Economic and agronomic impact of commercialised GM crops: a meta-analysis

The present paper presents a meta-analysis of the economic and agronomic performance of genetically modified (GM) crops worldwide. Bayesian, classical and non-parametric approaches were used to evaluate the performance of GM crops v. their conventional counterparts. The two main GM crop traits (herbicide tolerant (HT) and insect resistant (Bt)) and three of the main GM crops produced worldwide (Bt cotton, HT soybean and Bt maize) were analysed in terms of yield, production cost and gross margin. The scope of the analysis covers developing and developed countries, six world regions, and all countries combined. Results from the statistical analyses indicate that GM crops perform better than their conventional counterparts in agronomic and economic (gross margin) terms. Regarding countries’ level of development, GM crops tend to perform better in developing countries than in developed countries, with Bt cotton being the most profitable crop grown.

GM crops, developing countries and food security

The agronomic and economic performance of genetically modified (GM) crops relative to their conventional counterparts has been largely investigated worldwide. As a result there is considerable information to conduct a meta-analysis to evaluate the agronomic and economic relative performance of GM crops vs. non GM crops by crop, GM trait, and country’s level of development. Such meta-analysis has been recently conducted showing that overall GM crops outperform non GM crops in both agronomic and economic terms (1). This paper focuses on the agronomic and economic performance of GM crops in developing and developed countries as well as the potential implications for global food security of adoption of GM crops by developing countries. The presumption that technology only benefits the developed world is not supported by the meta-analysis conducted. No evidence that GM technology benefits moredeveloped than developing countries was found. Indeed, the agronomic and economic performance of GM crops vs. conventional crops tends to be better for developing than for developed countries. Although it is manifested that the conventional agronomic practices in developing countries are different to those in developed countries, it is also apparent that GM crop adoption in developing countries may help to tackle the growing concerns over the scarcity of food globally.

Africa and Asia need a rational debate on GM crops

Policy-makers in developing countries should not be swayed by the politicized arguments dominant in Europe

Farmers' interest in growing GM crops in the UK, in the context of a range of on-farm coexistence issues

Although no GM crops currently are licensed for commercial production in the UK, as opposition to GM crops by consumers softens, this could change quickly. Although past studies have examined attitudes of UK farmers toward GM technologies in general, there has been little work on the impact of possible coexistence measures on their attitudes toward GM crop production. This could be because the UK Government has not engaged in any public dialogue on the coexistence measures that might be applied on farms. Based on a farm survey, this article examines farmers’ attitudes toward GM technologies and planting intentions for three crops (maize, oilseed rape, and sugar beet) based on a GM availability scenario. The article then nuances this analysis with a review of farmer perceptions of the level of constraint associated with a suite of notional farm-level coexistence measures and issues, based on current European Commission guidelines and practice in other EU Member States.

GM food purchase intentions: linking the theory of planned behaviour with consumer trust and stated choice

After the “European” experience of BSE and further food safety crises consumer trust is playing an increasingly important role in political and marketing decision making. This also relates to the area of consumer acceptance of GM food. This paper integrates consumer trust with the theory of planned behavior and a stated choice model to gain a more complete picture of consumer decision making. Preliminary results indicate that when GM products offer practical benefits to consumers acceptance may increase considerably. Furthermore, both trust and perceived benefits contribute significantly to explaining the level of acceptance.

A formação contínua de professores para o ensino fundamental regular noturno de jovens e adultos na Escola GM : ações, tensões e contradições de uma política pública municipal

A presente Dissertação conta uma breve história acerca do cotidiano de um programa de formação contínua de professores municipais, na periferia da Grande Porto Alegre, que iniciaram a lecionar no SEJA –Serviço de Educação de Jovens e Adultos- proposta político-pedagógica de Ensino Fundamental Regular de Jovens e Adultos. O pesquisador, aceito como partícipe reflexivo pelo grupo de professores de uma escola, desenvolveu uma modalidade de Pesquisa-Ação buscando contribuir na identificação e solução das situações-problemáticas que surgiram ao longo do referido programa de formação. A dissertação teoriza alguns saberes emergentes e vivenciados na pes-quisa-em-campo : concepção de currículo, prática docente e política de forma-ção contínua de professores para o Ensino Fundamental Regular de Jovens e Adultos; bem como, concepção de pesquisa educacional na escola. Durante a pesquisa-em-campo, o pesquisador-em-ação assumiu um po-sicionamento político de “parceria crítica” com o grupo de professores frente aos conflitos políticos surgidos nas relações destes com a respectiva Secretaria de Educação, gerando , por sua vez, outros conflitos devidamente discutidos no texto. Em função desses conflitos e demais circunstâncias a pesquisa sofreu alterações no seu objeto inicial de estudo, bem como nos respectivos procedi-mentos específicos, seguindo, portanto, a flexibilidade metodológica inerente à Pesquisa-Ação. São propostos princípios político-pedagógicos para as políticas públicas de formação contínua de professores para o Ensino Fundamental Regular de Jovens e Adultos. No relato reflexivo dessa caminhada o pesquisador encontrou seu pró-prio processo de aprendizagem, suas lacunas e limites de formação – vivência aproveitada em sua prática docente acadêmica.

Reengenharia de processos de negócio : aplicação prática em uma divisão da GM nos EUA

Trata-se da Reengenharia de Processos de Negócios, abordando seu conceito, definição, metodologia de implementação e resultados esperados com tal abordagem. A partir de um caso real em uma divisão da GM nos EUA, identifica-se os pontos críticos que devem ser considerados para se aumentar as chances de sucesso de um projeto de Reengenharia.

Human granulocyte colony stimulating factor (hG-CSF): cloning, overexpression, purification and characterization

Background: Biopharmaceutical drugs are mainly recombinant proteins produced by biotechnological tools. The patents of many biopharmaceuticals have expired, and biosimilars are thus currently being developed. Human granulocyte colony stimulating factor (hG-CSF) is a hematopoietic cytokine that acts on cells of the neutrophil lineage causing proliferation and differentiation of committed precursor cells and activation of mature neutrophils. Recombinant hG-CSF has been produced in genetically engineered Escherichia coli ( Filgrastim) and successfully used to treat cancer patients suffering from chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. Filgrastim is a 175 amino acid protein, containing an extra N-terminal methionine, which is needed for expression in E. coli. Here we describe a simple and low-cost process that is amenable to scaling-up for the production and purification of homogeneous and active recombinant hG-CSF expressed in E. coli cells.Results: Here we describe cloning of the human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor coding DNA sequence, protein expression in E. coli BL21(DE3) host cells in the absence of isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside ( IPTG) induction, efficient isolation and solubilization of inclusion bodies by a multi-step washing procedure, and a purification protocol using a single cationic exchange column. Characterization of homogeneous rhG-CSF by size exclusion and reverse phase chromatography showed similar yields to the standard. The immunoassay and N-terminal sequencing confirmed the identity of rhG-CSF. The biological activity assay, in vivo, showed an equivalent biological effect (109.4%) to the standard reference rhG-CSF. The homogeneous rhG-CSF protein yield was 3.2 mg of bioactive protein per liter of cell culture.Conclusion: The recombinant protein expression in the absence of IPTG induction is advantageous since cost is reduced, and the protein purification protocol using a single chromatographic step should reduce cost even further for large scale production. The physicochemical, immunological and biological analyses showed that this protocol can be useful to develop therapeutic bioproducts. In summary, the combination of different experimental strategies presented here allowed an efficient and cost-effective protocol for rhG-CSF production. These data may be of interest to biopharmaceutical companies interested in developing biosimilars and healthcare community.