Definition of GMOs - milk and dairy products are no exception
Milk, like most foods on the market, can be obtained from two distinct supply chains: from animals that feed on feed derived from genetically modified food (GM) or, on the contrary, using ONLY NON-GM raw materials; however, as we shall see (apart from "Biological" regulations), all conventional production chains are NOT obliged to carry the use of GM feed on the label.
- Is it really possible to differentiate between GM foods, derived from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and those ... so to speak ... "natural" ? -
I would answer that it DEPENDS on the food in question: while for plants the "re-crossing" is almost inevitable (pollination), in the case of animals the situation changes considerably. Their reproduction (therefore the possibility of re-crossing) is certainly more restrained (therefore controllable) than that of plants.
GMOs or non-GMOs?
Let's start by pointing out that the term GMO can mean "everything and nothing"; we know that the human intervention on the genetic code of foods (or better, of the organisms that will become foods) has the main objective to increase the yield and reduce production costs.
There are no (contrary to what one might believe) "mad scientists" who conspire behind humanity; instead, they are researchers who, through experiments, try to increase the sustainability of agricultural production with the aim of treating global wounds such as, for example, the depletion of planetary resources and world hunger. Of course, the lucrative aspect is not lacking.
PERSONALLY, I believe that if the genetic intervention is bland, the risk of obtaining "abominations" potentially harmful to health is very low; on the contrary, in the case in which the artifact foresees a crossing and the recombination of totally different nucleic acids, the invasiveness of the treatment could manifest itself VERY high. To give a clear (but totally random and unreasoned) example, we could say that:
- Increasing the size of the cherry fruit by using some genetic traits of the apricot (which belong to the same genus) would not give rise to a GMO very far from the species present in nature
- On the contrary, by inserting a cod gene in the strawberry to optimize its resistance to low temperatures, it could give rise to a very ambiguous product.
What are the risks of using GMOs is still not clear, especially because it is a variable that changes from one food to another; the problem is that, in most cases, the GMO IS NOT VISIBLE DISTINGUABLE from the natural product.
In this regard, the European Community has resolved a specific Regulation on the GMO used in the agri-food and zootechnical supply chain, which imposes some very specific constraints inherent in many areas including: labeling, traceability, coexistence, experimentation and cultivation in field. Ultimately, foods and feeds that include or are produced from GMOs require a specific label, necessary to guarantee freedom of choice for the consumer or the purchaser of the feed; although, as we shall see, this legislation provides for some very specific exceptions.
So far, everything is "ok", trade would seem well regulated; however, there is a detail of which not everyone is aware, or that (based on what mentioned in Regulation 1829/2004): the contamination of GM material within a NON GM production is allowed up to a limit of the 0.9%. This clause must not alarm readers, since the limit of 0.9 is sufficient to guarantee a decidedly high level of purity; the GMO material present in 0.9% is simply the result of cross-contamination in the various processing phases (such as, for example, dust in the air). This does not mean that this aspect induces a further reflection:
- Are there still foods that do not contain GMOs? Crops that are NOT sterile and have the ability to pollinate or transfer seeds, how can they be isolated from each other ensuring the absence of mutual crossing? -
All questions to which only the most "realists" (without cynicism) find an easy answer.
We also remember that NON-GM raw materials are currently a real "rarity" and that, even assuming an ethical choice on the part of breeders and producers (not always economically sustainable), these are often elements that are impossible to find.
For example, in the case of soy aimed at feeding dairy cows, the difficulties in using NON-GM raw materials are different:
- The costs of these products are 25% higher
- Their commercial availability is extremely limited
- Cross-contamination must be kept below 0.9%
- Sampling difficulties need to be addressed
- In addition to supply, it is necessary to undergo the high costs of production analysis.
- How is it possible that the products intended for the feeding of livestock are mainly GM, if on the market almost all meat, eggs and milk or derivatives DOES NOT present the appropriate label for GMOs? -
Simple, as EXCEPTION of the aforementioned specific Regulation for GMOs of the European Community, "GMO labeling" is not required for food products such as meat, milk and eggs, obtained from NUTRITED animals with GM feed or treated with MEDICINAL products produced with genetic engineering techniques . This statement derives from the fact that, according to many studies carried out on the animal digestive process on transgenic DNA (that of GMOs), there is no possibility that this could originate an endogenous contamination (within the organism) that affects milk, meat and eggs.
To be clearer: if the cow were transgenic, the milk should carry a specific GMO label; on the contrary, if the cow feeds on corn or soybean GM, the producer has no obligation to specify the use of GMOs on the label. This is because the animal breaks down the genetic sequences of the GM food to then re-assemble them and give life to the products of their own metabolism.
GMOs in milk: the most recent studies
A fairly recent study carried out by Italian researchers has shown the presence of transgenic DNA in the milk of cows fed with GMO feed, but it is not clear whether this was the result of endogenous contamination (from the digestive tract to the blood and then to milk) or exogenous (cross-contamination in the milk processing processes examined). These results, however, have alarmed the research organizations that have worked to investigate the matter. To clarify its truthfulness, the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (DSPVSA - GMO and Xenobiotic Department of fungal origin - Società Produttori Sementi SpA) conducted a very interesting study entitled: Qualitative and quantitative evaluation of transgenic DNA in milk produced by companies with different types of housing (Booklet P9A).
Quoting verbatim, the research concluded that: " in NO case did EXOGENOUS transgenic material pass from the corresponding milk feed, EXCLUDING the possibility of environmental contamination that would have caused the transfer of the GM material contained in the airborne dust into the milk itself in housing and / or milking environments, even in cases of 90% RRS feed ANALOGA consideration must be drawn for the possible presence of ENDOGENO transgenic material, as in the milk samples taken directly from the cows no presence of Quantifiable DNA transgenic The study therefore shows that even in the presence of housing carried out with GM feed the passage in transgenic DNA milk does not take place " .
A further Spanish study conducted by the Ciència Animal i dels Aliments, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona
concluded that: " all milk samples were negative for the presence of transgenic DNA; furthermore, the maize used in feeding dairy cows does not change their nutritional composition and does not increase their production. No transgenic DNA or mutated proteins were detected in the milk analyzed ".
New GMOs and human trials
In 2006 it was possible to obtain a GM pig containing omega-3 fats, therefore beneficial to the health of the human being, unlike the saturated ones, instead "harmful".
In the fisheries sector, too, scientists have rather to do; with the awareness that intensive fishing is slowly emptying both the seas and the inland waters of many areas of the globe, some researchers have proposed a GM farmed salmon that reaches maturity in half the time compared to natural salmon. The use of this species would make it possible to loosen the exploitation of natural resources for the benefit of the ecosystem.
In 2011, a variety of cow was produced in China integrated with some human genes to obtain a milk similar to ours, thus compensating for the lack of breast milk in nurses and drastically reducing the costs of procuring formulated milks; the cow in question was overall identical to the original one. The same was proposed by the Argentine researchers while, in New Zealand, scientists were able to obtain a variety of cow secreting an almost "hypoallergenic" milk.
In 2012, in Canada, a GMO was developed capable of indirectly reducing phosphate pollution in water, with the aim of moderating algal growth and asphyxia (with consequent death) of local fish fauna. In this regard, the faeces of breeding pigs have proved to be one of the major sources of phosphates that are poured into local waters; Well, through the insertion of a precise genetic code that translates for the development of a salivary enzyme deputed to the degradation of phosphates, the researchers have succeeded in producing a pig that reduces phosphate emissions from 30 to 70.7% compared to original animal.
At the same time, consideration was given to the possibility that, in addition to genetic contamination between plants and animals, an interaction (or better, a recombination) between GMOs produced by humans and micro-organisms (bacteria) or molecular micro-machines can occur. (viruses) already present in nature. Boasting an excellent ability to acquire and yield fragments of genetic code for evolutionary purposes, viruses and bacteria have led scientists to ask a crucial question: " If these viruses and bacteria obtained some of the genes we modified, they could also acquire drug-resistance "In addition, would they be able to transfer them to humans? " In this regard, in 2004 a research was developed on the possibility that GM soy could transfer altered genes to the intestinal bacterial flora of human beings. The subjects were partly healthy and partly deprived of an intestinal portion; the outcome of the experiment was negative even though, in some of those lacking part of the intestine, a trace of genetic adaptation to antibiotics was found; this aspect is however due to the natural evolution of microorganisms subjected to these molecules both in zootechnics and in the pathological care of human beings. The statement is justifiable by the fact that this characteristic was already present at the beginning of the administration of GM soy and was not modified with the application of the experiment.
Bibliography:
- Qualitative / quantitative evaluation of transgenic DNA in milk produced by companies with different types of housing (P9A file) - the Higher Health Institute (DSPVSA - GMO and Xenobiotic Department of fungal origin - Società Produttori Sementi SpA) - //www.iss .com / binary / rogm / cont / RELAZIONE_FINALE_BARCHI.pdf
- Effects of corn silage derived from a genetically modified variety containing two transgenes on feed, milk production, and composition, and the absence of detectable transgenic deoxyribonucleic acid in milk in Holstein dairy cows Ciència Animal i dels Aliments, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, 08193-Bellaterra, Spain - J Dairy Sci. 2007 Oct; 90 (10): 4718-23 - //www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17881694
- Genetically modified food controversies - Horizontal gene transfer from plants to animals - // en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_food_controversies#Horizontal_gene_transfer_from_plants_to_animals
- Potential Adverse Health Effects of Genetically Modified Crops - Bakshi, A. (2003) - Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B 6 (3): 211–226 - //www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10937400306469 # .Ud_st6z_Rdg
- Genetically modified organism - Production or food quality traits - //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_organism#Production_or_food_quality_traits%20_traits
- Generation of cloned transgenic rich pigs in omega-3 fatty acids - Nature Biotechnology 24 (4): 435–436 - //www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v24/n4/full/nbt1198.html
- Genetically engineered pigs killed after funding ends - Schimdt, Sarah - Postmedia News, June 22, 2012 - //www.canada.com/technology/science/Genetically+engineered+pigs+killed+after+funding+ends/6819844/story. html.
- Generation of cloned transgenic rich pigs in omega-3 fatty acids - Lai L et al. (2006) - Nature Biotechnology 24 (4): 435–436 - //www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v24/n4/full/nbt1198.html
- Scientist bred goats that produces spider silk - Zyga, Lisa (2010) - //phys.org/news194539934.html/
- An Entrepreneur Bankrolls at Genetically Engineered Salmon - Published: May 21, 2012. Accessed October 7, 2012.
