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Can strawberry crops be genetically engineered to survive frost? Photo by Ken Hammond.
Potatoes that absorb less fat when fried, changing the ever-popular french fries from
junk food into a more nutritional food;
technology too is inherently unpredictable and some scientists believe it can produce
potentially dangerous results unless better testing methods are developed.
The Fallacy of Equating Gene-Splicing With Traditional Breeding: Traditional breeding is based on sexual
reproduction between like organisms. The transferred genes are similar to genes in the cell they join.
They are conveyed in complete groups and in a fixed sequence that harmonizes with the sequence of
genes in the partner cell. In contrast, bioengineers isolate a gene from one type of organism and splice
it haphazardly into the DNA of a dissimilar species, disrupting its natural sequence. Further, because the
transplanted gene is foreign to its new surroundings, it cannot adequately function without a big artificial
boost.
Biotechnicians achieve this unnatural boosting by taking the section of DNA that promotes gene
expression in a pathogenic virus and fusing it to the gene prior to insertion. The viral booster (called a
promoter) radically alters the behavior of the transplanted gene and causes it to function in important
respects like an invading virus deeply different from the way it behaves within its native organism and
from the way the engineered organisms own genes behave.
Consequently, not only does the foreign gene produce a substance that has never been in that species, it
produces it in an essentially unregulated manner that is uncoordinated with the needs and natural
functions of the organism.11
than 60% of all processed foods in the U.S. contain ingredients from GM soybeans, corn, or
canola.1
release into open waters without a single study on the impact on human health or the
environment.5
The following are some examples of food plants that are undergoing field trials: 10
and winter, researchers expect that up to 80% of the Skylark population would have to find
other means of finding food.4
GM crops may also pose a health risk to native animals that eat them. The animals may be
poisoned by the built-in pesticides. Tests in the U.S. showed that 44% of caterpillars of the
monarch butterfly died when fed large amounts of pollen from GM corn. 8
Will genes from GM plants transfer to other organisms?
Cross-pollination
Cross-pollination is a concern for both GM crops and conventional breeding, especially with
the more serious weeds that are closely related to the crops. With careful management this
may be avoided. For example, there is a type of maize that will not breed with other strains
and scientists are hoping that it could help to prevent cross-pollination. 3 Genetic modification
to herbicide resistant crops could insert the gene that prevents the problem. The number of
herbicide-tolerant weeds has increased over the years from a single report in 1978 to the 188
herbicide-tolerant weed types in 42 countries reported in 1997. 6 They are an ever-increasing
problem and genetic engineering promises to stop it. But will genes from GM plants spread to
other plants, creating superweeds and superbugs we wont be able to control?
The taco scandal in the U.S. heightened awareness of GM risks.
GM mix-ups
Humans can inadvertently eat foods that contain GM products meant as animal feed, i.e.,
crops modified for increased productivity in animals. This happened in the U.S., where traces
of a StarLink GM crop, restricted for use only in feed, were found in taco shells. 2 Apparently
no one became ill but other such occurrences may lead to health problems.
Allergies and toxins
Very little scientific information exists about the risk of GM food on human health. One major
report by Dr. Arpad Pusztai, published on this web site, explains how GM foods could trigger
new allergies and contain toxins that may be harmful.9
Will GM food increase the problems with resistance to antibiotics?
Disease
Another concern is disease. Since some crops are modified using the DNA from viruses and
bacteria, will we see new diseases emerge? What about the GM crops that have antibioticresistant marker genes? Marker genes are used by scientists to determine whether their
genetic modification of a plant was successful. Will these antibiotic-resistant genes be
transferred to microorganisms that cause disease? We already have a problem with
ineffective antibiotics. How can we develop new drugs to fight these new bugs?
Conclusion