by A. W.

Created on: June 24, 2009

Finding a way to feed millions of starving people across the globe seems impossible. Yet, what if a solution lies within reach? What if genetically modified foods could eradicate hunger? One day most plants could be equipped with the genes to grow in barren soil or even produce their own pesticides. Maybe science can stop human agricultural plight, but at what cost? Genetically modified organisms come with an impressive list of positives, but the negatives warrant a closer look. Trying to find a solution to world hunger without revering the long term effects is risky, at best. Are the risks of genetically engineered crops worth altering the building-blocks of agriculture?

Before people can choose whether genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are safe or not, they need to know what they are eating. Nearly 70% of processed foods eaten in America contain ingredients from genetically modified plants. Corn is one of the largest transgenic crops and it accounted for 25% of all GM plants in 2006. People consume transgenic corn without being able to tell that it's been modified. So what makes the genetically engineered plant different? Bt corn is an example of a popular and widely successful modified crop. Bt, or Bacillus thuringiensis is a soil bacterium that produces pesticide-like properties within its proteins. While regular corn is susceptible to crop-destroying pests, Bt corn kills the larvae of crop feeders such as the European corn borer, black cut worm, and corn rootworm.

Although GM plants appear to have infinite promise in the future, I am personally leery of their potential side effects. One of my concerns is for the long-term impact GMOs will have on humans. If people begin eating plants that can prevent certain diseases or provide vaccinations, will we build up tolerances that allow more harmful illnesses to occur? I'm now cognizant of the fact that many of the foods we eat are GM, but where in the supermarket is this information provided? I think just as nutrition facts are mandatory on most products, so too should be their origin (especially for produce). Some other important concerns are: What will happen if these plants begin passing on their traits to other organisms, what if herbicide resistant GM plants pass their traits on to other organisms, which are meant to be killed, and what will happen if harmful traits, such as allergens are passed on to other plants (for example, GM soybeans which have caused reactions in people allergic to Brazil nuts)?

The list of unknowns weighs on me, both from a scientific and moral standpoint. Solving the problem of hunger now may not outweigh the infinite problems we could run into in the future from altering the building blocks of life. I do see positives in transgenic crops, but I think they should be studied longer and on a smaller scale, while providing people with information to choose if what they eat has been altered or not.

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