Gmos

GMOs
What is a GMO? GMO stands for genetically modified organism. It can be argued that genetically modified organisms have been around as long as humans were using agriculture as a food source. By definition, an organism that has been changed genetically by any source that does not occur naturally is a GMO. Any farmer could cross two plants to create a more beneficial crop. Since their creation, GMOs have been used for scientific research and midicinal purposes.
In 1953, the discovery of how DNA works made altering genes possible. Without this discovery, altering genes would be left to mostly trial and error. In 1973, the process of genetic engineering was invented by Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen. In 1982, GMOs were approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in pharmaceuticals. Before they could be introduced to consumers, GMOs underwent testing to find out if the resulting crops were safe for consumption. It wasn’t until the 90s that the USDA approved their first crop for commercial use, a tomato that was altered to stay firm longer.
Today, agriculture is being genetically modified to increase the yield of crops, reduce costs, to enhance nutrients, and to increase resistance to insects and disease. Plants are able to mature faster, protect themselves against drought, frost, and other environmental hazards, which enables them to grow in climates which other wise would not be possible without being genetically modified.
Many industries can look forward to the potential use of GMOs. Currently, a number of microorganisms are being considered as a clean fuel source. Genetically modified plants can someday be used as vaccines. The concept of a fruit or vegetable as a vaccine taken orally is being considered. This would lower vaccination costs and help underdeveloped countries.
While there are many opportunities to use genetically modified organisms to benefit us, there is a debate about whether or not they are safe for human consumption, or even the environment. Even though genes can be exchanged naturally between species, little is known of the consequences of altering the natural state of an organism’s genes. These alterations can change metabolism, growth rate, and the organism’s response to the environment. An overactive growth rate can upset the ecological balance, causing the plant to overgrow and spread disease to other plants and animals. An example of this is the Bt corn controversy. Bt corn contains the protein, Bacillus thuringiensis. The protein is known to act as a natural insecticide against species, including the monarch caterpillar. This is beneficial to farmers because they can use less chemical insecticides. The downside to using Bt corn as a natural insecticide is that the seeds can be naturally spread to other animals, and become toxic to the environment. In 1999, a study in the laboratory was done that suggested Bt corn’s natural presence of pollen had a very high mortality rate among monarchs. Over the next two years, researchers set out to prove that Bt corn was safe. Scientists disputed the study, claiming that monarch’s migratory pattern placed them out of the area when Bt corn’s pollen is shed. It was concluded that the risk of Bt corn’s pollen to monarchs was very low. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved the use of Bt corn for an additional seven years.
The health risks posed on humans are new allergens to the modified food as well as antibiotic-resistant genes being transferred. In 2000, the FDA ruled that labeling foods that contain GMOs was not mandatory. Many other countries, including Australia, Russia, Hong Kong, Japan, and many others have passed laws enfore labeling of GMO foods until the health and environmental consequences have been better researched.
The risks of genetically modified organisms does not stop at health or environmental concerns. “The idea that any corporation could own a food crop is a very new idea. It wasn’t until the 1980s that the Supreme Court said you could patent life. And that opened the floodgates- efforts to patent the most valuable part of life which is to say the crops on which we depend” (Food, Inc.). There is also economical, and philosophical controversy. Monsanto, a chemical company, who developed Roundup, a product used to kill weeds, also devoloped a strain of soybeans that is resisant to Roundup in 1996. Only 2% of soybeans in the U.S. contained their patented gene. By 2008, over 90% of soybeans contained the gene. Prohibition laws were made to ban seed-saving in the U.S. The Monsanto company can investigate any farmer for pantent infringement who has saved their seeds from season to the next. So let’s say, a farmer who has been collecting and cleaning his own convential soybean seeds, his crop gets contaminated from the pollen from a neighbor’s crop using Monsanto’s GMO seeds. The farmer will still be held accountable for using Monsanto’s seed. He must then prove to the Monsanto company that he did not violate the patent. The problem with Monsanto owning the seed as intellectual property is the dwindling amount of convential varieties of soybean in the U.S. What should a farmer do who prefers convential farming opposed to GMOs when there are no convential seeds left?
Genetically modified organisms can increase the quality of our food and health care. If used wisely, and responsibly, they could possibly be used to their full potential. It is hard to say whether the risks outweigh the benefits of using them, unless discussed on a case-by-case basis.

Works cited 1. Phillips, Theresa. “Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs): Transgenic Crops and Recombinant DNA Technology”. Scitable. Nature Education. 29 January 2013. 2. Butler, Tamsen. “History of GMOs”. Lovetoknow organic. LoveToKnow Corp. 29 January 2013. 3. Food, Inc. Dir. Robert Kenner. Magnolia Pictures. 2009. Film.