Brittany has an interest in forensic science, which I admit I have always found interesting too. She will be graduating here soon and moving on to bigger things. Sad for us, but good for her. Last year she did an experiment where she tested the antimicrobial properties of herbs. Herbs....sure would beat the smell of bleach right about now. Ask her all about it!
We’ve all heard about GMOs and how they’re in our food and how they’re apparently “harmful” for us. There has been much controversy as to what GMOs are and why they exist. So, I’m here to set the record straight about GMOs so that way we can all understand them better and make the world a happier place by doing so.
Picture 1. GMOs: Crop Edition - Looks at major points associated with GMOs that are discussed in further detail throughout the post.
What are GMOs?
To begin with, what does GMO(s) stand for? GMO(s) stands for genetically modified organism(s). These organisms typically tend to be bacteria or plants and, in most cases, are plants that produce flowers and those we use as crops. And GMOs do not include plants or animals that are made by selective breeding or animals modified by being given hormone supplements or antibiotics (Siegel & Verity, 2020). For our purpose, we are going to take a look at the crop GMOs, why they are made, how they are made, and whether or not they are good for us. But before getting to that, I just wanted to share some interesting facts about GMOs in crops and in food in general. More than 93% of corn and soy planted in the US are GMOs. Most of these crops end up becoming animal feed, ethanol, and corn syrup (Plumer, 2015). In fact, as much as 90% of the genetically modified (GM) crops are used to create animal feed (Siegel & Verity, 2020). About 60-70% of processed foods in the US contain GMOs (Plumer, 2015). Along with that being said, a lot of the crops grown in the US are genetically modified. I already stated that corn and soy are genetically modified, but so are alfalfa, canola, cotton, potato, sugar beet, zucchini, and summer squash (Kimberton, 2020). So, most of the time whenever we eat these crops, we have no idea if they have been genetically modified or not and this is what causes concern for some people because the US is not required to label crops or foods as being GMOs.
Why are GMOs made?
For simplistic reasons, GM crops are formed in order to create a resistance to insects, weeds, and weather (Purdue, 2020). This is done so that harmful pesticides, insecticides, and herbicides can be used less often or not at all and so that the crops are not damaged by weather such as too much rain, not enough rain, wind, etc. By not using harmful chemicals on crops, these chemicals would not combine with rain and create runoff that eventually ends up in rivers, streams, etc. Pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, and even fertilizers all contain chemicals or certain nutrients that produce this toxic agricultural runoff. When this runoff reaches rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes, the ecosystem in these environments are altered. Algae living in these environments increase their populations greatly whenever they come in contact with large amounts of chemicals or nitrogen and phosphorus. Whenever there are more algae present, they cover a large area on the water’s surface and consume most of the oxygen that comes in contact with the water. This then results in less oxygen being present in the water and this is what kills off fish, plants, and other organisms living in those environments. In addition to this, this large population of algae promotes the growth of bacteria in water, and while bacteria increase in their growth, they produce high levels of toxins. These toxins then subside in the water and can contaminate drinking water. People that drink this polluted water can get sick rather quickly because of these toxins. People can also get sick from eating fish or shellfish that came from polluted waters (Green, 2019). But by genetically modifying crops to be resistant to insects and weeds, these harmful chemicals do not need to be used and we end up cleaning up the environment by reducing the toxic chemicals in it. And this ends up creating a safer environment for us and the organisms around us.
How are GMOs made?
Now that we talked about why GMOs are made, it is important to understand how they are made. And the process of creating GMOs is not detrimental to us or to any other organism. But first, I should explain what genetic engineering is. Genetic engineering is defined as “biotechnological methods used by scientists to directly manipulate an organism’s genome” (Siegel & Verity, 2020). So, to make a GMO, there are four steps that are followed by the biotechnology companies that create these GM crops. The first step is to identify a gene/trait of interest. When scientists are looking for a gene/trait that would allow a crop to grow in specific environment, they first must find organisms that grow naturally in that environment. And if these scientists are aiming to improve the nutritional content of a crop, they must screen through plants that could possibly be making that nutrient of interest. The second step is to isolate that gene/trait of interest. This is done by performing comparative analysis. Comparative analysis determines which part of an organism’s genetic makeup contains the gene/trait of interest. The genomes (or the collection of all genetic material) of plants with the gene/trait are compared to the genomes of plants in the same species that do not contain the desired gene/trait. The third step is inserting the desired gene/trait into a new genome. It is known that altering the genome of plant seeds is difficult due to the seed’s rigid structure. So, with that being said, there are two methods that are commonly used by biotech companies to insert gene/trait of interest into the plant’s genome. The first method is to use a gene gun. Gene guns shoot metal particles covered in DNA carrying the desired gene/trait into the plant tissue of a seed. The second method to genetically engineer bacteria to produce the desired gene/trait and this is done through plasmid recombination. (Plasmid recombination is the process in which extrachromosomal DNA in the plasmid is inserted into the chromosomal DNA of the nucleoid and then expressed by the bacteria). The most common type of bacteria that is used is Agrobacterium tumefaciens, because it naturally invades plant seeds and alter plants by inserting pieces of its DNA into the plant’s genome. The final step is to actually grow the GMO. Rigorous testing is done to ensure that the GMO is growing and replicating with its newly engineered genome as expected. Biotech companies use special climate-controlled growth chambers and check on the GM crops by hand to make sure the crop is expressing the gene/trait that was inserted into it. After the GM crops have passed optimal seeding and growth conditions to create the best possible yield, their seeds are sold to the public. These seeds come with instructions on spacing and nutritional needs for the best yield of crops to be produced (Powell, 2015). By looking at how GM crops are created, it is evident to see that no animal or plant is being harmed in the process, and that the natural process of how plants grow is what drives the creation of these crops.
Are GMOs good or bad for us?
There is a lot of information about GMOs and it is necessary to go over the basics in order to have a better understanding of them. So far, I have covered what GMOs are, why they are made, and how they are made. The last bit of information that I want to leave you with is why GMOs are safe for us to eat. According to Siegel & Verity (2020), nearly nine out of ten scientists from the American Association for the Advancement of Science say that GMOs are “generally safe” to eat. Along with that, research that was conducted for over ten years on the safety of GM crops showed that there was no significant harm directly tied to genetic engineering. And if that is not enough, the American Medical Association says that genetically modified foods are okay to eat. They made this statement after looking at statistics for the past 20 years and saw that there were no clear impacts on human health that have been reported or confirmed after the consumption of GMOs. To add to this, GMOs cannot be sold on the market unless they have passed tests set forth by the FDA, through the Plant Biotechnology Consultation Program, and have been approved by the FDA as being safe to eat. These tests include comparing GM crops to their original crops and seeing if there is a difference in nutritional value; is there a chance that the new gene would introduce something that would be deemed harmful, like a possible allergen; and if there is any possibility that the GM crop could spread a disease. More specifically, GMOs must meet the high standards of the Codex Alimentarius and US food safety regulations. So, this basically means that the FDA must look over and approve every GMO that is on the market (Siegel & Verity, 2020). If the FDA finds an issue with a GMO, then it is not allowed on the market. What I’m getting at is that the FDA approves GMOs to be sold on the market when they have proven to have no concern or effect on the people who are going to be consuming them. So, we can eat GMOs and not be worried about them having an effect on us. There has been a concern that by eating GMOs, our DNA was going to be altered. I just wanted to clear up this misconception because our DNA cannot be altered by eating GMOs. If this was actually possible, then both GMO and nonGMO foods we eat would affect our DNA because the DNA in these foods are foreign to our DNA (Siegel & Verity, 2020). So, with everything being said, GMOs are SAFE for us to eat and that’s my Ted Talk.
To be able to see the infographic better, click on this link: GMOs Crop Edition 2.png
References
Green, J. (2019, Oct. 11). What Are The Causes of Fertilizer Runoff?. Retrieved from https://homeguides.sfgate.com/causes-fertilizer-runoff-77148.html
Kimberton Whole Farms. (2020). Most Common GMOs. Retrieved from https://www.kimbertonwholefoods.com/most-common-gmos/
Plumer B. (2015, July 22). How widespread are GM foods?. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/2014/11/3/18092748/how-widespread-are-gm-foods
Powell, C. (2015, Aug. 9). How To Make A GMO. Retrieved from http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2015/how-to-make-a-gmo/
Purdue University. (2020). Why do we use GMOs?. Retrieved from https://ag.purdue.edu/GMOs/Pages/WhyGMOs.aspx
Siegel, K. & Verity, S. (2020). What You Need to Know About GMOs. Retrieved from https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/truth-about-gmos#1
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