Genetically Modified Foods Pros and Cons

With a nickname like "Frankencrops", genetically modified foods may bring about images of B movies such as Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. After all, there couldn't be any good come from messing with the DNA of crops. The reality is-as usual- not as clear as those on either side of the debate would have us believe.

About 75 percent of processed food produced in the U.S. has GM ingredients according to the University of Santa Clara's Dr. Margaret McLean, a former adviser to the California Senate Select Committee on Genetics.

What Are Genetically Modified Foods

Adding genes from another organism or rearranging them within a single organism results in GM plants. Hybridized crops are the result of cross-pollination, which happens in nature, or in controlled environments, to yield an organism that has the best features of both parents. Hybridization is a form of genetic modification. However, when speaking of GM foods, agriculturalists generally mean genetically engineered (GE) or transgenic modified organisms.

GE organisms are those with genes rearranged within a single species, while transgenic are modified by taking a gene from one species and adding it to another.

Pros of GM Foods

Purposes of GM crops are things such as making them less attractive to damaging insects, increasing tolerance to herbicides---or "Round-Up ready"--, increasing nutrients, disease tolerance and producing crops better suited to converting to bio-fuels. There is evidence that conventionally produced GM crops are more resistant to certain harmful fungus than organically farmed produce.

The pros of GM foods are evident when looking at examples and what they do.

A commonly used GE corn seed-known as Bt corn- was made to produce its' own pesticide that's affective against the European corn borer and other insects. Corn borer larvae can destroy entire fields.

The bananas, strawberries, green peppers, and other produce are grown from seeds that take longer to ripen, effectively increasing their shelf life. This reduces food waste.

Golden Rice increases the amount of vitamin A in the human body. This is particularly good for those who lack these vitamins in their diet.

Perhaps the most controversial forms of GM crops are "pharma-crops"-or crops grown to produce pharmaceuticals. Grown on smaller test plots for over a decade, agri-businesses want to produce these crops on a commercial scale. A USDA document states that from 1988 to 2005 their Biotechnology regulatory Service (BRS) approved 1,855 field tests for pharma-crops in Hawaii.

The Con's of GM Foods

The first attempt at making crops with an increased shelf life was a failure. These were tomatoes, put on the market in 1994. They had genes that increased resistance to antibiotics. Transference of this resistance to people, who consume the tomatoes, was a real concern, forcing the tomatoes off the market.

There are other potential risks to human health. Dr. Margaret McLean in "The Future of Food..." points out the potential for introducing allergy-producing genes into unrelated foods is real and the Syngenta has already lost a settlement for accidentally selling unapproved corn seeds to farmers. There's no telling what is in an unapproved seed.

Environmental cons of GM crops are not certain. Verlyn Klinkenborg, in a Yaleenvironment360 piece, states he is against them in part because "there is plenty of evidence to show that genetically modified fragments are turning up in places they're not wanted." Introducing these fragments into the environment may indeed produce malformations worthy of the "Frankencrop" designation.

Negative Socioeconomic effects of patented, modified seeds are another potential con. The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) nicely lays out a particular concern:

Farmers fear that they might even have to pay for crop varieties bred from genetic material that originally came from their own fields when they buy seeds from companies holding patents on specific genetic modification "events".

Patented seeds are more expensive and GM seeds often are affective for only one season, making it so farmers must buy seed every year. This could further contribute to consolidation, and the worldwide vast economic disparity.

My take

The problem with genetically modified food isn't necessarily the technology but the political forces that allow for it to be used in culturally, economically and environmentally damaging ways. Feeding more humans and making medicine-at least in my opinion- is not a bad thing. The issue is that the same structure, which allows monopolistic corporations to seemingly own the world and skirt regulations until a disaster such as the BP gulf spill happens, will allow environmental destruction from these crops, even if it is preventable.

There may be no stopping agri-business from pursuing these technologies. The Union of Concerned Scientists has publicly denounced the coming "pharma-crop" revolution, with little affect on test plot approval. Organizations who care about the environment and social justice must, not allow innate biases to get in the way of potentially sustainable technologies. At the same time, we must not be victims to a stacked deck and should pressure those who control these technologies to use them responsibly. This is a difficult task in any political environment, particularly today's.