Today, I opened my eyes to the sun shining through my window on my clock reading 9:40am. Having class at 10:00am, I quickly threw on clothes, shoved my books and binders into my backpack, and grabbed an orange to eat for breakfast. I easily pierce the peel with my nail then it to reveal the vibrant and juicy fruit. I separated the slices perfectly and take a bite of one. The sweet juices explode in my mouth. Although fruits are meant to contain seeds so that these plants can reproduce, this orange contains none. This is not by chance. I then make it to class just in time and pull out my notebook. Having a passion for science and biology, I am taking a class that solely studies deoxyribonucleic acid, DNA, the blueprint to life. After class is over, I head to the cafeteria. I decide on a cheeseburger for lunch. Today. I pay the least amount of money to provide myself with lunch than anytime in history due to the advances in agricultural technology.
Almost everything we eat today is genetically modified in some way. This means that the genetic makeup or DNA, the instructions to build life, is altered is some way. In 1996, Monsanto commercialized the herbicide-immune soybeans, which were genetically modified to resist herbicides like Roundup.[1] Since then a huge range of genetically modified food products have come to the market, making food cheaper and safer across the board.
Today, corn is grown in such mass quantities because corn has been genetically modified to grow closer together and yield a tremendous amount of product. Farmers who were once pleased with a yield of 30 bushels per acre would be astonishes by modern farmers who can get 200 bushels from an acre.[2] In 2005, over 58% of corn was used for feed[3]. Not only is the burger I’m eating made from a cow that eats genetically modified food, but also the cow itself may be genetically modified. This cow’s DNA can be modified so that he had more resistance to disease and could produce more beef. As a result, the food I am eating is safer, cheaper, and tastier.
Lately in the Europe, many groups of people have been promoting the reduction the use of genetically modified organisms in agriculture. Prince Charles of England called them the “biggest environmental disaster of all time.”[4] The European Union has one of the strictest systems in the word due to their intense skepticism and lack of understanding of this product. They claim that GMOs are incredibly unsafe and bad for the environment. These people refuse to accept the new technology that allows us to feed ourselves for cheaper and actually safer, especially in a world where many people are starving. Thanks to the use of biotechnology, the world increasingly has more stable crops and the average human lifespan has increased, by reducing malnutrition and starvation. Agriculture is extremely important to both developed nations and developing nations. Biotechnology improves the crops to many different degrees, each of which play a pivotal role in globalization, the environment, and also social issues.
The world relies on agriculture—always has and always will. Even though a large portion of the developed world relies of agriculture, an even larger part of the developing world relies on agriculture. The third world barely produces enough to feed them after developed nations take from them, so there can be no room for risk when it comes to agriculture. This is where the use of biotechnology comes in and serves its purpose.
Biotechnology focuses more on the individual plants rather than machinery and planting techniques. The way that biotechnology is working today is by the method of using recombinant DNA. Biologists are able to pinpoint individual genes from plants and introduce them to the DNA sequence of the plant of choice.[5] For example, corn has a trait that makes it naturally repel insects. This trait can be taken and placed into a tomato, to make it less desirable to pests. This is might not seem like a huge issue, but when presented with statistics, it is clear how much of an effect pests have on crops.
Annually, pests destroy a portion of crops than could have been used to feed hundreds of millions of people. To fully illustrate the impact of pests, we can use corn as an example. The European corn borer can destroy up to 20% of a maize crop. This food if protected from pests can be used to feed the millions of starving people in our world. Biotechnology is not just a scam by corporations to take farmers money, it is a tool to save many people from starvation and suffering.
The use of biotechnology has also made farming a safer and more environmentally sound business. By having plants that are able to be tougher and survive pests and climate, the need for pesticides and harsh fertilizers lessens. In developing countries, many suffer from acute pesticide poisoning. It has been recorded that the use of biotechnology has reduced the amount of pesticide needed by 75% and has taken the poisoning rate down with it as well.[6] Biotechnology also has beneficial aspects to the environment. Besides lessening the use of pesticide, which can enter the water table, it can conserve resources and maximize space. Genetically modified plants conserve water, therefore saving a precious resource. Space is also maximized and used more wisely. Space is very valuable, especially with the increase in population. Using space wisely is a very pressing issue today and will only become more important.
A study[7] recently has been published in an effort to push the public against genetically modified organisms. Two groups of rats were fed Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize. One of the groups was given the GM maize grown with Roundup and the other was given GM maize without the Roundup. The roundup group showed significant health problems including tumors, liver damage, and hormone imbalance. This study was immediately published without proper peer review regardless of the many issues that are not apparent at first glance to the average reader. The strain of rat used is very prone to tumors if food is not restricted.[8] It is also said that they have used poor statistical techniques as well as questionable protocols. Martina Newell-McGoughlin, a plant biotechnologist at UC Davis said, “There is very little scientific credibility to this paper, the flaws in the test are just incredible to me. To be honest with you, the statistical analysis they used is really a type of fishing expedition.”[9] This paper was published in an effort to give the media headlines that will easily sway the public to be anti-GMO. Studies like this are called junk science and are the reason so many people are anti-GMO, and do not realize the benefits of this technology and the few consequences.
There are a significant number of people that believe that genetically modified foods are not worth the extensive benefits that they yield. The anti-GMO mindset is inevitably making its way to the United States. It is important as voters and consumers to make a well-informed conscience decision on genetically modified foods. Recently many states have voted on whether GMO foods should be labeled. This implies that there is something wrong or unhealthy about them, however this is not the case. Labeling this irrelevant aspect of foods increases taxes and cost of foods by forcing people to pay for the costly inspection of GMO and GMO-free foods. By continuing to purchase GMO foods, you can use your power as a consumer to show that you believe these products are safe. This encourages the world to continue to invest in new biotechnology that will continue to make the world a better place.
In terms of globalization, GM foods might be the solution to many third world problems. Currently, the third world is exploited by developed nations who practice agricultural imperialism. With biotechnology, a developing country could yield higher quantities of crops and lessen their need to buy food. Biotechnology gives hope and seems to be a key factor for developing nations to become industrialized and leave the third world.
On a larger scale, biotechnology could have deeper effects. The topic of world peace is a quandary and is viewed as too complex to touch. When it boils down to it, people do what they need in order to survive. The pressing issue is starvation – people do not have what they need and become violent. As former President Carter stated, “There can be no peace until people have enough to eat…Hungry people are not peaceful people.” This is not to say that biotechnology is able to solve all the world’s problems, but there is hope that is can at least provide for people’s basic needs. Biotechnology can greatly benefit society by increasing productivity of crops and health, but can also simultaneously bring up ethical dilemmas and safety concerns. Biotechnology is new and there is so much potential for this technology, making it a stepping-stone toward a more sustainable, and hopefully peaceful future.
Austin Wolf 