A look at the recent news from around the world on genetically modified food and crops

Genetically modified (GM) food and crop stories continue to appear in the popular media across the globe. In the United States, recent news on the topic were dominated by GM food labeling initiatives in various states, efforts in Hawaii to restrict or ban the cultivation of GM crops, and plans by food companies to eliminate GM ingredients from their products.

Chipotle Mexican Grill, a popular chain of restaurants, announced that it would eliminate GM from its ingredients primarily by switching from soybean oil to sunflower oil.¹ Emboldened by a surge in sales recently, presumably because of its avowed pledge to eliminate GMOs from its food, the restaurant chain is also producing animated videos and short films attacking the “industrial agriculture.”²

Clearly, such a move has not gone well with Monsanto, whose chief technology officer Dr Robert Fraley countered Chipotle’s initiative by extolling the benefits of the GM technology, saying, “I only hope that misinformation and misunderstandings about the technology don't prevent future generations from realizing the current and future benefits it offers. “³ Other natural and organic food companies, including Hain Celestial and Whole Foods, are also exploring ways to eliminate GM ingredients from their product line-up.⁴

The New York Times carried a lengthy story by its science writer Amy Harmon on the politics of GM crops in the Hawaii County Council and the relentless quest of one council member to learn more about the safety issues of GM crops and his efforts to convince his fellow members on the benefits of this technology who nevertheless voted to ban cultivation of new GM crops in the “big island.”⁵ The three big agricultural companies in turn have sued the Hawaii County Council to overturn the law that would restrict or ban the planting of GM crops in the island.⁶

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it is considering a request by Dow Agrosciences to deregulate GM corn and soybean tolerant to the herbicide 2,4-D.⁷ The move is opposed by many anti-biotech activist groups who are calling this as “Agent Orange Corn” because 2,4-D was among the ingredients in Agent Orange used as a defoliant in the Vietnam War. Farmer groups, in contrast, are welcoming the new GM crops as they would provide an additional tool to manage the weeds.⁷

USDA’s approval is also being sought for non-browning apples, developed by a Canadian biotechnology company Okanagan Specialty Fruits. “Arctic” apples need not be treated with antioxidants when sliced, bruised, or bitten, and thus remain fresh longer. According to president and founder Neal Carter of Okanagan, the new apples have undergone extensive field-testing⁸

Maine and Connecticut have passed laws requiring labels on foods containing GM ingredients, although this would not have much impact as the laws would not go into effect until all the five states in the northeastern US pass similar laws.⁹ In fact, New Hampshire’s House of Representatives killed a bill that would have required labeling on GM food. One member of the house, who opposed this initiative, says “There’s a lot of hysterical momentum behind this anti-GMO movement. It’s sort of like an angry mob seeking justice for a crime just by lynching the first possible suspect.”¹⁰

The organic food industry is the biggest beneficiary of increasing public concerns about GM food and thus is behind many GM labeling initiatives in various states. Organic food sales in the United States have increased from $1 billion in 1990 to $26.7 billion in 2010, with a jump in sales of 7.7% in 2010 over the previous year.³⁰ An organic industry expert Andy Grant of Grant Farms in Colorado acknowledged this fact recently to explain the recent boom in organic foods. “Confusion and concerns about genetically modified crops are certainly playing a role in rising demand.”³⁰

The weekly magazine New Yorker carried a descriptive story on world’s largest genomics company B.G.I., based in China, and how it has aggressively dominated the global genomics scene. The company is sequencing the genomes of many crops, such as foxtail millet and cassava, and also developing GM varieties in many crops.¹¹

In a bizarre twist of events, a Chinese national was arrested for stealing proprietary seeds of crops in the USA. Mr Mo Hailang was charged with lifting inbred corn seeds from agricultural company test farms in Illinois and Iowa while working for a Chinese seed company Kings Nower Seed. In a separate incident, a scientist at Ventria Bioscience, Colorado and another at USDA have been charged with stealing engineered rice seeds expressing pharmaceutical protein and then passing it on to a Chinese company.¹²

Bill Gates, the software titan and the noted philanthropist, was recently asked about the controversy surrounding GM crops in a video interview. He responded enthusiastically describing how this technology can be beneficial to developing countries in improving their agricultural production while reducing environmental foot print, and also recommended reading the book Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future of Food, written by Professor Pamela Ronald from UC Davis and her husband RW Adamchak, an organic farmer.¹³

MIT Technology Review magazine boldly put the GM foods on its cover recently with the words “BUY FRESH, BUY GMO” in big letters and the headline “Population growth and climate change will make it harder to feed the world. We need to overcome our fears of genetically modified food.” The article, using whimsical graphics and video, describes several efforts underway to produce improved strains of potato, wheat, and rice with attributes such as heat tolerance and enhanced nutrition, but laments that “Only a handful of large companies can afford the risk and expense of commercializing GMOs.”¹⁴

Further south, Brazil and Argentina are moving forward briskly with GM crops. However, Mexico has put many hurdles on the use of this technology by its farmers by suspending field trials.¹⁵

Across the pond in Europe, the subject of GM food is never a dull topic. GM food continues to be maligned and opposed by many environmental groups although a few policy makers are calling for a reexamination of the issues. For instance, British member of the parliament Mr George Freeman has warned that “[G]rowing influence of green lobbyists and anti-capitalists on European policymaking is condemning the EU the ‘global slow lane’ when it comes to biotechnology.”¹⁶ The British secretary for environment Mr Owen Paterson expressed a similar sentiment by saying that “Europe risks becoming a ‘museum of world farming’ if it continues to ‘close its doors on GM crops’.¹⁶

Professor Marc van Montagu of Belgium, winner of the 2013 World Food Prize, says that EU policy making on GMOs has lost track of science and wrote an open letter to the Presidents of the European Commission, the European Council, and the European Parliament urging them to take a broader, more holistic, and longer term view on agricultural production to adjust the GMO policies and regulations accordingly.¹⁷

Another blow to the future of GM food in Europe came recently when an EU court issued an injunction blocking the cultivation of GM potato, one of the only two GM crops allowed for cultivation in the union.¹⁸ Although most big agricultural companies in Europe have now moved away from commercial research on GM crops, the public institutions there are nudging forward. For instance, Rothamsted Research, the noted agricultural research center in the UK has applied for a permit to conduct field trials of false flax producing “fish oil” with genes from marine algae.¹⁹

The Vatican continues to keep an open mind on the issue of GM food and recently hosted a meeting on the topic bringing together experts from around the globe to discuss ways to improve the food situation for the poor. The creator of Golden Rice, Dr Ingo Potrykus, had an opportunity show a sample of his innovation to Pope Francis during this meeting.²⁰

Although China has invested much in research on GM crops and genomics, it has not allowed the commercialization of many such crops other than Bt cotton. Several Chinese science leaders are calling for reconsideration on the issue. Dr Yuan Longping, a much-admired scientist in China as a developer of hybrid rice, is a supporter of GM technology and recently said, “GM is the future. We should not generalize about whether it is harmful.”²¹

ISAAA released results of a study conducted with small farmers in China, India and Philippines showing that their use of GM crops helped them to achieve higher crop yields, with less production expenses due to fewer pesticide applications, and harvested quality grains or bolls. Consequently, farmers noted an increase in income and a better quality of life.²²

Bangladesh announced that it would permit the cultivation of GM eggplant (brinjal) by its farmers and thus joining the ranks of “GM-Growing” countries. This announcement is in stark contrast to its neighbor India, which has put a moratorium on the Bt brinjal.²³ India’s minister Mr Jairam Ramesh, who was responsible for the earlier decision to block the Bt eggplant, said recently that he was disappointed that regulatory system in India has not moved forward to address concerns on biosafety, but also implied that his decision on GM eggplant may have been politically motivated by concerns about large corporations.²⁴

In Africa, there have been some positive developments on GM food and crops lately. Kenya has lifted a ban on GM food imports and plans to commercialize the cultivation of GM crops soon.²⁵ Ghana has begun field testing GM rice,²⁶ despite opposition from some quarters notably the charismatic daughter of its first President.²⁷

Many African scientists continue to plead for increased use of biotechnology in agricultural research as a tool to boost its farm productivity. Prof Jennifer Thomson of South Africa asked in an editorial, “Because Europe has enough food and don't want GM foods should we allow them to dictate to us as to what is best for Africa?”²⁸

A controversial paper claiming that GM food causes tumor in rats was subsequently retracted by its publishers Elsevier from the Journal of Food and Chemical Toxicology, garnering much media attention around the world.²⁹

10.4161/gmcr.28278