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GMOS: Different Schools of Thought
Highly Dangerous: Tinkering with Nature
Opponents of GMOs make three main arguments against their production. First, they argue that GM foods might be unhealthy. While they have not been linked with harmful effects yet, GM foods are relatively new and should not be available for human consumption they say, until additional research proves, beyond a doubt, that they are harmless.
A handbook prepared by the Consumer’s Choice Council (CCC), a non-governmental consumer advocacy group, asserts that, “as a result of altered regulatory functions, GMOs may exhibit increased allergenic tendencies, toxicity, or altered nutritional value.…These risks are compounded when a GMO product is released into an uncontrolled environment. The interaction of GMOs with other complex biological systems, such as the human body or natural ecosystems, cannot, in many cases, be anticipated or fully tested before commercial release.”
The second major objection to GMOs is that they can endanger biodiversity. Genetic mutations are a natural part of life. Some people worry that creating certain species to emphasize particular traits undermines the natural, mutation-driven evolutionary process.
If the majority of wheat produced in the United States were a specific GM strain, for example, that wheat could potentially be more vulnerable than if multiple strains were cultivated. If an insect or a plant disease that the GM wheat could not repel were introduced into the United States, the entire wheat crop could be threatened. But if multiple natural strains are cultivated, GMO opponents argue, the likelihood that at least one of them would not be affected by the infestation grows, preserving some of the United States wheat crop.
GMO critics are also concerned that genes introduced into GM crops may transfer through natural cross-breeding into unmodified neighboring crops. Weeds could become pest resistant, and the introduction of unusually hardy GM crops could upset the ecological balance of the area in which they are produced. This could lead to the crowding out of other plants and animals.
Finally, some opponents of GMOs question whether human tinkering with the building blocks of living organisms is ethically acceptable. Just because we have the ability to make specially designed crops and other organisms does not mean we should do so. Some who hold this view argue that GMOs should not be produced because their very existence is an unethical extension of human dominance, and jeopardizes the livelihood of other species. Before developing GMOs further, they say, the scientific community should investigate their potentially adverse health and environmental consequences.