Applying Biotechnology to Agriculture

One of the most challenging issues in contemporary agriculture is the extent to which genetically modified seeds should be planted. Farmers have been manipulating crops and livestock for thousands of years. The very nature of agriculture is to deliberately manipulate nature. Humans control selective reproduction of plants and animals in order to produce a larger number of stronger, hardier survivors.

Beginning in the nineteenth century, the science of genetics expanded understanding of how to manipulate plants and animals to secure dominance of the most favorable traits. However, genetic modification, which became widespread in the late twentieth century, marks a sharp break with the agricultural practices of the past several thousand years. The genetic composition of an organism is not merely studied, it is actually altered.

Genetically Modified Organisms

A genetically modified organism (GMO) is a living organism that possesses a novel combination of genetic material obtained through the use of modern biotechnology. GMO seeds are genetically modified to survive when herbicides and insecticides are sprayed on fields to kill weeds and insects. These are known as “Roundup-ready” seeds because their creator, Monsanto, sold its weed killers under the brand name Roundup. A GMO mixes genetic material of two or more species that would not otherwise mix in nature.

Worldwide, 190 million hectares—12 percent of all farmland—was devoted to genetically modified crops in 2017; 77 percent of the world’s soybeans, 80 percent of cotton, and 32 percent of maize were genetically modified in 2017. Genetic modification is especially widespread in the United States: 94 percent of soybeans, 90 percent of cotton, and 89 percent of maize; usage increased rapidly during the first decade of the twenty-first century. Three-fourths of the processed food that Americans consume has at least one genetically modified ingredient. North America was responsible for one-half of the world’s genetically modified foods, and developing countries—especially in Latin America—were responsible for the other one-half.

Genetically Modified Crops in the United States

Approximately 90 percent of major crops in the United States are grown from GMO seeds.

The United States has urged developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, to increase their food supply in part through increased use of GMOs. Africans are divided on whether to accept GMOs. The positives of genetic modification are higher yields, increased nutrition, and more resistance to pests. Genetically modified foods are also better tasting to some palates. Despite these benefits, opposition to GMOs is strong in Africa for several reasons:

Health problems. Consuming large quantities of genetically modified foods may reduce the effectiveness of antibiotics and could destroy longstanding ecological balances in local agriculture.

Export problems. European countries, the main markets for Africa’s agricultural exports, require genetically modified foods to be labeled. Europeans are especially strongly opposed to GMOs because they believe genetically modified food is not as nutritious as food from traditionally bred crops and livestock. Because European consumers shun genetically modified food, African farmers fear that if they are no longer able to certify their exports as being not genetically modified, European customers will stop buying them.

Increased dependence on the United States. U.S.-based transnational corporations manufacture most of the GMO seeds. Africans fear that the biotech companies could—and would—introduce a so-called “terminator” gene in the GMO seeds to prevent farmers from replanting them after harvest and require them to continue to purchase seeds year after year from the transnational corporations.

Also controversial has been injecting antibiotics in animals to increase their weight or make them grow faster. Public health officials fear that antibiotic use in animals promotes the development of hard-to-treat antibiotic-resistant superbugs that make people sick. As a result, the practice was banned in Europe in 2006 and in the United States in 2017.

Antibiotic Resistance

Giving antibiotics to healthy livestock promotes the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

GMO Labeling

Many countries, including most European countries, China, and India, require GMO labeling. The debate in the United States has been especially fierce concerning whether GMO food should be labeled. In the United States, the food industry opposes GMO labeling, and voters are divided .

Countries that Require GMO Label, 2017

North America is a holdout in GMO labeling laws

Farmer Informs Passers-By that These Vegetables Are GMO-Free

Rally Supporting GMO Labeling

Albany, New York.

Most countries other than the United States have signed agreements to regulate GMOs, including labels. U.S. consumers may wish to cut back on their consumption of GMOs until more is learned about their long-term effects on ecosystems and health. Mandatory labeling of GMO products, such as found in Europe, would give consumers the information necessary to choose whether to consume GMOs. Critics say that Roundup-ready seeds, international trade, deforestation, and other practices documented in this chapter are not sustainable ways to meet humanity’s need for food.

On the other hand, labeling might unnecessarily spook consumers because labeling is for health and safety, not type of seed. GMOs have comparable nutrition content to GMO-free food. Mandatory labeling would severely disrupt U.S. agriculture because GMO products are already widespread in the food system. The private sector is increasingly labeling GMO-free products, so requiring GMO labeling is unnecessary.

Pause & Reflect 9.4.4

Does your family avoid foods made with GMO seeds? Why or why not?

Summary

Why do Farmers face Sustainability Challenges?

• International trade in food is increasing, but in some places at the expense of producing food for domestic consumption

• Agricultural land is being lost to competing uses, such as urbanization.

• The green revolution has improved the productivity of farming in some countries.

• GMO crops are increasingly planted in some countries, as are organic crops.

• Some agricultural regions face a severe shortage of water.