Regulation Must Be Revolutionized

NATURE|Vol 466|29 July 2010 FOOD OPINION

Regulation must be revolutionized Unjustified and impractical legal requirements are stopping genetically engineered crops from saving millions from starvation and malnutrition, says Ingo Potrykus.

enetically engineered crops could save thousands of children and young mothers. This imbalance allows non-scientific oppo- many millions from starvation and Our experience is far from unique. It gener- nents of genetic engineering to raise unfounded Gmalnutrition — if they can be freed ally takes about ten times more money and ten concerns, which a nervous public cannot prop- from excessive regulation. That is the con- years longer to bring a genetically modified crop erly evaluate, especially in Europe. clusion I’ve reached from my experience over to market than a non-genetically modified one. All of this means that engineering varieties the past 11 years chairing the Golden Rice This keeps public research institutions out of the for the public good depends — ironically — on Humanitarian project (www.goldenrice.org), game and has given a handful of companies a the private sector. and after a meeting at the Vatican last year de facto monopoly on the technology. Private Golden rice is a prime example1. Only within on transgenic plants for food security in the ventures justifiably focus on the most profitable the framework of a public–private partnership context of development1. opportunities — industrial crops such as corn, with Syngenta was our team able to navigate the Golden rice will probably reach the market product-development morass. Without Syn- in 2012. It was ready in the lab by 1999. This FROM BENCH TO BELLY genta we could not, for example, have reduced lag is because of the regulatory differentiation More than a decade since completion in a public lab, the number of patents involved, secured free golden rice is still clearing regulatory hurdles. of genetic engineering from other, traditional licences, established managerial and market- methods of crop improvement. The discrimi- 2000 Intellectual-property rights ing structures or developed plants that are opti- nation is scientifically unjustified. It is wasting 2001 Search for partners competent mized to meet regulatory requirements and to resources and stopping many potentially trans- with genetically modified organisms express high levels of desired traits1. 2002 formative crops such as golden rice making the Transfer to Indica varieties of rice Yet it is the responsibility of the public sec- leap from lab to plate. tor to address the crop needs of poor people. 2003 Regulatory clean transgenic events More defensible — on scientific and human- And it is wiser to spend public funds on feed- 2004 Regulatory clean line with enough itarian grounds — and more practical would be Vitamin A precursor ing the world’s growing population than on for new genetically modified crops to be regu- jumping through regulatory hoops, or worse 2005 Agronomic normality in field tests lated, not according to how they are bred, but on spurious, politically expedient research into 2006 according to their novelty, as are new drugs. All Identification of target varieties hypothetical risks for the environment or the traits, however introduced, should be classified 2007 Introgression into target varieties consumer, which have already been studied by their putative risk or benefit to the consumer carefully over the past 25 years. and to the environment. Researchers and regu- 2008 Selection of lead transgenic events A good next step would be for a country lators could then focus on cases in which risks 2010 Completion of optimized varieties with political and economic independence to are real and fast-track crops urgently needed in recognize the arguments in favour of reducing 2012? the developing world. Pass regulation; transfer to farmers the current regulatory burden for genetically Golden rice is a series of varieties modified Public funded Private sector engineered crops. Such a country would gain with two genes (phytoene synthase and phy- enormously by freeing funds, time and energy toene double-desaturase) to produce up to for research, development and deployment of 35 micrograms of vitamin A precursor per gram cotton and soya beans. Genetic engineering, many more genetically engineered crops for of edible rice. Within the normal diet of rice- however, has massive potential to also address poor people; its public sector and small enter- dependent poor populations, it could provide food-security problems — to increase yield by prises would be able to compete with the larger sufficient vitamin A to reduce substantially the protecting subsistence food crops from pests and industries. Without compromising safety, that 6,000 deaths a day due to vitamin A deficiency, diseases, to strengthen crops’ competition with nation would easily progress faster than those and to save the sight of several hundred thou- weeds and to improve plants’ nutritional value. continuing to focus on hypothetical risks, and sand people per year1. None of the existing vari- it would provide some much needed leader- eties of rice has even low levels of the vitamin A Running the gauntlet ship. Perhaps then, lab-ready varieties from precursor in the part that is eaten, so conven- Existing regulation demands many years’ worth the public domain such as golden cassava, tional breeding cannot increase it. Golden rice of molecular and biochemical safety tests. Yet golden banana, iron-, zinc- and protein-rich was possible only with genetic engineering. multiple international agencies have found rice might get from bench to belly in 5 years, The crop was stalled for more than ten years genetic-engineering crop technology to be rather than 15, if at all. ■ by the working conditions and requirements benign. There have not been any substantiated Ingo Potrykus is chairman of the Golden Rice demanded by regulations (see ‘From bench cases of harm to the environment or to humans, Humanitarian Board. His address is address is to belly’). For example, we lost more than two even in the litigious United States where the Im Stigler 54, CH-4312 Magden, Switzerland. years for the permission to test golden rice in adoption of genetic engineering is widespread. e-mail: [email protected] the field and more than four years in collecting Meanwhile, a new plant created by tradi- 1. Potrykus, I. & Ammann, K. (eds) Transgenic Plants for Food data for a regulatory dossier that would satisfy tional breeding methods — which also mod- Security in the Context of Development (New Biotechnology, any national biosafety authority. I therefore ify the genome — requires no safety data, only in the press). hold the regulation of genetic engineering the demonstration that it performs at least as See Editorial, page 531, and food special responsible for the death and blindness of well as others. It is a quick and cheap process. at www.nature.com/food.