The Engineering Question No Engineer Can Answer

In the aisle of every grocery store, in the menu of every restaurant, and in the refrigerator of almost every American, genetic engineering plays an important role. However, the topic of genetic engineering is still subject to much debate. Although its supporters list its benefits, many countries around the world, along with some American citizens themselves, have banned these GMOs from their diet. The fact is that despite the many benefits of GMOs, genetically modified food should be banned due to the ethical, economic, health-related, and biological risks that it results in. How can we prevent the consumption of GMOs to ensure a future of food safety, security, and sustainability?

Introducing the concept of genetic engineering and giving that much control to humankind has posed many ethical questions. How can we trust ourselves (seeing what we’ve done to the planet so far) with this much power over Mother Nature and what are the regulations in place that ensure we exercise it ethically? In 2000, the Pope declared GMOs against God’s will, furthering the religious debate, and in some cases anger, over GM food (Lyman). Many advocates fear genetic engineering because it results in the ‘separation of science and technology and ethics” as said by Dr. Vandana Shiva. And that’s not all. Opponents’ arguments are being strengthened as genetic engineering is branching out to animals as well and only time will tell when we use it on ourselves. Hence one the most challenging problems that GM food faces is the moral reservation the public has about it.

The production, research, and sale of GM food solidifies its negative impact on the global economy and agribusiness. More than 35 countries restrict GM food, thus cutting down US agricultural exports greatly when American farmers began to adopt GMOs (Anderson). To extend their global influence, corporations and researchers patent local plants, robbing the livelihood of poor farmers in the periphery (Wan Ho). GM food also maintains a monopoly over the American market, beating out small farmers with their low prices. The expansion of genetic engineering in agriculture results in short term and long term losses for our economy. Therefore, restricting GMOs helps us retain jobs, reduce monopoly in local and global markets, and set our economy on track for a brighter future.

Scientists and consumers alike have begun to speculate about the many health risks that could result from the presence of genetically modified food, not only on our plates, but in our environment as well. A researcher, Arpad Pusztai, conducted an experiment on rats that were fed GMOs. His results revealed that these rats suffered from structural damage and decreased immunity (Lendman). Perhaps what is more terrifying is that companies don’t regularly test their food for its effect on health. Simple changes to the genes of an organism can have a devastating impact on the health of a human. We’ve seen the consequences, and if we don’t do something the effect may be disastrous.

Perhaps the scariest threat that genetic engineering poses is the creation of pesticide resistant “super” pests. The process of engineering plants to be resistant to pests, bacteria, and viruses, is creating organisms that will be deadlier that ever before. Biological processes such as recombination, transcapsidization, synergism are exhilarating the ability of pests to evolve and increase their ability counter a plants defenses, the more the genetically engineered plants, the more chances these pests have to pass on their resistant genes. Therefore, by decreasing the number of GMOs we can lower the rate that pest develop resistance, saving us from a potential outbreak.

Advocates of genetic engineering emphasize the increase in produce and scientific advancements that come with it. However, the potential problems of genetic engineering far out way its benefits. By restricting or simply banning genetically engineered food, we can eliminate many of the philosophical, financial, medical, and natural issues that come from the dominance of GM food in the agriculture industry. By reducing your consumption of GE food and choosing sustainable types of agriculture you can make a big impact on your well being as well as that of the world. Turns out the answer to the genetic engineering question is simple: we need less of it.