The Case for GMOs (But Not Capitalism)

I know what you're thinking. "Oh good! The gals picked something black and white to discuss today." Man, that would be great if it were true. Sit down, son, you're in for a world of existential dread.

What is a GMO, Anyway?

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are organisms whose genetic code has been modified through some application of biotechnology. Historically, genetic modification was done over a period of tens to thousands of years by selecting organisms that expressed the desired trait and breeding them to create a plant/animal that expressed that trait reliably. Your canine companion, in fact, was the result of this selective breeding both over hundreds of years of domestication and over several decades of rich white people wanting dogs to have smushed faces or pointy ears. And the fact of the matter is, most if not all of your food is a GMO.

So Why Do People Hate GMOs?

Well, that's a pretty complicated question. 

If you want a blog post answer, the science behind genetic modification has been poorly communicated both intentionally and unintentionally. Whether it's Netflix documentaries or stock photo images of corn being assaulted by syringes in stock photos, someone always seems to be telling us that GMOs cause cancer. The science of genetic engineering is, in fact, a lot less scary than it's made out to be. In fact, there are plenty of articles out there debunking claims made by anti-GMO activists and illustrating the impact these fallacious claims have in preventing world hunger from being solved. So I'll let the seasoned experts speak their truth.

What's So Good About GMOs?

Olivia listed a few examples of the potential of GMOs. Scientists are able to engineer crops to have improved nutritional properties or resistance against pests. 

Wait, Pest Resistance? Like Pesticides?

Precisely! But that's less scary than it sounds. One common organic pesticide is Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) and is approved to be sprayed on crops for both conventional and organic farming. It is a naturally occurring bacteria that produces a compound that is toxic to caterpillars and other pests when consumed. It has been extensively studied and is not considered toxic to humans. 

You may have a knee jerk reaction about pesticides, but pesticides are naturally produced by many plants! Caffeine and nicotine are both naturally occurring insecticides but are generally safe for humans in low doses. Scientists were able to isolate the specific gene found in Bt and insert it into the genome of several crop varieties, allowing them to produce this compound naturally. This internalized insecticide mechanism has decreased pesticide use since it is far more targeted and thus efficient compared to spray on insecticides.

But there are other means of reducing pesticide use as well. Another example cited in the podcast was the development of "vaccinated" produce. The Rainbow Papaya was developed by a team of academics to save the Hawaiian papaya industry from being destroyed by the papaya ringspot virus (PRSV). All this team did was use existing GE tech to accelerate the inoculation process that farmers had been trying to accomplish on their farms for decades. The seeds were initially distributed for free by the Papaya Administrative Committee to recoup some of the losses experienced as a result of this devastating disease. 

Another example not discussed on the podcast but interesting nonetheless is the development of flood-tolerant rice. The rice was developed by researchers at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Pamela Ronald discusses in her TED Talk how she, a plant geneticist, collaborated with her husband Raoul Adamchak, an organic farmer, to use this technology as a pesticide-free weed management tech. By flooding the rice fields long enough to suffocate weeds using a rice variety resistant to flooding, they were able to remove weeds from test fields without any chemical or human involvement. This has great potential in reducing pesticide use in the global south – all the aforementioned tech are for that matter. Reducing pesticide use generally is a great goal, but in countries that lack the funding to support farmers buying expensive equipment to spray pesticides safely, reduced pesticide use is the difference between life and death.

So GMOs are Made to Reduce Pesticide Use? 

Not entirely. There are other examples of GMOs we didn't mention that are unrelated to agriculture. One that we did mention is Golden Rice. Golden Rice was developed by two academic researchers, Ingo Potrykus and Peter Breyer. (Note: Dr. Potrykus worked at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and Dr. Breyer worked at the University of Freiburg, but they were not both German as Olivia stated in the podcast.) The rice is designed to produce vitamin A at sufficient levels to supplement the diet of poor people in the global south whose diets are almost entirely comprised of rice. It was recently found that one bowl of rice contains 60% of a child's RDA of vitamin A. Since vitamin A is used to make the photosensitive proteins in the eyes, vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the world and increases child mortality rate in excess of 50%. Additionally, the Golden Rice Project has made agreements with governments to ensure the rice is no more than the price of standard rice in the countries in which they are sold. Golden Rice is a humanitarian effort to save millions of children from suffering the effects of VAD.

But What About All the Big Business Hear About?

That is, unfortunately, another incredibly complicated topic. While multinational agriculture companies have heralded the next agricultural revolution, they are are still a component of big business. And while a lot of the anti-Monsanto propaganda has been just that - propaganda - it is incredibly important to ensure that a technology designed to improve the lives of farmers across the globe remains accessible and affordable. Like many things in agricultural policy, everything is in a very delicate balance.

And while it seems like activists have your best interests at heart, they can actually cause a lot of harm through the spread of misinformation. As stated previously, there are many examples of GMOs that were developed outside of these companies and can even be publicly accessible (golden rice). However, activists like Vandana Shiva campaign against GE with an iron fist and can go so far in their fanaticism that they hurt the people they so very want to protect.

Well, That's...

Awful, I know.

Is There Anything We Can Do?

Obviously, one of the answers is speaking up when people begin sharing misinformation. However, even Olivia avoids doing so since after years of arguing she feels that it's a Sisyphean task. 

At the very least, consuming media from experts in agriculture will do a hell of a lot more than nothing. Olivia loves reading perspective pieces from Farm Babe (an agricultural journalist), Nurse Loves Farmer (a nurse who married an Albertan farmer), The Farmer's Wifee (dairy farmer/cow mom to 200+ cows), and The Farmer's Daughter (a practicing attorney who was raised on a farm). 

Scientific communicators also work hard to present scientifically grounded information in a more accessible manner. Mommy, Ph.D. and Dr. Kevin M. Folta are both some of Olivia's favorites. The Genetic Literacy Project is a website that comprehensively debunks misinformation and reports on the latest developments in biotechnology.