geneTicAlly modified foods
By Maurice J. Hladik
genetically modified foods:
Why All the fuss?
statistics put the share of U.S. production of organic soybeans and corn each
at a fraction of 1 percent of the total
crop harvested. In another study quoted
in the Swiss/UK report, it was estimated
that by 2007, the incremental global
farm income thanks to GM technology
was $7 billion.
Industry overreacts to activists while consumer apathy gives GMOs the edge
nearly two decades ago as genetic modifica- tions were becoming a commercial reality, I was one of those who lauded the many benefits the technology delivered in a hand- ful of important crops, primarily soybeans,
corn, cotton and canola. To an agriculturalist, enhanced
weed control with glyphosate-resistant plants (e.g.,
Roundup Ready) was an incredible advance in sustainable farming. Additionally, insecticide applications can
be eliminated or reduced, yields improved and profits
to farmers increased. This is as close to a magic bullet as
farming has ever experienced.
Given all the advantages over conventional crop vari-eties, the global farming community has enthusiastically
embraced genetically modified (GM) technologies as
outlined in a 2011 report presented jointly by the Swiss
Federal Institute of Technology and the University of
Reading in the United Kingdom. From a humble beginning in 1996 with 2. 8 million hectares of GM crops in
just six countries, by 2009, GM farming reached 134
million hectares. This is the entire area of Germany,
France, the UK and Italy combined. The original six
had expanded to 25 countries by 2009, of which 15
were classified as developing nations. All this in only 13
years; by all accounts, the growth in the application of
this technology continues unabated. Globally, by 2009,
77 percent of all soybeans grown, 26 percent of corn
and 21 percent of canola utilized GM technology. By
comparison, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
GM Technology Around the World
From a global food security perspective, according to the Food and
Agriculture Organization, the global
percentage of the undernourished fell
from 33 percent in 1969 to 16 percent
in 2010. Meanwhile, the world’s population increased from about 4 billion to
nearly 7 billion. Over this period, the
number of adequately fed people more
than doubled from 2. 5 billion to nearly
5. 5 billion. While many advanced agronomic technologies and practices are
involved, genetic modification played,
and continues to play, an increasingly
important role in this trend to feed the
world.
Early on, consumers decided they
were perfectly content with the selection
of food products just as they were. To
them, what went on at the farm or the
challenge of feeding the world was not
their concern. Then the fearmongers
moved in, spread their nonscientific
superstition and proclaimed the technology a global scourge. Unfortunately,
evidence to the contrary, particularly
the sustainability benefits on the farm,
only makes most peoples’ eyes glaze
over. Thus, the facts were discounted,
ignored or not understood by the majority of people; thus, the conventional
wisdom that evolved was that GM food
was bad and became an urban social
responsibility to be anti-GM organisms
(GMOs).
GMO Effects on Food Safety
Consumer awareness of all the issues, both pro and con regarding GM