Biotechnology

Category:EXPORT
Category:Environment
Category:Agriculture
Category:Biotechnology
== Genetic Engineering ==
GMO Compass
: various info on GM
Organic GMOs Could Be The Future of Food — If We Let Them
:In Tomorrow’s Table: Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future of Food, Ronald and Adamchak argue that genetic engineering can help “develop biologically-oriented, sophisticated, and elegant approaches to address agricultural problems” and that “to maximize the benefit of GE [genetically engineered] plants, they would best be integrated into an organic farming system.” Organic farming strives to keep crop yields high without ruining the environment or sacrificing the health of people and animals. To accomplish this, it shuns many of conventional farming’s practices — synthetic chemicals and fertilizers, heavy tilling, monoculture — in favor of ecologically sound strategies, such as planting a high diversity of crops and rotating them frequently so pests do not have a chance to establish themselves. In sum, Adamchak writes, organic farming is “better farming through biology.” And that is exactly what genetic engineering enables, too.
=== seed saving / technology agreements ===
NO, FARMERS DON’T WANT TO SAVE SEEDS Amanda; The Farmer's Daughter USA; 23 Feb 2016
=== environmental effects ===
GMOs and the environment Iida Ruishalme; Thoughtscapism; 22 Mar 2015
: Many people are worried about the impact GMOs could have on the environment. That’s a reasonable concern. Are GMOs increasing the profits of farmers and biotech companies at the expense of the environment? As I have learned more about biotechnology and agriculture, contrary to popular fear, I have found that there is actually no scientific evidence of harm from GMOs – but it doesn’t stop there. Conversely, I have learned that there are several environmental benefits of biotechnology.
GMO rice dramatically reduces farm greenhouse gas emissions James Conca; Genetic Literacy Project; 2 Dec 2015
New Variety Of Rice Fights Global Warming And Global Hunger James Conca; Forbes; 30 Nov 2015
: A slight change in a single gene of rice can avoid the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions each year as all the wind turbines in the world, the same as 15 nuclear power plants. Work led by Dr. Christer Jansson at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory found that transferring one gene from barley to rice lowered the methane (CH4 or natural gas) emissions from rice paddies to almost zero.
Monsanto Killing DuPont Insecticide Sales With New Soybeans Jack Kaskey; Bloomberg; 6 Apr 2016 
: Monsanto Co.’s new Intacta soybeans are not only killing bugs on Brazilian farms. They’re crushing demand for insecticides made by competitors DuPont Co. and FMC Corp.
==== Benbrook ====
Charles Benbrook: Former Washington State adjunct consultant for organic industry Genetic Literacy Project; 8 Feb 2016
: Charles “Chuck” Benbrook (born 1949) is an organic proponent, organic industry consultant and paid “expert witness”[1] on pesticide and GMO-related lawsuits,[2] Benbrook is trained as an agricultural economist. He has developed analytical systems he uses to quantify food quality and safety, and the impacts of agricultural technology and policy. He has re-analyzed government reports to suggest that there are high risks associated with GMOs, pesticide use and residue levels.
: Benbrook was formerly the research director of The Organic Center, which is funded by the organic industry and is now officially part of the Organic Trade Association. His three year affiliation with the Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources (CSANR) at Washington State University (WSU), which was funded entirely by organic industry contributions (see below), ended on May 15, 2015 when his contract was not extended. He is now no longer with CSANR.
: A WSU administrator wrote in an August 2015 email that “he [Benbrook] is no longer affiliated with WSU”. However, Benbrook emailed the Genetic Literacy Project on August 20 claiming after his relationship with CSANR was severed, he retained the position of “adjunct” professor at the Department of Crops and Soils. However, that appears not be true. The department will not confirm his position and as of August 30, Benbrook’s current and former association with the university has been purged from the university’s databank.
: Until recently, and after he was severed from WSU, Benbrook had represented himself as a “research professor.” He continues to be misrepresented as a “research professor” by reporters, such as by Carey Gillam at Reuters in an August 19 story on Benbrook’s New England Journal of Medicine co-authored commentary on GMOs, and on websites, including Wikipedia. Benbrook has publicly maintained, including in COI statements to the NEJM, that he has no conflicts of interests despite extensive documentation that his entire research efforts at WSU were 100 percent funded by the organic industry (not disclosed to NEJM, see below, Misrepresentations, for Benbrook’s misrepresentations about his employment situation and in Conflict of Interest representations to NEJM) and that he was and is a paid consultant for organic industry lobby groups and anti-GMO organizations.
: The New York Times has released a trove of Benbrook’s emails secured in a FOIA request, documenting his organic industry funding and his close ties to anti-GMO activists and journalists, including Robyn O’Brien, who bills herself as the food world’s Erin Brokovich.
: A separate FOIA led to the release of more of Benbrook’s emails, available here, which reaffirms his close ties to the industry that has bankrolled him for more than a decade. It includes his demands for financial support for ‘research on request.’ The emails also reveal the close ties of Benbrook and other anti-GMO campaigners, such as the GMO labeling lobbyists, with journalists unstintingly critical of GMOs, such as Michael Pollan and Mother Jones’ Tom Philpott, who appear to coordinate their article strategies and Internet presence with notable advocacy groups and quack alternative health providers.
Impacts of genetically engineered crops on pesticide use in the U.S. -- the first sixteen years Charles M Benbrook; Environmental Sciences Europe; 28 Sep 2012
: Contrary to often-repeated claims that today’s genetically-engineered crops have, and are reducing pesticide use, the spread of glyphosate-resistant weeds in herbicide-resistant weed management systems has brought about substantial increases in the number and volume of herbicides applied. If new genetically engineered forms of corn and soybeans tolerant of 2,4-D are approved, the volume of 2,4-D sprayed could drive herbicide usage upward by another approximate 50%. The magnitude of increases in herbicide use on herbicide-resistant hectares has dwarfed the reduction in insecticide use on Bt crops over the past 16 years, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
Scientists challenge organic backer Benbrook claims that GM crops increase pesticide spraying
Jon Entine; Genetic Literacy Project; 12 Oct 2012
: Noted organic scientist Charles Benbrook of the University of Washington recently released a summary of his published study assessing the use of pesticides since the introduction of GM crops in the 1990s. A fierce and respected critic of GM technology, Benbrook claims his data shows that pesticide use has gone up in the US over that time.
=== safety ===
More than 275 organizations and scientific institutions support the safety of GM crops Sí Quiero Transgénicos; 25 May 2016
: Currently there is a social and political controversy about the safety of foods produced from genetically modified (GM) crops, however, in the scientific community there is no dispute or controversy regarding the safety of these crops. To date, more than 2000 scientific studies have assessed the safety of these crops in terms of human health and environmental impact. These studies together with several reviews performed on a case by case from regulatory agencies around the world, have enabled a solid and clear scientific consensus: GM crops have no more risk than those that have been developed by conventional breeding techniques. This document brings together the public statements of organizations and scientific institutions that adhere to this consensus. I made an update based on this document from ChileBio that include 40 official documents representing about 190 institutions. The update shows that 276 scientific institutions and organizations recognize the safety of GM crops and their potential benefits. Interestingly a large part of these institutions are located in Europe, the continent that has put more obstacles to the commercialization of these crops. On the other hand, the countries with most organizations in favor of GM crops are United Kingdom (33), United States (24), Italy (23), Spain (16) and Germany (11).
SCIENTIFIC CONSENSUS ON GMO SAFETY AND CLIMATE CHANGE THE ORIGINAL SKEPTICAL RAPTOR; 8 Jul 2015
The case of the poison potato MAGGIE KOERTH-BAKER; Boing-Boing; 25 Mar 2013
: The Lenape potato, developed in the 1960s for the snack business, made a damn fine potato chip. Unfortunately, it was also kind of toxic.
GMOs Have "This One Weird Trick" for Eliminating Dangerous Mycotoxins Elizabeth Held; Food Insight; 28 Mar 2016 
: Biotech crops have dramatically reduced the prevalence of a toxic substance known as a mycotoxin often found on crops, which can be dangerous for people who eat it. Mycotoxins are produced by fungi that are able to enter a plant after insect damage. Globally, the FAO estimates that up to half of grains are affected by these naturally occurring toxins. They can harm our immune systems, slow growth, and cause cancer
==== 100 Nobel laureates ====
Laureates Letter Supporting Precision Agriculture (GMOs) Support Precision Agriculture; 
: The United Nations Food & Agriculture Program has noted that global production of food, feed and fiber will need approximately to double by 2050 to meet the demands of a growing global population. Organizations opposed to modern plant breeding, with Greenpeace at their lead, have repeatedly denied these facts and opposed biotechnological innovations in agriculture. They have misrepresented their risks, benefits, and impacts, and supported the criminal destruction of approved field trials and research projects. We urge Greenpeace and its supporters to re-examine the experience of farmers and consumers worldwide with crops and foods improved through biotechnology, recognize the findings of authoritative scientific bodies and regulatory agencies, and abandon their campaign against "GMOs" in general and Golden Rice in particular.
A plea to Greenpeace Mark Lynas; blog; 30 Jun 2016
: You will no doubt have seen the letter signed by 100 Nobel laureates asking you to end your opposition to genetically modified organisms. I hope you realise what this means: a great number of the most prestigious and decorated scientists in the world are asking you to bring to a halt your decades-long war against biotechnology. I know you will be seriously considering their words. However deeply entrenched anti-GMO attitudes may be in your organisation, you cannot lightly dismiss the considered opinion of such a distinguished group of scientists as are 107 winners of Nobel Prizes. You should add to these individual voices the opinions of the National Academy of Sciences, which recently issued a landmark report on GMOs, and of numerous other scientific and academic institutions around the world from the AAAS to the Royal Society to the African Academy of Sciences.
==== JAS ====
Prevalence and impacts of genetically engineered feedstuffs on livestock populations A. L. Van Eenennaam, A. E. Young, Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis; Journal of Animal Science; 20 Nov 2014
What happens when 100 billion animals, over 18 years, eat GMOs? Jon Entine; Genetic Literacy Project; 19 Sep 2014
: Visit almost any anti-GMO website and you will find alarming headlines about the alleged dangers of GMO foods. They kill pigs, cows and sheep on farms and in lab studies! Humans are next! Estimates of the numbers of meals consumed by feed animals since the introduction of GM crops 18 years ago would number well into the trillions. By common sense alone, if GE feed were causing unusual problems among livestock, farmers would have noticed. Dead and sick animals would literally litter farms around the world. Yet there are no anecdotal reports of such mass health problems.
==== National Academy of Sciences ====
Genetically Engineered Crops: Experiences and Prospects (2016)
Distinction Between Genetic Engineering and Conventional Plant Breeding Becoming Less Clear, Says New Report on GE Crops National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; 17 May 2016
: An extensive study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has found that new technologies in genetic engineering and conventional breeding are blurring the once clear distinctions between these two crop-improvement approaches. In addition, while recognizing the inherent difficulty of detecting subtle or long-term effects on health or the environment, the study committee found no substantiated evidence of a difference in risks to human health between current commercially available genetically engineered (GE) crops and conventionally bred crops, nor did it find conclusive cause-and-effect evidence of environmental problems from the GE crops. However, evolved resistance to current GE characteristics in crops is a major agricultural problem.
: A tiered process for regulating new crop varieties should focus on a plant’s characteristics rather than the process by which it was developed, the committee recommends in its report. New plant varieties that have intended or unintended novel characteristics that may present potential hazards should undergo safety testing -- regardless of whether they were developed using genetic engineering or conventional breeding techniques. 
Scientists Say GMO Foods Are Safe, Public Skepticism Remains Tamar Haspel; National Geographic; 17 May 2016
: Genetically-engineered crops are as safe to eat as their non-GE counterparts, they have no adverse environmental impacts, and they have reduced the use of pesticides. That’s according to a comprehensive report released by the National Academy of Sciences today—a group founded by the U.S. Congress to provide expert scientifically-based advice on a wide variety of issues.
: But the academy also found that GE or (genetically-modified organisms or GMO) crops didn’t increase those crops’ potential yields, and they did lead to widespread and expensive problems with herbicide-resistant weeds.
: The report acknowledges that beyond safety, other issues need to be addressed, including earning the public’s trust. It recommends a more transparent and inclusive conversation about GE crops going forward.
: The report, two years in the making, is a 388-page, comprehensive look at every aspect of genetically engineered crops. “Sweeping statements about GE crops are problematic because issues related to them are multidimensional,” the report says right up front, and goes on to dig deep on those dimensions.
===== precautionary principle =====
Zi Teng Wang 
: ... biological science can never be definitive in the way a 5-sigma particle detector result can be definitive in physics. Obviously, the precautionary principle is essential and important, but how much precaution counts as enough? Given actual benefit today and potential problems later (without plausible mechanism or observed problems), I think it's reasonable to apply it now and be vigilant about and responsive to problems as they crop up in the future. 
: The report found no cause and effect relationships to environmental harm, but that doesn't mean there are none to be found. This result has many potential explanations: either harm doesn't exist, or it does but at a level too subtle for existing experimental designs to pick it up, or we're looking for the wrong thing, or the study is done wrong. 
: But I think that an experiment designed with sufficient scope and power should be able to find problems if they exist. And I think that when a study across a broad enough stretch of time, a large-enough study sample, and a large-enough amount of study subjects fails to find a result, it makes me confident to say that results, if they exist, are too miniscule for us to be able to detect.
: You're right, there are potential problems and unknowns that may crop up in the far future, or over a much longer term than we have seen yet. But 20 years of GM crops used widely, literally billions of hours of exposure of farm animals to GM feed, and no sign of exceptional problems yet, makes me think it's reasonable to proceed.
: There is no magic finish line of "this is permanently Okay Forever", and this is not how science works. Caution is always warranted, especially with technologies that are new, but there must always be a point where the evidence we have so far is sufficient to reasonably justify proceeding. If you want to start moving the goalposts over how much time and how many experiments counts as enough to declare something Okay Forever, you can move the goalposts JUST beyond how much evidence currently exists ad infinitum.
: I think that this report, which acknowledges the concern for potential problems in the future, and also explicitly points out that the data does not support these problems existing now, is an acknowledgement towards GM technology critics, but far, far from an endorsement.
: I believe the evidence is clear so far. But for some critics, there is **no** amount that would suffice. I don't believe that position is worth entertaining, but it can often disguise itself in less absolutist-seeming but just as absolute ways.
: http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=4105
==== BBC Panorama "Cultivating Fear" ====
GM Food: Cultivating Fear BBC; Jun 2015
BBC dismisses anti-GMO activist complaints over Panorama film’s portrayal of Bangladesh Bt brinjal project Mark Lynas; (blog); 12 Apr 2016
: The BBC has dismissed complaints by anti-GMO activists that its Panorama film ‘GM Food: Cultivating Fear‘ broadcast in June 2015, was biased and inaccurate. In a lengthy judgement just published (pdf), the BBC’s highest complaints body, the Editorial Standards Committee (ESC) of the BBC Trust, found that all the complaints made about the programme were without merit.
Appeals to the Trust and other editorial issues considered by the Editorial Standards Committee BBC Trust; Feb 2016, issued Mar 2016
==== Jeffrey Smith ====
Genetic Roulette Academics Review
: Genetic Roulette is Jeffrey Smith’s second self-published book in which he makes unsubstantiated claims against biotechnology. In it, he details 65 separate claims that the technology causes harm in a variety of ways. On these pages each of those claims – addressed in the same eight “sections” that correspond directly with the book – are stacked up against peer-reviewed science.
Anatomy Of A Smear Attack on GMO Supporting Scientists 
Jon Entine & Val Giddings; Huffington Post; 3 Apr 2015
: Recently on the Huffington Post we came across a disturbing article - an attack by Jeffrey Smith on two respected university professors who apply a critical eye to the claims made by various advocates alleging dangers to human health linked to genetically modified organisms (GMOs.) Smith, if you are not familiar with him, heads up a one-man band rabidly anti-GMO organization known as the Institute for Responsible Technology—he and his organization are controversial to say the least, but more on that later.
==== salmon ====
Genetically Modified Salmon and Full Impact Assessment Martin D. Smith, Frank Asche, Atle G. Guttormsen, Jonathan B. Wiener; AAAS Science; 19 Nov 2010
: As the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers approving a genetically modified (GM) Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), it faces fundamental questions of risk analysis and impact assessment. The GM salmon — whose genome contains an inserted growth gene from Pacific chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and a switch-on gene from ocean pout (Zoarces americanus) — would be the first transgenic animal approved for human consumption in the United States. But the mechanism for its approval, FDA’s new animal drug application (NADA) process, narrowly examines only the risks of each GM salmon compared with a non-GM salmon. This approach fails to acknowledge that the new product’s attributes may affect total production and consumption of salmon. This potentially excludes major human health and environmental impacts, both benefits and risks.
: cheaper salmon may lead to public health benefits - more Omega 3 - but detriments - amount of wild fish needed to feed the farmed salmon
Genetically Engineered Salmon Pose Environmental Risks That Must Be Considered Elizabeth M. P. Madin; Oxford Journals BioScience; 2011
: As the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers whether to approve the first genetically engineered animal to enter the American food supply (Williams 2010), we face the worrying prospect that approval will come without consideration of its full suite of potential environmental and ecological impacts.
: Escape by these salmon into marine ecosystems would pose a wide range of environmental and ecological threats beyond those of conventional salmon (Naylor et al. 2005) grown in farms (Krkosek et al. 2007) and ocean pens (Vester and Timme 2010). Larger fish at a given age or season may out-compete wild salmon, potentially reducing individual or population growth rates. Predator-prey dynamics could be disrupted both through lethal and nonlethal means. The larger-at-age engineered salmon are likely to be more effective predators. Importantly, even in the absence of lethal effects, the mere presence of larger fish predators has been shown to alter prey behavior, causing trophic cascades in marine systems that can dramatically alter seafloor structure. Such ecosystem alterations could potentially have unanticipated repercussions throughout the food web.
==== butterflies / Hixson et al / Rothamsted oilseed ====
Deformed GMO Franken-butterflies? Not so fast… Mark Lynas; 26 Apr 2016
: Scientists at the government-funded Rothamsted Research institute in the UK have been developing omega-3 fatty acids in the oilseed crop camelina, using genetic engineering to transfer the relevant genes into the target plant. The object is to develop a sustainable source of feed for fish farming: currently farmed salmon are dependent for these essential oils on fish harvested from the marine environment. To reduce the burden of overfishing we need a land-based supply of feed, hence the project. But how safe would this new GMO camelina be? Would the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA which are produced by the camelina affect insects consuming the crop? A new study published by Plos One aimed to examine this question, using lab-reared cabbage white butterflies, a pest of cultivated brassicas such as camelina. The study, authored by Hixson et al, fed their lab-reared caterpillars artificial feed, some with the EPA and DHA fatty acids, and a control group without.
Long-Chain Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Have Developmental Effects on the Crop Pest, the Cabbage White Butterfly Pieris rapae Stefanie M. Hixson, Kruti Shukla, Lesley G. Campbell, Rebecca H. Hallett, Sandy M. Smith, Laurence Packer, Michael T. Arts; Plos One; 24 Mar 2016
: Nutritional enhancement of crops using genetic engineering can potentially affect herbivorous pests. Recently, oilseed crops have been genetically engineered to produce the long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) at levels similar to that found in fish oil; to provide a more sustainable source of these compounds than is currently available from wild fish capture. We examined some of the growth and development impacts of adding EPA and DHA to an artificial diet of Pieris rapae, a common pest of Brassicaceae plants. We replaced 1% canola oil with EPA: DHA (11:7 ratio) in larval diets, and examined morphological traits and growth of larvae and ensuing adults across 5 dietary treatments. Diets containing increasing amounts of EPA and DHA did not affect developmental phenology, larval or pupal weight, food consumption, nor larval mortality. However, the addition of EPA and DHA in larval diets resulted in progressively heavier adults (F 4, 108 = 6.78; p = 0.011), with smaller wings (p < 0.05) and a higher frequency of wing deformities (R = 0.988; p = 0.001). We conclude that the presence of EPA and DHA in diets of larval P. rapae may alter adult mass and wing morphology; therefore, further research on the environmental impacts of EPA and DHA production on terrestrial biota is advisable.
=== Bt ===
==== Latham ====
Review of "GMO Dangers: The Facts You Need to Know" 
Layla Katiraee - Biochica; FrankenFoodFacts; 28 May 2016
: review of article by Dr Jonathan Latham
: Jonathan Latham & Allison Wilson American Loons; 9 Jan 2014
:: critique of Latham and partner
: Bioscience Resource Project critique of modern genomics: a missed opportunity Daniel MacArthur; Science Blogs - Genetic Future; 15 Dec 2010
:: critique of another Latham piece
==== resistance ====
Insect resistance to Bt crops: lessons from the first billion acres Bruce E Tabashnik, Thierry Brévault & Yves Carrière; Nature Biotechnology; 24 Oct 2012; [doi:10.1038/nbt.2597 doi:10.1038/nbt.2597]
: Evolution of resistance in pests can reduce the effectiveness of insecticidal proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) produced by transgenic crops. We analyzed results of 77 studies from five continents reporting field monitoring data for resistance to Bt crops, empirical evaluation of factors affecting resistance or both. Although most pest populations remained susceptible, reduced efficacy of Bt crops caused by field-evolved resistance has been reported now for some populations of 5 of 13 major pest species examined, compared with resistant populations of only one pest species in 2005. Field outcomes support theoretical predictions that factors delaying resistance include recessive inheritance of resistance, low initial frequency of resistance alleles, abundant refuges of non-Bt host plants and two-toxin Bt crops deployed separately from one-toxin Bt crops. The results imply that proactive evaluation of the inheritance and initial frequency of resistance are useful for predicting the risk of resistance and improving strategies to sustain the effectiveness of Bt crops.
Pink Bollworm Strikes Bt-Cotton Dr. K.R. Kranthi; Cotton Association of India "Cotton Statistics and News"; 1 Dec 2015
: The pink bollworm is back with a vengeance. This insect was a serious concern for cotton in India about 30 years ago. There were very few reports of any major damage by pink bollworm to cotton since 1982 in the country. But all that has changed now. This year, severe damage to bolls by pink bollworm and yield-losses were observed in Bt-cotton in many regions of Gujarat and some parts of AP, Telangana and Maharashtra. More concerning is the fact that the worm is happily chewing up Bollgard-II-Bt-cotton which contains two genes (cry1Ac+cry2Ab) that were supposed to be highly effective in controlling the pest.
Bt cotton failure forces govt to promote native seeds live Mint; 5 Apr 2016
: With bollworm developing resistance to Bt cotton crop, the government has decided to promote cultivation of indigenous varieties of the crop in a big way this year. In 2015-16 crop year (July-June) [sic], there was a significant damage to cotton crop because of whitefly and pink bollworm pest attack in states like Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.
=== naturally occurring ===
Farmers may have been accidentally making GMOs for millennia New Scientist; 7 Mar 2016
:We have been accidentally genetically engineering plants – and eating GMOs – for millennia. That is the implication of a series of studies showing the ancient practice of grafting can allow even distantly related plants to swap all three kinds of genomes they possess. “It’s genetic engineering done by mother nature,” says Ralph Bock of the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology in Potsdam, Germany.
Wasps have injected new genes into butterflies David Shultz; AAAS Science Mag; 17 Sep 2015
: If you’re a caterpillar, you do not want to meet a parasitic wasp. The winged insect will inject you full of eggs, which will grow inside your body, develop into larvae, and hatch from your corpse. But a new study reveals that wasps have given caterpillars something beneficial during these attacks as well: pieces of viral DNA that become part of the caterpillar genome, protecting them against an entirely different lethal virus. In essence, the wasps have turned caterpillars into genetically modified organisms.
: “The key strength of the study is it clearly demonstrates that [viruses] have been a source of horizontal gene transfer for some insects,” says parasitic wasp expert Michael Strand of the University of Georgia, Athens, who was not involved in the study.
The genome of cultivated sweet potato contains Agrobacterium T-DNAs with expressed genes: An example of a naturally transgenic food crop Tina Kyndt, Dora Quispea, Hong Zhai, Robert Jarret, Marc Ghislain, Qingchang Liu, Godelieve Gheysen, and Jan F. Kreuze; PNAS; 16 Mar 2015
: We communicate the rather remarkable observation that among 291 tested accessions of cultivated sweet potato, all contain one or more transfer DNA (T-DNA) sequences. These sequences, which are shown to be expressed in a cultivated sweet potato clone (“Huachano”) that was analyzed in detail, suggest that an Agrobacterium infection occurred in evolutionary times. One of the T-DNAs is apparently present in all cultivated sweet potato clones, but not in the crop’s closely related wild relatives, suggesting the T-DNA provided a trait or traits that were selected for during domestication. This finding draws attention to the importance of plant–microbe interactions, and given that this crop has been eaten for millennia, it may change the paradigm governing the “unnatural” status of transgenic crops.
=== benefits ===
Documented Benefits of GM Crops International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications
: This Pocket K documents some of the GM crop experiences of selected developing countries.
: ISAAA is a not-for-profit international organization that shares the benefits of crop biotechnology to various stakeholders, particularly resource-poor farmers in developing countries, through knowledge sharing initiatives and the transfer and delivery of proprietary biotechnology applications. ISAAA's global knowledge sharing network and partnerships in the research and development continuum, provide a powerful combination of science-based information and appropriate technology to those who need to make informed decisions about their acceptance and use. In addition, an array of support services completes the holistic approach to agricultural development and ensures effective implementation and timely delivery of crop biotechnologies. These services include capacity building for policy makers and scientists; regulatory oversight on such issues as biosafety and food safety; impact assessment, and science communication.
=== applications ===
Genetically modified potatoes 'resist late blight' Matt McGrath, Environment correspondent; BBC News;
17 Feb 2014
: British scientists have developed genetically modified potatoes that are resistant to the vegetable's biggest threat - blight.
Improving cold storage and processing traits in potato through targeted gene knockout Benjamin M. Clasen, Thomas J. Stoddard, Song Luo, Zachary L. Demorest, Jin Li, Frederic Cedrone, Redeat Tibebu, Shawn Davison, Erin E. Ray, Aurelie Daulhac, Andrew Coffman,
Ann Yabandith, Adam Retterath, William Haun, Nicholas J. Baltes, Luc Mathis, Daniel F. Voytas, Feng Zhang; Plant Biotechnology Journal; 7 Apr 2015
: Cold storage of potato tubers is commonly used to reduce sprouting and extend postharvest shelf life. However, cold temperature stimulates the accumulation of reducing sugars in potato tubers. Upon high-temperature processing, these reducing sugars react with free amino acids, resulting in brown, bitter-tasting products and elevated levels of acrylamide—a potential carcinogen. To minimize the accumulation of reducing sugars, RNA interference (RNAi) technology was used to silence the vacuolar invertase gene (VInv), which encodes a protein that breaks down sucrose to glucose and fructose. Because RNAi often results in incomplete gene silencing and requires the plant to be transgenic, here we used transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) to knockout VInv within the commercial potato variety, Ranger Russet. We isolated 18 plants containing mutations in at least one VInv allele, and five of these plants had mutations in all VInv alleles. Tubers from full VInv-knockout plants had undetectable levels of reducing sugars, and processed chips contained reduced levels of acrylamide and were lightly coloured. Furthermore, seven of the 18 modified plant lines appeared to contain no TALEN DNA insertions in the potato genome. These results provide a framework for using TALENs to quickly improve traits in commercially relevant autotetraploid potato lines.
Organic potatoes cause cancer (same for all potatoes except the new GMO potato) Wallace Kaufman; Chatham Journal; 10 Jul 2016
: article based on Clasen et al paper above
Cellectis 
: Wikipedia article on Cellectis, parent company of Cellectis Plant Sciences who employ Clasen et al
==== sugar beet ====
As consumers shift to non-GMO sugar, farmers may be forced to abandon environmental and social gains Andrew Kniss; Weed Control Freaks; 12 May 2016
: So to summarize, GMO sugarbeet has reduced herbicide use, increased soil health, decreased risk of crop injury, increased yield, and has even allowed farmers to spend more time with their families.
Sweet Irony: The Environmental Impacts Of GMO Sugar Science Denial Kevin M. Folta; Science 2.0; 13 May 2016
: The sugarcane and sugar beet each produce the same final product. It is truly troubling that companies are being coerced into costly decisions that have no effect on what the consumer eats, other than raising its cost, and producing it with greater environmental impact.
==== Bt Brinjal ====
Bt eggplant - Feed The Future Cornell University
: Over the past decade USAID supported the Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project II (ABSP II), a consortium of public and private institutions in Asia and Africa with support from Cornell University. ABSP II focused on safe and effective development and commercialization of bio-engineered crops as a complement to conventional agricultural approaches to help alleviate poverty, reduce hunger and boost food security, economic growth, environmental quality and nutrition in the partner developing nations. Over the project period, the consortium successfully developed fruit and shoot borer resistant (FSBR) eggplant (Bt eggplant) for Bangladesh and the Philippines. In 2013, Bangladesh commercialized Bt eggplant.
Frank Shotkoski, Examination of Bt eggplant release in Bangladesh
Bangladeshi Bt brinjal farmer speaks out in GMO controversy Md. Arif Hossain; Cornell Alliance for Science; 12 Jul 2016
: The Bangladeshi farmer at the center of a controversy on GMOs has spoken out to clarify his recent experience of growing Bt brinjal, the pest-resistant eggplant which is under the international media spotlight as the world's first genetically-modified food crop being grown in a developing country.
: The farmer also recounted being visited by anti-GMO activists from "several offices, to tell me adverse things about Bt brinjal. They gave me a book and told me that, 'Look brother, Bt brinjal has various problems'. They also told me not to eat this brinjal. They said if insects don’t eat this, it must not be a good thing for humans to eat. With my practical mind to counter them, I asked them that people take medicines for worms, the worms die, why don’t people die? They were not able to answer my question."
Bangladesh's Genetically Modified Eggplants Hidde Boersma, Philip Fountain, Karsten de Vreugd; Aljazeera
: multimedia account of GM brinjal in Bangladesh
==== Bananas - Uganda ====
The GMO Debate: Let Africa speak for Herself Patricia Nanteza, 2015 Global Leadership Fellow; Cornell Alliance for Science; 24 Nov 2015
: Africa and Uganda in particular can speak up for herself. Our leaders have the ability to listen to and understand the science of genetic engineering and its benefits to African farmers and families, and to ultimately make the right policy decisions. We do not need America to tell us that GMOs are good or Europe forcing us to ban them. All the GE research being undertaken in Uganda on bananas has over 95% Ugandan scientists doing the everyday work from laboratories based in Kawanda. The other 5% are partners in Australia and USA.
==== Papaya ====
Papaya ringspot virus wikipedia
: Hawaiian papaya production has been severely affected twice by PRSV. The virus was introduced to Oahu as early as 1937. The disease was mild for a number of years until it either mutated or a more aggressive strain was introduced around 1950. Within 12 years, the amount of land under papaya production dropped 94%. Production was then moved from Oahu to the Puna region of Hawaii island (the "Big Island") under strict quarantine. In 1971 PRSV was found in home gardens but efforts were taken to prevent its spread. The virus emerged in commercial farms in 1992 and by 1995 production in Puna was impossible. Commercial growers again relocated to the Hamakua coast but with only limited success. Hawaiian papaya production was halved by the end of the decade. Transgenic papaya varieties that are resistant to PRSV entered production in 1998 and resuscitated the industry.
Papaya: A GMO success story Tom Callis; Hawaii Tribune Herald; 10 Jun 2013
==== Vitamin A ====
These vitamin-fortified bananas might get you thinking differently about GMOs Nathanael Johnson; Vox; 30 Mar 2016
: examination of Vitamin A deficiency and its effects (death as well as blindness), attempts to treat it and their problems, carotene-enhanced crops, golden rice and its controversy and technical problems, Ugandan VA-enhanced bananas, safety, industrial agriculture; plus a summary of pros and cons, and arguments around, GM
Huffpo Attacks GMO Bananas Steven Novella; 21 Apr 2016
: Eric Gimenez, writing for the Huffpo, recently wrote a typical anti-GMO piece, hitting many of the common themes. He focuses on the GMO banana with enhanced vitamin A, but his article reflects the poor logic, tortured arguments, and general anti-science of the anti-GMO crowd.
==== Synthetic biology ====
Synthetic biology’s revolutionary and often disquieting impact on our food system Marc Brazeau; Genetic Literacy Project; 2 Oct 2014
: Synthetic biology (synbio) has started to change how we produce food in small ways and is poised to bring about very large changes as the technology matures. The field is fairly broadly defined. It covers current applications like genetically modifying yeasts and algae to convert a substrate like sugar into valuable compounds like vanillin (the compound that give vanilla it flavor and aroma) and ingredients for medicines. But the cutting edge of synthetic biology isn’t just genetically engineering algae and yeasts to produce useful compounds; it’s designing and printing genes from scratch, even multiple genes organized into plasmids (clusters of genes that perform a task) that can tackle complex problems. This video provides a great primer on where the technology is now and how it works.
===== Algal oil =====
Algae Alert - Algae oil is the newest and most innovative oil to hit the market ROWAN JACOBSEN; Tasting Table; 6 Apr 2016
: Growing oilseed is very wasteful. Each canola, soybean, sunflower or peanut plant produces only a tiny amount of seed, which is then pressed to release its oil. The rest is waste. Those plants yield less than half a ton of oil per hectare, whereas algae are so efficient at converting sugarcane into oil that they can yield three and a half tons per hectare. That means the same amount of oil from a fraction of the land and a smaller carbon footprint. Still, sugarcane is no environmental saint, so I look forward to the day—very soon, according to the TerraVia folks—when the feedstock for the algae will be cellulose—the leftover fibers of plant stalks and leaves. When high-grade culinary oil can be made inexpensively from the waste materials of corn or any other grain, the future will have arrived.
Companies Quietly Apply Biofuel Tools to Household Products STEPHANIE STROM; NT Times; 30 May 2014
: Consumer products containing ingredients made using an advanced form of engineering known as synthetic biology are beginning to show up more often on grocery and department store shelves. A liquid laundry detergent made by Ecover, a Belgian company that makes “green” household products including the Method line, contains an oil produced by algae whose genetic code was altered using synthetic biology. The algae’s DNA sequence was changed in a lab, according to Tom Domen, the company’s manager for long-term innovation.
== glyphosate ==
=== soil microbes ===
Non-Target Effects of Glyphosate on Soil Microbes Matt D. Busse, Alice W. Ratcliff, Carol J. Shestak, Robert F. Powers : Pacific Southwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Redding, CA; 2000 Proceedings of the California Weed Science Society (Volume 52)
: Glyphosate is among the most popular herbicides registered for forest use in California. Noted for its broad effectiveness on competing vegetation, mild effect on conifers, rapid inactivation in soil, and low mammalian toxicity (DiTomaso 1997), glyphosate is an integral component of conifer release programs and has led to improvements in the growth of intensively managed forests (Powers and Reynolds 1999). Benefits of herbicide use must be viewed cautiously, however. Public concerns about environmental risks makes their forestry use controversial. Policy makers and forest managers thus need scientific documentation of the ecological effects of herbicides that go beyond the toxicological requirements met during product registration. In particular, our knowledge of the effect of glyphosate on non-target organisms in forest ecosystems is incomplete.
=== drying ===
Why Is Glyphosate Sprayed on Crops Right Before Harvest? Ken Roseboro; EcoWatch; 5 Mar 2016
: Glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, is recognized as the world’s most widely used weed killer. What is not so well known is that farmers also use glyphosate on crops such as wheat, oats, edible beans and other crops right before harvest, raising concerns that the herbicide could get into food products. Glyphosate has come under increased scrutiny in the past year. Last year the World Health Organization’s cancer group, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, classified it as a probable carcinogen. The state of California has also moved to classify the herbicide as a probable carcinogen. A growing body of research is documenting health concerns of glyphosate as an endocrine disruptor and that it kills beneficial gut bacteria, damages the DNA in human embryonic, placental and umbilical cord cells and is linked to birth defects and reproductive problems in laboratory animals.
The Truth About Glyphosate and Wheat Sarah Schultz; 16 Nov 2014
: One of the practices that is highly misunderstood is the application of glyphosate for pre-harvesting wheat. In layman’s terms, this simply means spraying our mature wheat crop with glyphosate before it’s ready to be harvested. Though glyphosate is not a true desiccant (a desiccant is applied for rapid dry down & early harvest), it is generally used for weed control and can aid in dry down of crops, but the effects take much longer. This is done with care, precise timing, it is backed by science and it is regulated and monitored.
Grain of Truth? Are U.S. farmers saturating wheat crops with Monsanto's Roundup herbicide as a desiccant to facilitate a quicker harvest? David Mikkelson; Snopes
: Claim: U.S. farmers are saturating wheat crops with Roundup herbicide as a desiccant before each harvest, causing an increase in wheat-related ailments. 
: Verdict: Mixture
=== safety ===
Concerns over use of glyphosate-based herbicides and risks associated with exposures: a consensus statement John Peterson Myers, Michael N. Antoniou, Bruce Blumberg, Lynn Carroll, Theo Colborn, Lorne G. Everett, Michael Hansen, Philip J. Landrigan, Bruce P. Lanphear, Robin Mesnage, Laura N. Vandenberg, Frederick S. vom Saal, Wade V. Welshons and Charles M. Benbrook; Environmental Health17 Feb 2016
: This Statement of Concern is directed to scientists, physicians, and regulatory officials around the world. We highlight changes in the scope and magnitude of risks to humans and the environment stemming from applications of glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs). The objectives of this statement are to: 1) demonstrate the need for better monitoring of GBH residues in water, food, and humans; (2) identify limitations or weaknesses in the way the EPA, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, and others have previously assessed the potential risks to humans from exposure to GBHs; and (3) provide recommendations on data needs and ways to structure future studies addressing potential health risks arising from GBH exposures.
: Our focus is on the unanticipated effects arising from the worldwide increase in use of GBHs, coupled with recent discoveries about the toxicity and human health risks stemming from use of GBHs. Our concern deepened when the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) re-classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans” (i.e., Group 2A) [1].
: We highlight a number of issues that influence our concern about GBHs including: 1) increased use of GBHs over the past decade, including new uses for these herbicides just prior to harvest that can lead to high dietary exposures; 2) detection of glyphosate and its metabolites in foods; 3) recent studies that reveal possible endocrine system-mediated and developmental impacts of GBH exposures; and 4) additional complications for farmers, most acutely the emergence and spread of weeds resistant to glyphosate and the concomitant use of multiple herbicides in mixtures, both of which increase the risk of human and environmental harm. We discuss evidence pointing to the need to adjust downward the acceptable daily intake for glyphosate. Our major concerns are embodied in a series of consensus points that explicitly address the strength of the supporting evidence, and our recommendations focus on research essential in narrowing uncertainty in future GBH risk assessments.
==== IARC ====
Carcinogenicity of tetrachlorvinphos, parathion, malathion, diazinon, and glyphosate Kathryn Z Guyton, Dana Loomis, Yann Grosse, Fatiha El Ghissassi, Lamia Benbrahim-Tallaa, Neela Guha, Chiara Scoccianti, Heidi Mattock, Kurt Straif, on behalf of the International Agency for Research on Cancer Monograph Working Group, IARC, Lyon, France; The Lancet; 20 Mar 2015
: In March, 2015, 17 experts from 11 countries met at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC; Lyon, France) to assess the carcinogenicity of the organophosphate pesticides tetrachlorvinphos, parathion, malathion, diazinon, and glyphosate (table). These assessments will be published as volume 112 of the IARC Monographs.
Glyphosate IARC monographs
Conclusion on the peer review of the pesticide risk assessment of the active substance glyphosate European Food Safety Authority; 12 Nov 2015
: The conclusions of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), following the peer review of the initial risk assessments carried out by the competent authority of the rapporteur Member State Germany, for the pesticide active substance glyphosate are reported. The context of the peer review was that required by Commission Regulation (EU) No 1141/2010 as amended by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 380/2013. The conclusions were reached on the basis of the evaluation of the representative uses of glyphosate as a herbicide on emerged annual, perennial and biennial weeds in all crops [crops including but not restricted to root and tuber vegetables, bulb vegetables, stem vegetables, field vegetables (fruiting vegetables, brassica vegetables, leaf vegetables and fresh herbs, legume vegetables), pulses, oil seeds, potatoes, cereals, and sugar- and fodder beet; orchard crops and vine, before planting fruit crops, ornamentals, trees, nursery plants etc.] and foliar spraying for desiccation in cereals and oilseeds (pre-harvest). The reliable endpoints, concluded as being appropriate for use in regulatory risk assessment and derived from the available studies and literature in the dossier peer reviewed, are presented. Missing information identified as being required by the regulatory framework is listed. Concerns are identified. Following a second mandate from the European Commission to consider the findings from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) regarding the potential carcinogenicity of glyphosate or glyphosate-containing plant protection products in the on-going peer review of the active substance, EFSA concluded that glyphosate is unlikely to pose a carcinogenic hazard to humans and the evidence does not support classification with regard to its carcinogenic potential according to Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008.
No, Roundup does not cause cancer James Cooper; Examiner; 28 Apr 2016
: The scientific world was astonished (to put it mildly) when the IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer), a sub-unit of the WHO declared that Roundup (glyphosate) probably causes cancer, putting an herbicide that has been in use for over 40 years into their Group 2A. Their report was published initially as a summary in The Lancet, and then as a complete IARC monograph.
GLYPHOSATE: Report of the Cancer Assessment Review Committee UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENT AL PROTECTION AGENCY; 1 Oct 2015
: In accordance with the 2005 Guidelines for Carcinogen Risk Assessment, based on the weight-ofevidence, glyphosate is classified as “Not Likely to be Carcinogenic to Humans”.
Glyphosate: What's the lowdown? Sense About Science; 
Toxicologist pans UN glyphosate report Robert Arnason; The Western Producer; 27 Mar 2015
: In a brief statement explaining the new designation, the scientists cited a number of research papers, such as a study on rural Colombians who were exposed to a spray of Roundup. IARC said the study demonstrated that glyphosate can cause genotoxicity, or DNA damage, and cause cellular mutations that may result in cancer. Keith Solomon, a University of Guelph professor emeritus and a globally recognized authority on pesticides, said the conclusion is “totally wrong.” Solomon should know because he wrote the Colombian study.
===== Christopher Portier =====
Differences in the carcinogenic evaluation of glyphosate between the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Christopher J Portier & others; J Epidemiol Community Health doi:10.1136/jech-2015-207005; 
: The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Monographs Programme identifies chemicals, drugs, mixtures, occupational exposures, lifestyles and personal habits, and physical and biological agents that cause cancer in humans and has evaluated about 1000 agents since 1971. Monographs are written by ad hoc Working Groups (WGs) of international scientific experts over a period of about 12 months ending in an eight-day meeting. The WG evaluates all of the publicly available scientific information on each substance and, through a transparent and rigorous process,1 decides on the degree to which the scientific evidence supports that substance's potential to cause or not cause cancer in humans.
: For Monograph 112,2 17 expert scientists evaluated the carcinogenic hazard for four insecticides and the herbicide glyphosate.3 The WG concluded that the data for glyphosate meet the criteria for classification as a probable human carcinogen.
: The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is the primary agency of the European Union for risk assessments regarding food safety. In October 2015, EFSA reported4 on their evaluation of the Renewal Assessment Report5 (RAR) for glyphosate that was prepared by the Rapporteur Member State, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR). EFSA concluded that ‘glyphosate is unlikely to pose a carcinogenic hazard to humans and the evidence does not support classification with regard to its carcinogenic potential’. Addendum 1 (the BfR Addendum) of the RAR5 discusses the scientific rationale for differing from the IARC WG conclusion.
: Serious flaws in the scientific evaluation in the RAR incorrectly characterise the potential for a carcinogenic hazard from exposure to glyphosate. Since the RAR is the basis for the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) conclusion,4 it is critical that these shortcomings are corrected.
IARC-Gate? Are Europe’s anti-chemical enviros conspiring to suppress conflict-of-interest scandal? David Zaruk & Jon Entine; Genetic Literacy Project; 7 Apr 2016
IARC’s unprofessional and unethical behaviour. Time to retract their glyphosate monograph RISKMONGER; 13 Apr 2016
* Christopher Portier was employed by the anti-pesticide American NGO, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).
* In 2014 Portier chaired the IARC expert advisory committee on priorities for the coming years (including glyphosate). IARC did not declare his employment with the activist NGO EDF.
* In 2015, Portier served as the only external representative on the IARC glyphosate team with the role of technical adviser, even though he was working for an anti-pesticides NGO, had published many articles against Monsanto and was not even a toxicologist.
* The IARC study rejected thousands of documents on glyphosate that had industry involvement and based their decision on carcinogenicity on the basis of eight studies (rejecting a further six because they did not like their conclusions).
===== California =====
http://www.theeventchronicle.com/news/north-america/monsanto-stunned-california-confirms-roundup-will-be-labeled-cancer-causing/ Monsanto Stunned – California Confirms ‘Roundup’ Will Be Labeled “Cancer Causing”] EDITOR; The Event Chronicle; 23 Feb 2016
: Sacramento, CA — California just dealt Monsanto a blow as the state’s Environmental Protection Agency will now list glyphosate — the toxic main ingredient in the U.S.’ best-selling weedkiller, Roundup — as known to cause cancer. Under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 — usually referred to as Proposition 65, its original name — chemicals that cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm are required to be listed and published by the state. Chemicals also end up on the list if found to be carcinogenic by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) — a branch of the World Health Organization.
===== New Zealand =====
Cancer all-clear given to weedkiller glyphosate by New Zealand scientific review GERARD HUTCHING; New Zealand Farmer; 12 Aug 2016
: New Zealand scientists have reviewed the evidence on the weedkiller glyphosate and announced it is "unlikely" to be carcinogenic and should not be classified as a mutagen or carcinogen under the HSNO Act. Poisons expert Dr Wayne Temple and his colleague from the National Poisons Centre, Michael Beasley, carried out the review, which was commissioned by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). 
Review of the Evidence Relating to Glyphosate and Carcinogenicity Wayne Temple; Environmental Protection Authority; Aug 2016
: This report discusses the relevant data on glyphosate, especially the more recent studies, and reviews the basis on which the IWG classified it as a probable human carcinogen (Group 2A). This involves review of the quality of evidence for carcinogenicity in humans and experimental animals and the mechanistic arguments. 
===== WHO =====
U.N. experts find weed killer glyphosate unlikely to cause cancer Kate Kelland; Reuters; 16 May 2016
: The pesticide glyphosate, sold by Monsanto in its Roundup weed killer product and widely used in agriculture and by gardeners, is unlikely to cause cancer in people, according to a new safety review by United Nations health, agriculture and food experts. In a statement likely to intensify a row over its potential health impact, experts from the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) said glyphosate is "unlikely to pose a carcinogenic risk to humans" exposed to it through food. It is mostly used on crops.
Contradicting IARC, World Health Organization says glyphosate unlikely to cause cancer Kate Kelland; Reuters; 17 May 2016
Why regulators conclude glyphosate safe while IARC, alone, claims it could cause cancer? Andrew Porterfield; Genetic Literacy Project; 24 Jul 2015
=== urine ===
Results of Glyphosate Pee Test Are in ‘And It’s Not Good News’ Lorraine Chow; EcoWatch; 12 May 2016
: Last month, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) volunteered to take a urine test to see if glyphosate—the cancer-linked weedkiller—is in their system. Forty-eight MEPs from 13 different European Union countries participated in the test, and now the results are in.
A critical review of glyphosate findings in human urine samples and comparison with the exposure of operators and consumers Lars Niemann, Christian Sieke, Rudolf Pfeil, Roland Solecki; Journal für Verbraucherschutz und Lebensmittelsicherheit; 8 Jan 2015
: For example: If a urinary concentration of 6 µg glyphosate/L would have been measured, a daily excretion of 12 µg can be assumed. For a 60 kg weighing person, an internal dose of 0.2 µg/kg bw would result. If exposure of this person can be reasonably assumed as mainly occupational or residential, i.e., occurring predominantly by the dermal and inhalative routes, this dose of 0.0002 mg/kg bw might be directly compared to the AOEL and would account for only 0.2 % of this reference dose. 
: If dietary exposure is considered the more likely route of glyphosate intake, a 20 % oral absorption must be taken into account ... Therefore, an internal dose of 12 µg would be expected to result from a totally ingested amount of 60 µg, equivalent to an “external dose” of 1 µg/kg bw. This dose of 0.001 mg/kg bw would account for 0.2 % of the ADI that is, in this case, the more appropriate reference dose to compare with.
=== comparison with toxicity of other herbicides ===
Herbicides: How Toxic Are They? Fred Fishel, Jason Ferrell, Greg MacDonald, Brent Sellers; University of Florida IFAS Extension; 
: Comparison of Paraquat, Caffeine, Bleach, Pendimethalin (Prowl), Tylenol, Atrazine, Household ammonia (10%), Glyphosate (Roundup), Codeine, Table salt etc
About those harsher herbicides that glyphosate helped replace CREDIBLE HULK; 2 Jun 2015
: One of the common criticisms of commercially available Genetically Engineered (GE) seeds is the idea that they have led to an increase in pesticide use. In actuality, it turns out that they’ve corresponded to a decrease in total pesticide use, but this is attributable primarily to insect resistant GE crops, and critics argue that herbicide resistant crops have led to an increase in herbicide usage. It is true that the rise in popularity of glyphosate-resistant (GR) crops in particular has coincided with an increase in the use of glyphosate, which had already been in use to some degree for a couple of decades before the implementation of glyphosate-resistant crops. However, what critics invariably fail to mention is that its rise in popularity also coincided with the phasing out of other herbicides, most of which were significantly more toxic than glyphosate (about which I’ve written in detail here). The purpose of this article is not to claim that glyphosate and GR crops are the be all end all of weed control (they’re not), nor is it to claim that they were causally responsible for any and every desirable change we see in herbicide usages patterns. Rather, the purpose of this is to show that when opponents of GE technology and of glyphosate claim that GR crops are bad on the grounds that they increased glyphosate use, they are leaving out critical information that would be highly inconvenient for their narrative.
=== aquatic use ===
Glyphosate on digestive enzymes activity in piava (Leporinus obtusidens) Joseânia Salbego, Alexandra Pretto, Vera Maria Machado da Silva, Vania Lucia Loro, Rafael Lazzari, Carolina Rosa Gioda, Bernardo Baldisserotto; Ciência Rural; Sep 2014
: The effects of glyphosate, a nonselective herbicide (1.0 or 5.0mg L-1) on digestive enzymes activity (stomach and intestine) were evaluated in juveniles of piava (Leporinus obtusidens) after 90 days of exposure. The activity of acid protease, trypsin, chymotrypsin and amylase increased with the increase of glyphosate concentration. These results indicate that glyphosate affects digestive enzyme activities in this species, and may be an indicator of poor nutrient availability when fish survive in herbicide-contaminated water.
discussion Food and Farm Discussion Lab; facebook, Jul 2016
== Monsanto ==
Why Does Everyone Hate Monsanto? Lessley Anderson; Modern Farmer; 4 Mar 2014
Is Monsanto evil? Franklin Veaux; The Revisionist (blog); 27 May 2015
== Mutagenic Modification ==
Mutation Breeding Wikipedia
BASF seeks GM alternative Chemistry World - Royal Society of Chemistry; 4 Feb 2009
: German chemical giant BASF has applied directed mutagenesis to develop crop plants that are tolerant to specific pesticides. Unlike traditional genetic modification methods, which introduce genes from foreign species, directed mutagenesis alters the genetic makeup of the plant through the natural process of gene repair - and so is less likely to meet resistance from regulators and environmental groups.