Genetically Modified Crops (GM Crops): Benefits & Controversies

Genetically Modified Organism (Transgenic Organism)

• In GMO, genetic material (DNA) is altered or artificially introduced using genetic engineering techniques.
• Genetic modification involves the mutation, insertion, or deletion of genes.
• Inserted genes usually come from a different organism (e.g. In Bt cotton, Bt genes from bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis are induced).
• Genetic modification is done to induce a desirable new trait which does not occur naturally in the species.

GM techniques are used in:

• Biological and medical research,
• Production of pharmaceutical drugs,
• Experimental medicine (e.g. gene therapy),
• Agriculture (e.g. golden rice, Bt cotton etc.),
• Genetically modified bacteria to produce the protein insulin,
• To produce biofuels from some GM bacteria, etc.

Genetically modified crops (GM Crops or Biotech Crops)

• They are the plants used in agriculture, whose DNA has been modified to induce a desired new trait.
• A New trait might help in
• Controlling certain pests, diseases, or environmental conditions,
• reduction of spoilage,
• inducing resistance to chemical treatments (e.g. resistance to an herbicide),
• improving the nutrient profile of the crop,
• atmospheric nitrogen fixation by cereal crops,
• inducing tolerance to high salt soils and to flooding in crops,
• inducing drought resistance in crops,
• prolonging shelf life and commercial value of fruits and vegetables.

Major GM Crops

Bt Cotton

• Bt cotton is insect-resistant cotton variety.
• Strains of the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis produce different Bt toxins.
• Bt toxins are insecticidal to the larvae of moths, bollworms, etc. but are harmless to other forms of life.
• In 2002, a joint venture between Monsanto and Mahyco introduced Bt cotton to India.

Advantages

• Increases yield of cotton due to effective control of three types of bollworms.
• Reduction in insecticide use in the cultivation of Bt cotton in which bollworms are major pests.
• Potential reduction in the cost of cultivation (depending on seed cost versus insecticide costs).

Problems with Bt Cotton

• High cost of Bt cotton seeds as compared to non Bt cotton seeds.
• Ineffective against sucking pests like whitefly.
• Whitefly attack has become rampant in Punjab, Haryana and elsewhere.
• The costs of Bt seed and insecticide increase the risk of farmer bankruptcy in low-yield rain-fed settings.

Bt Brinjal

• Brinjal is India’s second most consumed vegetable after potatoes.
• Bt brinjal is created by inserting a crystal protein gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis.
• The Bt brinjal has been developed to give resistance to the Brinjal Fruit and Shoot Borer (FSB).
• Mahyco has developed the Bt brinjal variety.
• Insecticide requirement for Bt brinjal is far less than its non-Bt counterpart for the control of FSB.
• The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) cleared Bt brinjal for commercialization in 2009.
• Following concerns raised by some scientists and anti-GMO activists, the GOI has imposed a moratorium on its commercial use (not a permanent ban).
• Mahyco’s Bt brinjal is commercially grown in Bangladesh.

Golden rice

• Golden rice is a variety of rice (Oryza sativa) produced to biosynthesize beta-carotene, a precursor of Vitamin A, in the edible parts of rice.
• It is mostly consumed in areas with a shortage of dietary vitamin A.

Benefits of GMO

Crops

• Enhanced taste and quality.
• Reduced maturation time.
• Increased nutrients, yields, and stress tolerance.
• Improved resistance to disease, pests, and herbicides.
• New products and growing techniques.

Animals

• Increased resistance, productivity, hardness, and feed efficiency.
• Better yields of meat, eggs, and milk.
• Improved animal health and diagnostic methods.

Environment

• “Friendly” bioherbicides and bioinsecticides.
• Conservation of soil, water and energy.
• Bioprocessing for forestry products.
• Better natural waste management.

Society

• Increased food security for growing population.

Issues Surrounding GMO

Safety

• The adverse impacts of genetically modified food are not evident immediately.
• Potential human health impact: allergens, transfer of antibiotic resistance markers, unknown effects.
• Potential environmental impact: unintended transfer of transgenes through crosspollination, unknown effects on other organisms (e.g., soil microbes) and loss of flora and fauna biodiversity.
• Criticism against Anti-GM lobby: Instead of evaluating the risks, costs and benefits of hybrids on a case-by-case basis, they propose a blanket ban on genetic modification.

Access and intellectual property

• Domination of world food production by a few companies.
• Increasing dependence on industrialized nations by developing countries.
• Biopiracy — foreign exploitation of natural resources.

Ethics

• Violation of natural organisms’ intrinsic values.
• Tampering with nature by mixing genes among species.
• Objections to transferring animal genes in plants and vice versa.

Labelling

• Not mandatory in some countries (e.g. United States).
• Mixing GM crops with non-GM confounds labelling attempts.

Research

• The objectivity and authenticity of scientific research and publication.

Effectiveness

• The ineffectiveness of BT cotton against whitefly attack in Punjab and Haryana has raised more questions.

Issues with banning GM crops

• The ban on GM crops is also promoting an illegal market to flourish in India.
• Bangladesh is reaping the benefits of Bt Brinjal while its cultivation is banned in India.

GMO have already entered the food chain

• Cotton seed oil extracted from Bt cotton plants is being consumed in Gujarat and Maharashtra.
• Soybean oil is extracted from imported seeds, which are produced from GM crops abroad.

Illegal cultivation (Farmer’s rights vs. Government Regulation)

• A farmers’ group in Maharashtra, marked its protest against the government ban on genetically modified (GM) crops by planting Bt brinjal and HT cotton.
• There is a grave danger of illegal genetically modified brinjal cultivation proliferating.