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World Consumer Rights Day

GMOs and Consumer Protection

Mazhar SirajResearch Fellow

Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan (CRCP)

CRCP House, Islamabad

March 15, 2005

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What are GMOs?

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) areanimals, plants and microorganisms, which havebeen added with a genetic material from anyother organism through a technology called

genetic engineering.

Genetic engineering is a means to achieve newand desired properties in organisms.

The products derived/manufactured from GMOsare called GM products e.g. GM food.

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Currently Available GMOs

Few multinational biotech companiesholding the GM market (Monsanto,Novartis, Syngenta, Dupont, Bayer)

Main producers: USA, Argentina, Canada,Brazil

35 GMOs on market in European Union

GM food: tomato, potato, soybean, corn,wheat

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GMOs in Pakistan

Black market of GMO seeds (corn, wheat,cotton, vegetables)

Bt Cotton smuggled from Australia in hand

luggage

GMOs prepared in Pakistan: Tomato,sugarcane, soybean, cotton.

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Consumer Rights at Stake (I)

Right to basic needs -food security-monopoly overseeds

Right to safety -health risks-anti-bioticresistance

Right to representation -bio-safety

guidelines Right to redress -Traceability

-accountability

ofmultinationals

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Consumer Rights at Stake (II)

Right to Information -labeling

Right to Consumer education -awareness-scientificinformation

Right to Healthy Environment -threat tobiodiversity

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Food Security

Control of multinationals on food cropproduction (currently, 4 companiescontrolling 90% of GM crops area)

Change in food composition (e.g. GM soyconsumed in US has a protein never

part of human food)

GM food may be culturally unacceptable

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Safety

GM food can cause unpredicted allergies (e.g.soybeans with Brazil-nut gene; Philippine case)

Antibiotic resistance marker genes in GM food(e.g. maize engineered by Swiss Novartis)

Production of pesticides within GM food (e.g. GMcorn with genes capable of producing pesticides)

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Safety Studies (I)

In early 1990s, rats fed on GM food inUSA.

Developed stomach lesions. 7 out of 40died within 2 weeks.

FDA concluded that this did not providedemonstration of reasonable certainty ofno harm.

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Safety Studies (II)

UK-funded study; rats fed on GM potato

Caused pre-cancerous cell growth,damaged immune system, partial atrophyof liver, inhibition of brain development

The chief scientist of the study wascompulsorily relieved from job after hemade the results public

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Safety Study (III)

Rats fed on GM corn

Problems with blood cell formation

Rats fed on GM soy

Problems with liver cell formation

Soon after GM soy was introduced in UK, soyallergies increased by 50 percent.

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Safety Studies (IV)

Study on human feeding on soybeanspublished in February 2004.

Foreign gene transferred to gut bacteria;

prospects of new protein Transfer of promoter into the gut bacteria;

risk of switching on other genes in DNA

Source: Jaffery Smith, Genetically ModifiedFoods may Pose National HealthRisks, newswithviews.com, August 2004.

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Representation in Biosafety

Guidelines(I) National Bio-safety guidelines in Pakistan

prepared in November 1999 by NationalBiosafety Committee

Only one consultative meeting held inJanuary 2001

Executive meeting held in January 2005chaired by the Prime Minister

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Representation in Biosafety

Guidelines(II) Community representatives in National

Committee on Biosafety of Pakistan;

Representation of consumers must

Institutional Biosafety Committee in eachorganization to work with GMOs

Scientific and Technical Review Panel forBiosafety review and risk-analysis

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Redress

Existing legal framework inadequate to dealwith GM foods because of

Outdated definitions in Pure FoodOrdinance 1960

No standards for GM food in Pakistan

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Information

Insufficient scientific certainty aboutsafety of GM food

GM food mixed with non-GM food

No government policy for labeling

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Consumer Opinion

Global polls show that 58 percent

consumers are unwilling to useGM food, if clearly labeled.

Source: Consumers International AfricaOffice, July 2004

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Consumer Education

Presently, no government initiative forawareness on GMOs

Few civil initiatives

Media reporting few times

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What Ahead

Government should adopt a labeling policyfor GM food

GMOs should not be released until a

consensus of all stakeholders and scientifccertainty is achieved.

Consumer representation in institutions

under Biosafety guidelines needs to beexplicitly included

Standards for GM food

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Thank you