Nivedita Kanrar

Mrs. Murray

Honors Intro to Lit. (9)

5 June 2015

Why We Hate GMOs: We Experience No Benefits

Just two Saturdays ago, thousands of protesters holding slogans against genetically

modified organisms (GMOs) streamed through major cities throughout the world in the March

Against Monsanto, held on May 23.

This event, supported by large organizations such as Occupy Monsanto, targets the

application of genetic modification technology and the use of herbicides. Protesters believe that

genetic modification is the newest ploy by major companies that sacrifices the environment and

human health for shareholder value.

This opposition to genetic modification technology is partly due to the fact that most

consumers from First World countries have not seen any direct benefits from its use, such as

reduced insecticide use or improved nutritional quality.

Widely grown genetically modified cotton and corn, containing a gene from the bacteria

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), have their own mechanism to kill insects; a crystal protein coded by

the inserted gene basically pierces the gut wall of economically detrimental pests, either killing

them in a few hours or reducing their growth. This results in a decrease of the population of these

harmful insects, reducing the use of pesticides (Bessin).

Rice, a staple crop consumed by a majority of the Asian and African population, is

currently being modified to have an improved nutritional value. Vitamin A deficiency is

prevalent among those whose diets are based on rice, due to its lack of Vitamin A, resulting in
dire consequences- such as blindness and a compromised immune system- killing about 2.7

million children each year. Savvy scientists were able to genetically engineer rice to contain

Vitamin A, benefitting the vast population of rice consumers and creating the controversial

golden rice, which contains about half the daily value of Vitamin A in one cup of rice

(Vitamin A).

Despite the crops success, a group opposing agrochemical companies (aka Monsanto)

destroyed swaths of golden rice trial fields in the Philippines, creating more hurdles in the path to

heal people and potentially save millions of lives (McGrath). Anti-GMO and environmental

groups are putting millions of lives at risk because of their attention-grabbing actions in a selfish

attempt to stop multinational biotech companies. Yet, they offer no alternative to this genetic

modification technology and continuously insist that it is purely wrong.

Along with blocking current applications of genetic modification, anti-GMO and

environmental groups disregard the future benefits of this technology to solving world hunger

(Herrera-Estrella & Alvarez-Morales).

Occupy Monsanto claims that only poverty is the real cause of global hunger. This

doesnt address the fact that global hunger is exacerbated by food shortage, mainly due to pests,

insect damage, diseases, and poor soils. The global food supply will only dwindle further with

climate change and an increase in world population, which is projected to reach up to 12.3 billion

in 2100 (Herrera-Estrella & Alvarez-Morales; Gerland, et. al).

There are two options to curb this global food shortage: increase the use of herbicides,

pesticides, and other -cides that environmental groups protest in the first place or improve the

quality of crops through genetic modification to be protected against diseases and pests and more

tolerant to harsh environmental conditions (Herrera-Estrella & Alvarez-Morales).

 A genetically modified tomato plant, developed by plant biologists at UC Davis and

University of Toronto, is more tolerant to high salinity conditions, one of the main environmental

stressors that reduce crop yield throughout the world. Soil salinity, or extra saltiness of soil, is an

imminent and growing problem, especially in Californias San Joaquin Valley, characterized by

white soil that inhibits plant growth. The genetically modified tomato stores salt in its leaves,

thereby leaving the fruit intact, allowing for growth in high salinity conditions (GMO -).

Crops such as the salt-tolerant tomato, produced through genetic modification

technology, present an environmentally friendly and efficient solution to increase the global food

supply to provide for an ever-growing population. Environmental and anti-GMO groups need to

understand this genetic modification technology and allow others to understand it too, before

taking off doing some crazy stunt to prove why the next GMOs are going to be Franken-foods.

We all need to be mature and understanding in the conversation about providing for our future

generations, we cant just leave them with fields of dying crops, facing another Irish Famine.

Works Cited

Bessin, Ric. "Bt-Corn: What It Is and How It Works | University of Kentucky ..." 2013. 27 May.

2015 <http://www2.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef130.asp>

"Genetically modified crops: Field research - The Economist." 2014. 26 May. 2015

<http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21630961-biggest-study-so-

far-finds-gm-crops-have-large-widespread-benefits-field>
Gerland, Patrick et al. "World population stabilization unlikely this century." Science 346.6206

(2014): 234-237.

"GMO - Genetically Modified Organism." 2014. 26 May. 2015

<https://classes.soe.ucsc.edu/cmpe080e/Spring05/projects/gmo/>

HerreraEstrella, Luis, and Ariel AlvarezMorales. "Genetically modified crops: hope for

developing countries?." EMBO reports 2.4 (2001): 256-258.

McGrath, Matt. "'Golden rice' GM trial vandalised in the Philippines - BBC.com." 2013. 27 May.

2015 <http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-23632042>

"Occupy Monsanto." 2012. 26 May. 2015 <http://occupy-monsanto.com/>

Phillips, Theresa. "Genetically modified organisms (GMOs): Transgenic crops and recombinant

DNA technology." Nature Education 1.1 (2008): 213.

"Vitamin A Deficiency - The Golden Rice Project." 2012. 27 May. 2015

<http://www.goldenrice.org/Content3-Why/why1_vad.php>