GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms): TO BAN OR NOT TO BAN?

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Genetically engineered food promises to deal with the nutritional deficiencies people harbor all over the world. Examples of GM food range from golden rice which is vitamin A rich, bananas which are used to administer vaccines, tomatoes & broccoli which are rich with cancer fighting chemicals or fortified cooking oil and salt. GM foods certainly seem to a promising technology in the field of agriculture & health. They have also been condemned all over the world as “frankenfoods” which is an equivalent term for a monster.

Genetic engineering involves the use of cross-breeding, radiation & chemicals to induce the desired characteristics in a certain food crop. The whole debate around GM foods is centered on the safety of their consumption. Though, ill effects have not been reported yet due to GM food consumption, their long term effect is the issue in question & the human lifetime is considered to be too short a time span to actually generalize about the effects of GM crops. Apart from these applications, genetic engineering also has wide applications in the pharmaceutical industry.  The issue concerning genetically modified organisms is that, it may prove toxic to human beings in the long run; though no concrete evidences have been brought about in this regard. Potential health risks to humans include the possibility of exposure to new allergens in genetically modified foods, as well as the transfer of antibiotic-resistant genes to gut flora. Horizontal gene transfer of pesticide, herbicide, or antibiotic resistance to other organisms would not only put humans at risk, but it would also cause ecological imbalances.

The brighter side of the use of GM crops cannot be completely ignored. GM technology allows us to grow crops which are drought resistant, heat resistant, crops of enhanced nutritional value, increased yield, reduced costs for food or drug production, reduced need for pesticides, enhanced nutrient composition and food quality, resistance to pests and disease, greater food security, and medical benefits to the world's growing population. Advances have also been made in developing crops that mature faster and tolerate aluminum, boron, salt, drought, frost, and other environmental stressors, allowing plants to grow in conditions where they might not otherwise flourish.

Bt Cotton: A Successful example

Bt cotton, for years, have been cultivated on a large scale in India. It is genetically modified to provide protection against the pest, bollworm. The toxic gene sequence is extracted from Bacillus thuringenesis (soil bacteria) & inserted into the cotton seed. When the seed starts growing into a plant, the toxic gene expresses itself and when the pests try to eat the leaves of the plant, they get killed because the leaves also have the toxicity of the Bt gene. Bt cotton has been successfully used across nations for a while now. However, in the recent years Bt cotton is under attack by the pink bollworm. This has again raised concerns about the viability of Bt crops. Similarly, sweet corn (Mon863), Bt Brinjal & other food crops have also been produced.

Many industries stand to benefit from additional GMO research. For instance, a number of microorganisms are being considered as future clean fuel producers and bio-degraders. In addition, genetically modified plants may someday be used to produce recombinant vaccines. In fact, the concept of an oral vaccine expressed in plants (fruits and vegetables) for direct consumption by individuals is being examined as a possible solution to the spread of disease in underdeveloped countries, one that would greatly reduce the costs associated with conducting large-scale vaccination campaigns. Work is currently underway to develop plant-derived vaccine candidates in potatoes and lettuce for hepatitis B virus (HBV), enterotoxigenic  Escherichia coli (ETEC), and Norwalk virus. Scientists are also looking into the production of other commercially valuable proteins in plants, such as spider silk protein and polymers that are used in surgery or tissue replacement (Ma et al., 2003). Genetically modified animals have even been used to grow transplant tissues and human transplant organs, a concept called xenotransplantation. The rich variety of uses for GMOs provides a number of valuable benefits to humans, but many people also worry about potential risks.

GMOs TO BAN OR NOT TO BAN I ANTHROPOLOGY CONCEPT SERIES I ARTICLE – III

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