ScienceAlert Homepage

We are currently on the cusp of a wave. The ability to develop and enhance our food supply to improve nutrition, prevent disease and ensure food security, both nationally and internationally, is closer than ever before.

The swell of scientific knowledge and technical ability has been building for many years, but only now are we at the point of realising the potential these technologies offer.

Our knowledge base has been growing and we are now set to reap the benefits of that long preparation. However, if we don’t catch this wave soon, the opportunity may be lost.

The recent lifting of the moratoria on genetically modified (GM) canola crops in NSW and Victoria, along with increasing food prices and concern about the security of our food supply internationally, have brought the GM debate back into focus.

This debate is an important one for Australians because our country is facing critical challenges in the areas of climate change, sustainability and international competition. As one of the world leaders in many areas of GM crop research, Australia has the capability to harness this important tool as a key component of its future strategy.

CSIRO as an organisation supports biotechnology research, particularly gene technologies, because it provides a great window of opportunity for Australia.

Both conventional and GM plant breeding are some of the tools that will help us get closer to these goals.

Australia’s position in GM technology
There is no question that Australia is currently one of the top players internationally in terms of advanced genetic research. The Australian GM cotton program is world leading, and we are about to become a significant player in canola, joining the US and Canada in harnessing the advantages of GM canola. There is no question that our research in the area of wheat and barley is also among the most advanced in the world, and we are ideally placed to leverage from this scientific investment in our key crops.

However, we risk losing the significant expertise and the international position we have established in this area of science if, as a country, we do not soon sort out our path forward on GM.

Why do we need GM?
The main reason Australia has invested so much in this area of research and technology is because of its promise for the future of food and the continued sustenance of the human race. GM provides the opportunity to increase the productivity of plants through three major avenues:

1. Through improving the performance of plants under environmental stress
   Given the current experience with drought, weeds, and hostile soils, Australia is in need of additional technologies to meet production challenges.
2. Through resistance to pests and diseases
   In areas such as wheat-rust resistance, Australian breeders continue to engage in combat with rapidly evolving pathogens in order to maintain productivity, and we are faced with the ever-present danger of exotic pests and diseases providing new and potentially devastating challenges.
3. Through modifying the composition of plants
   This provides a broad vista of new opportunities, from enhancing the traditional product quality attributes of crops to building in improved compositional features delivering human health benefits (such as omega-3 oils and low glycemic index starches) and generating sustainable sources of novel biomaterials.

The many benefits have been borne out in practice in countries that have moved ahead with adopting the technology. Around the world there are approximately 110 million hectares of GM crops under cultivation.

For the farmer, the agricultural industry and the country at large, our research aims to deliver practical solutions to help build profitable and sustainable agrifood, fibre and horticultural industries, develop new plant products and improve natural resource management.

What are the risks associated with GM technology?
Based on the body of published scientific evidence, the arguments for promoting the use of GM foods are mounting every day.

GM shares with any technology the opportunity for optimal use, sub-optimal use, and inappropriate use. Every day we are surrounded by technologies whose benefits and risks we acknowledge, understand, and manage as a matter of routine.

It is important to distinguish between the processes of gene transfer used in genetic engineering and the nature of the genes being transferred. The process of GM breeding of food crops is at least as safe as other forms of traditional plant breeding. However, there is an important need to regulate use of the technology and, in this regard, Australia is well served by appropriate legislation and regulatory authorities.

The Gene Technology Act 2000 introduced a national scheme for the regulation of GM organisms in Australia. This Act protects the health and safety of Australians and the Australian environment by identifying risks posed by gene technology, and by managing those risks through regulating dealings with GM organisms. This function is carried out primarily by the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator and Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ).

Every GM food is extensively and independently tested for human safety, but no connection has been found between health problems and GM. In fact, GM crops undergo more testing than any other type of food crop, so one could argue they are even safer than other foods.

When it comes to peer reviewed and published examples of released GM food causing human health problems or environmental issues, there is not a body of evidence that has stood the tests of scientific rigour in being both repeatable and reproducible and published in key, internationally respected journals.

This lack of any tangible evidence against the use of GM technologies demonstrates two main points. First, there is an effective regulatory process in place to steer and guide the development and adaptation of food developed with the use of these technologies. Second, it is in the best interests of companies utilising GM technologies to ensure any food or product produced does not cause harm. If it did, they would be removing any chance of recouping their significant research investment.

In my experience, the arguments against GM do not have a scientific basis. They are mostly based on personal opinion that genetic engineering is against nature. My response is that those individuals will be able to choose to eat GM or non-GM food, and they should not hold the entire population and agricultural industry to ransom.

What are Australians’ attitudes to GM technology?
When it comes to public opinion on GM foods, the truth is that Australians are not as opposed as is often suggested.

Research by CSIRO and other groups (such as Biotechnology Australia) shows that about 20 per cent of Australians hold a strong anti-GM position. The other 80 per cent are either neutral or pro-GM. Our research also shows that there is a very distinct trend showing those in favour of GM are on the increase.

Opponents of GM often cite the role of multi-national companies in utilising and having patent rights to GM technologies as an argument against adoption. The recent ABARE report on GM canola demonstrates that we forego significant economic opportunities if we adopt a non-GM position solely in the belief that this will give Australia a protected position as a non-GM supplier.

Alternatively, because of the depth of our scientific research investment and its translation into key intellectual property positions, we are in a position to be key players in the utilisation of GM technology, protecting the opportunity for our farmers and downstream processing industries to access and capture benefit from international investment in the technology.

Burying our heads in the sand by ignoring GM technology is a short-term, high-risk strategy that will undermine the competitiveness of our agrifood sector in the long term.

Future opportunity
There is increasing pressure on the production of grain crops from biofuels, climate change and feed for animal protein production. Australian science has a key role to play in securing future global food security. It is my belief that GM technology will be essential as one of the key solutions to the growing supply crisis.

Even in developed countries such as Australia and the US there will soon be a need to enhance food security as water, climate change and increased land use start to cause food production to reach its limit. The question is often posed whether Australia wants to be a part of this future and harness the huge potential of GM technology. My question is whether Australia can afford (economically, environmentally or socially) to turn its back on this key technology in major food crops.

Moral arguments are often raised as a reason not to adopt GM foods. The importance of these arguments is respected and the individual’s right to access non-GM food sources needs to be protected. However, my view is that, as a society, we need to act on the basis that it would be highly remiss of us to not to continue to develop and adopt GM technology in order to have the tools to overcome the major challenges confronting us.

GM technology has delivered demonstrated strong economic and environmental benefits internationally (and in Australia, through GM cotton) without scientifically demonstrated negative impacts. If we fail to proceed with GM technology we will only succeed in putting Australian agriculture, and our economy, further behind the eight ball.

We need to adopt technology that is already available, and get to work on the next generation of novel GM foods.

Dr Matthew Morell is leader of the Future Grains, Grain Based Foods and Feed research program within CSIRO’s Food Futures National Research Flagship. He is an expert in starch synthesis and his research efforts focus on the development of high-value grains and oilseeds. He has extensive expertise in grains and starch research and a wide knowledge and understanding of the Australian and international grain food industries. Dr Morell oversees a wide range of research projects designed to investigate the application of advanced genetics to create differentiated grain, food and aquaculture products. Their aim is to find new food and products that deliver benefits for human health and provide increased returns to the Australian agrifood industry.