In a bit of a branch off from our allelopathy
project, this week Ainsley and I are delving into the subject of genetically
engineered seeds.
Genetically
Modified Organisms
Genetically
modified organisms or GMOs, also known as genetically engineered (GE) foods,
have taken the agriculture industry by storm in the short two decades since
their introduction. Depending on the source, genetic manipulation is cast as both
the brightest accomplishment of science and the wave of the future, or as the
single darkest and most malicious scientific tampering of nature yet.
Most
consumers don’t know what to think. A survey performed by the Pew Initiative on
Food and Biotechnology in 2010 found that 46% of respondents had no idea what
to think about the safety of genetically engineered foods. Of those who did
have an opinion, about half thought they were safe the other half thought they
were unsafe!
I, myself,
have little understanding of the intricacies of biotechnology. What I have
learned is that genetically modified organisms are those that are produced
when, in the lab, a copy of a gene is removed from one organism and relocated
in a different organism. In the new organism this newly added gene will -
hopefully if all goes well – begin producing a new protein that results in a
new beneficial trait which is then integrated into every cell of the newly
modified organism. In agriculture this has resulted in crops that are immune to
specific herbicides or resistant to devastating viral attack.
Do you know
which of the foods you eat are genetically modified?
Actually,
probably not! The Food and Drug administration has no disclosure laws that
mandate identification of GMO foods. The only exception to this is foods sold
as ‘organic’ which are prohibited under federal regulations from being GMO.
At the top
of the ‘most likely’ to be a GMO is corn. Corn is the number one crop grown in
the United States and about 88% of it is Monsanto genetically engineered. GMO
corn is used as both human and animal food. With 93% of U.S. soybeans being
genetically engineered this crop is still behind cottonseed with a staggering
94%. Have any of you noticed that papaya has become more common in recent
years? This is a direct result of the GMO ability to thwart the dreaded ringspot
virus, which had almost destroyed papaya in the past.
Are GMO’s
safe?
The truth is
at this point it looks like there is no conclusive evidence. GE food producers
have not found any evidence of harm as a result of the consumption of modified
foods. However, in September of 2012 Russia suspended import of U.S. GMO corn
citing a French study linking GMO corn with breast cancer and organ damage
(Poulter, 2012).
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