Genetically modified
foods are created by artificially inserting bacteria, insect or animal genes into the DNA of food crops. Unresolved ethical issues surround the developing science and business of these genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Advocates of the process claim that GMO foods can reduce world hunger and malnutrition. Critics argue that GMO products primarily satisfy the profit motives of the large corporations who own the GMO patents.
Owning Food
GMO products are usually patented and owned by a corporation. These ownership rights extend to the next generation of seeds produced by the plants. This means farmers who use a GMO crop cannot save and store their seeds for future sowing; the seeds are owned by the corporation and must be purchased again every year. GMO seeds may also blow in the wind onto neighboring fields, where they may grow on an unsuspecting farmer's land. This will not only contaminate the farmer's natural crop with a GMO crop he did not wish to plant, but it may also force him to defend himself in an expensive patent-infringement lawsuit. Monsanto, the leading producer of GMO crops, had filed 90 such lawsuits as of 2005, according to The Center for Food Safety.
Controlling Nature
Genetically modified crops are created by adding the genes of one species to the genes of another. This is done to create a plant with traits such as herbicide-resistance or pest-resistance. It is not the same as the age-old agricultural tradition of selecting and naturally breeding plants or animals of the same or similar species in order to encourage certain traits noted in the "parent" species. The GMO "flavor-saver tomato," for example, was created by injecting fish (flounder) genes into the DNA of a tomato. Some religious people may not be morally comfortable with this level of genetic manipulation or with the idea of "playing God."
Animal Welfare
Milk made from cows treated with the artificial growth hormone rBGH or rBST is a genetically modified food. These growth hormones increase a cow's milk production, an alteration which causes its udders to swell to an abnormally large size. This increased lactation also increases metabolic stress, nutritional deficiency and risk of udder infection in the cow, according to the Animal Welfare Institute. Many people who buy rBGH-free milk do so to protest what they believe is the unethical treatment of dairy cows.
World Hunger
Advocates of GMO crops claim the technology holds great promise for alleviating world hunger. They argue that genetically engineered crops will increase food yields, reduce food prices and ensure enough food is available. Crops can also be modified for improved nutritional value. This can potentially help poor countries target particular nutritional deficiencies. Critics such as Greenpeace point out that world hunger is not due to an insufficient supply of food, but to other economic and empowerment factors, factors that will not be remedied if seeds and crops can be patented and owned by large, foreign corporations.
Tags: world hunger, Animal Welfare, argue that, genes into, Genetically modified