The Genetic Engineering of our Food Supply

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The Genetic Engineering of our Food Supply
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Last month it was discovered that some corn grown from genetically-modified seed had made its way into a supply of Kraft Taco Bell corn shells. This particular corn had not been approved for human consumption so the taco shells were being recalled. The incident was newsworthy enough to make its way to all the major media but there were undoubtedly many people who were not quite sure what all the hoopla was about. Lately there's a lot of new and, at least for the general public, somewhat confusing terminology related to food, genes and technology. Biotechnology, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), genetic engineering, transgenic foods, bio-engineering - what does it all mean?
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A genetically-modified or genetically-engineered plant is one in which the DNA of an entirely different organism has been injected into the gene make-up of the plant to produce certain desired characteristics. This process has been successfully accomplished with rice, corn, cotton, canola and soybean plants, to name a few. There are a number of reasons why this procedure is done but the most common motive is to make the plant, in some way, hardier. It may be to make the plant resistant to certain pests such as weeds, viruses or insects or it may be to make it resistant to the pesticides that are used to destroy the pests. In some cases the plant has been genetically altered to produce a more nourishing food. The recent development of a new kind of rice, high in the vitamin A that is lacking in the diets of many third world people, was the result of genetic engineering.
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So, if genetic engineering can accomplish these wonderful things, what can possibly be the problem? For one thing, there is apparently the potential for creating dangerous allergens in the food. For example, a person may not be allergic to corn but could unknowingly eat corn that has the DNA of say, peanuts, in it, and many people are highly allergic to peanuts.
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With the widespread use of pest-resistant seed there is the potential for the development of resistance in the very pests they have been engineered to resist. This occurrence would be much the same as the phenomena that we have recently witnessed with certain types of disease-causing bacteria developing a resistance to the antibiotics that have been used for generations against them. Opponents of genetically-modified (GM) foods are also concerned about the possibility of the pollen grains from the GM plants spreading to adjacent fields and pollinating unmodified plants, thereby spreading the potentially negative effects. There have already been some reports of these much-feared adverse effects - canola super-weeds in Canada, the proliferation of previously insignificant stink-bugs on genetically-modified cotton in the South, genetically-engineered potatoes reportedly causing immune system damage to rats in experiments conducted in Great Britain.
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There are also well-founded concerns on the ecological front. Studies at both Cornell University and Iowa State University concluded that the pollen of bio-engineered corn sharply increased the mortality rate of the monarch butterfly. In Great Britain a study involving herbicide-resistant sugar beets found this bio-engineered product to be fatal to 90% of the exposed skylark population.
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Opinions for and against genetically-engineered food are very strong on both ends of the spectrum and understandably so. There are those who have the most to gain and those who fear that we will all lose in the long run. Among those who have the most to gain are the chemical companies, such as Monsanto and Dupont, who are marketing the bio-engineered seeds. Not surprisingly, they are the same companies who sell the herbicides that can be used on the fields planted with these seeds. The farmers gain in this situation because they can get rid of pesky weeds and damaging insects and harvest a beautiful and bountiful crop. But most of all, the Chemical companies gain.
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There is a much needier group of people whose standard of living might be greatly improved with the use of bio-engineered seeds, specifically the third world African nations. Viral diseases, insect infesta-tions and weeds are some of the biggest problems that plague the African farmer, causing crop yields to be much lower than in other parts of the world. A genetically-engineered sweet potato which is resistant to a common sweet potato virus has already been developed. It is estimated that this could double the per acre yield of sweet potatoes in that part of the world. In a recent interview with Time Magazine, Kenyan plant scientist Florence Wambugu expressed the hope that herbicide-resistant seeds would soon free the African people from the endless weeding they have had to endure. Ms. Wambugu also noted that a bio-engineered banana that would ripen more slowly and thereby not rot on the way to market, could increase the banana crop by 40%. And then there is the "Golden Rice," loaded with beta-carotene that could supposedly save the lives of one million third-world children per year and prevent another 350,000 from going blind. Truly these are incredible benefits that could result from this new technology.
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"Weeding enslaves Africans; it keeps children from school," Florence Wambugu
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Nonetheless, there are many people who fear that tampering with nature in this manner will cause irreversible damage and even the demise of the world's food supply. Much more caution is being practiced in France, Great Britain, and other European countries regarding genetically-engineered food. While they conduct their own research, the European Union will not allow imports of genetically-engineered foods from the US. Many farmers, both in this country and abroad, are fearful of these seeds and will do whatever is necessary to keep their fields from becoming polluted, even to the point of burning neighboring fields that have been planted with transgenic crops. Organic farmers and consumers recently won a difficult battle with the federal government to disallow any bio-engineered food products to be labeled as organic.
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In the United States as a whole, we have both ends of the spectrum. While most of the scientific community seems to be strongly in favor of continuing the development of this technology, there are activist groups staging public demonstrations against the genetic-engineering of our food supply and such highly regarded organizations as the Sierra Club and Friends of the Earth adding their voices to the protests. A critical issue is whether the genetically-modified food should be labeled as such so that people can make a choice as to whether they want it or not. This is being done in a number of other countries.
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Another concern, even shared by many members of the scientific community, is that the technology should be more thoroughly tested before being unleashed on the public. That thorough research should be done, that the public should have access to the results and be informed of what they are buying - these do not seem like unreasonable demands. Unfortunately it is estimated that 70% of the processed food in this country already contains bio-engineered ingredients such as transgenic corn and soybeans. Once again the wise choice seems to be to stick with whole, fresh, unprocessed foods that are certified organically grown.
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This article is intended for informational purposes only. Nothing in this publication is intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical diagnosis and advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or health-care provider before starting any new diet or procedure involving your health. Prompt professional medical guidance is recommended for any health problem.