Thanks to science, crops grow faster and food stays fresher, longer. But will it come back to haunt us?
When dinner table talk turns to genetically-modified foods, it invariably elicits heated debate, but the strident arguments of lobbyists for and against it have muddied the waters. Most of us still wonder whether mutant genes have taken over our food, and what this means. Here’s what the experts say:
What are genetically modified (GM) foods?
The general definition of GM food is any food plant that has been genetically altered by the addition of foreign genes to enhance desired traits in the plant, says clinical nutritionist Jill Fraser Halkett.
How did the GM movement start?
Man has been tampering with crops since the beginning of farming in order to increase plant yields and reduce susceptibility to drought, pests and disease. More recently, scientists have been finding ways to improve the plant gene pool that’s available by using genes from other organisms. Genetic engineering began in the early 1970s when scientists started putting genes into bacteria to produce pharmaceuticals, and in 1982 the first genetically engineered medicine (synthetic human insulin) was approved in the US.
The use of GM has helped to produce cheaper, safer drugs and vaccines using plants. Before, animal cells and even human cadavers were used at great expense. As the science behind this technology advanced, new applications, such as GM food crops, were developed, and many would argue that this is simply a faster way to do what farmers have been doing for centuries.
The major difference, however, is that often genes from completely different plant species are used — for example Golden Rice, where scientists inserted a daffodil gene into rice, in order to boost its vitamin A content (this also lends the rice its golden yellow colour). Many concerns about safety and the impact on the environment revolve around this.
Why is Europe so anti-GM?
“A lot of the anti-GMO movement is targeted at big business,” says Professor Jennifer Thomson, a plant molecular geneticist at the University of Cape Town. “People are opposed to the idea that big multinational companies are in a position to monopolise seed markets, and are concerned that farmers will eventually be forced to buy these seeds. But scientists have been developing hybrid seeds for years, and farmers have been buying them for years, so this really isn’t anything new to farming. Hybrid and GM seeds are more expensive, however, so most farmers hedge their bets buying half regular seeds and half hybrid or GM.”
But what about the issue of safety?
“All genetically modified foods are carefully assessed by independent laboratories to ensure that they’re equal to or better than the conventional product and will not increase allergies or toxicity,” says multi-award winning nutrition scientist and Shape advisory board member, Jane Badham.
Years of research, field trials and rigorous safety testing go into every new development, confirms Thomson. “Keep in mind that no food was ever tested for safety before GM. Yet GM foods are treated as if they are some kind of toxin,” she says. “In fact, GM foods are more stringently tested than any other food you can get and so might in fact be some of the safest foods you can eat,” says Badham. Others are, however, a little more sceptical, and one of the unresolved concerns about GM foods is their likelihood to cause allergic reactions, says Fraser Halkett.
Is GM food less nutritious than organic produce?
“Foods grown in fields sprayed with herbicides and pesticides and the over-use of chemical fertilisers hold very little value to our diet while the lands are stripped of natural nutrition. These practices alone make organic foods more nutritious, due to the non-existence of harmful additives,” says Fraser Halkett.
However, pro-GM scientists would argue that reduced exposure to chemicals is one of the advantages of GM crops, since these are often designed to be resistant to pests and disease and thus don’t need as many chemical preventatives as traditional (non-organic) crops. Some GM crops are also designed as nutritionally enhanced versions of traditional crops, for example, sorghum, which is a good crop for Africa because it is relatively tolerant to drought and disease, although it is not as nutritious as maize.
Have the fruit and vegetables we buy in supermarkets been genetically modified?
No. According to information issued by the Department of Agriculture, none of the fresh produce on sale in SA has been genetically modified. “Although there are technologies available to improve traits in plants such as, say, tomatoes, this is not considered as important as staple food crops such as maize and wheat, and so most GM developments are related to these crops,” says Thomson.
So where will we find GM food?
Generally, most foods that contain soya are affected, since 90 percent of soya produced has been genetically modified. Many processed foods on supermarket shelves — anything from canned soups to baby foods — contain soya, so check food labels. Although there are proposals in the pipeline at the Department of Health, there is currently no legislation regarding the labelling of genetically modified foods in South Africa.
GM sounds OK, so what’s the point of going organic?
“It’s mostly a matter of principle,” says Francois Visser, a vegetable farmer in Ceres who made the switch to organic six years ago. “You can either farm with nature or against it, and the organic system is one that works with nature. You manage your soil, insects, plant resistance and so on through natural processes, rather than through chemical treatments or genetic manipulations. The whole point of organic is that it’s a sustainable, natural system. With GM it just seems that you’re moving further from nature, and the organic certification decision makers must feel that GM is an unsustainable system, because it does not allow for the use of GM crops in organic farming.”
What about the costs? Isn’t organic a lot more expensive?
It used to be, says Visser, but the gap is closing rapidly. “The price of chemical sprays and fertilisers has more than doubled recently, so conventional produce is no longer that much cheaper. It also takes time to establish a successful organic system, and as yields increase year by year, so the price gap narrows.” Visser is confident that organic farmers will be able to sell their produce at the same price as conventional farmers in the near future. At the moment the difference is usually around R1 per item, so if you pay R10 for a packet of conventional baby marrows, for example, you’d probably pay R11 for organic.
What do GM crops mean for the environment?
“GM agriculture is designed with farmers in mind, and our industrial agricultural model is one of the biggest drivers of environmental damage, through chemical and fertiliser pollution, damage to watercourses and the destruction of sensitive ecological systems,” says Ashton. “GM soya, for example, is designed to be resistant to weed killers, and is the world’s most widely grown GM crop. Since its introduction, the use of weed killers has rocketed, with disastrous effects on insects, fish, and amphibians in these areas.”
Will insects develop resistance?
Yes, this is inevitable, says Thomson. Insects are the most adaptable creatures on the planet and farmers have been trying to get rid of them since the beginning of agriculture. Most farmers with GM crops now plant “buffers” of regular crops around their GM plants, as this provides some “breathing space” for insects, so as to slow down the resistance building process.
What else can GM plants be used for?
Vaccines. Genetically modified plants are vital for the production of pharmaceuticals and vaccines, and is cheaper and safer than other methods.
Bio-fuels. With rising oil prices, ever-increasing demands for fuel, and (paradoxically) growing concern about carbon emissions, the biofuel industry is set to boom. GM crops designed for this purpose can help to keep up with demand, although the issue of fuel vs food crops is causing alarm as food prices continue to spiral upwards.
Mine detecting. Scientists have developed a GM tobacco plant that turns red/brown when it is exposed to TNT (explosive) content in soil. This plant is used to detect unexploded landmines, and is set to help with land clearing for agriculture in mine-ridden countries such as Angola.
Final word on GM from Badham:
“There is no doubt that with any new technology, safety issues must be addressed because safe food is a basic human right, but it must also be understood that genetic modification applications are the subject of extensive regulatory review. In SA, we have strict regulations that conform to world standards and all GM products have to be approved before entering the market. “The reality we face is that no human activities are risk free. To a large extent, Africa missed the Industrial, Green and Information Technology revolutions — it cannot afford to miss out on what GM has to offer.”
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