How GMOs and the Issues Surrounding Them Arose

          Genetic manipulation of foods has been present throughout much of our history. Up until 1900, there was unknowing genetic manipulation of food; gatherers finding food from plants in nature and farmers planting seeds saved from domesticated crops. Then there was Gregor Mendel’s genetic theory, classic selection, which started to be used by scientists in 1900 to manipulate and improve plant species. Classic selection is when a plant of one variety is crossed with a related plant to produce desirable characteristics. What we have today is similar to classic selection but much more advanced, something called transgenic plants. A transgenic plant contains one or more genes which have been introduced artificially into the plants genetic makeup. They are often referred to as genetically engineered or modified (which can be used interchangeably), though there is some debate over this.  The modern techniques used for genetic engineering and transgenic plants, which have created this big issue over GMOs, just came into the picture within the last few decades.

It all started with the discovery of the three dimensional double helix structure of DNA in 1953, which led to the ability of scientists to identify and ‘splice’, or cut, genes from one type of organism into the DNA of another. The outcome of this process is called a recombinant DNA organism and the first one was successfully created in 1973. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1980 that genetically altered life forms can be patented and in 1982, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first genetically engineered drug, a form of human insulin produced by bacteria called Genentech’s Humulin. The first transgenic plant was created in 1883, a tobacco plant resistant to antibiotics. After that, genetically modified cotton was successfully field tested in 1990 and in 1992 Calgene’s Flavr Savr tomato, engineered to stay firmer longer, was approved for commercial reproduction by U.S. Department of Agriculture.

That same year, the FDA declared that genetically engineered (GE) foods are “not inherently dangerous”, and do not require special regulation, which is a big part of the problem people have with GMOs right now. The European Union’s (EU) first GE crop, tobacco, was approved in France in 1993 and four years later the EU ruled in favor of mandatory labeling on all GMO food products, including animal feed. This is something people have been wanting to have in the U.S. for years, another huge part of the debate. In 1995, Monsanto, the leading biotech company, introduced “Round-Up Ready”, herbicide immune soybeans.

Four years later GMO food crops began to dominate with 100 million acres worldwide of GE seeds planted and the marketplace began to embrace GMO technology at quick pace. Genetic modification was enhanced even further in 2000 when a scientist discovered that the process could be used to introduce vitamins and nutrients to enrich foods. A rather scary reality of the effects of GMOs made itself present not too long after they hit the market place. In 2003 a caterpillar was found feasting on a GM cotton plant in the southern U.S. which shows that in less than a decade, the bugs have adapted to the GE toxin produced by the modified plant. People call these ‘super bugs’ and are yet another of the many concerns people have about GMOs.

Today, the United States is among the leading proponents for the advancement of the genetic modification process, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all GM crops. However, genetic engineering is advancing and emerging all over the world. As of 2012, 17.3 million farmers were growing GM crops in the 170.3 million hectares of GM crops planted worldwide in 28 different countries—which is a 100-fold increase since they were introduced in 1996. In the U.S. 80% of many major crops are grown from a GE seed and 70% of all processed foods contain GMOs. Nearly fifty countries, including Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and all of the countries in the EU, require labels on GMOs, and many of these also have severe restrictions or bans against the production or sale of GMO food. Yet in the United States, the FDA does not even require the labeling of GMOs in food ingredient lists.

The FDA does not require food labeling of GMOs because they decided that labeling was not required on the basis of the method of food production but rather only if the new food itself posed safety problems to consumers. Most studies show that the GM foods are safe for human consumption, but the long-term effects are unknown. People opposed to GMOs believe there has been inadequate testing and regulation and they are concerned that people who eat GM foods may be more prone to allergies or diseases resistant to antibiotics. This widespread public awareness and opposition to GMOs in the U.S. largely emerged in response to developments in Europe. The EU has in place one of the strictest systems in the world regarding GMOs, requiring extensive testing, labeling, traceability, and monitoring of agricultural products.

Trade problems are starting to arise between the U.S. and Europe because of the extremely different regulations regarding testing and approval procedures necessary to put GMO products on the market and when there is disagreement about their labeling and identification requirements. Although all citizens and governments in different countries want to ensure that GMOs do not pose a threat to human health or the environment, they do not agree on the best way to protect against these potential threats, and this is where problems arise. Right now there is a large part of our population that believes GM crops bring unnecessary risks to both humans and the environment and that they increase the corporate control of the food chain, while placing economic burdens upon conventional and organic food sectors aiming to avoid contamination.

Works Cited

"Genetically Modified Crops in the United States." Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology. Pew Trusts, n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2013. <www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Fact_Sheets/Food_and_Biotechnology/PIFB_Genetically_Modified_Crops_Factsheet0804.pdf>.

"History of GMOS." American RadioWorks. American Public Media, n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2013. <http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/gmos_india/history.html>.

"History of Genetically Modified Foods." The Global Change Program at the University of Michigan. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2013. <http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/current/workspace/sect008/s8g5/history.htm>.

OLSTER,  MARJORIE . "GMO Foods: Key Points In The Genetically Modified Debate." Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. N.p., 2 Aug. 2013. Web. 1 Oct. 2013. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/02/gmo-foods_n_3693246.html>.

ONUSIC, DR. SYLVIA P. "The Current Status of GMO’s in Europe." Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund. N.p., 19 Sept. 2012. Web. 1 Oct. 2013. <http://www.farmtoconsumer.org/news_wp/?p=1752>.

Reid, Scott . "Transgenic Crops: An Introduction and Resource Guide." Transgenic Crops. Colorado State University, n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2013. <http://cls.casa.colostate.edu/transgeniccrops/faqpopup.html>.

Woolsey,  GL. "GMO Timeline: A History of Genetically Modified Foods | GMO InsideGMO Inside." GMO Inside | If corporations won’t label GMO foods, then we the people will!GMO Inside. Rosebud, 13 Sept. 2012. Web. 27 Sept. 2013. <http://gmoinside.org/gmo-timeline-a-history-genetically-modified-foods/>.