Genetically modified crops (GM crops) sounds scary like some sci-fi story. Think Invasion of the Body Snatchers. But do we need to fear GM crops? We should be concerned about our food supply and what goes into it but the fear over GM crops doesn’t match the facts. However one major worry I have is how much big corporations are involved and how that might hurt some people in the long term either economically or health wise.
Genetically modified crops (GMCs, GM crops, or biotech crops) are plants, the DNA of which has been modified using genetic engineering techniques, to resist pests and agents causing harm to plants and to improve the growth of these plants to assist in farmers efficiency.
Genetic engineering techniques are much more precise[1] than mutagenesis (mutation breeding) where an organism is exposed to radiation or chemicals to create a non-specific but stable change. Other techniques by which humans modify plants include selective breeding; plant breeding, and somaclonal variation.
In most cases the aim is to introduce a new trait to the plant which does not occur naturally in this species. Examples include resistance to certain pests, diseases or environmental conditions, or the production of a certain nutrient or pharmaceutical agent.
Biologically, GM crops aren’t that much different than what farmers have been doing for centuries – cross breeding for selected traits like a heartier tomato or a version of corn that resists certain insects. I still think all work with GM crops should be studied. After all agribusiness didn’t think stuffing milk and beef cows with antibiotics should be a concern yet we noow know there is an issue with that.
I also think that GM crops would be labeled just as all food should be labeled. Those labels can help a consumer make an informed decision.
A major issue I have with GM crops has nothing to do with biology but economic. Modified crop seeds can be patented by a company and it has hurt farmers around the world.
The Lantern is more swayed by the socioeconomic argument against genetically modified crops. For example, many people are deeply uncomfortable with the fact that a handful of massive corporations, such as Monsanto, control a wide swath of the market and impose strict intellectual property-regulations. Others worry that undue focus on genetic engineering takes time, energy, and funding away from other research areas—like organic farming. These concerns belong in any well-rounded discussion of the perils and promises of genetic engineering, but the fact that G.M. crops have been implemented in some troubling ways isn’t a good reason to reject them altogether.
and…
The agricultural giant Monsanto has sued hundreds of small farmers in the United States in recent years in attempts to protect its patent rights on genetically engineered seeds that it produces and sells, a new report said on Tuesday.
The study, produced jointly by the Center for Food Safety and the Save Our Seeds campaigning groups, has outlined what it says is a concerted effort by the multinational to dominate the seeds industry in the US and prevent farmers from replanting crops they have produced from Monsanto seeds.
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The report also revealed the dominance that large firms and their genetically altered crops have in the US and global market. It found that 53% of the world’s commercial seed market is controlled by just three firms – Monsanto, DuPont and Syngenta.
Meanwhile genetically-altered commodity crops – and thus the influence of patent protection – have spread to become overwhelmingly dominant. In the US some 93% of soybeans and 86% of corn crops come from such seeds.
Monsanto sued small farmers to protect seed patents, report says
The farmers bought the seed and tried to plant a new crop from left over seed. So even if the farmer buys the seed Monsanto and others say they still own it and control what a farmer does with it.
I also posted about this issue with patented seeds in India in a post about Vandana Shiva last year:
BILL MOYERS: You say that corporations have hijacked our food system. How so?
VANDANA SHIVA: Well I come from a country where there were no corporations in the food system until 20 years ago. They weren’t allowed to be. Our rules said food was too precious. It was an important source of livelihood. So we had to protect our small farmers. Every law protected the small farmer, land rights, markets, prices, everything worked so a small farmer could have a living. Food processing stayed in what we call the cottage sector, the small scale sector. That’s why we didn’t have junk food and processed food. Globalization changes the rules. And agriculture agreement is written by a former official of Cargill to represent the U.S. public.
BILL MOYERS: Cargill–
VANDANA SHIVA: Is the world’s biggest grain trader. The second is the intellectual property treaty controlled and written by Monsanto. And then you have the so-called food safety agreement called The Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement. Every one of these are very highly complex names. Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights, Sanitary and Phytosanitary. All of them are basically saying, “Let there be a monopoly of a corporation to have– to write the rules so that only they can be players in the food system.”
And the final step is the retail, where food reaches our table, Wal-Mart wanting to have foreign direct investment in retail. A big issue in India’s parliament, a very big issue on the streets of India. So from the seed to the table, corporations are saying, “We want to be the only players.” Five in seed, five in grain trade, five in processing, and five in retail. That is a corporate hijack of our food and a corporate dictatorship over our food system.
Vandana Shiva on the Problem with Genetically Modified Seeds
So while I’m not panicked about “frankenfood” I do want transparancy and further study in the process that gives us GM crops and the issue of seed patents needs to be address. Our food supply is too important to stay silent or ignorant about GM crops.
