Controversy Surrounding Genetically Modified Foods

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Controversy Surrounding Genetically Modified Foods

Genetically modified foods (GMO) are crops and animals that are genetically manipulated

using recombinant DNA technology. The modification is done to achieve a number of factors such

as introduction of new characteristics in those crops and animals that does not exist naturally. For

instance, crops may be genetically modified to have resistance against diseases and to adapt to

environmental conditions such as droughts, and biotic stresses. Genetic engineering is also carried

out to increase the nutrition profile of the crop, enhance color as well as quality of the produce

(Key, Ma & Drake, 2008). In animals, genetic modification is geared towards achieving resistance

to diseases, high productivity as well as adapting to new environments. There is an ongoing heated

debate on the use of GM products. The proponents and the opponents of GM products have raised

questions on the safety of using GMO foods among other issues. This paper will seek to discuss

the controversy surrounding the use of GMO foods and determine if these controversies are good

or bad.

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

The concept of GMO refer to organisms-plant or animal or micro-organism- which has

been developed using modern biotechnology such as recombinant technology. Organisms that

have been produced from genetic engineering allow the transfer of efficient genes to its progeny.

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In GMO, the genetic material (DNA) is usually altered in a way that does not occur naturally

through mating or pollination. In GMO, specific genes that are desirable are identified, isolated,

copied and inserted into another plant’s DNA with a high degree of precision in the laboratory.

The new genes inserted transfer the desirable traits such as increased resistance to herbicides,

improved nutrition quality, enhanced shelf-life, and color, texture among other desirable qualities

that was not present in the primary plant or animal. The need for GMO technology was occasioned

by very long time taken as well as inaccurate outcome that is synonymous conventional plant

breeding methods. Genetic engineering also known as GMO have the potential to create plants

with exact desired traits more rapidly and with great precision. Not only do scientists use DNA

material from one plant to another, but they also use non-plant genes from other organisms to insert

to plants for modification of traits. For instance, scientists have used Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) -

a naturally occurring bacterium that produces crystal proteins that are poisonous to insect larvae-

to give the corn and other crops protection against pests such as European corn borer.

GMO crops have continued to be grown widely in the world today. The widely grown

GMO crops are corn, soy, cotton and canola. These four crops accounts for nearly 99% of all GMO

growing acreage globally (Food and Water Watch, 2015). In most of the GMO grown crops, two

traits are commonly inserted-tolerance to herbicides and insect resistance. According to Siegel &

Verity (2017) just ten nations account for almost 98% of the GMO crop acreage around the world.

The leading three nations where GMO is produced in large quantities is United States of America,

Argentina and Brazil accounting for over 75% of global GMO hectares. Other nations that are

leading GMO growing nations include India and China in Asian continent, South Africa leading

in Africa, Canada, and United Kingdom among others. Half of all the GMO hectares globally is

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used for growing soybean, 30% for corn and 14% for growing cotton. Canola plant accounts for

5% of all GMO hectares in the world (Swanson, 2013).

Criticism about GMO

The proponents of GMO have put forward some of the important reasons that make GMO

crops famous and embraced. There are documented evidence that makes the GMO technology

very controversial. Environmental activists, religious organizations, professional organizations,

public interest groups as well as scientists and government officials have raised concerns on the

safety and consumption threats associated with GMO crops. Most of those opposed to the adoption

and utilization of GMO crops relates to fears of the negative effects GMO crops on the

environment, human health risks and economic concerns (Chen & Tseng, 2011).

First, GMO crops have been feared to cause unintended harm that GMO has on other

organisms through the side effects that the new traits or foreign genes have on other organisms in

the environment. For instance, evidence have shown that pollen from Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t)

corn caused extensive death in monarch butterfly caterpillar (CDC, 2001). The caterpillars were

killed even though they don’t eat maize but milkweed plants. It is feared that the pollen from corn

with B.t genes is blown to milkweed plants thus causing the deaths. Further research have revealed

that B.t toxins kill many species of insect larvae indiscriminately and GMO technologists have

been unable to design B.t toxins that will be specific to a given insect and remain harmless to other

beneficial insects in the ecosystem. Even though this findings were opposed by GMO proponents,

the potential risk of harm that GMO related genes pose to non-target organisms needs to be

evaluated further for concrete conclusion.

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One of the controversial topics on GMO crops relates to the perceived contaminations that

are caused by gene transfer to non-target species by GMO crops. GMO opponents have postulated

that there are concerns of GMO crops that have been modified for tolerance to herbicides can have

cross-breed tendencies with the actual weeds in the farm thus transferring herbicide resistance

genes to weeds thus creating a “superweed” (Key, Ma & Drake, 2008). Furthermore, fears of

introduction of genes to other non-modified crops that are planted in close proximity to GMO

crops is documented. Transfer of genes to non-modified crops is potential dangerous and goes

against the ethics concerning the use of GMO crops.

There is nothing more controversially surrounding the adoption and use of GMO crops

than its perceived health risk to humans (Real Truth, 2017). Fears of allergic reaction caused by

inserted DNA materials to other foods have been documented as life threatening especially to

children. According to scientists, reports have shown that there is a possibility of creating new

allergen or causing allergic reaction in susceptible persons. A case in time was the abandonment

of the proposal to incorporate a gene from Brazil nuts into soybeans because of fear of leading to

unexpected allergic reactions. The opponents of GMO crops are skeptic about the undiscovered

effects that may be life threatening from the GMO related technology and thus more investigations

needs to be done to prevent any eventuality that may be life threatening. Furthermore, there are

unknown effects of GMO on human health with the growing concerns that introduction of foreign

genes may have unexpected negative impact on human wellbeing. For instance, there has been

fears of GMO crops being linked to certain types of cancer and GI problems when ingested

(Whitman, 2000).

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Works Cited

Key, S., Ma, J. K.-C., & Drake, P. M. (2008). Genetically modified plants and human health.

Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine

Real Truth (2017). Genetically Engineered Foods: Why the Controversy? Retrieved from:

https://rcg.org/realtruth/articles/223-gefwtc.html

Swanson, N.L. (2013). Genetically Modified Organisms and the deterioration of health in the

United States. Retrieved from:

http://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/glyphosate/NancySwanson.pdf

Whitman, D.B. (2000).Genetically Modified Foods: Harmful or Helpful? Retrieved from:

https://biomed.brown.edu/arise/resources/docs/GM%20foods%20review.pdf

Chen, C. & Tseng, W. (2011). Do Humans Need GMOs? – A View from a Global Trade Market.

Journal of American Academy of Business, 8(1): 147.

Siegel, K. & Verity, S. (2017).What You Need to Know about GMOs. Retrieved from:

https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/truth-about-gmos#1

CDC (2001). Investigation of Human Health Effects Associated with Potential Exposure to

Genetically Modified Corn. Retrieved from:

https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehhe/Cry9cReport/pdfs/cry9creport.pdf

Food and Water Watch (2015). Genetically Engineered Food: Human Health Risks. Retrieved

from:

https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/sites/default/files/GMO%20Health%20Risks%20FS

%20Jan%202015.pdf

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