GMO Blog: Citizens Beginning to Rally Against GMOs in Our Food

This blog brings up important points about GMOs, particularly GMOs in food.  The debate over whether the growth of genetically modified crops should be allowed has become an increasingly important issue as the technology has become more feasible on a wide scale.

But there is a debate over genetically modified crops for a reason, and this blog addresses only one side of the debate.  One of the concerns over genetically modified crops is, as you mentioned, their allergenicity.  But according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Biotechnology Research Program,” the genetically modified foods that have been approved by the EPA for human consumption only contain protein that decay quickly and would not be expected to cause allergies.  It is also accepted that the “genetic material itself will not cause an acute or chronic toxic effect,” (1).  At this point we certainly cannot claim that GM foods have caused an increase in allergies.  The Food and Drug Administration has reviewed genetically modified foods and determined that they are just as safe for consumption as traditionally grown foods, and thus has determined that they should be regulated the way other foods are (United States Food and Drug Administration, par. 16). 

It is also pointless to worry that soon there will be no varieties of food left that have not been genetically modified.  Of course it is Monsanto’s goal to make all commercial seeds genetically modified seeds.  As a business, it is Monsanto’s goal to profit so they push their genetically modified seeds.  However, there is a significant portion of the population (including farmers that grow organic crops) that chooses not to plant genetically modified seeds, so it is very unlikely that Monsanto will achieve its goal of 100% genetically modified commercial seeds.  As for Monsanto’s “seed police;” the company has the right to enforce its patents.  Monsanto put hundreds of millions of dollars into developing genetically modified crops, and patenting the crops was a way for them to recover that investment (“Patents,” par, 2).  It is easy to portray the company as a schoolyard bully picking on farmers, but the company has a right to enforce their patents.  Farmers that use Monsanto’s seeds sign a technology agreement and agree not to save and replant their genetically modified seeds, and the farmers that knowingly save and reuse seeds are essentially stealing Monsanto’s invention.

As for genetic drift, it is a real danger.  But a few rows of a “buffer zone” are all that is needed to prevent it.  20 rows of corn and 2-3 rows of soybeans is a large enough area to ensure that genetically modified material doesn’t contaminate non-GM crops, even when non-GMO fields are surrounded by GMO fields (Schuth).  Much of the genetic contamination of non-GMOs is preventable, and it is erroneous to conclude that widespread use of genetically modified crops will contaminate all seed sources.

And even if the technology contains some drawbacks, the benefits of genetically modified foods are too numerous to be ignored.  The world’s population is expected to grow to over 9 billion in coming years.  At that point, there will not be enough food produced to feed everyone.  Genetically modified crops produce higher yields and have significant environmental benefits.  Genetically modified crops allow farmers to spray their crops with pesticides fewer times each year, and allow for reduced and no-till systems that lower carbon emissions on farms (“Focus on Environmental Impacts” 2, 3).  The technology also provides an exciting future for nutrition.  It is possible to add vitamins to foods that would not otherwise be there.  For example, rice plants naturally contain beta carotene, but the rice grains themselves do not.  Scientists were able to create a product nicknames “golden rice” in which the grains of rice also contain beta carotene.  This important discovery has the potential to save thousands of children in third-world countries from severe malnutrition which can result in blindness and death (Pringle 21).

There is a lot of information about genetically modified crops floating around the internet.  Most of it is wildly biased.  It is important for Americans to be aware of what we are eating, and it is vital that Americans be given the whole story about genetically modified crops and that each be allowed to choose for him or herself whether or not to eat genetically modified foods.

 Works Cited:

“Focus on Environmental Impacts: Biotech Crops: evidence, outcomes, and impacts 1996-2007.” Monsanto. Monsanto, Oct. 2009. Web. 28 Feb. 2011.     <http://www.monsanto.com/products/Documents/biotech-            benefits/biotech_crops_environmental_impacts.pdf>

 “Patents.” Monsanto. Monsanto, 2011. Web. 24 Apr. 2011.             <http://www.monsanto.com/newsviews/Pages/patents.aspx>

 Pringle, Peter. Food, Inc.: Mendel to Monsanto – The Promises and Perils of the Biotech    Harvest. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2003.  Print

 Schuth, Ronald.  Personal Interview. 16 Apr. 2011.

 United States. Environmental Protection Agency. “Biotechnology Research Program: Research    and Development.” Environmental Protection Agency,  Mar. 2005. Web. 12 Mar. 2011.             <http://www.epa.gov/nheerl/publications/files/biotechnology_research_program_4_8_05.  pdf>

 United States. Food and Drug Administration. “Genetically Engineered Foods.” Food and Drug             Administration, 19 Oct. 1999. Web. 12 Mar. 2011.             <http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Testimony/ucm115032.htm>