Although you might not hear about it in the news, genetically modified foods are taking over the American food landscape. 80% of processed foods that you find in the average supermarket contain them. Check out this list. Corn, cotton, canola, and soy are the largest genetically modified food crops in the United States, with GMO varieties representing around 90% of the domestic market for these crops. Proponents of GMOs argue that they increase crop yields, create crops resistant to pests, disease, and drought, and help solve world hunger. Opponents resist the takeover of GMOs in agriculture because they feel that they have not been tested sufficiently for safety, contain harmful chemicals, encourage monocultures, and drive dependency on trademarked varieties of genetically mutated crops that farmers must buy solely from monopolies. Let’s look at what some key players have to say about this contentious issue.
Wikipedia defines a genetically modified organism, or GMO, as any organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. According to this definition, GMOs have been around for thousands of years. Historically, genetic modification began with the raising of early agricultural crops through selective breeding. Just as we have bred wolves into different breeds of dogs with various traits such as golden retriever (hunting and friendliness) or corgi (compact herding dogs), etc., we have selectively bred plant crops such as corn to have huge reserves of starch to optimize the nutrition humans derive from what was once a simple grass. This practice originated thousands of years ago, and helped usher in modern civilization. And it continues today, in a very different form. Scientists utilize gene splicing and insertion techniques to manufacture new traits in existing plants for use as food. Golden rice, a new GMO rice trademarked by Monsanto, provides a good example. The plant has been selectively bred to take in and store more vitamin A than traditional rice varieties. GMO companies such as Monsanto claim to be improving nutrition and creating sustainable crops to combat worldwide hunger and environmental problems. These efforts have their champions and their doubters. Regardless, genetically modified organisms represent a new frontier in agriculture. We, as a culture and people, are boldly eating what no person has eaten before.
I searched for “GMO” on Google and the first item to pop up was an advertisement by Monsanto entitled, “GMO Benefits.” This should provide some indication of the controversy that today shrouds GMOs. Monsanto is the leading developer of genetically modified crops nationwide and the largest grossing seed company in the world. Monsanto is not the only corporation engaged in GMOs, although it usually faces the bulk of opposition against GMOs. Monsanto deserves this treatment. It was among the first to experiment with genetically modified plants and has since refocused its efforts in applying biotechnology to the agricultural sector.
The Monsantos of the world claim that GMOs can feed the world with crops that contain more nutrition, are easier to grow, and are as safe to eat as conventional crops. Here in the US, the regulatory regime for food safety falls under the jurisdiction of the The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Perhaps these fine government agencies can help we, the consumers, make informed decisions about what we feed our families.
The USDA has a diverse and complex mission which includes: ending hunger, improving health, supporting American farmers, ensuring food safety and proper labeling, protecting the land through sustainable management, creating a safe, sustainable, American food system, improving the economy and quality of life of rural America, and marketing American agricultural products and ensuring the health and care of animals and plants. Wow. Good luck with that USDA. These competing and complicating goals are each laudable in their own right, however they overlap in impossibly complex dynamic that make the USDA’s mission downright impossible. What does the USDA have to say about GMOs?
Advances in science, many of them from scientists at USDA or through research funded by USDA, have opened up new options for farmers responding to market needs and environmental challenges. Many new plant varieties being developed or grown by farmers have been produced using genetic engineering, which involves manipulating the plant’s genes through techniques of modern molecular biology often referred to as recombinant DNA technology. USDA supports the safe and appropriate use of science and technology, including biotechnology, to help meet agricultural challenges and consumer needs of the 21st century.
USDA plays a key role in assuring that biotechnology plants and products derived from these plants are safe to be grown and used in the United States. Once these plants and products enter commerce, USDA supports bringing these and other products to the worldwide marketplace. (Click for link to source)
Ok. How about the Food and Drug Administration, which the government tasks with protecting and promoting consumer health? They surely must be working to ensure that GMOs are safe and promoting consumer awareness of GMOs. What does the FDA have to say about GMOs?
We recognize and appreciate the strong interest that many consumers may have in knowing whether a food was produced using genetic engineering. FDA supports voluntary labeling for food derived from genetic engineering. Currently, food manufacturers may indicate through voluntary labeling whether foods have or have not been developed through genetic engineering provided that such labeling is truthful and not misleading.
Recently, FDA has received citizen petitions regarding genetically engineered foods, including the labeling of such foods. The agency is currently considering those petitions, and at this time, has not made a decision, in whole or in part, regarding the petitions. FDA’s role is to ensure that foods under its purview meet applicable safety, labeling, and other regulatory requirements. Foods derived from genetically engineered plants must meet the same requirements, including safety requirements, as other foods, such as foods derived from traditionally bred plants. (Click for link to source)
So, the two government agencies in charge of protecting our health and ensuring the integrity of the foods we eat ensure us that GMOs are safe and should be treated the same as traditional, non-GMO foods. But should we believe them?
Not according to the Non-GMO Project, an independent nonprofit that has created a labeling scheme for consumers wishing to avoid GMOs. From their website:
Most developed nations do not consider GMOs to be safe. In more than 60 countries around the world, including Australia, Japan, and all of the countries in the European Union, there are significant restrictions or outright bans on the production and sale of GMOs. In the U.S., the government has approved GMOs based on studies conducted by the same corporations that created them and profit from their sale. Increasingly, Americans are taking matters into their own hands and choosing to opt out of the GMO experiment.
Monsanto, the nation’s largest GMO corporation, goes to great lengths to form public opinion that GMOs are deemed safe. (Hence the rather expensive ad space on Google to ensure that their say on the matter pops up in a Google search on GMOs). Here is what they have to say:
Regulatory processes in most countries involve examining several factors, including whether to allow importation and/or cultivation of GMO crops, impact on national trade, etc. But to our knowledge, GMO crops have never received a negative safety assessment in any country and safety is typically not the only factor involved in whether a country chooses to allow the growing or import of GMO crops.
We are only aware of 2 countries – Peru and Kenya – that have banned cultivation and importation of GMOs, and Kenya is in the process of reconsidering their ban. Many of the world’s countries – 70 countries around the globe, including countries in North America and South America – allow farmers to grow GM crops, or allow for importation of GMO products.
Just because, as Monsanto claims, GMOs have never received a “negative safety assessment,” does not mean they are safe for market. It means we should conduct as much testing as necessary to ensure safety before these crops reach the market. Monsanto markets their famous “Roundup Ready” seeds as resistant to the popular herbicide Glyphosphate, which means farmers can plant GMO crops and spray them with pesticides and herbicides that stay in the food and end up on our dinner plates. The World Health Organization just concluded that Glyphophate is a probable carcinogen. Consumers have a right to know what is in the food they eat and how it was produced. Forget studies funded by Monsanto. Where is all the government funded research to determine the safety of GMOs? When GMOs enter the scene, the USDA and FDA as government agencies have their regulatory hands tied because they are supposed to encourage and promote US agriculture domestically and internationally, support farmers, and ensure food safety. At the very least, our government should have the best interests of its citizens at heart. Do they? The House of Representatives in July passed the “Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015.” Hiding behind the boring, but seemingly innocuous, title of the act is a scheme to further cloud any attempt to educate consumers about GMO versus non-GMO food. Rather than give consumers information with which to make responsible choices for how to feed their families, the act prohibits the labeling of GMOs and overrides local and state bans on GMO production and labeling. Opponents have been calling it the “DARK Act,” Denying Americans the Right to Know. Luckily the “DARK Act” will never pass the Senate or survive a veto, so it is unlikely to become law. Its passage in the House serves as a scary reminder that the safety and certainty of GMOs remains unseen, and powerful players wish for GMOs to quietly overcome any consumer resistance before independent scientists determine the safety of GMOs.
The GMO experiment continues with precious few investigations into their safety, and very little attention paid to the negative short and long term consequences such as pesticide resistant crops, carcinogens in our food, monocultures, and food systems dependent entirely on large corporations. The only research being done about GMOs and their ongoing effects is funded by us, the American consumer, with each run to the supermarket. We are also the guinea pigs, and the results are yet to be determined.
Unfortunately, we cannot rely on corporations or the government to ensure the safety of GMOs. Until we can, educate yourself and avoid GMOs when possible, and tell our politicians that we have the right to know what is in our food.
