified organisms in the world, mainly because the weight of genetically modified cotton is relatively large.

There are not many genetically modified foods on the market in China, and there is nothing produced by ourselves, but not everyone has never eaten them. In fact, we basically don't leave with genetically modified food every day. The main reason is that we have imported genetically modified foods and more genetically modified soybeans. Genetically modified soybeans are squeezed into oil and made into bean products. We can't escape and eat them. For example, among the 200 1 imported13.94 million tons of soybeans, the United States has 5.72 million tons and Argentina has 5.02 million tons, mainly from these two countries. At that time, 63% of soybeans in the United States were genetically modified, and more than 90% in Argentina were genetically modified, so most of these imported soybeans were actually genetically modified. In 2002, after the promulgation of China the State Council regulations, there were some changes in 2002 compared with 200 1. Our soybean imports from Brazil increased by 23.7%, Brazil is basically non-genetically modified, soybeans imported from the United States decreased by 19%, soybeans imported from Argentina decreased by 44.7%, and overall imports decreased by 18.7%.

Why did China import genetically modified soybeans? Now that China has joined the WTO and the international economy is globalized, he will buy whatever is cheap and superior. Our northeast soybeans are on the market, and so are American soybeans. In the past, the price of northeast soybeans was 20% higher than that of American soybeans, but the oil content of our soybeans was not as good as that of American soybeans. The oil content of American soybeans reaches 2 1%, and we only have 18%, so the oil mill uses American soybeans with high oil yield. However, this situation has changed a little now. The Ministry of Agriculture has been promoting high-oil soybeans in the past two years, and our oil content has reached 2 1%. Moreover, our own soybeans are all non-GM soybeans, and now Japanese and Koreans have to eat non-GM soybeans. Our soybeans are called organic soybeans or non-GMO soybeans, and now our soybean exports have increased. Dalian Soybean Futures Exchange used to trade genetically modified soybeans in the United States, but now it trades non-genetically modified soybeans in China.

Four. China's Work on Safety Management of Genetically Modified Organisms

China has been paying attention to the safety of genetically modified organisms for a long time, and it is still keeping pace with the world.

199365438+In February, the State Science and Technology Commission issued the Measures for the Safety Management of Genetic Engineering, which put forward the declaration, approval and safety control of genetic modification. In July, 1996, the Ministry of Agriculture issued the Implementation Measures for Safety Management of Agricultural Biogenetic Engineering, which also required registration and review. 65438-0999 The State Environmental Protection Administration issued the National Biosafety Framework of China, which put forward our national policy system, regulatory framework, technical guidelines for risk assessment and risk management, and national capacity building. Relevant institutions have also been established, with the participation of seven or eight departments, and framework documents have been issued. I am the leader of the expert group that formulated this framework document. More importantly, on May 23rd, 20001,the State Council promulgated the Regulations on the Safety Management of Agricultural Genetically Modified Organisms by Order No.304, in which the agricultural genetically modified organisms were defined, and the requirements for research and experiments and the safety certificates that should be obtained were stipulated. Production and processing, obtain production license. To operate, you must obtain a business license. Agricultural genetically modified organisms required to be listed in the catalogue must be sold in China and clearly marked. There are also regulations on import and export. All genetically modified organisms and processed raw materials exported to China need to have the safety certificate of genetically modified organisms issued by China. If it does not meet the requirements, it should be returned or destroyed. On March 20th, 2002, the Ministry of Agriculture issued three supporting management measures. On April 8, 2002, the Ministry of Health also issued the Measures for Hygienic Management of Genetically Modified Foods, which came into effect on July 1 2002, and also required all genetically modified foods to be labeled. But overall, the enforcement is still not very strong. For example, the Ministry of Agriculture issued two temporary measures to postpone the implementation of the Measures for the Administration of Import of Genetically Modified Organisms. In fact, the result is that American companies can still export to China during this period, only through a temporary measure. Therefore, according to the postponed date, the biosafety certification system for imported genetically modified foods or products will not be implemented until September 2003.

However, we must see that although the whole country has not really implemented 100%, some provinces have actually started to take action. For example, some time ago in Beijing, the Beijing Municipal Government stipulated that there should be a law enforcement inspection, that is, an inspection of the implementation of the regulations of the State Council and several supporting management measures of the Ministry of Agriculture. It is necessary to check whether the food of various companies, especially foreign companies, has labels. Because foreign companies are very clear, he knows whether there are genetically modified ingredients. But our domestic companies are not very clear, because our source is not marked, which means that soybeans imported from the United States are not marked when they come in, so there is no way to mark them later. However, the trend seems to be that the government is determined. In addition, once the international biosafety protocol is implemented, there must be mandatory labels. Therefore, the prospect of labels is bright.

When we use genetically modified products, we should consider its advantages and disadvantages. At present, we don't have a very positive answer to the safety of genetically modified foods, and there are still many unknown things. Many unknown factors mentioned just now cannot be solved, nor can they be solved scientifically. Many scientists are studying these things, which will take a long time. There is no definite factor about how long this time will take, but there is a reference time. At the end of 2002, in Rome, Italy, when participating in the negotiation of the damage and compensation clauses in the United Nations Biosafety Protocol, many countries proposed that once genetically modified foods were exported to other countries, they could be forgiven for many years once they suffered damage and environmental harm. For example, genetically modified soybeans exported to China this year, how many years later can we let bygones be bygones? Many countries set a time limit of 30 years. If it is more than 30 years, let bygones be bygones. But I said, there should be no 30-year limit. When should I find out? I can investigate at any time. Thirty years is too short. In the 1960s and 1950s, HCH and DDT were used as pesticides, but I don't know how long it took before it was found to have residual poison.

Summary:

Personally, I have some concerns about the safety of genetically modified organisms and genetically modified foods, but that doesn't mean resolutely opposing genetically modified foods. I just think there are potential risks. Such as that potential impact on the environment and biodiversity. Just now I talked about the impact on soybean genetic resources and genetic diversity. Once we import genetically modified soybeans, once farmers plant genetically modified soybeans, or genetic drift or genetic pollution occurs, which destroys the genetic genes and genetic structure of our local soybeans, then our losses are very great, because the genetic resources of our soybeans are the wealth accumulated by our farmers for thousands of years and the wealth of the whole world. At present, many foreign breeding uses some genetic materials of China wild soybean.

The second potential threat to human health. As I said just now, because it is a gene, it is a foreign gene, so it will express foreign heterologous proteins. This protein may be allergic or toxic to human body. For example, the familiar Bt gene, the so-called Bacillus thuringiensis, has been harmless to human body for decades and can be used as the target gene. In fact, these bases have not really completed the risk assessment. It is not clear that this gene may be toxic after use. This toxicity may be long-term. For example, DDT and HCH pesticides were discovered decades later, which had an impact on human body. At first, everyone thought it was good, and it was a very great invention of human beings. But now I think it is polluting the environment. Many effects are potential.

We can also experience the impact of trade in genetically modified products on the interests of the country, farmers and consumers. As far as genetically modified soybeans are concerned, the import of genetically modified soybeans into China has had an impact on the interests of soybean farmers in Northeast China. The price of soybeans produced by our soybean farmers in Northeast China suddenly dropped from 1.5 yuan to 0.7, and farmers' income decreased by more than half, leaving some farmers heavily in debt. Therefore, the import of genetically modified organisms may have an impact on the country's social economy, which is also one of my concerns. In view of some aspects of these concerns, there are still requirements to be considered, such as national biosafety legislation, and the international UN biosafety protocol mentioned just now will come into effect soon.

In addition, it is particularly important to protect the public's right to know and choose food. The public should have the right to know what he is eating, and in a selective way. For example, there should be organic soybeans, organic foods and genetically modified foods with labels on the shelves. The public has the right to choose whether to eat organic food or genetically modified food. Besides, we should strengthen basic scientific research. It's not that science is uncertain now, and I don't know if it will be harmful in the future. I'm not sure, but because there are still many unknown factors in science, we should strengthen our research in this field. Another public also lacks knowledge and safety awareness of genetically modified foods and needs to do some popular science work.