EcoMeme: Gene Flow and GMOs
You gonna eat that? Research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that once planted in the wild, genetically modified organisms, such as bio-engineered fruit, grain or vegetables can change native, wild plant neighbors’ DNA. In the future, food activists worry, you might not even have a dietary choice.
A flurry of news stories, blog posts and Tweets have “cropped up” in recent weeks around this study and related events. Even teenagers are dialed into the debate over the merits and dangers of GMOs, says Jenny Kessler, who founded and directs the Garden Program at The Automotive High School in Brooklyn, New York.
Kessler teaches English, ESL and a class called “Food, Land and You.” Through this coursework or participation in the Garden Program, Automotive students learn about farming and industrial agriculture and gain hands-on experience cultivating and cooking food.
“Some of my students agree with economist Jeffrey Sachs that genetically modified crops should be used to alleviate world hunger now, since they can grow on depleted land in bad conditions,” Kessler says, “but most are concerned that GMOs aren’t tested enough before they enter our mainstream food supply. Or they worry that modified seeds and cross-pollination will make natural products scarce and expensive, or even extinct.”
The Garden Program group (as seen on Flickr.com/autogarden) wishes for – after a personal visit from Anna Lappe or Michael Pollan – better information about the effect of modified crops on human and plant health, and to inspire Americans to buy more locally produced food.
Basic reading:
“A report by a team from the United States and China appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, [where] researchers point out that gene flow between crops and their wild relatives is common and difficult to contain. They note concerns that wild plants could, as a result, gain genetically engineered resistances. And these could affect the natural balance in their environment.” -VOA Special English Agriculture Report transcript
“While disease-resistant crops have been a boon to commercial farmers, ecologists worry there might be certain hidden costs associated with the modified crops. There is concern in the ecological community that, when the transgenes that confer resistance to viral diseases escape into wild populations, they will (change) those plants…and impact the biodiversity of plant communities where wild [plants] are native.” -US News And World Report feature
“Bayer CropScience AG is responsible for financial damage sustained by Missouri farmers when their rice crops were contaminated by genetically modified seeds, the growers’ lawyer told a federal court jury in St. Louis…Testing of one of the ‘LibertyLink’ [rice] strains at Louisiana State University was completed in 2001. While there has never been a specifically identified contamination event…studies suggest an event of cross-pollination with ordinary rice or a mixing of regular and genetically modified seed occurred then.” -Bloomberg news story
“The number of people affected by food shortages is starting to rise again. Is the solution a new biotech version of the Green Revolution, or a green Green Revolution based on organic farming?” -BoingBoing.net opinion, discussion
“The debate over genetically modified crops has flared up in India, where critics have stalled the commercial release of insect-resistant eggplant, despite recent approval from the country’s biotechnology regulatory committee.” -Scienceline.org news feature
“This week the Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of science, called for an extra £2bn to be spent on research into global food security. In order to achieve the estimated 50% increase in food crop production that will be required by 2050, the society is calling for a grand plan that involves developing…crop varieties using conventional breeding and genetic modification.” -Small Cap News profile of the company Futura Gene
Further resources:
”..Say No to GMOs” Natural News blog opinion
The website of The Center For Food Safety (CFS) a D.C.-based organization that lobbies for slow food, organic and sustainable farming practices, and against “harmful food production technologies.”
Food activist Anna Lappe’s website
Economist Jeffrey Sachs’ official bio, including recent news by and about him
Changemakers.com GMO competition page soliciting “solutions that educate consumers about what they’re eating, and the effect their food choices will have on the environment and society”: includes profiles of the winning ideas (via Ashoka.com)
Editor’s note: This is the second installment of EcoMeme, a column featuring eco news, tech and business highlights by new EcoSalon writer and columnist Lora Kolodny.
Image: liangjinjian
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5 Comments
November 5th, 2009 at 8:56 am
food science can do so much good. Let’s hope it goes in that direction. Great column, Lora.
November 5th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Good material and research. But now I’m concerned…are we letting a monster loose by allowing GMOs? Sounds like it. Seems like we are polluting a clear stream, so I vote no.
November 7th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Excellent and thought provoking article.
November 8th, 2009 at 11:52 am
Ha ha! Thanks, Mom (Nancy). It means more coming from you since you once edited a book on GMOs.
November 10th, 2009 at 10:03 am
The devil is in the details here. Humans have been modifying crops since forever. Everything depends on the types of changes being made to the genome. And when you guys say “the changes can be contained,” I don’t believe you.
Dear Science,
While you’re in there, any chance you can make me:
-A turnip that doubles as a replacement kidney (just in case)?
-A pumpkin that pays me the attention I truly deserve?
- Corn with more current dance moves?
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