The GM food industry never tires of projecting their technological innovations as a panacea for overcoming all the hunger in the world! Without getting into the controversy that surrounds this topic, it is difficult to comprehend why countries are falling prey to the tall claims made by this industry regarding the advantages of GM foods. While one can understand the compulsions of the industry to promote at any cost their so called high tech seeds among farmers because of their huge investments on research, it is the hapless consumer who is being let down by the governments through tacit support to the former. The latest case of a GM product being "pushed" to the consumer concerns a new GM version of soybean that promises "heaven" on earth to the food processing industry!
"The soybean industry is seeking government approval of a genetically modified soybean it says will produce oil lower in saturated fat, offer consumers a healthier alternative to foods containing trans fats and increase demand for growers' crops. Demand for soybean oil has dropped sharply since 2005, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration began requiring labels to list levels of trans fats, which have been linked to coronary heart disease. Vegetable oil does not naturally contain trans fats, but when hydrogen is added to make it suitable for use in the food industry, trans fats are created. Agribusiness giant Monsanto Co. says oil from its new soybean will meet manufacturers' requirements for baking and shelf life without hydrogenation, resulting in food that's free of trans fats as well as lower in saturated fat. The FDA approved the new bean, called Vistive Gold, earlier this year, and Monsanto and several state and national soybean groups are now seeking approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The USDA's Animal Plant Health Inspection Service said in an email that it has no timeline for making a decision. U.S. farmers harvested more than 3.3 billion bushels of soybeans valued at nearly $39 billion in 2010. But the Iowa Soybean Association said in a letter to APHIS that the industry's share of the food oil market dropped from 83 to 68 percent after the FDA enacted the labeling requirements. Iowa grows more soybeans than any other state. "We believe because of the trans-fat labeling, 4.6 billion pounds of edible soybean oil was not used for food over a three-year period," said Bob Callanan, a spokesman for the American Soybean Association. The oil was turned into biodiesel instead, and farmers got less money for their soybeans, he said".
It is rather mystifying that the superiority claimed for the new version pertains to freedom from trans fatty acids! Which fat of plant origin has this undesirable isomer of unsaturated fatty acids? None, of course. How can the developer compare the oil from the new soybean with hydrogenated fat which has its own functional properties and much sought after plasticity? No comparison at all. Also not sure is the claim that it is a superior frying oil in spite of its higher concentration of unsaturated fatty acids? May be nutritionally it may have some advantages but definitely the claim of superiority over hydrogenated fat for frying and baking is misplaced. Of course with the clout the GM lobby enjoys over the government, one should not be surprised if the safety authorities again blink their eyes and give unconditional clearance to the new GM soybean soon.
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