Biopharming and Beyond GMOs on Steroids

Biopharming and BeyondGMOs on Steroids

Martin

Donohoe

Biopharming

The engineering of plants to produce pharmaceuticals such as enzymes, antibiotics, contraceptives,

abortifacients

, antibodies, chemotherapeutic agents, other medications, vaccines, and industrial and research

chemicals

Biopharming

Rationale:

Farmers/farms cheaper than technicians/manufacturing plants

Seeds/silos may be cheap storage system

?Cheaper drugs? – doubtful given history of pharmaceutical industry pricing patterns; also, multiple externalized costs

Approximately

400 field tests worldwide since 1991 (over 100 in U.S

.)

Top 12 Biopharm States

1 – Nebraska

7 – California

2 – Hawaii

8 – Texas

3 - Puerto Rico

9 – Florida

4 – Wisconsin

10 – Washington

5 – Iowa

11 – North Carolina

6 – Kentucky

12 - Maryland

Biopharming

More than 15

companies involved

in US (75 companies worldwide

)

USDA conceals crop locations from public and neighboring farmers, in most cases hides identity of drug or chemical being tested, citing trade secrets

Even state agriculture regulators often unaware of info re drug or chemical

involved

Major Biopharm Crops

Corn

Soybeans

Tobacco

Rice

Examples of biopharmed crops

Drug/Chemical

Use

Test Crop

Laccase

Textiles, adhesives

Corn

Folic acid

Vitamin

Tomatoes

Erythropoeitin

Anemia

Tobacco

Examples of biopharmed crops

Drug/Chemical

Use

Test Crop

Essential fatty acids

Cell membrane production

Soybeans

SARS vaccine

Immunization

Tomato

Vaccine against pollen allergies

Immunization

Rice

Examples of biopharmed crops

Drug/Chemical

Use

Test Crop

Traveler’s and other Diarrheas

Immunization/

Drug

Rice, Potatoes and Corn

Insulin

Treatment of Diabetes

Safflower

Insulin-like Growth Factors

Diabetes, Growth, Carcinogen

Rice

Potentially Harmful Biopharmaceuticals

Substance

Use

Known or Potential Effects

Acanthocyanin

in tomatoes

Antioxidant, anti-cancer agent

Unknown

Aprotinin

in corn

Blood clotting

Pancreatic disease, allergic reactions

Potentially Harmful Biopharmaceuticals

Substance

Use

Known or Potential Effects

Anti-sperm antibody in corn

Contraception

Adverse reproductive impacts

Trypsin

in corn

Enzyme - research, industrial uses

Occupational asthma

Avidin

in corn

Research

Vitamin B deficiency, allergic reactions

Potentially Harmful Biopharmaceuticals

Substance

Use

Known or Potential Effects

Ebola immune complex in

Nicotiana

benthamiana

Vaccine against highly pathogenic, dangerous virus

Immune system effects

Taliglucerase

alfa

in

carrots

Gaucher’s

Disease

Two similar drugs made in mammalian cells already available

Potentially Harmful Biopharmaceuticals

Substance

Use

Known or Potential Effects

Tricosanthin

in tobacco

Failed anti-HIV drug

Highly toxic - allergic reactions, induced abortions

Alpha-amylase in corn

Digests starch to sugars (aids

biofuel

production)

unknown

Opposition to Biopharming

National Academy of Sciences

Union of Concerned Scientists

British Medical Association (favors moratorium on all GM foods)

Consumers Union

Opposition to Biopharming

Grocery Manufacturers of America

National Food Processors Association

Organic Consumers Association

Friends of the Earth

Others

Biopharm Proponents Claims Inflated/Unrealistic

Farmers are unlikely to be major beneficiaries:

Market forces, including foreign competition, will drive down farmer compensation

Acreage required very small compared with commodity crop acreage, such that only a small number of growers will be needed

Genetic Modification of Algae and Trees

GE

algae (for use as fuel): dangers include worldwide spread and possible

weaponization

to destroy fish

stocks

Mercury-splicing bacteria for soil cleanup

Removes Hg

2+

ions from contaminated soil and converts it into volatile elemental mercury, which is released into the

atmosphere

Problem - converted

by phytoplankton to organic mercury,

dispersed

widely, and then works its way up the food

chain

Genetic Modification of Vertebrates

Aquabounty

Technology’s GE salmon

(contains

growth hormone gene from chinook salmon and genetic on-switch from the ocean pout

)

Designed for more rapid growth

Aquabounty

states it will only produce sterile females

Up to 15% may escape pens and interbreed with wild stocks, decreasing the species’ reproductive

fitness

GE

salmon have higher levels of

IGF-1 (carcinogen)

WA, OR and MD have

banned

Genetic Modification of Vertebrates

Tilapia/clotting

factor

VII

“

Ruppy

” (Ruby Puppy)

Glows red under UV light

Developed

using

red fluorescent gene from sea anemones

Artist Eduard

Kac

:

Glow-in-the-dark

rabbit

“

Plantimal

” (petunia-human hybrid)

Genetic Modification of Vertebrates

“Popeye Pig” – Pig GM with spinach gene, designed to have less saturated fat

Pigs modified with roundworm gene to make their own (heart healthy) omega-3 fatty acids

Accidentally turned up in

poutry

feed sold throughout Ontario(2004)

Goats

GM to make anti-nerve gas

agent

Biopharming of Vertebrates

“

Enviropig

” – GM modified with E. coli and mouse DNA to digest

phytates

, decrease phosphate in excrement

Phytase

(pig feed supplement) does same thing

Pig feed can already be supplemented with

phytase

Idea

shelved

Genetic Modification of Vertebrates

Cows modified to produce “human” milk

Proposal

to genetically modify human embryos to make all humans intolerant to red meat (to combat global warming and overuse of water

)

Genetic Modification of Vertebrates

USDA Office of the Inspector General has criticized

USDA for lacking coordinated oversight of regulations behind R and D of GE animals and insects

Human-Animal Hybrids

Inter-species

breeding

Ape-man,

Ilya

Ivanovich

Ivanov, Guinea, 1927

Stalin attempted to create interspecies (half-men/half-apes) “super-warriors”

2011

: Chimeric monkey created from 6 different

parents

Human-Animal Hybrids and More

UK

scientists have created over 150 human-animal hybrid embryos to develop

embyronic

stem cells

De-

extincting

Neanderthal using human

womb

Cloning of extinct species, “Pleistocene

rewilding

”

Synthetic Biology (Synbio)

Creation of DNA and organisms from

scratch

Applications:

Biofuels

Industrial chemicals

Natural

product

substitutes - Rubber

, vanilla, palm

oil

Biomedical applications - Vaccine

production

Synthetic Biology (Synbio)

2002

: Polio virus created at SUNY Stony Brook over two

years

2005: Mt Sinai, CDC researchers resurrect lethal 1918 flu virus and publish details of complete genome sequence

2012: Nature published instructions on how to create plague virus

Risks of Synbio

Accidental release

into wild

Displacement of wild populations

Ecosystem disruption

Extinction

Synbio and Beyond

DARPA Project to create living, breathing creatures with possible military applications

Bio hackers

(home and community laboratory creation of GM organisms

)

Martin

Donohoe

http://www.publichealthandsocialjustice.org

http://www.phsj.org

martindonohoe@phsj.org