CONTROVERSIES IN

BIOTECHNOLOGY
GROUP 2
Monarch Butterfly Controversy
OVERVIEW
Instead of fostering conversation about these issues, the
monarch butterfly controversy has polarized it. the effects of
utilizing or not using genetically modified plants on the
environment of commercial farming. The amount and caliber
of information have also come under scrutiny. contained in
scholarly works; the use of scholarly journals as information
channels for both the public and the scientific community; the
type of information needed by government organizations will
decide how to use new technologies.
DISCUSSION
A group of experts has discovered a pretty unexpected finding after pouring
through 25 years worth of data: the monarch butterfly population appears to be
growing. If the findings are accurate, they may rewrite the charismatic insect's
history, which has been characterized for many years by doom and gloom. To
be clear, the Danaus plexus species of monarch butterflies are still prospering
overall. It can be found in a variety of habitats, including North Africa and
Southeast Asia. However, there are variations in eastern monarch butterfly
populations in North America. from their relatives since they start a large
migration every year. From Canada's summertime retreats to the jungles of
southwest Mexico, Winter is where they stay. (Learn about the monarchs'
winter's discoveries here.) house in a National Geographic issue from 1976.)
 The wintering population has drastically decreased recently, probably as a
result of the widespread extinction of butterfly host plants as a result of
pesticide use throughout the animal's summer range in Canada In the United
States, milkweed. Some reports claim that this eastern population has
decreased by about 80. % during the previous 40 years. Then there are
monarchs on the western side of North They also migrate, but only as far as
southern California in America. allegedly down 9% during the same time.
According to such information, the U.S. Service for Fish and Wildlife revealed
the North American monarch butterfly's subspecies (Danaus plexippus
plexippus) satisfied the criteria for the protections provided by the Act on
Endangered Species. However, since other, more pressing species demands,
the agency rejected listing the bug and said it will reconsider in 2024. (Read
why the monarch butterfly was rejected as an endangered species
protections.)
Left: There are five distinct generations of
monarchs that migrate through in any one year.
North America; due to their complicated life
cycles, counting monarchs outside of Mexico is
difficult onerous task.

Right: A close-up of a monarch's wing reveals

the vivid hues that alert predators to the presence
of the insect toxic to consume.
Monarchs take to the sky in the biosphere
reserve in Michoacan, Mexico. The
species is especially vulnerable to
pesticides and loss of native plants due to
agriculture.
STARTLINK CORN
CONTROVERSY
WHAT IS STARLINK CORN CONTROVERSY?
The controversy began when traces of DNA from StarLink
corn were found in taco shells and other corn related products.
Although there are several varieties of Bt corns in the market,
StarLink was illegal in human food. It was only approved for
animal feed.
Why is StarLink controversial?
The controversy began when traces of DNA from StarLink
corn were found in taco shells and other corn related
products. Although there are several varieties of Bt corns in
the market, StarLink was illegal in human food. It was only
approved for animal feed.
Why is corn controversial?
• Accusations fly over GM contamination of Mexican maize
This fueled fears among environmentalists that genes from GM crops
could compromise the diversity of ancient strains of maize, which are
a valuable resource for crop breeders.
How was StarLink corn created?
StarLink, created by Aventis, included a genetic modification that
incorporated into the corn plant the protein Cry9C from the soil
bacterium bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). It was to kill caterpillars.
Because it had never been included in a genetically modified product
before, it came under close regulatory scrutiny.
What makes StarLink corn different from
other types of corn?
StarLink Corn: A Cautionary Tale
This corn variety had been genetically engineered to contain
the gene for a Bt toxin called Cry9C, which selectively kills
destructive insect larvae such as the European corn borer.
Why is StarLink approved for animal feed but
not for human consumption?
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had restricted its
use to animal feed due to concern about the potential for
allergenicity. However, Starlink corn was later found throughout
the human food supply, resulting in food recalls by the Food and
Drug Administration and significant disruption of the food
supply.
POISONOUS POTATO
CONTROVERSY
 A large media event occurred in 1998 when
scientist Arpad Pusztai, who "was considered
a world expert on plant lectins", reported in a
television interview that he had found that
rats fed potatoes genetically modified by the
English biotech company Cambridge
Árpád János Pusztai was a
Agricultural Genetics to contain lectin, a Hungarian-born British biochemist
and nutritionist who spent 36 years at
natural insecticide in snowdrop plants had the Rowett Research Institute in
Aberdeen, Scotland. author of 270
caused harm to rats. papers and three books on the subject.
 Dr Pusztai have claimed that feeding GM potatoes to rats damaged
their immune systems and caused pathological damage to the gut, 
leading to his dismissal from the institute.
The resulting controversy over the dismissal and the validity of his
research's conclusions became known as the Pusztai affair.
Shows that there is harm in GM foods that could cause great damage.
oPusztai performed a series of experiments on some
genetically modified potatoes 
oDesiree red potato variety,
oModified with a gene taken from snowdrop
(Galanthus nivalis agglutinin) or GNA plants, that
caused the potatoes to express snowdrop lectin - a
protein which Árpád Pusztai had previously shown
to be toxic to insects but harmless to mammals.
Feeding rats on raw and cooked
genetically modified potatoes, using
Desiree Red potatoes as controls. One
of the controls was unmodified desiree
red potatoes mixed with snowdrop
lectin. 
“We had two kinds of potatoes - one GM and the
other non-GM. I had expected that the GM potato,
with 20 micrograms of a component against the
several grams of other components, should not
cause any problems. But we found problems. Our
studies clearly show that the effects were not due
to that little gene expression, but it depended on
the way the gene had been inserted into the potato
genome and what it did to the potato genome.”
Pusztai’s Findings
The rats fed on the genetically modified potatoes showed intestine damage
and harm to their immune systems. 
These effects were not observed in rats fed on unmodified potatoes, or
unmodified potatoes mixed with snowdrop lectin.
 The team concluded that the effects observed were a result of the genetic
modification, not the snowdrop lectin. The stated objective of Dr Pusztai's
experiments was to determine the effect of feeding GM potatoes to rats, but
the experimental design did not allow that objective to be addressed because
there were no suitable controls.
What were the effects of the controversy
More issues arise contradicting GM Technology
Environmental Issues
• Safety of food
• Natural or Genetic Engineering
• Contamination
Risk
• Manufactured Risk
Approach of the public to GMO
• Decision making
REFERENCES
https://www.slideshare.net/CharmaineDiaz1/potato-controversy-presentation
The Mexican Corn Gene Escape
Controversy
 The people of Oaxaca, Mexico have been cultivating corn for
nearly 10,000 years. During that time, corn varieties have developed
through traditional breeding methods to both enhance nutrition and
provide insurance against an unpredictable environment. The
success of these varieties has established corn as the centerpiece of
the Mexican landscape, diet, and culture. Many of the corn varieties
we use today can be traced back to this region. In recent decades,
recombinant DNA technologies have facilitated a radical
transformation of the way corn is bred and cultivated. These changes
may lead to a profound impact on the way of life in Oaxaca.
Transgene escape. Genetic modifications can find their way into
the natural environment by way of an intermediate hybrid.
 In the fall of 2001, two researchers, David Quist and Ignacio
Chapela, from the University of California (Berkeley) published
evidence in Nature that transgenes exist in the traditional corn races
of Oaxaca, Mexico. They claim that this provides support that the
transgenes have spread into these non-GM corn populations. This
startling news provides reason to doubt the effectiveness of existing
control measures. Quist and Chapela collected their samples 3 years
after the moratorium on GM cultivation was enforced. They suggest
that transgenes may be present in samples of traditional corn due to
fresh hybridization events with illegally cultivated GM crops, or the
result of "escaped" transgenes that have persisted in traditional corn
References:

Adam D., Knight J. (2002). Journals Under Pressure: Publish, and Be Damned. Nature 419 (6909): 772-6.

Chapela I.H. (2000). Global bodies won’t save the Environment: it needs grass-roots efforts. Nature

403 (6766): 129.

Cummings C.H. (2002). Risking corn, risking culture. World Watch 15: 8-19.

Dalton R. (2001). Transgenic corn found growing in Mexico. Nature 413(6854): 337.

Ellstrand N.C. (2001). When transgenes wander, should we worry? Plant Physiol. 125(4): 1543-5.

Kaplinsky N., Braun D., Lisch D., Hay A., Hake S., Freeling M. (2002). Biodiversity (Communications arising): maize transgene
results in Mexico are artefacts. Nature 416(6881): 601-2; discussion 600, 602.

Metz M., Futterer J. (2002). Biodiversity (Communications Arising): Suspect Evidence of Transgenic Contamination. Nature
416(6881): 600-1.

Ochert A. (2002). Food fight: caught in a maize at Berkeley. California Monthly:

Quist D., Chapela I.H. (2001). Transgenic DNA introgressed into traditional maize landraces in Oaxaca, Mexico. Nature 414:
541-3.
Stem cell Research
 Stem cell Research Is a anathema to a religious right and
worked its way into recent presidential election.such as new jersey
and California are looking past ethical objection and taking
serious steps to foster establishment of stem cell research center.
 American society of clinic issued this policy statement in
1999. "Whether privately or Publicly funded, researchers
should be mindful of ethical issues that may be raised be
research involves embryos, Fetal tissue, cloning ,or other
controversial questions. Never the less, medical research often
required a balancing of perceived risks against potential
benefits.
 The tremendous potential of stem cell research for the treatment of
diseases means that the balance of benefits and risks is now clearly in favor
of going forward with the research,even if it involves ethically sensitive
areas." On other hand, the founding statement of DO NO Harm-the coalition
of americans for research ethics argues." Stem cell research promises great
good and is a worthy scientific priority as long as we pursue it ethically
obtaining stem cells from people without seriously harming people in the
process can be ethical.
 However, obtaining stem cells from human embryos cannot be ethical
because it necessarily involves destroying those embryos." "Although it is
still early in the process, it is likely that the managed care industry will
continue to monitor this ethically sensitive are, particularly as the potential
benefits and cost begin to outweigh the risks." Say Mitchell P. DeKoven,
manager of reimbursement services at PharmAnaslysis Group,MED-TAP's
Center for pricing & Reimbursement,in Arlington,Va.
GROUP 2 REPORTERS
JOY ANN ALCIBOR
RONIEL ABARIENTOS
COLEEN PASTRANA
GENESIS JOY MARBELLA
VIENNA MACASINAG