Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are living creatures that have been modified through genetic engineering to suit the needs of the modifier. Farmers can make changes in the genome of their crops and animals to get a certain quality they desire in their GMOs.
Humans have been modifying plants and animals since we started farming them. This was achieved through selective breeding, a process which involves breeding two individual organisms with desirable traits in the hopes of producing offspring with the desired traits accentuated. According to the Harvard University, we have been practicing selective breeding for nearly thirty thousand years. These practices have, over millennia, transformed different wild plants and animals into today’s domesticated versions.
According to the article by Harvard, the fundamental difference between selective breeding and genetic engineering is that selective breeding hopes to get the desired trait by chance, while genetic engineering targets specific genes to always modify the desired gene.
GMOs are a very controversial topic in modern society. As farmers are moving away from conventional farming methods, they are choosing between a variety of farming methods to implement. Some farmers choose to produce GM food, while others decide to grow organic produce.
Some people believe that GMOs are a danger to human’s health. Others believe that they are damaging the environment. The other side of the argument states that GMOs are not a harmful thing, furthermore, they are a valuable tool for humanity. In this essay, I will discuss and examine each argument.
There isn't a global definition for what makes food ‘organic’. According to the video ‘Is Organic Really Better? Healthy Food or Trendy Scam?’ by the YouTube channel Kurzgesagt, different countries and international organizations have different standards about what qualifies as organic and what doesn't. In most cases, food is considered organic when it is not grown using synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides, and doesn't contain engineered genes. Organic meat comes from livestock that aren't fed GM feed, and that are free to graze.
Is Organic Food Healthier than GM Food?
According to HelpGuide, a non-profit website, organic produce contains less harmful pesticides than non-organic food. This means that harmful synthetic pesticides aren’t present in the food, therefore being healthier in that aspect. It's worth noting, though, that the levels of pesticide residue found on GM foods are carefully monitored, so as to not be a danger to human health. The website HelpGuide includes, that although organic farming does not allow the use of synthetic pesticides and herbicides, farmers are allowed to use organic pesticides. Most of the time, these are natural toxins.
According to an EU Parliament briefing from 2015, copper sulfate, a natural pesticide that is usually present in organic apples, is more toxic to humans than many synthetic pesticides. This shows that in terms of pesticide residue in food, both methods of farming are equally harmful to human health.
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An article from the National Library of Medicine, states that organic food has very little differences in vitamins and minerals, compared to conventionally grown food. The biggest differences in vitamin content in the subjects of the experiment carried out by the National Library happened due to seasonal changes, and were observable in both types of food.
In conclusion, the health benefits of organic food over GM food (as well as conventional food) are virtually non-existent. We can conclude that GMOs and organic produce are equally healthy.
Is Organic Farming Better for the Environment than GM Food?
An article from the Oxford University says that no system of farming is decidedly better than any other. They all impact the environment in a different way, both for better and for worse. Some impacts also depend on crop type and local agricultural context. The clearest differences are found both in land use and energy consumption. The article from the Oxford University states that organic farming methods “consistently perform worse in terms of land use, regardless of food type grown”. The article also says that farming methods involving GMOs have a higher energy consumption than organic farming.
We can conclude that the production of GMOs and of organic food have a more or less equal impact on the environment. Organic farming consumes less energy, but has a lot higher land use. In countries where food is scarce, GM crops and animals would be a better alternative to organic produce, as less land is required to feed the population. Areas that wish to lessen their carbon footprint could turn to organic farming methods to grow their food, as these methods require less energy.
Use of Pesticides and Herbicides in GM Crops
Organic farming does not allow the use of synthetic pesticides, while GM farming methods do. According to the US Food and Drug Administration, the main reason farmers modify their crops is to ‘reduce crop loss’. This is achieved mainly by giving the crops resistance to insect damage, tolerance to herbicides and pesticides, and resistance to plant viruses.
Crops can be modified through genetic engineering to be more resistant to insect damage. This can be achieved by modifying the crop to produce a chemical that kills insects that ingest it. This can prevent pests from destroying harvests, and prevents possible famines in poorer regions.
Another way crops are modified is by giving them higher resistance to pesticides that would otherwise damage or kill the crop. This type of modification can have a negative effect on the environment. As plants are created to be more resistant to harmful pesticides, farmers can use more powerful chemicals. This can pollute water sources, destroy ecosystems and endanger local fauna and flora.
Farmers also modify their crops to be more resistant to certain diseases. Entire harvests can be destroyed by disease, and in third world countries, this often spells the beginning of a famine. The implementation of GM crops to an area that is in danger of a famine can save many from hunger.
Conclusion
Organic farming methods and GM farming methods each have their benefits and drawbacks. Organic farming does not allow the use of harmful pesticides that can damage the environment, while GM farming significantly reduces the crop loss of farmers. I believe that GM farming would be the best option if it banned the use of pesticides. GM crops can be modified to produce their own pesticides, meaning that this type of modification could eventually replace the use of pesticides. For now, no method is decisively the best, as they each have significant benefits and drawbacks.
Sources
- http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2015/from-corgis-to-corn-a-brief-look-at-the-long-history-of-gmo-technology/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PmM6SUn7Es
- https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-eating/organic-foods.htm
- https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2015/557009/EPRS_BRI(2015)557009_EN.pdf
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17852499/
- https://ourworldindata.org/is-organic-agriculture-better-for-the-environment
- https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa6cd5
- https://www.fda.gov/food/agricultural-biotechnology/how-gmo-crops-impact-our-world
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