Executive Summary

This review paper shall focus on the impact of the invention of Genetically Modified Foods (GM Foods). The paper would discuss about the historical background of GM foods, its current use and subsequent impact, and its place in the future and what this means to us as a society.

Background

GM foods are crops that are invented for human consumption using the latest biotechnology methods; essentially an insertion of favorable genes from another organism to the plant. Through genetic engineering, desirable genes from the parent organism would be “cut out” using enzymes. As a result of the insertion of these new genes, the recipient plant would now have unique traits that are not seen in the organic form of the plant.

These desired traits, more often than not, tend to provide greater benefits to us as consumers. Some of these new traits would be increased drought tolerance and increased pesticide resistance, among others. Some GM foods have also been modified in such a way that makes them healthier than their organic counterparts. One common example of GM food would be the implantation of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) genes into crops, especially corn. Bt is a type of bacteria that produces a protein that kills off insect larvae, a huge irritant to cash crop farmers. Transferring these Bt genes into corn would enable the corn to produce its own natural pesticide, making it resistant to several insects (Whitman, 2000).

Historical Perspective

The invention and eventually widespread use of GM foods can be traced back to a problem that has existed, but only recently exacerbated, since the first agricultural societies start to take root: food shortages. Since 8000 B.C, humans have already acquired the technological know-how to grow crops for consumption. This led to the near extinction of the nomadic lifestyles of early humans, and the subsequent birth of an agricultural society. Largely due to the ingenuity and resourcefulness of humans, agricultural techniques and technologies have been refined over tens of thousands of years.

Yet, the nagging issue of food shortages has been a primary concern since the last hundreds of years. As people start to settle down in a fixed place, civilizations and eventually societies would be formed. As a society continues to grow, the pressure on the environment to provide adequate food supplies to us would eventually be too overwhelming, hence the issue of food shortages. This is especially so in our world today, where human population is growing at such an unprecedented rate, and hence our overexcessive demand for food. The issue is further worsened by the issue of global warming today, affecting the growth of crops and hence our turnover. Furthermore, the longstanding issue of crops being battered by diseases, unpredictable weather and wild animals only sought to worsen our food shortage woes. In fact, nearly 40% of the world’s food crop is lost every year to fungal diseases, spoilages and insects (Tan and Cheng, n.d.). We thus have had to find solutions to these problems, and the discovery of GM foods was made largely because of this.

The idea of growing crops that have been genetically modified to develop desirable traits was actually considered by the turn of the 1990s, albeit in methods that are less technology-intensive. Originally, enhancement of desirable traits in plants was undertaken using conventional plant growing methods. However, this method proved to be far too laborious, and the results of such efforts were often inaccurate. In 1994, advancements in biotechnology had enabled scientists to transfer genes between organisms, forming Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). It is with this technology that GM foods were first made. The first ever genetically modified crop grown and licensed for human consumption was the Flavr Savr tomato (tomato puree). The tomato had a specific enzyme implanted into it that allowed it to ripen while on the vine without compromising the tomato’s taste and quality (Tan and Cheng, n.d.). The product was so successful that many grocery stores across America began selling Flavr Savr tomatoes instead of organic tomatoes. While the tomato was eventually taken off the shelf and its production halted, the initial success of the tomatoes presented the green lights for more GM crops to be produced.

Current Situation

Once a revolutionary development in the field of food sciences, the proliferation of GM foods has now made it widely available to all of us. Currently, approximately 80% of American processed foods contain some form of genetic modification (Tan & Cheng, n.d.), and 130 million acres of GM crops are grown all over the world in countries like Argentina, Germany and Canada, to name a few (“genetically altered”, n.d., para. 3). Yet, despite the fact that GM foods has now almost become a part of our consumerist lifestyle, it has yet to escape criticism, with a considerable number of people still doubting its ability to address our most pressing global issues regarding food. The inception of GM foods into our society has changed our knowledge of how food is made and processed, and also opens up possibilities to rid global hunger permanently. GM foods have also changed the economic well-being of farmers, and has also changed the issues regarding our environment.

Advocates of GM foods have argued strongly that the many issues regarding food have been soundly addressed through the advent of GM foods. Some of these most pressing issues resolved, they claimed, would be the issues of food shortages and nutrition. Furthermore, they have argued that with further research into the field of GM foods, the benefits have crossed over to other issues that they have never thought it would address.

A strong argument for GM foods would be that it is now heralded to be a solution to global hunger. No matter how cynical, one cannot argue that the unique features of GM foods have helped to increase our global food supply in a time when organic supplies of food have been stretched to the fullest. For one, most GM foods are designed to be pest resistant. As a result, this reduces the loss of crops due to attack by pests, which was one of the main causes of lost crops previously. This would have reduced the loss of crops due to pests, thus increasing global food supply. Another unique trait of GM foods would be that most of them tend to be cold resistant. Seedlings of certain plants are extremely sensitive to unexpected frost. These plants, such as tobacco and potatoes, have the antifreeze genes from cold-water fish implanted into them, making their seedlings frost-resistant. Without these genes, unmodified seedlings would have been killed immediately (Whitman, 2000). Due to this trait, such crops are now able to be grown in areas previously unlikely, allowing us to enjoy food and vegetables that otherwise would not have been available to us seasonally. This would, on a whole, help to increase our global food supply and address the issue of global hunger. Most GM crops have also been modified to be compatible with particular types of environments or soil. These crops tend to be less “picky” with the type of soil they are grown at, being able to develop in soils of little nutrients and minerals, such as soils with high content of salt (“Good side of GM foods”, n.d., para. 3). As a result, crops can now be grown in areas which were once unsuitable for the agricultural activities. This is especially significant for the third world countries, as is the case for most of the African third world nations where a large portion of their land is arid. The toughness of these crops may allow us to have an all-year round supply of food, with increases in food supply as most land space in a variety of environments can be fully utilized for the growth of crops. Due to the unique traits that GM foods possess over that of organic food, global hunger issues can be addressed significantly due to the increase in food supply that GM foods can bring about.

Another benefit that GM foods have reputedly brought about is the increased nutritional content in GM foods. GM foods undergo a process known as nutritional enhancement, which is the use of genetic engineering to increase the nutritional content of crops (“Nutritional enhancement”, n.d.). As a result, these GM food crops have a higher nutritional content than that of even organic food, helping to constitute a much more healthy diet for consumers. This is especially important in developing countries, where due to the lack of knowledge and practice of nutrition, malnutrition is a serious issue. The availability of more nutritional GM foods, should they be available to these people, would be an extremely viable solution to their malnutrition problems. For example, blindness is a common medical issue in third world countries, due to Vitamin A deficiency. Swiss scientists, in response to this issue, developed a strain of rice that has very high levels of iron, a key component of Vitamin A. Known as “Golden Rice”, this rice variant is freely distributed to many developing nations such as Bangladesh and the Philippines, helping to greatly reduce Vitamin A deficiency in these nations (“Can GM-enhanced nutrition wait?”, 2005). Furthermore, due to the pest-resistant nature of most GM foods, the use of pesticides in the growth and maintenance of these crops would have been greatly reduced, or even removed altogether. With little use of pesticides, consumers can now consume food that has not been treated by pesticides, thus ensuring a much more healthy diet as compared to chemically treated foods.

Besides the aforementioned points above, GM foods can provide economic benefits to the farmer and suppliers selling the crops. Due to their genetic superiority over organic crops, most GM foods have a longer shelf life than that of organic food. This allows for larger quantities of food to be sold over a longer period of time, making GM foods are profitable revenue-making investment for suppliers of foodstuffs. Furthermore, GM foods have a greater resistance to pests, pesticides and herbicides, and also have a shorter maturation time than non-GM crops (GM Products: Benefits and Controversies, 2008). Being more resistant to pests, farmers would enjoy reduced costs of maintaining the crops, as they would no longer need to purchase pesticides and herbicides, which tend to be extremely costly. The shorter maturation time of GM foods has allowed more yields to be collected within a shorter time period, giving rise to increases yield production. With more yields comes more profits, as these farmers would now be able to sell larger quantities of their crops within the same farming season. For example, a 2010 study conducted by U.S scientists had found that the economic benefit of Bt corn to farmers in the 5-state Midwest region was $6.9 billion over the past 14 years (Tribe, 2010). The economic potential and benefits of GM foods can be said to be huge.

Lastly, and surprising to most, certain GM foods can help bring about benefits to the environment around them. One important point to note would be that due to the pest-resistant nature of most GM crops, there would be reduced usage of pesticides, and this is vital in maintaining a healthy environment. Statistics show that every year, farmers spray 970 million tons of chemicals on plants (“genetically altered”, n.d.), much of which will seep into soil and rivers, impacting their quality adversely. Many animals may also be harmed due to the spraying of pesticides, even if the pesticides were not directed at them. However, with the introduction of pest-resistant GM crops, the widespread spraying of pesticides would be largely controlled and reduced. Waterways and soil quality would not be largely compromised in surrounding plantations, and beneficial insects would no longer be harmed as a result of the use of pesticides. The introduction of Bt cotton, which has the ability to protect itself against pests, has spared the spraying of almost 2 million pounds of pesticides, roughly 50% of the previous usage (Gewin, 2003). The planting of GM crops can also help to reduce and control the rate of soil erosion in the area. Soil erosion in most farmland is due to the overexcessive spraying of herbicides and pesticides, as the chemicals often cause harm to surrounding plants, which help keep the soil in place. One such herbicide would be the Roundup herbicide that kills not only weeds but also surrounding plants, thereby exposing the soil to erosion. With crops that are resistant to herbicides, chemicals such as the Roundup herbicide will no longer be needed, as one “broad spectrum” herbicide is used instead of many. This is estimated to reduce soil erosion by as much as 70% (“genetically altered”, n.d.). Furthermore, certain GM plants are designed to have the capability to help clean up the environment. This process is known as phytoremediation, which is the process of using plants to help clean up the environment. Certain plants have been genetically modified to be able to clean up contaminated soil, thereby helping to reduce soil pollution caused by chemical over-use. An example would be genetically modified poplar trees. These trees have been modified with the genes of a rabbit, and are able to remove up to 91% of an industrial chemical known as trichloroethylene, a common pollutant of groundwater. These GM plants break down the pollutant into harmless byproducts 100 times faster than unaltered plants; a more efficient method of removing the pollutants (Jha, 2007).

To sum all the above points up, it is a little-known fact that not only can GM foods and plants help bring about economic and social benefits, it can in fact help solve some of our current environmental problems as well. The myriad of benefits that GM foods can help us achieve leave many advocates excited about the future developments and prospects of GM foods.

Yet, just as there are 2 sides to a coin, there are critics of the GM food “revolution”. The issue of GM foods has stirred up controversies that persist even till today. The majority of the critics are concerned about the health effects of GM foods, as these foods have foreign genes introduced into them with unknown implications on the health of humans. There are also plenty of other issues concerned ranging from negative economic impacts to environmental concerns. Worries over these issues have in fact led to some countries banning certain GM crops. For example, some European Union (EU) nations, such as France, have banned the distribution and sale of Monsanto’s MON-810 corn, as well as similar genetically modified food crops (Cronin, 2009).

A frequent argument by critics is that the effects of GM foods are yet unexplored, and as a result has unknown implications to humans as well our environment on a whole. It is thus, as they argued, not a necessary introduction into our society.

As mentioned earlier, critics have strong worries over the health risks that GM foods pose to human health. The introduction of foreign genes into the crop may have the unintended consequence of making a new allergen or making susceptible individuals more vulnerable to their allergens (“The risks of genetically modified food”, 2010; Whitman, 2000). One infamous example would be that of soybean modified with genes of Brazilian nuts. Tests conducted have shown that the genes of the nuts have created an entirely new allergen in the soybeans, and this allergen is causing people with allergies to Brazilian nuts to be allergic to these genetically modified soybeans as well. Suppose the individual is allergic to both soybean and nuts; the consequences on these individuals would no doubt be devastating (“The risks of genetically modified food”, 2010; Whitman, 2000). GM foods have unknown health risks with regards to their consumption as well, as the entire effects that the modified genes can have on humans extends far beyond that of new allergens, and has not been investigated nor discovered so far (Whitman, 2000). In fact, the Center for Food Safety has warned that the consumption of GM foods may lead to “higher risks of toxicity, allergenicity, antibiotic resistance, immune-suppression and cancer”, all of which can be life-threatening (Gupta, 2011). A potentially dangerous side effect of GM foods would be that certain life-threatening viruses may develop antibiotic resistance. When inserting a gene into an organism, scientists have to introduce the gene with an antibiotic resistance marker that would help to determine the successful implementation of the foreign gene. This antibiotic resistance would be transferred to certain life-threatening viruses, and as such the bodies of people who consume such GM foods would now be vulnerable to attack by these viruses (“The risks of genetically modified food”, 2010; Gupta, 2011).

The genes that GM foods have inserted into them may eventually cause pests to have an increased tolerance to pesticides and herbicides. Sometimes, the pollen of GM crops may be blown over or transferred to other, non-target plants during pollination. Cross-breeding may occur between the seeds of the GM crops and that of non-target plants, resulting in organisms that have the same herbicide resistance as that of GM crops. This has serious implications to farmers and the biodiversity within the farmland, as plants that are a hindrance to the growth of the GM crops would now be much harder to get rid of (Whitman, 2000). One example would be the growth of “superweeds” as a result of this accidental cross-breeding. In 1996, the introduction of glyphosate resistant soybean gave farmers the opportunity to reduce the cost of their herbicide use. However, an unintended consequence would be that it led to the growth of weeds that are glyphosate resistant as well, termed “superweeds”. The herbicides used to kill these weeds are now no longer effective, thereby incurring additional costs to farmers in the form of purchasing stronger but more expensive herbicides and loss of crops due to competition by the “superweeds” in growth (“The risks of genetically modified food”, 2010). The resistance to pesticides and herbicides can also be transferred to pests as well. The introduction of natural biopesticide in crops could eventually produce a strain of pests that are now resistant to this natural pesticide, having adapted to the pesticide. The formation of this new strain of pests may eventually wreck more havoc among the crops, being stronger and more resistant than the typical pest (“The risks of genetically modified food”, 2010; Whitman, 2000). For example, the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxin, first introduced into corn to develop natural pesticide genes in the corn, would encourage the evolution of Bt-resistant insects, which would render the pesticide ineffective (“The risks of genetically modified food”, 2010; Whitman, 2000).

Another topic of contention would be the environmental risks that GM crops would bring about as well. The above-average productivity of GM crops may eventually lead to soil degradation and environmental consequences. Certain GM crops may be so productive that they can overwork the soil, and also require vast amounts of resources, like water, in order to grow successfully (Gupta, 2011). This would offset the prevention of soil pollution that GM crops can bring about, as the quality of the soil would ultimately still be affected adversely. Furthermore, overplanting of GM crops can have adverse impacts on the biodiversity within the farmland. Due to the short maturation period of most GM crops, they may grow uncontrollably over a short period of time, and expand at a phenomenal rate. The GM crops would ultimately spread to and crowd out other natural plants, competing with them for essentials, thereby decreasing the biodiversity within that plot of land (Gupta, 2011). Not only that, GM crops may lead to the growth and development of pesticide and herbicide resistant “superbugs” and “superweeds” (Gupta, 2011). These pests would be an environmental threat to the natural wildlife and fauna, being more resilient than the natural organisms. Hence, although GM foods can bring about environmental benefits, it also has the capability to bring about greater environmental consequences as a result.

GM foods may also bring about detrimental economic impacts. Despite the widespread recognition, acceptance and consumption of GM food today, research and development into GM foods is still considered a niche market. The costs of researching, developing and eventually introducing the GM crop into the market is still a lengthy and extremely expensive process, and hence there are only a few corporations in the world specializing in the research and sale of GM foods. One famous example would be Monsanto corporation, which has been embroiled in many controversies regarding the GM crop seedlings that they distribute to farmers. In the GM foods market, it is easy for a monopoly by one corporation to be created, as these corporations have patented many of their products in order to generate as much profit as possible. The monopoly of these corporations, Monsanto being the most famous example, would give them the power and capability to impose unfair terms and conditions on farmers purchasing the GM seedlings from them. One example would be the lawsuit against Canadian canola farmer Perry Schmeiser by Monsanto. In 1998, Monsanto sued Schmeiser when they discovered Monsanto’s GM canola called Roundup Ready canola in his field, accusing Schmeiser of obtaining the seeds illegally. Schmeiser, in his defense, claimed that he has never bought seeds from Monsanto, arguing that the seeds had been blown into his fields from neighboring fields. Despite the fact that Schmeiser’s records have shown no transactions between him and Monsanto, due to the patent that Monsanto had filed for their Roundup Ready seedlings, the judge ruled in favor of Monsanto, claiming it to be patent infringement on Schmeiser’s part. Schmeiser was forced to hand over all his profits and farmland to Monsanto, since there was a possibility that genetically altered seeds would already have been planted all over his farmland (Chaudry, 2004). The unfair advantage given to large GM food corporations such as Monsanto is shown very clearly in this example. The fact that patents in GM foods exist gives these corporations the ability to bully farmers and consumers into submission, benefitting the corporation more than the economic well-being of the public. The economic well-being of farmers in the developing world would be affected even more adversely should GM crops be the widespread crops grown. Due to the monopolies, prices of GM crop seedlings can be priced exorbitantly high due to the lack of competitors, allowing the corporation to reap as much profits as they can from the general public. This would result in a dilemma for many farmers in the developing world who choose or were forced to grow GM crops: they are tempted to purchase GM seeds because of their numerous economic and agricultural benefits, but purchasing the seeds would make them dependent on and vulnerable to the pricing and supply decisions of these companies (Gupta, 2011). There would be an imbalance in power between the farmers and the corporations, with the corporations having most of the say with regards to the sale and distribution of the GM crops. Economic benefits that GM crops can bring about would eventually be stamped out due to the social and economic power gifted to the corporations in charge of these GM crops.

Future Considerations

The development of GM crops is akin to a double-edged sword; while the current and future benefits of GM crops are boundless and can be utilized for the advancement of human society, the drawbacks of this technology can in fact pull our society backwards. To ensure that the changes brought about by GM food can be largely positive changes instead of negative, it would require us to not over-utilize this technology; rather, we should adopt this innovation with as much caution as curiosity, and integrate it into our society slowly but surely.

I believe that GM foods, in the future, would bring much more good in society than harm. Eventually, society’s negative perception of GM foods would have to change, leading to a gradually increasing acceptance of GM foods worldwide. This is because of a current global issue that, I feel, would continue to bother society even in the future: the issue of food shortages. It is unlikely that our population would decrease as the years go by; in fact, I would be say that the rate of population growth will be even higher than what it is currently. This is because in the future, as many developing or third-world countries start to move into a more developed stage, there would be a baby boom in these countries, whose citizens would start to experience an increase in standards of living and sanitization. To support this baby boom, growing purely organic is, simply and realistically, insufficient. The innovation of GM foods must eventually be accepted to accommodate this changing demographic. Also, the health issues regarding GM foods may also have been rectified, as technology and medical investigation techniques would no doubt be improving over the years. The inevitable increasing reliance on GM foods would also lead to an increasing inflow of money and expertise towards the research of providing GM foods for safe human consumption, as GM foods start to become an integral part of human diet.

While the individual greed of GM food corporations is an evil that we cannot remove from society, there is no doubt that a large extent of this greed would eventually be erased from our society. In the future, as GM foods become even more widespread and a more essential part of our daily lives, governments would start to become more involved with the GM foods industry, in the same way it has become involved with the energy industries of most countries. Increased government intervention in the industry would help to prevent the creation of very powerful monopolies within the industry, the main goal of which is to ensure that these companies to produce quality goods at affordable prices to all in society. Also, by intervening, the government would open up opportunities and reduce the high barriers of entry currently present in the GM foods industry, allowing more firms to set up GM food production companies with a lower capital cost. The increased presence of firms would make it difficult for current monopolies, such as Monsanto, to carry on with its seemingly exploitive actions, due to the increased competition and greater social responsibility that the firm is now imparted with. Of course, to say that the current monopolies would relinquish its dominant position and lose all power in the GM food industry is highly unlikely, even in the future. However, we can be certain that in the future, with GM foods increasingly replacing organic foods as the staple of our diets, we can be sure that the corporate power that place the monopolies in such a dominant position now would slowly be eroded away, though not completely.

I can also see a seemingly controversial issue that will arise in the future as a result of the development of GM foods. As the technology of genetic modification starts to become more advanced and well-known, scientists may eventually start to experiment on doing genetic modifications on human beings. The concept would be the development of a “super-human”, with desirable genes of most living organisms implanted into humans to enhance their bodies beyond that of normal human beings. Some possible enhancements may be an improved sense of smell and a higher degree of disease resistance. This concept may eventually revolutionize the field of medical science, giving the human body enhancements that it naturally does not have. Should the technology be successful, I can foresee certain groundbreaking revelations, such the extinction of certain household aliments such as the common cold and fever, with our bodies having the ability to recover from it ourselves. However, such an issue would no doubt spark heavy criticisms and much controversy, most of it would deal with the unethical and religiously provocative aspect of this concept, along with the fact that it is almost unlikely that we can foresee any long-term physical and mental impacts on the human body. Nevertheless, I have a strong belief that the idea of GM humans, like plants, would in the future become a very realistic point of contention.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I feel that the innovation of GM foods has done much positive change in our society, as well as having the ability to address certain pressing issues that has existed in our past. GM foods has no doubt been an excellent solution to the issue of food shortages, allowing us to increase our food supply with the same amount of crop input and land usage. The advent of GM foods has, in a way, pushed us to start adapting a much healthier lifestyle than before as well. Being able to implant healthier genes into our food has changed our diet for the better; with the increasing consumption of GM foods in the future, more people would start to lead healthier lives than before. In a way, GM foods have benefited farmers the world over, especially due to the lower costs associated with its growth. The benefits do not extend only to farmers in the developed countries; farmers in developing countries have also been able to reap benefits from the developments in GM foods. An excellent example would be the development of Golden Rice, its seedlings being distributed widely and cheaply to farmers in many developing nations, such as the Philippines. While there is no doubt that certain aspects have life have been negatively changed as a result of GM foods, such as the fact that food monopolies are stronger than ever before and that our foods are no longer as “fresh” as it once used to be, I believe that the benefits that GM foods have brought onto society outweighs the inconveniences and problems that GM foods have caused. Love it or hate it, we cannot deny that GM foods are here to stay in our society, so the best we can do is to try and accommodate it to suit the lifestyles and preferences of our human society on a whole.

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