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forestofgloryThis answer is part of the Environmental Science FONSFAQ. This was going to be part of Three Weeks for Dreamwidth, but it took longer then planed to write.
Q: Should I worry about genetically modified crops?
I’m going to assume that by genetically modified crops you mean transgenic crops. Some people argue that all domestication is a process of genetic modification. This is true but also a bit like saying all chemicals are natural. I think transgenic crops are clearly different from other forms of plant breeding. Transgenic crops are crops where genes from another species have been added to the original crop’s genome (the set of all of an organism’s genes). Two genes are most commonly used in modern agriculture: Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) a bacteria derived insecticide, and Roundup Ready – a gene which confers resistance to Monsanto’s herbicide: Roundup.
Bt is a crystal that causes caterpillars’ stomachs to explode. The Bt compound was and still is used in small amounts by organic farmers. Genetic engineering creates plants that make their own Bt. There are several things that cause people to worry about Bt.
The first of these is that small amounts of Bt are present in food made from Bt crops. You are exposed to small amounts of nasty things in your food and water every day. Unfortunately long term toxicology studies are difficult and hard to do ethically. So we don’t really know what the risk of exposure is from all the chemicals around –especially when we consider their interactions with each other. That said my gut feeling is that Bt is unlikely to be harmful to humans, it’s not the type of thing that stays around in one’s system, and it’s really species specific. So you should be worried about all the nasty stuff that you ingest, but I wouldn’t worry about Bt more than the rest of it.
People also worry that Bt corn could harm non-target species. In Bt crops the gene Bt is expressed in all parts of the plant – that means there is Bt in all of it. This includes the plant’s pollen. Now Bt corn is relatively common. Corn is wind pollinated, so the pollen can travel for miles. Thus the Bt in the pollen can effect non-target species. Of special concern are monarch butterfly caterpillars. It has been shown in lab test that Bt can harm them. However there is a lot of argument over how much bearing the lab conditions have on field conditions. Still I am mildly worried that Bt corn is harmful to endangered Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths).
A third problem is pest resistance to Bt. In organic farming Bt is generally used in a highly targeted manner. That means not much is used and what is used is put where it is likely to do the most good. In contrast plants that express Bt express it all the time, and tend to planted in much larger fields than organic crops. Thus pests are exposed to Bt more often and are more likely to become resistant. If Bt resistance becomes widespread than Bt would no longer be useful as pesticide for many years. This would be a problem for farmers growing Bt corn and for organic farmers who use Bt.
The main problem with Roundup ready crops is that they encourage the use of more Roundup. Thus sales of Roundup ready seeds help create sales of Roundup. In general I think using more chemicals is a bad thing.
A problem with transgenic crops in general is gene pollution. Most grains are wind pollinated, they produce a lot of pollen and it goes all over. (Wind pollinated plants make tons of pollen and let the wind blow it all over. Plants that are pollinated by insects generally produce much less pollen. Pollen is basically plant sperm. ) That means genetic materials from transgenic crops can travel miles and fertilize other crops. There are two main reasons this is a problem. One is that transgenic genes can contaminate organic crops. This really sucks for the organic farmers. The crops aren’t considered organic anymore and they might be sued for patent infringement[*] (this has happened in the US). Another problem with genetic contamination is that it can affect the wild relatives of crop plants. These wild relatives act as reserve of gentic diversity so we don’t want them contaminated. Genetic diversity is important as a source for new traits in crops and to help confer disease resistance. Pathogens have a harder time attacking diverse crops as the pathogens have to get around a diverse array of defenses. Today most crops are grown in monocultures; large fields which contain not only plants of the same species, but plant that are very similar genetically. Thus we need reserves of genetic materials to fall back on when these plants have problems.
Currently, however, GM tech is used in the service of large Agri-business. This means monoculture and lots of fertilizer and pesticides and little concern for saving water, soil or wildlife. Big ag is all about short term profits before long term sustainability. And to me that that is a Huge problem, far beyond the use of transgenic crops. There is dead zone in the Gulf of the Mexico the size of New Jersey that is the result of fertilizer runoff. Erosion is losing us tons of soil a year. As long as GM crops that are developed by big ag companies will be in line with their current outlook this will be problematic.
I think you should be worried about large Agri-business. I think you should be worried that they have so much control over the agricultural research in the US, including the development of new transgenic crops. I think you ought to be a bit concerned about monarch butterflies, pest resistance, herbidicide use and genetic contaimination. I think you should be worried about the IP laws involving genes in the US. I don’t believe that our ability to create transgenic crops should worry you, but I do think you should be worried about what people do with transgenic crops.
[*] The current patent system in the US for genetic material is sorely lacking. I do not believe those genes which are found in nature should be patentable. Patents are supposed to be original and existing genes shouldn’t qualify.
Q: Should I worry about genetically modified crops?
I’m going to assume that by genetically modified crops you mean transgenic crops. Some people argue that all domestication is a process of genetic modification. This is true but also a bit like saying all chemicals are natural. I think transgenic crops are clearly different from other forms of plant breeding. Transgenic crops are crops where genes from another species have been added to the original crop’s genome (the set of all of an organism’s genes). Two genes are most commonly used in modern agriculture: Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) a bacteria derived insecticide, and Roundup Ready – a gene which confers resistance to Monsanto’s herbicide: Roundup.
Bt is a crystal that causes caterpillars’ stomachs to explode. The Bt compound was and still is used in small amounts by organic farmers. Genetic engineering creates plants that make their own Bt. There are several things that cause people to worry about Bt.
The first of these is that small amounts of Bt are present in food made from Bt crops. You are exposed to small amounts of nasty things in your food and water every day. Unfortunately long term toxicology studies are difficult and hard to do ethically. So we don’t really know what the risk of exposure is from all the chemicals around –especially when we consider their interactions with each other. That said my gut feeling is that Bt is unlikely to be harmful to humans, it’s not the type of thing that stays around in one’s system, and it’s really species specific. So you should be worried about all the nasty stuff that you ingest, but I wouldn’t worry about Bt more than the rest of it.
People also worry that Bt corn could harm non-target species. In Bt crops the gene Bt is expressed in all parts of the plant – that means there is Bt in all of it. This includes the plant’s pollen. Now Bt corn is relatively common. Corn is wind pollinated, so the pollen can travel for miles. Thus the Bt in the pollen can effect non-target species. Of special concern are monarch butterfly caterpillars. It has been shown in lab test that Bt can harm them. However there is a lot of argument over how much bearing the lab conditions have on field conditions. Still I am mildly worried that Bt corn is harmful to endangered Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths).
A third problem is pest resistance to Bt. In organic farming Bt is generally used in a highly targeted manner. That means not much is used and what is used is put where it is likely to do the most good. In contrast plants that express Bt express it all the time, and tend to planted in much larger fields than organic crops. Thus pests are exposed to Bt more often and are more likely to become resistant. If Bt resistance becomes widespread than Bt would no longer be useful as pesticide for many years. This would be a problem for farmers growing Bt corn and for organic farmers who use Bt.
The main problem with Roundup ready crops is that they encourage the use of more Roundup. Thus sales of Roundup ready seeds help create sales of Roundup. In general I think using more chemicals is a bad thing.
A problem with transgenic crops in general is gene pollution. Most grains are wind pollinated, they produce a lot of pollen and it goes all over. (Wind pollinated plants make tons of pollen and let the wind blow it all over. Plants that are pollinated by insects generally produce much less pollen. Pollen is basically plant sperm. ) That means genetic materials from transgenic crops can travel miles and fertilize other crops. There are two main reasons this is a problem. One is that transgenic genes can contaminate organic crops. This really sucks for the organic farmers. The crops aren’t considered organic anymore and they might be sued for patent infringement[*] (this has happened in the US). Another problem with genetic contamination is that it can affect the wild relatives of crop plants. These wild relatives act as reserve of gentic diversity so we don’t want them contaminated. Genetic diversity is important as a source for new traits in crops and to help confer disease resistance. Pathogens have a harder time attacking diverse crops as the pathogens have to get around a diverse array of defenses. Today most crops are grown in monocultures; large fields which contain not only plants of the same species, but plant that are very similar genetically. Thus we need reserves of genetic materials to fall back on when these plants have problems.
Currently, however, GM tech is used in the service of large Agri-business. This means monoculture and lots of fertilizer and pesticides and little concern for saving water, soil or wildlife. Big ag is all about short term profits before long term sustainability. And to me that that is a Huge problem, far beyond the use of transgenic crops. There is dead zone in the Gulf of the Mexico the size of New Jersey that is the result of fertilizer runoff. Erosion is losing us tons of soil a year. As long as GM crops that are developed by big ag companies will be in line with their current outlook this will be problematic.
I think you should be worried about large Agri-business. I think you should be worried that they have so much control over the agricultural research in the US, including the development of new transgenic crops. I think you ought to be a bit concerned about monarch butterflies, pest resistance, herbidicide use and genetic contaimination. I think you should be worried about the IP laws involving genes in the US. I don’t believe that our ability to create transgenic crops should worry you, but I do think you should be worried about what people do with transgenic crops.
[*] The current patent system in the US for genetic material is sorely lacking. I do not believe those genes which are found in nature should be patentable. Patents are supposed to be original and existing genes shouldn’t qualify.
