Genetically modified: waves of the blue revolution

Introduction: over a period of time, the experimental fields of genetically modified crops of French national research institutions and private agricultural enterprises have been seriously damaged Recently, the French Minister of scientific research made a special speech, hoping that people "can not be blind or ignorant in treating transgenic research with a positive attitude" For a while, how to deal with transgenic crops has become a hot topic again The so-called "double-edged sword" is to change the gene arrangement of a species by artificial means, which usually involves separating one gene of a certain organism from a series of genes and then implanting them into another organism For example, scientists took a fancy to the gene of a fish in the Arctic and thought it had the function of freezing prevention They separated and extracted it, and then implanted it into tomatoes to make new varieties of cold resistant tomatoes The benefits of transgenic technology are obvious The characteristics of a variety have changed according to people's wishes It is more adaptable to the environment, has resistance, greatly meets people's needs and enriches biological diversity In 1983, the world's first transgenic plant was born in St Louis Since then, the upsurge of using genetic engineering technology to cultivate new crops has swept the world In the past four years, the global genetically modified crops have increased 25 times, and the planting area has increased from 1.7 million ha to 44.2 million ha In addition, the number of countries planting genetically modified crops has more than doubled, and 13 countries have allowed the planting of genetically modified crops However, the theory that science and technology is a double-edged sword is also suitable for genetically modified crops Gene expression regulation is a complex life phenomenon Sometimes, although it can ensure the safety of the transferred gene, its impact on other genes is difficult to understand at that time The first doubts about the safety of genetically modified food began in the UK In August 1998, a British TV program broadcast an exclusive interview with Professor portow of the Royal Institute, who warned people to pay attention to genetically modified food that has been promoted without fully proving its safety He announced that the rats were fed with a kind of transgenic potato and found that their organs grew abnormally and their immune system was damaged As soon as the talk was broadcast, it caused a stir in Britain Although later studies confirmed that this conclusion is not reliable, people's fear of genetically modified food still exists Later, a study published by Cornell University in the United States showed that eating genetically modified corn pollen can cause damage to butterfly larvae, and has strong repercussions in the field of biotechnology The focus of the debate on genetically modified crops is whether genetically modified products harm human health or destroy the ecological balance In addition, genetically modified products, biological weapons, ethics and other issues have also attracted wide attention from all over the world In fact, there has been a heated debate on genetically modified crops since they came into being For genetically modified crops, only a few people in the scientific community are against it Biqi, the world's first batch of transgenic plants, Watson, who discovered the double helix structure of DNA, and Berger, the Nobel Prize winner known as the "father of the green revolution", and other famous scientists all supported this research UN Secretary General Annan also proposed at this year's UN General Assembly meeting that this will be a "blue revolution" in the agricultural process He said that the end of the green revolution will be the "blue revolution", and its realization needs to be understood Scientists give genetically modified crops a high rating At the same time, the application of transgenic technology has been doubted, but the relevant scientific groups in many countries treat transgenic technology differently On July 11 last year, Brazil, China, India, Mexico, the United Kingdom, the United States and other seven global academies of science jointly published a white paper in Washington to support the research of genetically modified technology This is the first time that an authoritative scientific research institution in the world has made a public statement on the controversial genetically modified technology The white paper elaborated the irreplaceable role of biotechnology in eradicating hunger and poverty in the third world countries, and called on governments to reconsider the formulation of biotechnology policies, encourage the research of genetically modified technology in developed countries, and share their achievements with developing countries However, Prince Charles slammed the necessity and safety of genetically modified food on the front page of the daily mail In his article, he wrote that he feared that God's role was being usurped by technology "Will we allow life to become more industrialized and face an ominous future? "Prince Charles spoke on behalf of many religious people, and the environmentalists were delighted Especially in the EU countries, Greenpeace and other organizations continue to put pressure on the government to stop the research and import of genetically modified crops To this end, scientists insist that modern gene operation technology still follows the natural law Only when scientists have mastered the laws of nature and found the way to enter the gene treasure house can they make use of the natural gene resources to create a new generation of plant and animal products Scientific pioneers have created excellent varieties that do not exist in nature through artificial selection and forced cross breeding This is enough to show that transgenic technology is not something to be rebellious Some experts pointed out that the understanding of the safety of genetically modified organisms can only be confirmed after a large number of practices, so they prefer a relaxed research environment At the same time, they also proposed that scientists should undertake the popularization of genetic science in order to gain the trust of the whole society Despite the increasingly fierce competition, there are different opinions on genetically modified crops, but countries still attach great importance to this new technology and spare no effort to research and promote it Around the transgenic technology and its huge benefits, the competition among the major countries is increasingly fierce At present, the leader of the technology development is the United States 40% of farmland in the United States has been planted with genetically modified crops, and its genetic technology research is far ahead of other countries European countries are not willing to lag behind, but also have developed heat-resistant plants, automatic depilation of sheep and other transgenic products However, since 1998, many countries, including Australia, New Zealand and Russia, have questioned the safety of the application of genetically modified technology, especially boycotted all kinds of crops, livestock and reprocessed food produced by genetically modified technology But some public opinions believe that the main reason why Europeans reject transgenic technology is to resist the monopoly of the United States in the field of transgenic technology, in addition to the strong power of environmental organizations Different from general commodities, transgenic technology has a unique monopoly In technology, American "life science" companies generally use bioengineering to make their products have self-protection function It can make seeds self destruct, instead of being replanted like traditional crop seeds, or make seeds grow only through "catalysis" mastered by a company In law, genetically modified crop seeds are generally provided through a special leasing system, and consumers are not allowed to keep and replant them on their own Therefore, the United States has controlled a considerable share of the market for genetically modified products, and even manipulated market prices Last year, U.S farmers lost as much as $200 million in grain exports to Europe, forcing the United States to significantly reduce the cultivation of genetically modified crops It's no wonder that an American official said in Brussels: "we have again and again put science at the mercy of politics on food safety "Even Greenpeace spokesman Benny Harlin also pointed out that it is incomprehensible that the European Union stopped approving a genetically modified maize to enter Europe on the basis of prevention, but claimed that there was no need to take measures against the genetically modified maize planted in Spain and Germany However, when the debate about whether genetically modified crops are harmful to the environment and health was heated in Europe and the United States, the Japanese riveted their feet and quietly ranked among the top ranks of genetically modified technology Facing the almost insurmountable technical barriers in the United States, scientists from Osaka University in Japan have found a new way to develop a new technology of using laser to cultivate genetically modified plants, which is expected to reach the practical level within this year Recently, some important European government officials (such as the UK and Germany) have also proposed to adjust the EU's ban on genetically modified food Because the trade barriers established on the basis of GM food safety will damage the progress of biotechnology in these countries and put them at a disadvantage in the most important technology field in the future German Prime Minister Schroeder recently told the economic community that the government would agree to the commercial cultivation of genetically modified crops under the premise of effective supervision of the economic community He hoped that genetic technology, like information technology, could promote German economic growth In recent two years, German gene technology has developed greatly with the support of the government, and the number of newly established gene technology companies ranks first in Europe The French government has always adhered to the policy of active research and prudent development The French Institute of Agronomy invests about 4 million US dollars every year in the research of genetically modified crops, and the French plant genome sequencing program also invests 10% of the government funding in the research of genetically modified crops Some developing countries have also suggested that they will feed their own people in the way they think fit, rather than being denied access to biotechnology by a misleading concept Developing countries not only need to solve the problem of food shortage, but also lose the last chance to narrow the gap with developed countries once they withdraw from the competition of this technology Therefore, they believe that the urgent task is not to discuss whether the genetically modified products should be accepted, but how to manage the quality and marketing safety of the products scientifically Now Thailand has put labels on the genetically modified crops they export India is also determined to vigorously develop genetically modified crops Some experts even pointed out that how to integrate advanced gene technology in developed countries with the real needs of developing countries will be a real challenge to the realization of global "food security".