Genetically Manufactured Organisms: The Ethics

The story of Frankenstein is a familiar one, where Doctor Frankenstein creates a monster composed of human parts that is made in the likeness of man, though larger and more powerful. This is done against the laws of nature and, as a result of this tempting of fate, Doctor Frankenstein is punished by his own creation. Throughout the years, man has always played the Doctor by tempting fate by going against the laws of nature. From the creation of electricity to the splitting of the atom, revolutionary ideas are put into practice and change the course of history. Nobody can deny the benefits of the majority of these discoveries; however, with so much technology coming into existence there is bound to be some that slip by seemingly unnoticed and make their way into our lives. One such form of technology would be Genetically Manufactured Organisms. Introduced into our society in the late 20^th century, they are becoming more and more prevalent in our food sources; yet, the potential danger of this new technology have not been fully considered. Genetically Manufactured Organisms have become a major part of our food source; however, the potential harms caused by Genetically Manufactured Organisms to the economy and human beings are catastrophic.

Genetically Manufactured Organisms (GM or GMOs for short) are defined as, "An organism whose genetic characteristics have been altered by the insertion of a modified gene or a gene from another organism using the techniques of genetic engineering (American Heritage Medical Dictionary). Though this definition is wide ranging and could possibly include everything from humans to bacteria, the focus of this paper is going to be on the genetic altering of plants in our food source. This in itself is not a new practice and actually something that farmers have attempted to do to produce more bountiful returns. It was not until recently, though, that scientists discovered the ability to splice genes to make super crops that could resist drought, have in-grown pesticides, and produce more crop for harvesting (FAO). The first GM food that was released to the public was the Flavr Savr Tomato, created by Calgene (Martineau, 251 - 273). At first it did very well, yet failed later due to health concerns concerning its resistance to the antibiotic kanamycin (Soil Association). There was also a study done by Dr. Arpad Pusztai, who concluded that it was not what the tomato was made up of, but the process that it went through that caused test problems in rats including precancerous cell growth and partial atrophy of the liver, among other things. Dr. Pusztai later went on national television and expressed his fear that the government and corporations were using the population as guinea pigs. To date, Dr. Pusztai's study is the best designed and carefully controlled feeding study of genetically engineered foods on mammals (Soil Association). This did not stop Mansanto, however, who in 1996 introduced GM soybeans and cotton (Mansanto). To date in the United States of America, GM soybeans make up 80% of the soybean market, GM Cotton makes up 65% of the cotton market, and GM corn makes up 60% of the corn market (USDA).

This new technology that allows us to create super crops that are drought resistant, do not need pesticides, and has the capability to produce more food using less has been heralded as the answer to world hunger. Third world nations will now have the ability to sustain themselves without having to rely too much on food imports. Yet, is this really the direction that the global community should go? A study done by the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, done on the benefits that GM food would provide to developing nations came to the conclusion that it is dependent on several variables going on in the world market. Currently, Western Europe is not open to the idea of GM foods, which means that the trade benefits would not be there. The study also concluded that GMs did worse in those small countries than non GM food products when the GM foods were forced to label what they were (Plastina A. and K. Giannakas, 104-123). There is also the problem of flooding the market with food, which will bring down the price of the food. This sounds very effective, and almost beneficial, until you realize who this is going to hurt: the family farmer who is trying to get by. Although there are approximately 1500 seed companies worldwide, about two dozen control more than 50% of the commercial seed heritage of our planet. This creates an economic time bomb, since one disease that can overcome the resistances has the ability to devastate a large portion of the world's crop growing population (Batalion). A famine on that level would devastate the world market. Economically, it is foolish to invest our money and time in GM foods.

The detrimental effect of GM foods on human beings is another issue that must be considered. To date, the FDA considers Genetically Manufactured foods to be the same as their organically grown counterparts, and leaves them unregulated (Alliance for Bio-Integrity). This is not in the best interest for the people, as shown by the introduction of the GM Soybean. The process for creating GM soybeans, the most commonly manufactured food, consists of splicing in genes from other plants as well as animals, including fish and peanuts. This transfer of proteins from one food to the other raises concerns about people eating what they think is soybeans and having an allergic reaction to the food. Only one year after the introduction of GM Soybeans into the market, there was a 50% increase in allergic reactions to soybeans. A study done on this could not prove that this was a direct result of the introduction of the Genetically Manufactured soybeans; however, this was the first time ever that soy made the top 10 allergenic foods (Klotter). There is also the issue of bacteria becoming more resistant to antibiotics. This occurs because the genes that are spliced into the GM crop are resistant to the antibiotics, which are then ingested by humans and can cause the mutation to occur in the bacteria that resides in our stomachs (Fagan). This could completely destroy antibiotics and their ability to work. Finally, there is a danger to human beings more dangerous than the other two (which are only two on a list), and this is, frankly, nobody knows for certain the long term effects of GM foods on human beings. They have not been around long enough and not enough studies have been done to see if they are dangerous. When drug companies come up with a new drug, the testing to ensure that it is safe is rigorous and carried out many times. To date, there have been few studies done on GM foods. One of those was done by Dr. Pusztai over ten years ago which prompted him to accuse the government and corporations of using the general population as Guinea pigs. The other was done by the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences with potatoes, which caused devastating effects on the test subjects (Prism Webcast News). Somehow, though, the FDA does not have a problem with saying that they are no different than their counterparts. Genetically Manufactured Organisms are dangerous to humans.

We are a rapidly evolving species. New computers, cell phones, antibiotics, and hi tech gadgets are coming out at a more rapid pace every year. Few people stop to consider the impacts of this technology, since so much of it has come to enhance our lives. This is simply not the case with Genetically Manufactured Organisms. Since their introduction into our food market in 1996, they have met with resistance and have failed to deliver on all they promised. Furthermore, the economic and health risks involved with using such faulty technology could be devastating to both the global market as well as the human race. Genetically Manufactured Organisms have become a major part of our food source; however, the potential harms caused by Genetically Manufactured Organisms to the economy and human beings are catastrophic.

WORKS CITED

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Batalion, Nathan. "50 Harmful Effects of Genetically Modified Foods." 2003 - 2006 < http://www.cqs.com/50harm.htm>. 16 November 2008

Fagan, John B. "Genetically Engineered Food-A Serious Health Risk." 1995.< http://www.netlink.de/gen/fagan.html>. 16 November 2008.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). "Weighing the GMO Arguments: For." March 2003. http://www.fao.org/english/newsroom/focus/2003/gmo7.htm>. 16 November 2008.

"Genetically Manufactured Organism." The American Heritage Medical Dictionary. 2007. et al TheFreeDictionary. 16 November 2008. < http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/genetically+modified+organism>

Klotter, Julie. "Health Concerns & GMO Food." Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients. October 2001. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ISW/is_2001_Oct/ai_78900819> 16 November 2008.

Martineau, Belinda. "First Fruit: The Creation of the Flavr Savr Tomato and the Birth of Biotech Foods." McGraw-Hill, 251 - 273. 2001. Monsanto. Company History. < http://www.monsanto.com/who_we_are/history.asp>. 16 November 2008.

Plastina, A. and K. Giannakas. "Market and Welfare Effects of GMO Introduction in Small Open Economies." AgBioForum. 2 October, 2007. pp. 104-123. Prism Webcast News. "Russian GE Potato Research Finds Health Hazards." 6 March 2007. < http://prismwebcastnews.com/2007/03/06/russian-ge-potato-research-finds-health-hazards/>. 16 November 2008.

Soil Association. "Flavr Savr tomato & GM tomato puree: The failure of the first GM foods." 29 November 2005. http://www.soilassociation.org/web/sa/saweb.nsf/librarytitles/Briefing_Sheets07052003.html> 16 November 2008. USDA Economic Research Data. "Adoption of Genetically Engineered Crops in the U.S." 2000-08. < http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/BiotechCrops/>. 16 November 2008.