In the 1970’s researchers in the USA found ways of changing the genetic structure of plants by inserting genes (DNA) from any plant into another to give it new characteristics, thus making GM crops which are artificial.
Why have GM crops been developed?
In an attempt to increase food production; biotechnologists have developed methods of GM food crops that could transform the way we feed ourselves.
They are not produced by conventional breeding techniques, but by a laboratory process whereby genetic engineers introduce new genes into a plants DNA.
Below is a diagram of how it occurs:
Main organisations involved
Syngenta is the only UK research centre left. Other GM companies that once were in the UK were Bayer, Monsanto, Du Pont and Dow but these have all been forced away due to harsh working conditions due to the hatred of peoples opinions on GM crops.
The world’s Top 10 Agrochemical Companies
Countries Pro and Anti GM
Globally the area of GM crops has increased 30-fold in the last 6 years. Most of the world’s GM crops are grown in the USA (1) (where 39 million hectares of land are GM crops), followed by Argentina (2) (13.5 million ha), Canada (3) (35 million ha) and China (4) (2.1 million ha). In the UK no GM crops are yet being grown commercially but there are trials on crops such as oilseed rape, sugar beet and potatoes.
They are also grown in Australia (5), Bulgaria (6), Nicaragua (7), Swaziland (8), Vietnam (9), Colombia (10), Germany (11), Honduras (12), Spain (13), France (14), India (15), Mexico (16), Romania (17), South Africa (18), Indonesia (19), Uruguay (20), and Brazil (21).
Below you can see a map of the world showing these countries with their corresponding number.
Oilseed rape Flax (linseed) Melon
The main crops grown are
Soya beans Maize Cotton
Sugar beet Potato
Canola(rapeseed) Tomato Rice
Radicchio Papaya
Squash
Who really benefits?
FOR: Healthier food, more efficiently produced, with less wastage and less use of agro-chemicals and fossil fuels will benefit everyone. More efficient food production means less land will be farmed, allowing us to preserve more natural habitats. Economic benefits from GM crops are shared between the farming community, the technology providers, seed companies, food producers and the consumer. The indirect benefits for society and the environment flow from more affordable, sustainable, environmentally friendly methods of food production.
AGAINST: It is chiefly the GM companies who gain from GM and some producers. GM brings hardly any benefits to consumers, or to most farmers. In the long term the costs of GM, especially to the environment will far outweigh any benefits.
Below you can see tables showing the potential opportunities (pro) and risks (anti) of GM crops in developing countries.
Socio-economic
The socio-economic factors are more pro GM then anti. Gm crops will help Ledc’s as it could help feed the starving but could also hinder them as Medc’s will no longer rely on them for their exported crops, thus making Ledc’s worse economically off. More money will be made from GM crops as they produce higher yields, and for GM farmers it will be cheaper, so profit will be more as they don’t have to spend as much money on fertilisers and this profit can be shared with the consumer. However, GM free and organic farmers will be undercut and go out of business due to too much competition with the big Gm companies. Future GM crops can be grown under environmental stresses (heat, cold, and drought) which will help countries (including developing countries) to improve their food security which is affordable and will help feed more people and hopefully relieve world hunger. GM will not 'feed the world'. The current food crisis is a problem of distribution not quantity. The evidence so far does not show GM crops have lead to reduced use of chemicals. Anything that GM can do, other methods can also do without bringing risks to the environment. People in the developed and developing world are already seeing benefits in terms of better crops which cost less to produce. GM is also helping subsistence farmers to move out of the poverty trap.
Environmental
There are numerous negative points about GM and the effect on the environment. The only opportunity GM brings to the environment is that it is said to use less pesticides, but this point has been disproved. Environmental costs are the major problem and concern that Medc’s have about GM crops and considering they do more harm then good, they are foreseen as bad and should not be produced as they are putting these pressures on our environment. GM crops not only effect the environment and land in which they are directly situated but the surrounding areas as well, affecting other non-GM farmers crops causing them to be non-saleable.
Health
The health opportunities far out weigh the risks that GM cause on peoples health, however the long term consequences to people are yet to be discovered as GM is such a new technology.
Consumer choice
The public at the present are more or less against GM, if more research was done and the facts made clear more people would support them. Consumers would benefit if they ate GM crops as it would provide them with so called ‘better’ food at cheaper prices, but without consumer approval stores wont sell the products.
Future
Scientists are taking their work on GM abroad. At least 7 of the countries top GM crop scientists have moved abroad to work with two more due to leave soon.
In the future there is little prospect of supermarkets stocking GM foods as shoppers do not want to eat them. The Co-op is totally anti-gm and has said it wont be selling any of its products but still Safeway, Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s sell or will sell them – but this may change as customers don’t want it, so none of their products will sell and they will lose money and customers to other shops.
Most people are cautious, suspicious or outright hostile to GM crops – they generally want more information about it so they can establish the facts about GM from a non biased source.
Conclusion
There is currently a lot of opposition to genetically modified crops. The opposition comes mostly from environmentalists playing on the fear that GM foods are an experiment using consumers as test subjects.
Whether or not this fear is well-founded, the fact GM foods are an experiment is certain. The long term effects on human health and on the well-being of the environment can only be guessed. At the same time, the possibilities for improving the human condition and reducing the impact of agriculture exist, and the technologies are developing.
The biggest risk from GM foods will come from careless application. In order to minimize the negative impacts that are possible, developers of GM technology must either voluntarily evaluate each step and all routes, or else be regulated by governmental or international bodies. Without control, the ethical and environmental issues will dominate the GM foods debate, rather than the possibilities for improvements, and the technological developments to feed the growing world population in centuries ahead.
The next decade will determine the viability of GM foods both by testing the technologies on which they depend and their applications, and by checking the integrity of those who choose to develop them. Even with these, GM foods will only become widespread in their use and positive impact if public opinion shifts to allow and embrace the technology.
This report does show that there are more problems caused by GM crops then problems it is solving, but this is based on a point of view that may change over the next decade or longer, at the moment we have limited information about them and there long term consequences and over time scientists will be constantly be enhancing and improving GM crops to make them better for everyone, this may then start solving more of the problems.
Bibliography
- Internet – Various websites, including:
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- Guardian Newspaper articles
- Various TV News programmes
- Philip Allan updates – Geography Review
