GMOs are a widely controversial topic and many have split views about their use. In this article I would like to shed some light on its applications in agriculture, medicine and livestock as well as its effects on the environment.

What are GMOs?

A genetically modified organism (GMO) is an animal, plant or microbe that has had its DNA altered or modified in a lab through recombinant DNA technology and reproductive cloning (genetic engineering). This creates a combination of genes that do not occur naturally.

Initially, artificial selection was employed by using traditional breeding techniques to get a desired trait in animals and plants. This involved the selection of the animals and plants that would get to reproduce. This has been done with maize crop, cattle, dogs etc. However, the method is limited to natural selection which is random. On the other hand, genetic engineering has enabled precise control of the genes introduced into an organism which ensures that the desired traits are expressed.

Agriculture

GMOs are popular in the farming industry because they are tailored to produce higher yield crops that are resistant to pests, diseases, adverse weather conditions such as drought as well as some pesticides/herbicides.

Genetically engineered foods have foreign genes from other organisms inserted into their genetic codes; that translates to elements in crops that enable them to be drought and pest resistant.

The main GM crops are cotton, soybean, maize and canola.

It is worth noting, crop derivatives such as yeast, sucrose and vitamins from GM plants also contain genetic engineered material.

GMOs may appear as a solution to food insecurity however little is known about their long-term effects. Anti-GMO activists argue that GMOs can cause human health problems by triggering allergic reactions or contributing to cancer development possibly brought about through mutations in DNA. However, there is no concrete scientific evidence to support this at present.

In addition, there are claims that GM crops that are designed to be resistant to herbicides and certain antibiotics could pass this resistance to humans. This would make people resistant to antibiotic treatment thus reducing the efficacy of the medication. However, these claims call for further research.

Medicine

GMOs have extended to the biomedical sector where research is underway to produce edible vaccines. These will be plants (fruits and vegetables) that have vaccines incorporated into their genetic code for direct consumption by people. This could potentially curb the spread of diseases and provide a solution for developing countries that are not able to afford the equipment for vaccines or conduct large scale vaccination campaigns.

In addition to this there are further medical trials to use GM animals to grow human transplant tissues and organs in a procedure known as xenotransplantation.

Livestock

GM crops are beneficial to the livestock sector. Plants used as animal feeds are engineered to produce high yields with better quality traits. Farmers are able to produce more ingredients for the animal feeds on the same tract of land. Meaning there will be reduced land use and no need to expand agricultural land into natural spaces.

Consequently, the genetically modified animal feeds may transfer the genetic material to the animal. Therefore, it is likely that animal products such as milk, eggs and meat could have genetically engineered elements present.

 

Environmental implications

Advantages

• A major draw for GMOs is pest resistance. The bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is used for its protein properties that repel insects. GMO crops that have the Bt gene incorporated in their DNA are able to repel insect pests, thus minimizing the use of pesticides.
• GM crops tend to produce better harvests than conventional crops therefore less land is required to grow more food.

Disadvantages

• Inbreeding may occur between GMOs and natural organisms which may lead to biodiversity loss.
• The reliance on GMO seeds may grow to the point where indigenous crops will be slowly phased out of the agro-ecosystem.
• Certain GM crops are modified to resist chemical herbicides instead of pests (weeds). Herbicide resistant crops are able to survive the chemical effects of specific herbicides that are used to control weed populations. Although this reduces tilling which leads to soil erosion, it encourages the increased application of herbicides in farms which perpetuates soil pollution.

Conclusion

GMOs offer many solutions in the world today; however, since it is a relatively new technology we cannot be sure if it’s the best or safest practice to embrace.

In the comment section below let us know if you are for or against GMOs. We would love to hear your views!

Sources

https://www.britannica.com/science/genetically-modified-organism

https://www.livescience.com/40895-gmo-facts.html