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Montevideo, Oct 1 (IPS/Daniel Gatti) - The impacts of genetically modified organisms on human health and the environment must be openly debated among governments and civil society, say Latin American and European scientists.
The need for this debate was proposed during the "Genetic Technology" seminar hosted by the Goethe Cultural Institute late September in Montevideo, and sponsored by the German government.
Presentations on various bio-genetic applications, as well as discussion of the relationship between ethics and genetics, were included in the conference programme.
The strongest debate at the seminar arose from presentations on genetically modified organisms and their agricultural and food industry applications.
Discussion of this issue's legal aspects also provoked controversy, especially in light of negotiations underway at the United Nations on its proposed Bio-Safety Protocol.
Alberto Diaz, head of bio-technology studies at the University of Quilmes in Argentina, affirmed that genetics "have now become a technology more than a science."
"What ends up being debated are the industrial applications of genetically modified organisms," he pointed out.
Diaz said this technology "touches on issues that are extremely important for humanity, like the new theses on the genetic determinism of certain human traits."
"We reach the point where we could use genetic manipulation to change human behaviour or, even worse, to obtain predictable responses to certain stimuli."
Argentina "is gambling with genetic modification," said Diaz, "because 80 percent of its soybean production, which covers four million hectares, comes from genetically modified seeds."
The possibility that Europe will quit buying Argentinean soya, due precisely to the presence of genetically modified seeds, "is causing commotion among (local) soya farmers," reported Diaz.
But Daniel Pagliano, of the bio-technology unit at Uruguay's National Institute for Agricultural Research, defended the use of this gene modifying technology.
Uruguay is a reflection of the "world's extensive development of plant biology," Pagliano said, "and the application of gene-combining techniques in this country is already routine."
The goal of genetic research is "to provide farmers with better conditions for production," and this requires "manufacturing plants that can withstand stressful environmental conditions," he explained.
Pagliano also reported that Uruguay is experimenting with different clover varieties in order to create resistance to a virus that attacks this forage crop, as well as resistance to herbicides.
Ulrike Hofken, a German Green Party legislator, rebuffed Pagliano, saying he was mistaken in comparing "genetic modification technology with conventional technology, because the first erases the boundaries between species."
"I am not against genetic technology, but I believe there is a more important debate - the responsibility of those who manufacture these products. Just because something is possible, does not necessarily mean it is desirable," she pointed out.
The German legislator-ecologist said "it is essential to define the problems this technology can solve and the risks it implies for human health and the environment - something those who defend the technology don't seem to take into account."
The priority "should be to guarantee food safety, because if the artificially produced resistances of these crops planted throughout the world happen to fail, it would create worldwide starvation," emphasised Hofken.
Regarding human health, "there have been reports about the growing incidence of allergies resulting from the use of these organisms," she said.
"This (genetic) manipulation affects various plant traits. For example, it has been proven that genetically modified green beans have excessive oestrogen."
Hofken added that the economic success of this technology for agriculture is questionable, "because it doesn't reduce costs, like the corporations claim, it increases costs."
She concluded by calling for "a discussion at the social level, in all countries, about the desirability of these products."
Dan Leskien, a German lawyer and advisor to Friends of the Earth, an environmental organisation, stated that in Europe, "the legislation on genetically modified organisms is very good, but in practice, it leaves much to be desired."
"They must intensify controls on compliance with current legislation in Europe, but they must respond to the question of if these products are really necessary for humanity," he observed.
