Safety problems and management of genetically modified products

Introduction: with the rapid development of biotechnology, many transgenic crops enter the market through commercialization At present, 75% of transgenic crops are planted in North America, mainly including soybean, corn, cotton and rape, which account for 86% of all transgenic plants Transgenic crops are mainly herbicide resistant, insect resistant and disease resistant At present, Transgenic Herbicide resistant soybean species account for 40% of the total area of transgenic plants, insect resistant corn 23%, disease resistant tobacco 13%, herbicide resistant rapeseed 10%, insect resistant cotton 8%, and herbicide resistant cotton 3% The main planting countries of transgenic crops are the United States, accounting for 64%; Argentina, 11%; and Canada, 10% The fastest growing are Argentina, Mexico, Canada and the United States L safety of genetically modified products: with the commercialization of genetically modified crops in large areas, ecological risks of genetically modified crops, possible environmental problems, human health problems of genetically modified products as food, labeling problems of products, transportation problems, international trade problems, intellectual property problems, etc have attracted extensive attention of the international community In 1996, a British scientist published a paper in the famous medical journal the lancet, claiming that the liver of the experimental rats was damaged and the immune system was weakened after eating the transgenic potato, which set off a prelude to the international debate on the safety of transgenic food Some experts believe that the safety of genetically modified products has developed from academic differences to intellectual property, environmental, economic and even political issues The commercialization of genetically modified products, like Microsoft's computer software products, is a successful example of knowledge economy At present, the patents of genetically modified crops and technologies are monopolized by more than 20 large companies in developed countries Some experts believe that these large companies are carrying out new economic aggression against the third world countries and countries with imperfect genetic engineering technology research by selling the seeds and supporting products of genetically modified crops The future agricultural development of these countries will depend on the seeds and supporting products of these large companies Many scientists believe that genetically modified food has not been used in production and consumption for a long time, and the safety and reliability of food need to be further studied and proved Genetically modified food may lead to some unexpected changes in genetics or nutrients, and may cause harm to human health The impact of genetically modified food on human health and environment must be investigated for a long time, and some of them will appear even decades later For example, at the early stage of development and production, DDT has been proved to be harmless to human through safety test, but the harm of DDT residues has been found after decades, and it is difficult to solve in a short time due to the long residual time So it can be imagined that it will be very difficult to recover once the genetically modified food causes damage to human health and environmental balance, so it is necessary to take a cautious attitude At present, the main concerns and controversies about the safety of genetically modified food are as follows: 1.1 the possible impact of genetically modified food on human health (1) the antibiotic gene carried by this kind of food may lead to drug resistance of intestinal pathogens of animals and people, which is the most concerned issue (2) Protease activity inhibitors and residual anti insect endotoxin in anti insect agricultural products may be harmful to human health Some people think that since protease activity inhibitors and anti endotoxin in insect resistant agricultural products can damage the digestive system function of insects that bite their leaves, who can guarantee that their leaves, fruits and seeds will not cause similar damage to humans and animals? (3) With the promotion of genetically modified herbicide resistant crops, the amount of herbicide may increase, which will lead to the largest residue of herbicide in food (4) Antiviral crops with virus coat protein gene may be harmful to human health At present, there is no conclusive evidence to prove the direct impact of genetically modified food on human health, but people's concerns still exist 1.2 possible impact of genetically modified food on Environmental Ecology (1) if the genetically modified high-yield crops pass the high-yield genes to the surrounding weeds through pollen introduction, it will cause the emergence of super weeds, cause gene pollution to the natural forest and bring unforeseen consequences to other species in these areas (2) If the sterile gene of GMS is widely spread in the planting area, it will lead to the collapse of local agriculture DPL and the U.S Department of agriculture jointly applied for a patent for "termination of sub technology", which was approved by the U.S Patent Office in March 1998 The patented technology can make the seeds obtained after crop planting sterile Although the seeds are harvested, they cannot be reserved for seed use After the "termination sub technology" was approved, it caused great international repercussions Many countries believe that due to the appearance of seeds that can not be distinguished from the production of termination seed technology, through the sale or exchange of seeds that can not germinate, after sowing, it may cause irreparable losses to the production The unintended spread of sterile genes through pollen will cause the wide spread of sterile genes in the planting land, which will lead to the collapse of local agriculture In order to protect the world's food security, many countries and organizations have asked to prohibit the termination of sub technology (3) If the toxin protein can be expressed in nectar, it may cause the collapse of pollinating insects and plant communities such as bees, and even endanger the living environment and health of other animals, human beings and animals Losey et al Of Cornell University reported that after a plant called milkweed leaves were sprinkled with genetically modified Bt corn pollen, the larvae of a species called Pieris nigra ate less, grew slower and died faster on the leaves After 4 days, the mortality rate of larvae was 44%, but no one died in the control group This result was reported in the United States after environmental protection worried that there will be more disasters in the future (4) If the plants used for food become medicinal plants through gene modification, cross pollination will make the edible plants produce drug resistance, thus polluting the food supply of human beings Now more and more people think that the impact of genetically modified food on the ecological environment may be greater than the direct impact on human health In a word, transgenic technology is showing unique technical advantages and new development prospects in the cultivation of new excellent varieties At the same time, transgenic products may bring some potential or unforeseen consequences It is the so-called "blessing depends on misfortune, while misfortune depends on blessing" Therefore, in order to remind and guard against the unpredictable consequences in human survival and development, it is time to use scientific and social analysis to recognize and evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of transgenic products 2 The discussion on the safety of genetically modified food in foreign countries has led to the evaluation of the safety of genetically modified food and the need for proper labeling FAO / who and some countries have started to formulate corresponding policies and regulations (1) At the 23rd (1994) Codex Alimentarius Commission meeting held by FAO / who, it was agreed that the official agency of the United States should be responsible for the drafting of the draft guidelines on the biological technology of food labeling (hereinafter referred to as the draft guidelines) The United States proposes that genetically modified food is safe and harmless, and should be treated as other food without mandatory labeling This highly tendentious view of the United States has aroused the objections of the representatives of the participating countries They believe that the draft guide drafted by the United States is not fair, and the draft guide, which is mainly based on the United States view, is not clear At the 25th (1997) meeting of Codex Alimentarius Commission, the draft guide was redrafted and a proposal was put forward for the proposal of "recommendations on the preparation of food labels by biotechnology", which requires the application of GMO (genetically modified organisms) label to genetically modified food (2) On May 15, 1997, the European Parliament passed the resolution of the new food regulation, which stipulates that EU Member States must have the GMO label for the GM products on the market, including all GM foods or foods containing GM ingredients The label should include: (a) the source of GMO; (b) allergies; (c) ethical considerations (d) differences from traditional foods (ingredients, nutritional values, effects, etc.) On September 1, 1998, the European Union added the labeling guidelines, stipulating that foods from genetically modified beans and corn (currently excluding food additives such as soybean lecithin) must be labeled If the raw materials of the food and the ingredients of the genetically modified food are not added during the processing, the label of the non genetically modified food can be marked (3) Australia and New Zealand implemented the genetically modified food standard since May 1999, which stipulates that the safety evaluation must be carried out for the food produced by genetic engineering technology If it is not recognized in the safety evaluation, it will not be allowed to enter the market for sale (4) According to the Russian government, the imported genetically modified food must be inspected by the relevant Russian departments from July 1, 1999 Russia authorizes the Institute of food research of the Academy of Medical Sciences and the national bioengineering center to conduct quality inspection on imported genetically modified food (5) According to the Swiss federal government, if the genetically modified ingredients in food are less than 1%, they need not be indicated on the label; if the genetically modified ingredients are more than 1% or cannot be determined, they need to be indicated on the label In February 2000, representatives of more than 130 countries in Montreal, Canada, adopted a UN protocol on Biosafety, which requires exporting countries to label their exports of genetically modified products 3 Regulations on the management of genetically modified products in China In June 2001, the State Council issued the "safety management rules of agricultural genetically modified organisms", which made strict regulations on the research, development, import and export, and labeling of genetically modified products Overseas companies exporting genetically modified products for seed use to China shall apply to the competent agricultural administrative department of the State Council The test materials shall be subject to intermediate test, environmental release and productive test After the completion of the productive test, they can go through the formalities of examination, registration, evaluation and approval after passing the safety assessment and obtaining the certificate of agricultural genetically modified biosafety If an overseas company exports agricultural genetically modified organisms to China for processing raw materials, it shall apply to the competent agricultural administrative department of the State Council If it passes the safety evaluation, the competent agricultural administrative department of the State Council shall issue the safety certificate of agricultural genetically modified organisms If there is no agricultural genetically modified organisms safety certificate and relevant approval document issued by the competent agricultural administrative department of the State Council, or the imported agricultural genetically modified organisms that do not conform to the certificate and approval document, they shall be returned or destroyed If the imported agricultural genetically modified organisms are not marked in accordance with the regulations, they can enter the country only after being re marked.