The Hype:
On one hand, there are pro-GMO people, scientists, and large biotech corporations producing the genetically modified foods. Their point of view:
-GM foods will save the environment and promote sustainability by using less herbicide and pesticide, thus lowering water pollution and lowering greenhouse gases.
-GM foods will solve the world hunger crisis, by changing the nutritional quality of certain food staples and by making it easier for farmers to grow crops in certain environments.
-This is nothing new, we have been ‘altering’ food crops for hundreds of years, and nothing we eat today is as it was 300 years ago. And this is just fine, just a natural step in food evolution.
-They want the same things as the ‘anti-GMO’ people, a cleaner environment and healthy and safe food. Genetically modified (GM) foods are the most studied foods in history and are perfectly safe.
On the other hand, there are anti-GMO people, environmentalists, companies, and organic farmers. Their point of view:
-Keep this ‘frankenfood’ out of the food supply. It is unnatural, and potentially very dangerous. It is bad for the environment, people’s health, and farm animal welfare.
-There are serious health risks associated with GM foods, such as bowel disorders, organ failure, new food allergies, and cancer.
-GM farms are ruining croplands and creating super-weeds that are resistant to current herbicides, and super-pests that are resistant to current pesticides. This means they will be using more chemicals than ever before.
-GM crops are killing the bee populations, which will have far reaching and devastating effects to the environment and the food supply.
-This large GMO farming industry is benefitting only the GM-producing companies and GM farmers, while destroying small farms here and in third world countries.
WOW. As you can see, there is quite a mad debate and massive controversy going on right now. It is tough to try and find the truth about what is really going on inside this storm (political, corporate, environmental, health and safety), and the debate is currently a world-wide hot topic. Let’s begin the breakdown:
The Science:
First, a few definitions to make things clear.
Gene – “A specific sequence of nucleotides in DNA or RNA that is located usually a chromosome and that is the functional unit of inheritance controlling the transmission and expression of one or more traits by specifying the structure of a particular polypeptide and especially a protein or controlling the function of other genetic material – also called a determinant.” This definition is from the Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary (1). In other words, a gene is what is in our DNA that makes us uniquely us (different from everything else) with all of our individual characteristics and traits, and each living organism has their own unique DNA.
Genetic Engineering – “the directed alteration of genetic material by intervention in genetic processes, as in gene splicing” (1). This means introducing genes – new DNA – from one organism (bacteria/virus, plant, or animal) into another organism, in order to achieve a new or different trait in the organism. In other words, changing the DNA of an organism. This change in DNA can also be referred to as a mutation. The altered or mutated gene will change the nature of the organism. For example, putting a pesticide (BT) into the gene of corn, so that the corn itself wards off pests.
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs)– “Organisms in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally. It allows selected individual genes to be transferred from one organism into another, also between non-related species” (as defined by the World Health Organization)(2). The technology is often called “modern biotechnology” or “gene technology”, sometimes also “recombinant DNA technology” or “genetic engineering”. The term gene-splicing is often used to describe the techniques used in the lab to accomplish genetic modification. For example, BT corn is a GMO.
Conventional plant breeding – this term is used to describe traditional farming practices that produce conventional or traditional crops; this does not include GMOs or organic practices.
Organic – there is a lengthy definition from the USDA regarding the farming practices, production, and labeling of organic foods. Suffice it to say for the purposes of this article that genetically modified foods are not considered organic.
In conventional (or traditional) farming, plant and animal breeders use certain techniques to obtain desirable traits for their plant crops and food animals. For hundreds of years, cross-pollination (the transfer of pollen from one plant to another within the same species) has been done to produce hybrid varieties of flowers, fruits, and vegetables. Cross-pollination can happen naturally from the wind or from bees and other insects, or directly by humans. For the past fifty years, scientists have been using chemicals and radiation to induce gene mutations within a plant or animal. Ultimately, the plant or animal with the most desirable traits for farming wins. Wheat, rice, and grapefruits are examples of foods that have undergone radiation mutagenesis. The Center for Science in the Public Interest sums it up this way: “So while moving single genes from one species to another in the laboratory is a relatively new agricultural breeding method, scientists have been manipulating plants and animals in “unnatural” ways for over fifty years to create varieties that would not otherwise be found in nature” (3). Conventional breeding has been limited to making changes to a plant only with other plants in the same species. Genetic engineering has changed all that, and now they can mix genes not only in different species, but from different biological kingdoms as well (i.e. a bacterium into a plant, a plant gene into an animal, etc.).
In the food industry, genetic engineering has been going on for about twenty years. In 1996, the first genetically modified foods, or GMOS, were approved for market by the FDA and hit grocery store shelves everywhere. These included primarily soybeans and corn. Genetically modified –or GM- soybeans were altered to contain glyphosate, an herbicide commonly used to kill weeds (you may have heard the term ‘roundup ready’ soybeans). On farms, they are able to liberally spray glyphosate to kill weeds and it no longer kills the soybean plant. GM corn was spliced with BT, a bacterium called bacillus thuringiensis, which kills some popular farm pests. BT corn now kills pests itself, and farmers say they don’t need to spray as much pesticide on the farm. Much of the GMO corn and soybeans are used as livestock feed, however it is FDA approved and does enter the human food supply, often in the form of corn and soy by-products used in food processing.
Other GMO crops include canola oil, sugar beets, alfalfa, papaya, cotton and cottonseed oil, zucchini, and yellow squash. GMOs are also found in the dairy food supply in the form of rGBH (recombinant bovine growth hormone) and rBST (recombinant bovine somatotrophin), which make the dairy cows produce more milk than they would normally. There is a very interesting article in Popular Science called “How to genetically alter a seed, step by step” where the large biotech company Monsanto describes in detail how they do what they do. While I am not endorsing the company, the article provides insight into the science of genetic engineering. See http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-01/life-cycle-genetically-modified-seed if you are interested.
What’s up next on the gene-splicing board? GM salmon, GM golden rice, and a new GM soybean with an altered nutrition profile. GM salmon, spliced with genes from other faster growing fish, will grow almost twice as fast as conventional salmon (4). Pending FDA approval, it will be coming soon to a fish farm near you. GM golden rice, named for it’s orange color, is spliced with genes from a daffodil plant and a bacterium found in soil. This new rice synthesizes beta-carotene, which makes it a good source of vitamin A. The new GM soybean is currently being spliced with genes from a flower and from a red mold to create a soybean higher in omega fats (5). According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, there is also work being done on genetically engineered cattle, pigs, and other seafood. The term ‘transgenic animal’ is used to describe a genetically altered animal.
In addition to what the scientists are doing inside these labs, there is the matter of who is regulating these GMOs in our food supply. In order to avoid getting knee-deep in topics and controversies regarding food policy and regulation (a subject headed for it’s own nutrition breakdown), let’s keep it very basic. The FDA ultimately approves a food safe for human consumption. The EPA is involved because of the use of herbicide chemicals in some GMO foods, and the USDA is involved at the agricultural level.
My Two Cents:
We have all been eating GMOs for almost twenty years (unless you have maintained a strict organic food intake). They are in many dairy products and most processed foods containing corn, soy, or beet sugar. It all started long ago with cross-pollination, widely considered a natural process that would happen in nature at some point anyway. Then humans began interfering and altering with genes via radiation. Now there is deliberate forced gene transfer by humans that would never happen in nature. What do you think? I have many more questions than answers at this point.
Whether you are currently enjoying GM foods or want to avoid them like the plague, there are many more factors involved that I want to better understand before I choose sides. Genetically engineering plants and animals for food has the potential to have serious and far-reaching effects on the environment, our health, and animal welfare. Needless to say, this topic is to be continued… up next I will explore GMOs and our health. Third, I will look into the environmental issues at play: is genetic engineering the sensible next step in food technology or have we gone to far with this food mutation evolution? Stay tuned!
References
- Merriam-Webster’s Medical Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Inc.
- World Health Organization http://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/biotech/20questions/en/
- Center for Science in the public interest
excellent info – I look forward to the next chapter.
excellent info – I look forward to the next chapter on this complicated topic.