Animal Science: Genetically Engineering the World

Goats on a Berkeley hill in Ca.

Genetically Engineering the World

Genetically engineered plants and animals are those that have had their DNA changed by man-made processes (also known as biotechnology). Historically, humans have been doing this for thousands of years by breeding plants or animals that had certain desirable traits together. Gregor Mendel became famous in 1866 for breeding different types of pea plants through observing how their genetics changed from parent to child (O'Neil, 2013). These hybrids laid the foundation for genetic engineering.

                Modern genetically engineered animals and plants use the same basic foundations, but with a more hands-on approach. Scientists take an animal, for example a sheep, decide on something they want to alter, perhaps susceptibility to hoof-rot, and find a way to add in a bit of some type of DNA to the sheep’s to fix that problem. They then breed this new animal who’s DNA has the mutation and now you have a genetically engineered sheep (University of Utah, 2013). Humans use to just look for members of the herd that didn’t have the same susceptibility and breed those, but that takes time and genetic engineering shows up in the next-generation instead of in four or five generations. This makes it easier and quicker to get results.

                One of the problems with genetic engineering is research. The companies doing the research are the ones making the profit so they are less inclined to look too hard or long at any negative issues that may arise. We are also fairly new at genetic engineering, so we don’t have the long track record to find out what happens to people who consume GMO foods after fifty or sixty years (Freedman, 2013). Proponents of GMO say that concerns are needless. They’ve done thousands of experiments and everything looks okay, yet there are those scientists that are still concerned. Not everything or everyone can be checked and the idea that we may make a toxic plant is something that should be a concern.

                Many countries around the world have banned GMOs for this reason. The European Union only allows two GMO plants “Monsanto's MON810 maize and BASF's Amflora potato” (Freedman, 2013) to be imported. China and India have banned GMOs entirely and countries in Africa, where malnutrition is widespread have also said no. With global warming, population growth, and lack of agricultural land, proponents of GMOs say this is the only way we will be able to feed ourselves, yet still the concern lingers and one has to think, if enough people are questioning it, are they on the right track?

                Several plants, such as cotton and tomatoes, have been genetically modified to internally produce pesticides to protect the plant and minimize the quantity of dangerous chemicals we spray. This sounds like a great idea: farmers are safer, the groundwater doesn’t get polluted and we kill off nasty pests like earworms and grasshoppers; however, if the ‘chemical’ is inside the cotton, that means we can’t wash it off and people who are sensitive to chemicals may have allergic reactions to the material (Institute for Responsible Technology, n.d.). This can also lead to pesticide resistant bugs, aka ‘superbugs’, which are even harder to kill or worse, some say, croplands that are completely denude of birds, insects, and animals (Charles, 2016).

                Other issues come up when GMO companies (Monsanto being the largest) make their plants unable to be bred outside the laboratory. Some have gone so far as to sue farmers whose croplands have been unknowingly contaminated with these GMO seeds (Sarich, 2014). The potential for these GMO seeds to get out and cross-breed with wild or native plants is a big concern, even amongst scientists in favor of GMOs. In Mexico, nearly all varieties of corn show some level of contamination (Institute for Responsible Technology, n.d.) and farmers can no longer compete against American grown GMO corn, which is cheaper because of US government subsidies (Wise, 2011). This is a big problem culturally as well as economically in developing countries. It’s great to want to feed the world, but America doesn’t have to be the one’s pushing the shopping cart. If we take away a countries ability to supply their population with their own foods, we can take away their sense of accomplishment and economic freedom.

                In conclusion, many would say the GMO debate is far from over. There are benefits and concerns about GMOs and I think that’s actually a good thing. As a society, we should look at what we grow and eat and how that affects us. Blindly following the herd is a great way to get slaughtered, so go out and question, research, decide what works best for you and your family not because some actor or scientists says so, but because you’ve looked at things from every angle and decided that your stance works best for you. GMOs may be the way to deal with rising sea-levels and populations, but they may also need more government over-sight and diversification between companies. Not every GMO needs to be created or controlled by Monsanto. Perhaps the way to deal with GMOs is to make them all ‘open-source,’ like computer codes where anyone can see how they were made, alter them as needed, and be patent-free. Maybe then we will feel a bit safer eating our cereal in the morning.

References

Charles, D. (2016, May 17). GMOs Are Safe, But Don't Always Deliver On Promises, Top Scientists Say. Retrieved from NPR: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/05/17/478415310/top-scientists-say-gmos-are-safe-but-dont-always-deliver-on-promises

Freedman, D. H. (2013, September 1). The Truth about Genetically Modified Food. Retrieved from Scientific American: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-truth-about-genetically-modified-food/

Institute for Responsible Technology. (n.d.). GMO Education. Retrieved January 14, 2017, from Institute for Responsible Technology: http://responsibletechnology.org/gmo-education/

O'Neil, D. (2013). Mendel's Genetics. Retrieved from Basic Principles of Genetics: http://anthro.palomar.edu/mendel/mendel_1.htm

Sarich, C. (2014, August 29). Monsanto Sues Farmers For 16 Straight Years Over GMOs, NEVER Loses. Retrieved from Natural Society: http://naturalsociety.com/monsanto-sued-farmers-16-years-gmos-never-lost/

University of Utah. (2013, July 15). Genetically Modified Foods . Retrieved from Genetic Science Learning Center: http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/science/gmfoods/

Wise, T. (2011, January/February). Mexico: The Cost of U.S. Dumping. Retrieved from NACLA Report on the Americas: http://nacla.org/news/mexico-cost-us-dumping