GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS & FOODS: HOW BAD CAN THEY REALLY BE?
Though the growth rate of the global human population has started to decline since its peak in the 1960s, the world population continues to increase, resulting in the need for more efficient and productive food production to support the growing population. Many advocate for genetically modified foods as the ultimate solution because not only can they potentially solve world hunger, but they may also alleviate widespread malnutrition issues. The ability to manipulate DNA to our liking allows humans to modify foods to be the strongest, the healthiest, and the most productive so as to maximize yield and profit. However, these seemingly perfect foods cause much controversy because there are many risks to genetic engineering, which have caused many environmental, economic, and health concerns. Despite the benefits genetically modified foods pose in helping the food crisis and malnourishment, they should be banned from the market because even though its usage is regulated to limit the potential consequences, we still do not know enough about genetically modified foods to safely and certainly say that they are safe for consumption and to determine all the possible long-term environmental effects.
The term GMO, genetically modified organism, is used to refer to crop plants or animals that were created for human or animal consumption by biotechnology.[1] Agricultural biotechnology has many benefits, such as increased production yields, resistance to herbicides and pests, and better soil moisture content, which reduce energy consumptions and impacts on the global environment.[2] Farmers no longer have to apply as many pesticides to their crops and the cost of transporting the crop to market decreases while yields are much larger and of higher quality. Plants are modified in the laboratory to enhance desired traits, such as cold and drought tolerance, improved nutritional content, more efficient use of soil nutrients, and the production of pharmaceuticals.[3] Genetic engineering can create crops with the desired traits very quickly and with great accuracy. Not only can genes be transferred between different plants, but genes from non-plant organisms can also be used to modify plant genomes.[4] Genetically modified foods are derived from GMO crops. For example, Bt corn, corn that contains genes from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) that is capable of producing insecticidal toxins, is used in many foods, such as corn meal, high fructose corn syrup, and tortilla chips.[5] According to the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Food and Drug Administration, over 40 plant varieties have fulfilled the federal requirements for commercialization, including tomatoes, soybeans, sugar beets, and cotton. While few genetically modified fruits and vegetables are sold, highly processed foods, such as vegetable oils and cereals, contain amounts of genetically modified ingredients.[6] The amount of land dedicated to the cultivation of genetically modified crops that ultimately support the production of many different kinds of foods has globally increased to 134 million hectares, especially in developing nations where populations are growing at extraordinary rates.[7] As genetically modified foods become more pervasive, people are valuing the benefits of genetically modified crops more in order to satisfy the growing demand for food. |
[1] Deborah B. Whitman, “Genetically Modified Foods: Harmful or Helpful?,” CSA, 2000. [2] Biotechnology Industry Organization, “Sustainable Agriculture,” 2010. [3] Biotechnology Industry Organization, “Plant Biotechnology," 2010. [4] Whitman. [5] Ric Bessin, "Bt-Corn: What It Is and How It Works," 2004. [6] Whitman. [7] GMO Compass, "Genetically Modified Plants: Global Cultivation on 134 Million Hectares,"2010. |