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[SANET-MG] PEW on GM wine and grapes
The article below is from AgBioview and I have studied the report from
the Pew Initiative. The Pew report is clearly not unbiased but it is
dominated by the industrial and academic biotechnology promoters so the
report has a strong bias with little input from those opposed and well
versed in the technology.
The wine yeast ML01 has been available for commercial use for some time
yet the report makes it look like that production of GM has not yet
begun. It looks very much like GM wine is sneaking onto the market to
avoid problems. Wine makers in US and Canada who do not use GM have been
identified I believe but those who use the yeast seem to prefer keeping
the matter secret.
Pew Initiative did not go into much depth on one important issue. Of the
14 recombinant wine yeast prepared since 1993, seven are transgenic
while seven are self cloned ( cloned using genes from within the wine
yeast). Of the two commercial releases one is transgenuc and the other
is self cloned. the regulators have not really delt with self cloning in
contrast to transgenes.I believe the difference is significant and the
two types of yeast should be dealt with separately. Similar
considerations may soon appear in crop genetic engineering.
Finally,the Pew Initiative seems to have moved into public relations for
corporations.
Wine Industry Leaders Explore Issues Surrounding Biotechnology and
Winegrapes, Consider Consumer Reactions, Regulatory Issues
http://pewagbiotech.org/events/0709
Questions Raised: How Would Consumers React? Would the Production of GE
Grapes Pose
Unique Regulatory Issues? How Would Growers of GE, Conventional, Organic
Crops Coexist?
In July 2006, the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology and the
American Vineyard Foundation held a workshop in San Francisco, CA
examining issues relating to the potential adoption of biotechnology in
the winegrape and wine industries.
Over the course of the two-day event, grape growers, winemakers, grape
and yeast research scientists, federal and state government
representatives and agricultural commodity and specialty crop producers
gathered to discuss the scientific, regulatory and marketing issues
associated with the potential development of genetically engineered (GE)
winegrapes.
Some of the key issues discussed in the proceedings include:
* The advantages in production for winegrape growers and vintners that
may be realized using agricultural biotechnology must be balanced
against the need to ensure environmental and food safety.
* It remains unclear if wine consumers, particularly those in overseas
markets, will be willing to embrace products derived from biotechnology.
* While GE winegrapes remain in development, GE yeasts for use in
winemaking have been developed, have successfully undergone regulatory
scrutiny in the U.S. and Canada, and are ready for commercialization,
making discussion of these issues very timely.
An overview of the conference agenda and the full paper from the
workshop, entitled Grapes, Wine, and the Application of Biotechnology
Issues, Opportunities and Challenges, can be viewed at:
http://pewagbiotech.org/events/0709
Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology
The mission of the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology is to
provide unbiased, reliable information for policymakers and other
stakeholders to promote open dialogue and informed decision-making.
Through a variety of activities, the Initiative is providing a neutral
forum for interested parties to come together to explore issues and work
towards balanced, reasoned solutions.
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