Genetically modified organisms and turkish legislation

The main purpose of my article is to discuss what GMOs are, the controversies about this specific issue and the related regulations that are put forward by the authorities. GMOs are genetically altered organisms which have been widely produced and breeded in certain parts of the world. According to some experts, this special practice of agriculture emerged in order to put an end to famine and prevent food scarcity. As growing GMOs seems to be more convenient than the traditional farming, it is more eligible to produce food in large scale which will be a fine solution for food scarcity. However, there are some oppositions to the GMOs. It is strongly believed that the real causes of famine is not related to production, it is a problem of distribution of food. Moreover, patenting the seeds leads to an unstoppable control and dominance over food by the private enterprises. Therefore, the opponents state that the aims of these companies are solely financial gain and monopolisation in food production. Patenting the seeds is another arguable issue. It poses a great threat for the organic farmers since GMO seeds can contaminate the others through natural ways. This is not the only danger that organic farmers face with; thay can also be sued by the GMO producers for this unintended exposure to GMO seeds. Not only the diminishing of the variety of species but also the possible adverse effects of GMOs on human health create a debate between the two groups. These are not the only topics that are open to discussion. In addition to these, labelling the products creates a huge problem among the poorly educated consumers as they have not been clearly regulated in some countries. Hence, this subject having such a close connection to human health cannot be ignored by the law. In fact, a number of countries have enacted legislation in order to regulate this sensitive field. Turkey, having been dependent on the import of the agricultural goods for a period of time, has to join these countries with a recent legislation. All these contemporary issues for Turkey will be highlighted in my article

Development of organic animal production in Turkey

Turkey is located at a point where the three continents are making up the old world. Europe, Asia and Africa are close to each other thus, making it is a pre-eminent centre of commerce for centuries. Turkey’s surface area is 814,578 sq km of which 790,200 sq km are in Asia (Anatolia) and 24.378 sq km are in Europe. Turkey is divided into seven regions (Ege, Marmara, Blacksea, Mediterranean, Central Anatolia, East Anatolia and South East Anatolia Regions). The prevailing climate in Turkey is hot dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior. Terrain is composed of mostly mountains, narrow coastal plains and high central plateau. Because of its geographical conditions, the mainland of Anatolia has been found as favourable location for settlement throughout history. Turkey has a suitable position for organic agriculture because of its different ecosystems and rich biodiversity. In addition to this, about 40 % population are engaged in agriculture. Total cultivated agricultural area is estimated to be 22,156,234 hectares. Currently, only 103,190 hectares of total agricultural area is in use for organic farming (~0.5% of agricultural land). The aim of this paper is to show the development of organic farming and to determine the possibilities for the future development of organic animal production in Turkey

A Comparative Study On Application Of Regulation Of Hygiene Education Dated 5 July 2013 Between Göynük And Güdül Counties

Regulation of Hygiene Education has been published in compliance with the EU acquis on July 5, 2013 and has become valid on July 5, 2014. This study was conducted to determine the effect of local governments on increasing awareness and to increase the level of awareness as a result of the application of the trainings in Goynuk and Gudul in accordance with the regulations. During this study; questions have been asked by survey techniques and the responses have been analyzed by Student's t-test. In the study, it was observed that awareness of employees and employers was increased when the training was completed; whereas the level of awareness of the employees and employers not receiving training were quite low. It was understood that awareness is developed according to the importance given by the local authorities having audit liability

Bitkiler ve insanlar

Toplumların, gıda kaynaklarının gitgide yok olma tehlikesine karşın; gıda kayıplarının önüne geçerek, sadece tüketmeyip aynı zamanda tarımsal üretime destek vermesi ve tüketim alışkanlıklarını değiştirmesi ile kendi gıda güvenceleri adına üzerlerine düşen görevleri yerine getirmelerinde fayda var

The evaluation of forensic cases reported due to food poisoning

Objective: In this study it is aimed to examine forensic food poisoning cases and to evaluate the clinical presentation of food poisoning in people within the context of forensic medicine. Methods: In the study, 215 food poisoning cases are evaluated, which applied to the forensic medicine branch office in our city between 01.01.2007 and 31.12.2011. The forensic reports and forensic investigations of these cases are analyzed retrospectively. The cases are examined in terms of gender, age, the type of food consumed, the treatment applied and the result of the forensic report. Results: It is determined that in 83 cases (38.6%) food poisoning was caused by chicken products, and in 178 cases (82.8%) the poisoned people were students. In 3 cases (1.4%) the poisoning was life threatening. For 75 cases (34.9%) no forensic report was prepared in emergency service and among the 140 cases for which a forensic report was prepared, only 3 of the reports were prepared in a correct manner. Conclusions: It is determined that the demographic data of the cases complies with the city where the study was conducted. It is found out that in emergency services the food poisoning cases are usually misevaluated

Consumption Patterns of Major Food Items in Turkey

Demand estimates for food not only provide information bases to characterise food demand structure, but also provide a complete and consistent framework to evaluate the impacts of policy changes, since both price policies and the human capital policies related to health and nutrition are closely related to the determination of expenditure (or income) elasticities. This study attempts to produce a complete set of expenditure and price elasticities based on the estimates of food demand parameters in Turkey. The Linear Expenditure System (LES) is estimated using the last available cross-section budget survey data. The estimates throw light on certain characteristics of Turkish household behaviour that has some consequences for government policies.

International food trade and legislation for aflatoxins

Günümüzde aflatoksin, gıda güvenliği için potansiyel bir tehdit olarak görülmeye devam etmektedir. Aflatoksinler insan sağlığı açısından zehirli toksik maddeler ile kanserojen etkiye yol açmaktadır. Avrupa Birliği ve uluslararası aflatoksin yasal düzenlemeleri paralel gelişmektedir. Dünya Ticaret Örgütü Sağlık ve Bitki Sağlığı Anlaşması gereğince Avrupa Birliği tarafından 1998 yılında kurutulmuş sert kabuklu meyveler, tahıllar, süt, yerfıstığı ve işlenmiş ürünlerde toplam aflatoksin ve B1 aflatoksini için sınırlamalara uyulması konusunda öneri getirilmektedir. Ancak, Avrupa Birliği ve FAO/WHO Gıda Kodeksi Komisyonu'nun uyguladığı aflatoksin standartları arasında farklılıklar yaşanmaktadır. Avrupa Birliği, kendi bilimsel komitelerinin görüşünü dikkate aldığını ve FAO/WHO Gıda Kodeksi Komisyonu limitlerine uymak zorunda olmadığını ifade etmektedir. Bu çalışmada, belirtilen farklılıkların Türkiye ve diğer ihracatçı ülkelerin ticaretini nasıl etkileyeceği üzerinde durulmaktadır.Currently aflatoxins continue to be a potential threat for food safety. Since aflatoxins have been shown to pose serious carcinogenic risks for human health, initiatives for both EU and international aflatoxin legislation are developing in parallel. As is required by the World Trade Organization Agrement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, the EU is demanding full compliance to the restrictions brought by EU in 1998 for total aflatoxin and aflatoxin B1 contents in dried fruits, nuts, cereals, milk, groundnuts and processed products. However, the EU and the joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission have implemented two different standarts for aflatoxin contents in foods. The EU places more importance on the opinions set forth by its own scientific committees and asserts that imports to EU have to conform to the limits set forth by EU and not to those set by the joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission. This review aims to reflect how the implementation of these two different standards on aflatoxins in foods will affect the trade flow of exporting countries including Turkey

İmalat sanayiinde yenilik araştırması 2006/07 raporu

İmalat Sanayiinde Yenilik Araştırması; Karlsruhe, Almanya'da bulunan Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (Fraunhofer ISI) tarafından 1993 yılında Alman imalat sanayii bünyesinde başlatılmıştır. O tarihten bu yana Almanya’da her iki senede bir tekrarlanmaktadır. 2003 yılında yapılan çalışmaya 1450 firma katılmıştır. Fraunhofer ISI, 2000’li yıllarda imalat sanayiinde yenilik araştırmalarını uluslararası bir boyuta taşıma çabası içine girmiştir. Belçika ve İsviçre 2001 yılında aynı anket formunu kullanarak çalışmayı gerçekleştirmişlerdir. 2003–04 yıllarında ise çalışma kurulan bir Konsorsiyumla Almanya, Avusturya, Fransa, Hırvatistan, İngiltere, İsviçre, İtalya, Slovenya ve Türkiye’de yapılmıştır. Çalışmada Türkiye’den TÜSİAD-Sabancı Üniversitesi Rekabet Forumu (REF) yer almıştır. Bu çalışma sonucunda Fraunhofer ISI tarafından hazırlanmış iki bülten REF web sitesinde yer almaktadır. Türkiye’de İmalat Sanayiinde Yenilik Araştırması 2004/05 başlığı altında sürdürülen çalışma ile ilgili olarak REF tarafından yapılan yayınların listesi metnin sonunda sunulmaktadır. 2006 ve 2007 yıllarında Konsorsiyuma 4 yeni ülke (Finlandiya, Hollanda, İspanya ve Yunanistan) dâhil olmuştur. Türkiye bu Konsorsiyumda da REF tarafından temsil edilmiştir. Raporun geniş Yönetici Özeti ayrıca yayımlanmıştır