There are a few scientific studies that indicate that in some cases genetically modified foods (GM foods) can harm human health – which is clearly a topic of concern with this new technology. Studies strongly suggest that GM food crops may harm animals and the environment. Many of the fears about GM foods and how they may affect human health have thus far failed to materialize in the real world but there are still many actions that the agricultural industry can do to better ensure that a health crisis sparked by GM foods does not occur.
Food products routinely arrive on store shelves before they have been thoroughly tested. Since GM foods are a relatively new food source, there have been no long-term tests thus far. America's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has allowed three corn crops to be sold that later were proven to cause internal organ damage in laboratory rats. ('A Comparison of the Effects of Three GM Corn Crops on Mammalian Health;' François Roullier, et al; 'International Journal of Biological Science'; 2009.)
Brief History
GM fruits, vegetables, grains and livestock have been available since 1994, when the company Calgene developed a longer lasting tomato called the FlavrSavr. Despite its name, the taste did not live up to the promise of the name, and hence they quickly disappeared. But many other GM crops and meats have appeared since that time. It is estimated that 89% of the soybeans grown in America are derived from genetically modified strains.
Changing the genetic traits of a crop or animal is, in itself, not unique. For centuries, farmers have favored some strains over those of another. Animals such as the Holstein cow were bred for increasing milk yield and plants were hybridized. Yellow bananas, for example, are the product of splicing one plant with another. Since bananas do not have seeds, new banana trees are created by hybridizing the parent plants. Unfortunately, the parent species are becoming rarer and wild bananas may disappear by 2050, according to the UN Food and Agriculture organization. The reason for the wild banana’s decline? Destruction of the rainforests for the purposes of growing food crops such as yellow bananas.
Growing Demand
With the world's human population estimated to reach nine billion by 2010, scientists and farmers are concerned finding crops and livestock that can answer the growing demand for greater food productivity from the same plants and animals. Thus far GM modified foods have failed to provide higher yields. Instead, they have been modified to resist parasites, produce a different color or to be resistant to commercial pesticides.
Some scientists also claim that the problem of insufficient food lies in its distribution as opposed to crop yield. For more details, read 'The Paradox of Plenty: Hunger in a Bountiful World' (1999.) But animal rights activists, environmentalists and even some groups led by doctors, such as the Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine, state that GM foods will ultimately fail to meet the appetite requirements of nine billion individuals if nothing is done to produce greater yields of food for humans than to feed livestock.
Animal Abuse
In the modern world, feed for livestock competes for available soil space with grain and vegetable food crops for humans. For example, the National Corn Association estimates that 80% of all corn grown in America is used to feed livestock. With a growing population placing homes and roads over fertile land, a better way is essential to conserve what little farmland remains. Groups such as the Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine recommend switching to a vegetarian or vegan diet.
Some have answered the rising demand for food by genetically modifying livestock to produce larger quantities of meat. This has led to horrific animal abuse, especially evidenced in poultry farming. Because of the demand for white chicken meat, some chickens have such large breasts that they can no longer walk. In 2002, chickens were bred to inhibit the growth of feathers to make it easier for the abattoir workers. According to a National Geographic special on GM animals, this featherless breed is undergoing GM experiments in the US and Europe so as to make the birds’ breasts even larger. Without feathers, chickens lack the ability to fend off parasites and become more prone to sunstroke or vulnerable to cold temperatures. How healthy can these chickens be by the time they finally reach the dinner table?
The Butterfly Effect
By 1999, GM food critics in Europe had noticed that GM food crops did not require pollination. By replacing the crops that did need the help of pollinating insects, the GM crops were essentially eliminating vital food supplies. GM food crops have been blamed for the worldwide decline of bees, crucial pollinators for many crops as well as honey producers, though additional studies are under way.
Monarch butterflies then became the target of an investigation as to whether GM crops were killing their caterpillars. The species' population was collapsing and dead caterpillars were being discovered in the United States. GM corn had been modified to kill corn consuming caterpillars. Monarch butterfly caterpillars do not eat corn. Adults and caterpillars rely upon milkweed. In 1999, Cornell University showed that GM corn produced minute amounts of pollen that the caterpillars were eating. Also, wind blew the corn pollen up to 60 yards away, so the pollen often landed on milkweed plants. ('Nature', May 1999.)
Conclusion
In the movie 'Jurassic Park' (1993), Dr. Ian Malcom made the statement, 'Just because we can do something doesn't mean we should.' The character was discussing the cloning of dinosaurs, but this statement could also be applied to GM foods. There are too many unknowns to have this technology utilized so broadly. GM foods provide no more benefits than traditionally grown foods, but can affect the population decline of other species, such as the Monarch butterfly and the European honeybee. Needless to say the effects upon the human population are still studied.
By: Abdullah Salim Article Directory: articledashboard
