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The Celery Stalks at Midnight: Scientific American asks “Are Engineered Foods Evil?”

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The Celery Stalks at Midnight: Scientific American asks “Are Engineered Foods Evil?”

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Published on September 5, 2013

To GM or not to GM? The genetically modified (GM) argument has been raging for decades, though recently it has gained more mainstream attention as advances in science and the increased clout of biotechnology corporations such as Monsanto and BASF make more bioengineered foods a reality. In the September issue of Scientific American, David H. Freedman, author of Wrong, takes a look at both sides of the GM debate.

I’ll admit, the subject of genetically modified foods really brings out my inner Mulder, wild with conspiracy theories pointing at giant shadow organizations reaching to the highest levels of government. Google confirms this is not an uncommon response, or, necessarily a completely unfounded one. However, since I can’t pull off the endearingly-earnest-yet-smolderingly-sexy-while-spouting-off-crazy-things-look like 90s-era David Duchovny, I’ve also summoned my inner Scully to keep things in check. (In the shadows, inner CSM watches, exhales a slow plume of smoke, and waits.)

The debate over genetically modified agriculture began in the 1970s, when scientists first developed GM tobacco plants. Today, many GM foods, especially corn and soy, are produced in the U.S. (although most GM foods are still banned or restricted in other parts of the world, including much of Europe).

Certainly, the pros are pretty damn pro. Reducing world hunger by developing heartier, easier to grow crops? Diminishing or even eliminating the use of toxic pesticides? Engineering super foods rich in essential vitamins or that can eradicate certain illnesses? Yes, yes, and yes, please. But, besides the problem of how the world’s neediest communities would be able to afford GM technology and products, the biggest cons are the potential long-term cost for the environment and possible risks to our own health.

Of course, nature has been doing its own brand of genetic modification since, well, forever. The difference between good old fashioned crossbreeding (the kind regular ol’ farmers have been using since the dawn of the Neolithic Revolution) and lab engineered GM, lies in the number of genes exchanged, the type of genes involved in the change, and how the genes are introduced.

In crossbreeding, plants with desirable traits are cross-pollinated, whole groups of genes are swapped, and the genes involved are usually of that plant’s species. In genetic modification, targeted genes are introduced into the plant’s DNA via bacterial transfer (sneaking the DNA in with a bacteria that can breach plant cells) or DNA particle gun method (which is exactly what it sounds like—scientists shoot DNA coated metal fragments through the cell walls of a plant). In GM, the genes that are being introduced don’t necessarily come from a plant of the same species.

While much of the research to date seems to indicate that there are no health risks involved in eating GM foods, there are still many questions that have yet to be answered. Once the GM crops are introduced to the environment, there’s no going back. GM pollen can spread to non-GM crops. Insects and birds will feed off GM plants, and other animals will eat those birds and insects, and so on. Seeds will spread in the same ways they have for billions of years. But in this case, the seeds and pollen and plant tissue will all be from genetically modified crops. There’s no way of knowing or measuring the subtler long-term effects.

For example, could these plants affect insect DNA, resulting in, perhaps, a super weevil that is no longer deterred by either the GM plant or traditional pesticides?

Or, what about food allergies? While there is promise of allergy-free GM peanuts in the near future, many question whether GM soy products (which share similar proteins with peanuts) are responsible for the recent spike in peanut allergies. It’s difficult for scientists to say, because once these plants are out in the world, it becomes significantly harder to measure secondary and tertiary effects.

A lot of the concern regarding genetically modified foods, is in the potential to affect human DNA. Freedman notes, “scientists have never found genetic material that could survive a trip through the human gut and make it into cells.” However, chemical compounds in pollution and cigarette smoke can affect human DNA with repeated exposure. Is there any risk that the inhaled pollen of GM plants could affect our genes in a similar manner? Could the byproducts of growing, harvesting, processing, packaging, and handling of GM crops potentially introduce altered genes into human cells?

Even with vigilant testing, due to the unpredictability of genetic manipulation, there is no clear answer. Freedman adds that the food products tested and cleared for consumption may change in successive generations.

“A genome often continues to change in the successive generations after the insertion, leaving it with a different arrangement than the one intended and initially tested. There is also the phenomenon of ‘insertional mutagenesis’…in which the insertion of a gene ends up quieting the activity of nearby genes.”

While scientists can test for known allergens or side effects, what about the health effects they can’t anticipate?

Further complicating research is the intense backlash scientists receive when they release anti-GM data. Major biotech corporations fund billions of dollars of research. Scientists certainly need that money, and it seems to have fostered a dangerously censored research community, where it is beneficial to support pro-GM studies, and attack those that drive against it. Some of the researchers Freedman spoke with said “more scientists would speak up against genetic modification if doing so did not invariably lead to being excoriated in journals and the media.” Inner Mulder and inner Scully raise a disapproving brow at any field of scientific study being bullied by corporations and media.

Freedman concludes that a compromise is the answer. Rather than ban GM foods outright, the government and the food industry should enact rigorous testing that would ensure GM foods are safe and reassure anxious consumers. However, with the influence biotech corporations exert on the scientific community, it seems as though unbiased testing may be challenging. Either way, with the many potential benefits of genetically modified food, it is in our best interest to fully explore both the rewards and the risks involved.

After all, the truth is out there.


When Nancy Lambert doesn’t have her nose buried in a book, she’s busy writing, procrastinating with a pupil-blowing mix of Dots and Pinterest when she should be writing, or putzing around online. She still wants to believe.

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