Biosafety Issues of Genetically Modified Crops: Addressing the Potential Risks and the Status of GMO Crops in Ethiopia

Abstract

Agricultural biotechnology is becoming the dominant sector in the area of cop improvement through applying advanced research of crop genetic modification by altering or modifying a single trait which is conferring resistance to biotic, abiotic stress and improving quality. Now a day many genetically modified crops are commercialized and under development. Though this, many contrasting ideas are raising from time to time regarding the biosafety concerns of genetically modified crops on the environment, human health, food/feed safety, economic and political etc. This review paper explains and overviews majorly raised biosafety issues of GM crops, their potential risks and the status GM crops in Ethiopia with the aim of addressing the potential risks for the readers in Ethiopia.

Trend of Biotechnology Applications in Pest Management: A Review

“…The safety of GM crops is confirmed by peer-reviewed studies usually conducted for 2-4 years and consume most of the product development cost. Terefe (2018) indicated the list of concerns related to risks to environment, human health, food/feed safety, social, economic and political concerns and recommended caseby-case analyses. It is to be noted that the safety assessment of GM foods generally focuses on: (i) direct health effects (toxicity), (ii) potential to provoke allergic reaction (allergenicity); (iii) specific components thought to have nutritional or toxic properties; (iv) the stability of the inserted gene; (v) nutritional effects associated with genetic modification; and (vi) any unintended effects which could result from the gene insertion.…”

“…Meta-analysis of 147 studies during the past 20 years on Soybean, Maize, Cotton: multitude of benefits revealed that the use of GMO reduced pesticides use by 37%, increased yields by 22%, increased farmer profits by 68% (Klümper and Qaim, 2014).Various review reports showed the role of biotechnology in food security (Abah et al, 2010;Tonukari and Omotor, 2010;Najaf and Lee, 2014;Cano et al, 2017;Gartland and Gartland, 2018) and in sustainable development (Sharad et al, 2010;Adenle, 2015;Björnberg et al, 2015). Similarly, the contribution of GMO in food security has been reviewed by several scholars (Qaim and Kouser, 2013;Lamichhane, 2014;Hallerman and Grabau, 2016;Ouyang et al, 2017;Raman, 2017;Repalli, 2017;Smyth 2017;Gartland and Gartland, 2018;Terefe, 2018). Similarly, the present review is aiming Fig.…”

Challenges and Opportunities of Genetically Modified Crops Production; Future Perspectives in Ethiopia, Review

“…Gm crops production may inspire foreign assets and domestic invention in Ethiopia to successfully advance its various interests and increasing competitiveness in agricultural and industrial sectors of the economy [27]. In an effort to improve agricultural productivity and safety, Ethiopia has approved the commercial cultivation of Genetically Modified (GM) cotton and field research on GM maize in 2018 [29,30]. MEFC approved the environmental release of Bt cotton following two years of confined field trial research by the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR).…”

“…MEFC approved the environmental release of Bt cotton following two years of confined field trial research by the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR). The two cotton hybrids that will be released for commercial cultivation have been tested to ensure they are compatible with Ethiopia's growing conditions [30]. Therefore, assessment of the possible opportunities that can be earned from the application of biotechnology and the potential challenges that may be encountered by the production of GM crops is of utmost importance to Ethiopia if the country is to feed its alarmingly growing population.…”

Nutritional Enhancement of Farmed Salmon Meat via Non-GMO Nannochloropsis Gaditana: Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA, 20:5 n-3), Docosapentaenoic Acid (DPA, 22:5 n-3) and Vitamin D3 for Human Health

“…Transgenic camelina expressing algal genes have been tested to produce oil containing n-3 LC-PUFA to replace marine fish oil in salmon feed with no harmful effects on fish performance and no change in the nutritional quality of the meat [ 33 ]. However, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have been linked to causing detrimental effects on human health including horizontal gene transfer [ 34 , 35 , 36 ] and allergenicity [ 34 , 35 , 37 , 38 ], and on animal health with respect to safety concerns on nutritional parameters, digestibility, herbicide and insecticide tolerance [ 34 , 35 ], and chemical composition of GM feed [ 35 ].…”