Biodiversity and Biotechnology, Myths, Reality and Benefits Can GM crops help to enhance biodiversity? Yes, they can. The chapters (except 6.8.) are taken from ASK-FORCE piece no. 11. Inserted is a special chapter 6.8. on the Flora and Vegetation of Turkey Klaus Ammann, contribution to the 4th Symposium on Agricultural Biotechnology and Biosafety, IPM-IPC Sabanci University, Istanbul, 24. September 2010 Contents 1. THE ISSUE ................................................................................................................................................. 3 2. SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................................. 3 3. THE NEEDS FOR BIODIVERSITY – THE GENERAL CASE ................................................................ 4 3.1. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BIODIVERSITY AND ECOLOGICAL PARAMETERS .................................................... 5 3.2. A NEW CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABILITY ................................................................................................................... 6 3.3. CROP BIODIVERSITY HAS NOT BEEN REDUCED IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY ACCORDING TO A NEW META ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................................................................. 9 3.4. BIODIVERSITY IS BETTER SERVED BY CONVENTIONAL AGRICULTURE COMPARED TO ORGANIC PRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................................... 11 4. TYPES OF BIODIVERSITY ..................................................................................................................... 12 4.1. TOWARDS A GENERAL THEORY OF BIODIVERSITY ........................................................................................... 12 4.2. GENETIC DIVERSITY............................................................................................................................................... 12 4.3. SPECIES DIVERSITY ............................................................................................................................................... 13 4.4. ECOSYSTEM DIVERSITY ........................................................................................................................................ 13 5. THE GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION OF BIODIVERSITY ............................................................................. 14 6. LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY ....................................................................................................................... 16 6.1. SPECIES LOSS WILL INCREASE ........................................................................................................................... 16 6.2. AGRICULTURE AS THE MAJOR FACTOR OF BIODIVERSITY LOSS ................................................................... 16 6.3. IMPACT OF AGRICULTURE CAN ALSO HELP BIODIVERSITY ............................................................................. 20 6.4. ARE GM CROPS RESPONSIBLE FOR A HIGHER LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY? ................................................... 21 6.5. INTRODUCED SPECIES, ANOTHER THREAT TO BIODIVERSITY ........................................................................ 21 6.6. BIODIVERSITY AS A ‘BIOLOGICAL INSURANCE’ AGAINST ECOSYSTEM DISTURBANCE .............................. 22 6.7. ON CENTERS OF BIODIVERSITY AND CENTERS OF CROP DIVERSITY ............................................................ 25 6.8. SPECIAL CHAPTER ON TURKISH BIODIVERSITY, OVERVIEW OF THE FLORA .............................................. 28 6.8.1. The aim of this chapter ..................................................................................................................... 28 6.8.2. Ecosystem Diversity .......................................................................................................................... 28 6.8.3. On the Flora of Turkey ...................................................................................................................... 29 2 6.8.4. The Real Threat to Turkish Biodiversity are not GM crops ......................................................... 32 7. THE CASE OF AGRO-BIODIVERSITY, OLD AND NEW INSIGHTS ................................................. 33 7.1. ON THE GENOMIC PROCESSING LEVEL, GENETICALLY ENGINEERED CROPS ARE NOT BASICALLY DIFFERENT FROM CONVENTIONALLY BRED CROPS. ................................................................................................. 34 7.2. NATURE’S FIELDS: ANCIENT WILD CROP RELATIVES GREW OFTEN IN MONODOMINANT STANDS ........... 37 7.3. EXTREME PLANT POPULATION DYNAMICS OF AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS .................................................... 38 7.4. AGROBIODIVERSITY AND THE FOOD WEB OF INSECTS ALSO SHOW EXTREME POPULATION DYNAMICS 39 7.5. THE CASE OF ORGANIC FARMING ....................................................................................................................... 40 8. SELECTED PROPOSALS FOR IMPROVING HIGH TECHNOLOGY AGRICULTURE RELATED TO BIODIVERSITY .................................................................................................................................. 40 8.1. BIODIVERSITY AND THE MANAGEMENT OF AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPES .................................................. 40 8.2. MORE BIODIVERSITY THROUGH MIXED CROPPING ........................................................................................... 41 8.3. ON THE WISH LIST: MORE CROP DIVERSITY, FOSTER ORPHAN CROP SPECIES. ......................................... 42 8.4. VARIETAL MIXTURE OF GENES AND SEEDS ....................................................................................................... 42 8.5. MORE BIODIVERSITY IN THE FOOD WEB INCLUDING NON-TARGET INSECTS BY REDUCING PESTICIDE USE WITH TRANSGENIC CROPS AND OTHER STRATEGIES ............................................................................................... 42 8.6. PUSH- AND PULL STRATEGY FOR REDUCING PEST DAMAGE IN MAIZE FIELDS. .......................................... 43 8.7. PLANT BREEDING REVISITED ............................................................................................................................... 43 8.7.1 New biotechnology approaches in plant breeding ............................................................................ 43 8.7.1.1. Cis- and Intragenic approaches............................................................................................................................. 43 8.7.1.3. Reverse screening methods: tilling and eco-tilling..................................................................................... 44 8.7.1.4. Zinc finger targeted insertion of transgenes ................................................................................................... 45 8.7.2. Improvement of conventional breeding ............................................................................................. 45 8.8. NEW WAYS OF USING BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR ENHANCING NATURAL RESISTANCE .................................... 45 8.9. FINAL REMARKS ON THE IMPROVEMENT LIST RELATED TO BIODIVERSITY .................................................. 46 9. INTERLUDE: THE ROLE OF FUNDAMENTALIST ACTIVISTS AND SCIENTISTS WITH A STRONG ANTI-GMO AGENDA IN THE DISPUTE ABOUT GM CROPS .......................................... 47 10. TWO CASE STUDIES ON THE IMPACT OF TRANSGENIC CROPS ON BIODIVERSITY AND HEALTH .................................................................................................................................................... 48 10.1. THE CASE OF HERBICIDE TOLERANT CROPS, APPLICATION OF CONSERVATION TILLAGE EASIER WITH HERBICIDE TOLERANT CROPS ...................................................................................................................................... 48 10.2. THE CASE OF IMPACT OF BT MAIZE ON NON-TARGET ORGANISMS ............................................................. 51 11. BT CORN HAS LESS CANCER CAUSING MYCOTOXINS THAN CONVENTIONAL CORN ......... 57 12. CITED REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 58 3 1. The Issue Genetically engineered crops are often taken automatically for the main reason of biodiversity loss. There are numerous false claims of this kind, such as Vandana Shiva gives in her frequent world tours: Shiva, V., Emani, A., & Jafri, A.H. (1999) Globalization and threat to seed security - Case of transgenic cotton trials in India. Economic and Political Weekly, 34, 10-11, pp 601-613 http://www.ask-force.ch/web/Cotton/Shiva-Globalisation-Threat-Seed-Security-1999.pdf “In such a situation, the introduction of genetically engineered (GE) seeds becomes worrisome. In absence of any such regulation, the costlier GE seeds will offer no guarantee for whether they perform well or not. This will lead to complete erosion of the agricultural biodiversity and adversely affect the socio-economic status of the farmers. This will be further aggravated since GE seeds will be patented, and corporations will treat information about them as proprietary.” And another citation from Greenpeace Great Britain, downloaded from their website November 12, 2009 1 “The introduction of genetically modified (GM) food and crops has been a disaster. The science of taking genes from one species and inserting them