If you live in the United States, chances are that you have eaten food that contains genetically modified organisms (GMO.)
The term GMO refers to an organism that has been genetically altered using recombinant DNA technology. In the book Bitter Harvest, by Ann Cooper with Lisa M. Holmes, they state, "The technology, which is still on the uphill side of the learning curve, allows genes from one plant or animal to be isolated and introduced to that of another."
In layman's terms, the DNA of a plant or animal is spliced with genes of another plant or animal to produce an entirely different entity. Examples of this can be seen in tomatoes that have a longer shelf life, cotton and corn that repel against insects, and cows that produce more milk.
Cooper and Holmes say, "From an agricultural standpoint, contemporary biotechnology and bioengineering have been focused on producing 'better' fruits and vegetables." They elaborate by saying, "Agribusiness generally defines 'better' as a plant that requires less water to grow, whose fruit is easily harvested, and which is adaptable to climate as well as excessive chemical application."
These "better" food products are becoming increasingly more abundant in the American food supply. According to the data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the acreage of soybeans, genetically engineered (GE) to be herbicide tolerant (HT), expanded from 10% in 1997 to 89% of total soybean acreage in 2006. HT corn also reached acrage of 36% this year.
Tomatoes, wheat, potatoes, rice, dairy products, and many others have also joined the list of GE foods. This increase in GE food products has added more fire to the ongoing debate on whether or not this food is safe for people, animals and the enviroment.
"Critics of genetic engineering used the introduction of these foods as opportunities to make dire predictions of economic and enviromental disaster," says Elizabeth L Marshall, author of High-Tech Harvest: A Look at Genetically Engineered Foods. She adds, "Champions of the technology grabbed the same opportunities to argue that genetic engineering would make our food healthier, less expensive, and more abundant."
Brewster Kneen, author of Farmageddon: Food and Culture of Biotechnology, addresses the guidelines in which the FDA certifies GE foods as being safe. He outlines a checklist that was used in the FDA's decision in 1994 to let the company Calgene commercially produce its Flavr Savr tomatoes, which were said to increase shelf life. The checklist asked four questions:
- Does the food have the same nutrients as other foods?
- Is the food free of toxins?
- Is the food free of proteins that cause allergies?
- Is the food basically like other foods?
"The problem with criteria like these, of course, is that they are very vauge, and the answers to the questions depend very much on what one is looking for," Kneen says. That is why he, along with other opponents of this technology, believes that greater precautionary measures must be adopted.
Marshall notes that "nowhere have the differing viewpoints on genetically engineered foods clashed more violently than on the subject of labeling."
Martin Teitel, Ph.D., and Kimberly A. Wilson give their opinion on the matter in their book Genetically Engineered Food: Changing the Nature of Nature, by stating "Because genetically engineered food is by definition changed in ways that are hidden, and because testing for the presence of inserted genes is hardly practical for the average shopper in a supermarket, we are at the mercy of labels if we want to make choices about eating genfood (GE food)."
Labeling genetically modified food could be the compromise that would calm tension between the two sides. This, however, is not as easy as it looks. Tietel and Wilson explain, "makers of genetically modified food resist labeling of such food, claiming that information will just provoke incorrect decisions based on ignorance or emotion."
Considering that the European Union, Japan and other major powers around the world have openly spoken against GE foods, it is to be expected that these companies are worried about the impact of labeling. Also, consumers now eat genetically modified products every day without thinking twice. Lables, at the very least, would give people a reason to think twice.
Labeling, however, has not yet been made mandatory in the United States. The best way for someone to steer clear of these products is by eating organic. "This option is not foolproof, however: even organic growers can be duped into buying genetically engineered seeds because many seed packages are not labeled either," say Teitel and Wilson. "Furthermore, because of horizontal gene transfer, organic fields can become contaminated by genetically engineered pollen from nearby fields," They add.
Just recently, the U.S. rice industry took a blow when a GE long-grain rice crop created by the company Bayer, which is headquartered in Germany, contaminated surrounding fields. The contamination has led to bans of U.S. rice exports around the world.
It has also made some enviromental groups furious. Jeremy Tager, Greenpeace International GM campaigner, told Lorraine Heller with NutralIngredients.com, that "this latest contamination scandal once again shows that the GE industry is utterly incapable of controlling GM organisms."
Much pressure is being put on the FDA and companies producing GE foods to increase regulation of the industry. As with any controversial subject, the right answer is never easy to find. Labels, however, would at least give the consumer a choice in the matter.
References:
Bitter Harvest by Ann Cooper with Lisa M. Holmes
Farmageddon: Food and Culture of Biotechnology by Brewster Kneen
Genetically Engineered Food: Changing the Nature of Nature by Martin Teitel, Ph.D., and Kimberly A. Wilson
High-Tech Harvest: A Look at Genetically Engineered Foods by Elizabeth L. Marshall
Adoption of Genetically Engineered Crops in the U.S., U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, 7/14/06
"GM Rice Contaminates U.S. Food Supply," by Lorraine Heller, www.NutralIngredients.com 8/21/06
