Human blood protein[edit]
Human serum albumin (HSA) is a blood protein in human plasma. It is used in treatment such as severe burns, liver cirrhosis, and hemorrhagic shock.[23] More importantly, it is used in blood donations and thus is in short supply around the world.[23] In China, the scientists modified brown rice as a cost-effective way to produce HSA protein. The Chinese scientists put recombinant HSA protein promoters into 25 rice plants using Agrobacterium.[23] Out of the 25 plants, nine of them breed (brown rice plants), and contained the HSA protein. They confirmed that the genetically modified brown rice had the same amino acid sequence as human serum albumin. They called this protein Oryza sativa recombinant HSA. The modified rice were transparent compared to regular rice. Additionally, they tested this protein on the rats with liver disease. The rats showed improved liver function.[23]
Controversy[edit]
Main article: Genetically modified food controversies
There are controversies around GMOs on several levels, including whether making them is ethical, whether food produced with them is safe, whether such food should be labeled and if so how, whether agricultural biotech is needed to address world hunger now or in the future, and more specifically to GM crops—intellectual property and market dynamics; environmental effects of GM crops; and GM crops' role in industrial agricultural more generally.
Legal Issues[edit]
US[edit]
In the summer of 2006 the USDA detected trace amounts of LibertyLink variety 601 in rice shipments ready for export.[24] LL601 was not approved for food purposes; it was approved only for experimental and research use.[24] Bayer applied for deregulation of LL601 in late July and the USDA granted deregulation status to the strain in November 2006.[25] The contamination lead to a dramatic dip in rice futures along with massive losses to farmers who grew rice for export.[24] Approximately 30 percent of rice production was affected along with over 11,000 farmers.[24] In June 2011 Bayer agreed to pay 750 million dollars for damages and lost harvests associated with the contamination.[24] The affected farmers in the five states, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas will split the settlement.[26] Furthermore, Japan and Russia have banned U.S. export of the rice, while Mexico and the European Union imposed strict testing.[26] So this had impacted the U.S. agricultural business because the price of rice declined due to the contamination. "The contamination occurred between 1998 and 2001 (Berry 2011)." [26] The exact cause of the contamination has never been discovered.
China[edit]
The Chinese scientists state that human blood protein (HSA) produced in brown rice requires a lot of modified rice to be grown.[23] This raises environmental safety concerns about modified gene transfer during pollination. The Chinese scientists argue that this would not be a problem because rice is a self-pollinating crop, and their test showed less than 1% of the modified gene transfer in pollination.[23] They are still further studying the issue.