Guest Blog Post: In Defense of GMOs, by AbdulKareem Musa Alaba

Guest Blog Post  

In Defense of GMOs, by AbdulKareem Musa Alaba

GMOs or "genetically modified organism," is an organism, with the exception of human beings, in which the genetic material has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination. This alteration of the genes usually entails inserting genetic material into an organism through biotechnology technics without natural mating, breeding or reproduction. Instead of breeding two plants or animals together to bring out certain traits in the offspring, the plant, animal or microbe has DNA from another organism inserted. Creating GMOs is one type of genetic engineering.

There are two types of GMOs: A transgenic organism is a GMO that contains DNA from another species. A cisgenic organism is a GMO that contains DNA from a member of the same species, and is generally regarded as no risk type of GMO. GMOs have been used in various ways, including creating mice with certain traits for the purposes of vivisection, but the GMO debate is centered on food products for direct human consumption and on feed for livestock.

Genetic modification of organism, like any other new technology, should be viewed in the light of what has gone before. Mankind has been manipulating the genetics of crops for thousands of years. Wheat, for instance, the world's major crop, is a hybrid of different species. It probably arose from a rare natural occurrence but has subsequently been maintained artificially.

The modern (non-GM) wheat is unable to exist in the wild because it cannot disperse its seed. Furthermore, plant breeders have spliced in pieces of chromosomes from several other species. The new GM technology allows genes to be added more precisely than before and their effects to be studied more carefully. However, because it also allows almost any source of genes to be used it is an extremely powerful technology that has to be treated with care and respect.

GMO technology can develop crops with higher yield, with less fertilizer, less pesticides, and more nutrients. Traditional breeding can be very slow because it might take several generations before the desired trait is sufficiently brought out and the offspring must reach sexual maturity before they can be bred. With GMO technology, the desired genotype can be created instantly in the current generation.

GMOs may not be natural as many critics say, but not everything natural is good for us, and not everything unnatural is bad for us. Poisonous mushrooms are natural, but we shouldn't eat them. Washing our food before eating it is not natural, but is healthier for us.

The argument against genetically modified foods is that it contains novel proteins that could trigger allergic reactions in people who are either allergic to one of the components of the GMO or in people who are allergic only to the new substance. But this is not totally true because GM technology is the only technology to be regulated from its inception, before any mishaps had occurred. Scientists who developed the technology set up a series of voluntary regulations in 1974 which have generally become officially incorporated by governments throughout the world.

Another point raised by critics is that GMOs pose a threat to the environment. They exist and take valuable natural resources from native and unaltered organisms. But as it's practiced today, agriculture damages the environment more than any human activity. GMO crops will ease that negative impact. Insect resistant GM crops, such as those containing the bacterial Bt gene (which makes the plan itself toxic to key pests), allow farmers to dramatically reduced their use of spray insecticides and which will allow next-generation seeds to maintain high yields while using less water and chemical fertilizer. Today, genetic engineering is playing a critical role in protecting finite soil and water resources, staving off crop diseases, and responding to the pressures of climate change.

The fact is; the majority of arguments against GMOs based solely on emotion and rhetoric NOT scientific facts. There are no proven examples of GMO products adding ricks. In contrast, there are many examples of the technology reducing ricks. GM technology is not safe – nothing is – but it has a very effect records.   

~AbdulKareem Musa Alaba is a Research Assistant at National  Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Egypt

 Read: Series on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

BLOGGER'S NOTE:
1. For further reading on Defense of GMOs, readers are encouraged to read Sarah Zhang's position, accessible through this link. 
2. The next blog post, soon (in sha Allah), will be on the case against GMOs, and finally (the third series) will be on the world politics of this topical issue.
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