Vistive Gold facts for kids

MON 87705, also known as Vistive Gold, is a special type of soybean. It was created using genetic engineering. This means its genes were changed in a lab. These soybeans are designed to be resistant to a weed killer called glyphosate. They also produce a healthier type of oil. This oil has less linolenic acid and more oleic acid.

How MON 87705 Soybeans Were Developed

MON 87705 soybeans were created to replace certain oils and fats. These older oils often contained high levels of trans-fatty acids, which are not good for your health. The new soybeans have less linolenic acid. This makes them better for deep frying foods. It also helps foods stay fresh longer, increasing their shelf life.

Important Dates in Its History

On June 28, 2011, the Federal Register announced something important. The company Monsanto asked the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to approve MON 87705. This approval would mean the soybeans could be grown and sold without special rules.

The Iowa Soybean Association supported this approval on September 1, 2011. APHIS then granted Monsanto's request on December 16, 2011. These special soybeans became available for farmers to grow in 2018.

How MON 87705 Soybeans Are Different

These soybeans were engineered to have less linolenic acid. To do this, scientists changed how certain genes work. These genes usually help make fatty acids in the plant. By changing them, the amount of oleic acid more than triples. It goes from about 20% to 70% of all fatty acids. At the same time, levels of other fatty acids like linoleic acid, stearic acid, and palmitic acid go down.

MON 87705 soybeans are also designed to resist glyphosate. This means they are a type of Roundup Ready crop. They contain a special gene from a bacterium called CP4 EPSPS Agrobacterium. This gene gives them resistance to the weed killer.

What Are the Benefits and Concerns?

It is thought that farmers could earn more money growing MON 87705 soybeans. They might get up to US$0.60 more per bushel than with regular soybeans.

Healthier Food Claims

Joe Cornelius, who works at Monsanto, said that MON 87705 could help make healthier foods. For example, it could reduce the amount of saturated fat in soybean oil by over 60%. He explained that these soybeans could provide a healthy and affordable oil for food companies and people. Monsanto worked with food companies, health experts, and farmers to create this product.

Concerns Raised by Others

However, not everyone agreed. An expert from the Center for Food Safety pointed out a concern. They said that "No animal feeding trials were conducted on [Vistive Gold] to see what would happen when it was consumed." This means studies were not done to see how animals reacted to eating these soybeans.

GenØk Study Findings

Researchers from GenØk and the University of Canterbury in Norway looked at Monsanto's information about MON 87705. They wrote a report for the Norwegian government. They found some "weaknesses" in Monsanto's research.

The study said that Monsanto had not fully checked how people might be exposed to MON 87705. They also felt Monsanto had not properly looked for "off-target effects." These are unexpected changes that might happen when genes are altered. The researchers were concerned that Monsanto said certain small proteins did not exist without enough scientific proof. They concluded that the way Monsanto checked the molecules was not enough to say there were no new health risks.

The researchers also noted that Monsanto had not fully looked into some important health questions. They felt Monsanto had not proven the benefits of MON 87705. This included how high oleic acid levels, combined with other fatty acid changes, might affect people. They mentioned that high fatty acid levels could make some breathing problems worse.

Finally, the researchers criticized Monsanto's testing methods. They believed the methods used for comparing proteins were not strict enough. They also thought the study designs might have made it harder to find differences in the soybeans.