GM CROPS: Friends or Foes?

Jessi HirthEPH 541

Background

Green Revolution of the 1960s brought greater food production Total available food

rose by 11 percent during 1970-1990

Hungry people declined by 16 percent

What is genetic engineering?

Modification of an existing gene

Replacing genes with improved versions

Introducing new genes from a similar or different organism

What kind of crops are modified? “Broad acre

commodity crops” Canola Corn Cotton Soybeans

Over 40 crops available in the US

4,500 GM plants tested by 1999 in US alone

Acceptance is occurring fast

1995 – no commercial plantings of GM crops in US

1999 – 33% of the corn crop, 55% of the cotton fields, 44% of the soybeans

2000 – 44.2 million hectares in 13 different countries

Who’s doing it

68% GM crops grown in US

23% grown in Argentina

7% grown in Canada 1% grown in China

Environmental Benefits – Pest Control 500,000 kg of

pesticides are applied in US each year

Don’t have to spray plants

Bt in over 50 crops

Environmental Benefits – Herbicide Resistance Less herbicide usage Less harmful

herbicides 5.4 million lbs of

glyphosate in place of 7.2 million lbs of other synthetic herbicides Stays in environment

for shorter periods 3.4 to 16.8 times less

toxic

Other Environmental Benefits Remove heavy metals

from soil Can be used in

bioremediation Can convert annual

grains to perennials

Environmental Risks – Super Bugs & Super Weeds Bugs become

resistant Pests can actually

use Bt toxins for nourishment

Transfer herbicide resistance to weeds

Environmental Risks – Harm to Wildlife Glyphosate and Bt are

toxic to non-target species

Modified fish contain metals that can kill other fish and racoons

Eradication of weeds will have a chain reaction through food chain

Human health benefits

End world hunger More nutritious foods

Increase Vitamin A in rice – prevent death and blindness

Increase Iron in rice – less anemia, learning disabilities and susceptibility to infections

Health Benefits – “Pharm Crops” Edible vaccines Cheaper drugs – 10 to

100 time lower than current prices

Health Risks - Allergens

GE regularly moves proteins from organisms into crops

Most known allergens are to proteins

Health Risks – Resistance to Antibiotics GE uses genes for

antibiotic resistance as “selectable markers”

Antibiotic effectiveness can be reduced

Resistance genes can be transferred to human pathogens

More Health Problems

Turning off genes can produce problems

Some proteins in pharm and industrial crops act as hormones Acromegaly in adults Giantism in children

How is it getting in our food?

Seed mixing Pollen flow

Corn pollen – travels more than 50 yards in the wind

Canola pollen – travels up to 15 miles and can fertilize other crops!

Can GM crops solve the problem of world hunger? There is already

enough food to supply everyone in the world with 4.3 lbs and 3,500 calories each day

So why is anyone without food? People are without

food because they “are poor in terms of income to purchase food, or in terms of access to agricultural resources, education, technology, infrastructure, and credit to produce their own food”

The Scary Conclusion

Only 30-40 countries have regulations governing GM products

That leaves over 130 countries that have no regulations for GM organisms!

Just remember…

You are what you eat!