Perspectives on biotechnology: Proceedings of the Third Asian Biotechnology Conference

(Second of two parts)

In his presentation on Ethics, Bishop Jesus Varela said that the Second Vatican Council affirmed that man "judges rightly by his intellect (that) he surpasses the material universe, for he shares in the light of the divine mind." Moreover, Bishop Varela said that "for every human need, the ever creative mind would always come up with the appropriate technology to adequately respond." These statements are in support of the belief that human intervention in the work of God’s creation is not a violation of God’s Mandate. This does not give Man carte blanche to do anything he wants. Bishop Varela advocates use of "The Principle of Double Effect" and the "Precautionary Principle." According to the former principle, when both beneficial and harmful effects are foreseen, the following must hold:

1. The act must be morally good or at least neutral.

2. The intention is to achieve the good effect and avoid as much as possible (best efforts) the harmful effect.

3. The foreseen benefits must at least be equal to if not be greater than the foreseen harm.

4. The beneficial effect must flow directly and immediately from the action and not as a result of the bad effect.

According to the Precautionary Principle, Bishop Valera said, "Prudent policies, based on the Precautionary Principle, require that decisions be based on a comparison of risks and benefits."

The session on "Advancement and Prospects in Agri-Biotechnology in Asia: Status and Priorities" was chaired by Dr. George Fuller, executive director of CropLife Asia. In the overview lead paper, Dr. Randy Hautea described the global trends in agri-biotechnology. In 2005, 220,000 million acres were planted to biotech crops, an 11 percent increase over the 2004 acreage. Sixty-three countries produced or performed research on 57 biotech crops. In 2005, regulatory approvals on biotech crops were tallied as follows:

USA 73

Canada 67

Japan 48

Philippines 30

China 18

EU 18

In the future, Dr. Hautea said that biotech crops introduced will be more tolerant of adverse agronomic conditions, be safer as food, have improved nutritional value, enhanced taste, better fiber and longer shelf lives, and will serve as platforms for plant-made products and renewable energy. The challenges enumerated for agri-biotechnology include:

1. Continuing responsible stewardship in risk assessment;

2. Improving communication with society; and

3. Ensuring that biotech crops in conjunction with conventional technologies contribute to sustainable agriculture, alleviation of poverty and a safer environment.

The eggplant is an important crop in India, requiring 510,000 hectares to meet local demand. Losses of up to 50 to 70 percent require from 25 to 70 insecticidal sprays for effective control of lepidopterans. Dr. Bharat Char, of the Mahyco Research Center of the Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Co. Ltd. of Jalna, India, described completed and ongoing work to meet regulatory requirements in ongoing efforts to bring Bt eggplant to commercial production. Dr. Jerry Flint, director for technical development in the Asia-Pacific of Monsanto, described the history of Bt corn development and factors leading to its successful commercial deployment in the Philippines. Noteworthy are the results of an independent study which shows that Filipino farmers retain 52 percent of value created. In the Philippines, 40 percent of children from six months to five years old and 20 percent of pregnant and lactating mothers are deficient in vitamin A. Predominantly rice eaters, Filipinos would gain health benefits from consuming rice with built-in b-carotene, the precursor to vitamin A. Dr. Rhodora R. Aldemita, chief science research specialist of the Philippine Rice Research Institute in the Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, who recently completed a postdoctoral stint at the Albert Ludwigs University in Freiburg, Germany, described the pioneering work of Ingo Potrykus and Peter Beyer in building in b-carotene into rice. She also described ongoing activities in meeting intellectual property concerns and increasing the b-carotene content of local rice varieties. The good news is that by 2011, Filipino farmers may expect to be able to plant the so-called Golden Rice and moreover, be able to replant the seeds. Drought is a major constraint in agriculture in many parts of the world. Dr. Kiran K. Sharma, of the Genetic Transformation Laboratory of the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), described completed and ongoing research at ICRISAT to alleviate poor production in drought susceptible areas.

Dr. Dennis Gonsalves, director of the Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center, Hawaii, related his success with papaya resistant to the papaya ring spot virus (PRSV) in Hawaii and his experience in transferring the technology to Thailand. In the district of Puna, on the big island of Hilo, in 1994, up to 95 percent of the papaya stand was affected by the PRSV, creating a big problem for papaya growers. Fortunately, Dr. Gonsalves and his colleagues had been working on creating transgenic papaya resistant to PRSV since the mid-80s. From their accumulated knowledge, by 1999, the decimated papaya plantations had been successfully replanted with healthy papayas which were resistant to the PRSV. In 1997, Dr. Gonsalves brought transgenic papaya to Thailand. Field trials conducted in 1999 showed excellent resistance to the PRSV. Then the project got bogged down in meeting regulatory requirements. By 2001, Thai regulators placed a moratorium on "on farm" testing of transgenic plants. This moratorium was lifted briefly in 2004 but in August of that year, Greenpeace made a massive effort against transgenic papaya, stalling the project up to the present. The lesson learned is that even with a willingness to meet regulatory requirements, a project can be stalled. The story of Dr. Gonsalves brings us back full circle to the message of Science and Technology Secretary Estrella Alabastro that there is a need for dialogue with all stakeholders to see the completion of a project and the reminder of Dr. William Padolina that there are many issues to address with heightened vigilance. Everyone must pull together to see to it that the promise of biotechnology comes into fruition in a manner that meets the needs of all stakeholders.

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With comments provided by some presentors; a version of this article was published in BioLife, a magazine on biotechnology.

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Benigno D. Peczon, PhD in Chemistry, is a Balik Scientist who performed both basic and applied research. He is the outgoing president and CEO of the Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines Inc. E-mail him at [email protected] or [email protected]; URL: www.bcp.org.ph.