What are Genetically Modified foods ( GM foods )?

The term GM foods or GMOs ( Genetically Modified Organisms )can be defined as organisms in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally. The technology is often called “modern biotechnology” or “gene technology”, sometimes also “recombinant DNA technology” or “genetic engineering”. It allows selected individual genes to be transferred from one organism into another, also between non-related species. The resulting organism is said to be "genetically modified", genetically engineered" or "transgenic".

Are GM foods harmful or helpful?

It all depends on which side you're on.

The biotech industry claims that GE ( Genetically Engineered ) food crops will save the environment and solve the hunger crisis. But a growing number of scientists, doctors and consumers consider them a threat to the planet, and organizations like Christian Aid and the Institute for Food and Development Policy say GE food crops are actually likely to increase world hunger.

Here are a few myths and realities of GE foods to help you decide who's right and who's wrong!

MYTH #1:

Genetic engineering is merely an extension of traditional breeding.

REALITY: Genetic engineering is a new technology that has been developed to overcome the limitations of traditional breeding. Traditional breeders have never been capable of crossing fish genes with strawberries. But genetically engineered "fishberries" are already in the field. With genetic engineering, these types of new organisms can be created and released into the environment.

MYTH #2:

Genetic engineering can make foods better, more nutritious, longer-lasting and better-tasting.

REALITY: The reason for the 70 million acres of GE crops grown in the USA today has nothing to do with nutrition, flavour or any other consumer benefit. There is little benefit aside from the financial gains reaped by the firms producing GE crops.

MYTH #3:

GE crops eliminate pesticides and are necessary for environmentally sustainable farming.

REALITY: Farmers who grow GE crops actually use more herbicide, not less. For example, Monsanto created Roundup-Ready (RR) soy, corn and cotton specifically so that farmers would continue to buy Roundup, the company's best-selling chemical weed killer, which is sold with RR seeds. Instead of reducing pesticide use, one study of more than 8,000 university-based field trials suggested that farmers who plant RR soy use two to five times more herbicide than non-GE farmers who use integrated weed-control methods. GE crops may actually be the greatest threat to sustainable agriculture on the planet. Many organic farmers rely on a natural bacterial spray to control certain crop pests. The advent of genetically engineered, insect-resistant crops is likely to lead to insects that are immune to this natural pesticide. When this biological pesticide is rendered ineffective, other farmers will turn to increasingly toxic chemicals to deal with the "superbugs" created by GE crops. Meanwhile, organic farmers will be out of options.

MYTH #4:

There is no scientific evidence that GE foods harm people or the environment

REALITY: There is no long-term study showing that GE foods or crops are safe. Doctors around the world have warned that GE foods may cause unexpected health consequences that may take years to develop. Laboratory and field evidence shows that GE crops can harm beneficial insects, damage soils and transfer GE genes in the environment, thereby contaminating neighboring crops and potentially creating uncontrollable weeds.

MYTH #5:

GE foods are necessary to feed the developing world's growing population.

REALITY: In 1998, African scientists at a United Nations conference strongly objected to Monsanto's promotional GE campaign that used photos of starving African children under the headline "Let the Harvest Begin." The scientists, who represented many of the nations affected by poverty and hunger, said gene technologies would undermine the nations' capacities to feed themselves by destroying established diversity, local knowledge and sustainable agricultural systems. Genetic engineering could actually lead to an increase in hunger and starvation. Biotech companies like Monsanto force growers to sign a technology use agreement when growing their patented GE crops which stipulates, among other things, that the farmer can not save the seeds produced from their GE harvest. Half the world's farmers rely on saved seed to produce food that 1.4 billion people rely on for daily nutrition.

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