The GM Quandary Continues

Genetically Modified (GM) crops are a particularly polarising issue for many people. There is a certain stigma attached to the term and a lot of the ill feelings towards GM foods come from a lack of understanding.

The problem facing advocates for GM crops is that many people immediately think of the negative aspects of genetically modifying organisms that have so often been referred to in both culture and science. But is there any justification behind GM crops and will GM crops one day be something that is not only accepted, but sought after in the WA agricultural sector?

The science behind GM crops is exceptionally complex, which is why companies like Monsanto pay millions of dollars to ensure the intellectual property they own in regard to GM crops is tightly guarded.

In the simplest terms however, the basic explanation of GM crops is that they are crops that have had their genetic make-up altered in some way so they grow in ways that are different to typical breeding patterns. The Department of Food and Agriculture in WA defines GM crops as crops “where genetic modification has been used to insert a specific gene, or genes, for known activities into the crop plant.”

At the moment GM crop cultivation in WA is banned under the Genetically Modified Crops Free Areas Act 2003 but there are exemptions to this ban and, in what may come to surprise to some, Western Australia already has a number of GM crop trials running.

In 2009, the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Terry Redman, approved a number of commercial trials of GM canola crops - specifically 'RoundUp Ready' canola crops. RoundUp Ready herbicide is a herbicide designed to have a unique "chemical footprint" that works to kill weeds around the crops it is used on. RoundUp Ready crops are crops which have been genetically modified so that RoundUp Ready herbicide can be sprayed on them, even in the early stages of growth, and the herbicide will not have any impact on the development of the plant. Monsanto manufactures both the RoundUp herbicide and the RoundUp Ready crops.

Although the trials for Monsanto in WA are involved with altering the genetic make-up of canola crops to help the crops yield more usable grain, GM crop trials are also being run by the CSIRO with human health in mind.

The GM Wheat and Barley Trial is being run by the CSIRO Food Futures National Research Flagship and is tailored towards yielding crops that are significantly higher in resistant starch which has many health benefits for people.

When consumed, resistant starch is broken down in the colon by resident bacteria and then releases short chain fatty acids which are important in bowel health. Most Australians currently consume about 10-20 per cent of the recommended daily intake of resistant starch which is contributing to the high levels of diet-related diseases like diabetes and colo-rectal cancer in Australia.

In the CSIRO trial, there have not been any genes added to the genetic make up of the plants, but some genes have been ‘switched off’ which alters the composition of the starch and increases the levels of resistant starch in the crops.

‘Switching off’ a gene can also be called silencing a gene and, in the simplest terms, involves preventing genes from making proteins that they usually naturally produce. Switching off genes targets one gene and usually is done so scientists can record what difference this makes to the organism in question. The CSIRO trial has switched off genes in wheat and canola in order to boost the activity of the genes which produce resistant starch.

There is another fundamental difference between the Monsanto trials and the CSIRO trials in that the latter will make no monetary gain from the research. As the national science agency, CSIRO is not a private company with profits in mind when conducting GM crop trials, unlike Monsanto and InterGrain.