By Purple S. Romero

An emerging science considered as one of the windows to a new green
revolution, called metabolomics, along with mitigating the environmental
impact of aquaculture are at the forefront of joint European Commission and
Association of Southeast Asian Nation?s research efforts to address the
worsening food crisis.
At the EU-ASEAN Ministerial Consultation on research cooperation held in
Manila from July 6 to 8, 2008, European and Asian scientists presented
programs that aim to increase rice production and weaken the environmental
impact of aquaculture amid the economic and social turmoil triggered by
rising food prices.

Food costs have escalated sharply since last year especially for grain,
dairy and cooking oil.

In the Philippines, rice prices increased 72 percent since the beginning of
2008 following volatile global demand-and-supply movements. In Indonesia,
cooking oil prices skyrocketed to double digits at 12,000 rupiah (one
dollar) per kilogram from 6,000 rupiah in 2007.

The food crisis has spurred food riots in various parts of the world.
Protests over soybean shortage have recently plagued Indonesia. In Malaysia,
the government offered to trade palm oil to any rice-producing country to
sustain rice supply.

The ministerial consultation was organized in conjunction with the Fifth
Informal ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Science and Technology, being held in
Manila from 6 to 11 July, 2008.

European Commission Director General for Research Jose Manuel Silva
Rodriguez said it is highly important to ?establish a regional dialogue? to
come up with measures to strengthen food security.

Metabolomics

One such dialogue and research initiative has been going on since 2006,
where experts in plant biology from 11 countries are working on a new
science to improve crop production. The International Rice Research
Institute in the Philippines and Lao rice research systems in Vietnam are
regional participants in this initiative, which received an EU$8
million-funding from the European Commission.

IRRI Director General Robert Zeigler said that this program, called
Metabolomics for Plants, Health and Outreach (META-PHOR), aims to explore
metabolomics, a new, rising science that focuses on small molecules, to
improve breeding, storage and processing strategies of rice, melon and
broccoli.

He added that metabolomics will be developed further to determine the
?taste, fragrance and nutritional value? of rice, particularly which are
most suited for quality development as consumers demand healthy products.

Metabolomics works by detecting small molecules that could elucidate the
biochemical composition of foodstuffs. According to a manuscript written by
Robert Hall, deputy business manager of bioscience at Plant Research
International, biochemical profile shows the quality of food and its
properties such as shelf life, nutritional strength and market value.

META-PHOR aims to strengthen metabolomics research by establishing a
European metabolimics consortium for broader collaboration that would pool
disciplines and come up with a set of strategies and standards that could
give direction to metabolomics development.

Aquaculture impact

In the Philippines, scientists have recently completed a project to mitigate
the hazardous effects of aquaculture on the environment. Called Philminaq
(short for Mitigating Impact from Aquaculture in the Philippines), the
project, undertaken by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in
partnership with the UP Marine Science Institute (MSI) and Norwegian
environmental consultancy plan AkvaPlan?Nipa, seeks to improve the
government?s capability to monitor, control and refine aquaculture.

Maria San Diego-McGlone, director of MSI, said that aquaculture, or the
farming of freshwater and saltwater organisms, produces 48 percent ? the
largest portion ? of the local total fish yield. Commercial fisheries
account for only 31 percent of fish production, while municipal fisheries
contribute 29 percent.

Patrick Sorgeloos, chairman of the Asia-Europe Meeting Aquaculture Platform,
added that the worldwide demand for aquaculture is pegged at an annual
growth rate of 9.2 percent. A main driver for the heightened demand is the
growing dependence of European countries on imported fish. Sorgeloos said
that last year, Europe spent $20 billion on fish imports alone.

In the Philippines, aquaculture and fisheries form about a fifth of the
total economy, producing jobs for around 10 million people.

But while aquaculture has economic benefits, McGlone said that it also
causes fish kills, red tide, eutrophication or the increase in chemical
nutrients, and other forms of aquatic pollution.

Philminaq developed monitoring mechanisms for the government to help them
assess the effects of aquaculture on the environment. These monitoring tools
include three categories of surveys ? an inexpensive survey to be conducted
by local government units, a medium-level survey that entails additional
equipment by government regional offices and aquaculture management groups,
and a baseline survey to be carried out by national government research
institutes.

Philminaq also introduced the use of a Geographic Information System that
could help LGUs and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in policy
development on sustainable aquaculture.

Radical science

Meanwhile, the possibility of using radical science to offset the food
crisis continues to gain ground and stir debates around the world.

Examples of radical science include biotechnology, which modifies organisms
through different techniques. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are
outputs of biotechnology. GMOs include Bt corn, which has a built-in barrier
against insect attacks, and Roundup Ready crops, which are resistant to the
herbicide Roundup.

Roundup ready crops have a market in the United States, but are yet to break
through in Europe.

While continued opposition against GMOs due to its alleged negative effects
on health clipped its chances to go global, efforts to produce animal-free
meat are underway.

A group of scientists from Netherlands aims to come up with animal-free meat
by using animal cells injected with glucose, amino acids and minerals.

A similar effort to provide alternative sources for meat, however, was
recently thumbed down by the European Group on Ethics on Science and New
Technologies.

The introduction to use meat from cloned animals was called ?unethical? by
the panel composed of 15 experts from the European Union following cases
where surrogate mothers of cloned species experienced health problems such
as kidney failure and enlarged livers.

www.checkbiotech.org