Monsatan, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love GMOs



NOTE: There is a great deal of myths out there surrounding GMOs. To maintain a somewhat reasonable length on this post, I did not cover them all. However, at the end of the post I have included a good amount of links to information on GMOs, their safety, and the myths dispelled for those who are interested.

As a formerly crunchy, woo-natic, I used to obsess and fret over GMO food, and made sure to buy organic as much as possible. I wanted to steer clear of those pesticides, and make sure that my daughter ate as "clean" to help her grow healthy and strong. I was concerned about the possibility that genetically modified foods were nutritionally inferior to organic foods, as well as negative health effects such as immune system disorders, mental health defects, and even cancer. In retrospect, it seems that those who are anti-GMO will claim that GMOs cause any and all medical issues, reminding me much of the anti-vaccine crowd.

After leaving the anti-vaccine movement I came to a point where I wondered if all the information that I had gathered on the dangers of GMO food was based on psuedoscience, as well. Again, like leaving the anti-vax scene, I came to look at the information with science in mind. Unsurprisingly, I was wrong again, and I discovered that the consensus of the science community says that GMOs are perfectly safe. [1] Not only did I realize that I shouldn't hate or fear GMOs, but gosh darnit, I should love GMOs.

The problem with the idea that genetically modified foods are harmful, is that they aren't. Furthermore, they are not only safe, but I'd go as far as to say that GMO foods are one of the most important tools we have to not only improve modern agriculture, but to help us grow food in broader conditions, decrease insecticide use and make our food more nutritionally sound.

Because our world has a rapidly growing population, we need to increase agricultural production by 50% by 2030. But on the flipside, this rapid population increase has us using a lot of land for urbanization, and it is not as simple as it once was to just up and farm. On top of all of that, there is also less fresh water available per person; a fourfold decrease in the past 60 years, to be exact. [2] As such, we need to increase food production while also using less water. A task that sounds impossible or, at the very least, unlikely, is made possible by GMOs. [3] 

A meta-analysis conducted in Germany examined the impacts of GMO crops, and found that the adoption of GM technology reduced the use of pesticides by 37%. Futhermore, it also showed that there is an increased the yield of crops by 22%. [4] What does this mean? It means more food, and less chemicals, something I often see anti-GMO activists crying out for. 

Biofortified Golden Rice

The ability to genetically engineer our food also means that we have the ability to not only make it easier to grow, but more nutritious to eat, and while nutritional deficiencies may not be a widespread issue in the United States, there are an estimated 925 million undernourished people around the globe. One of those deficiencies that many people suffer from, is Vitamin A. Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) kills an estimated 1.15 million children per year, and a very controversial but amazing variety of rice called golden rice can help save those people. Golden rice produces beta-carotene, which converts to vitamin A in your body. Because rice provides 80% or more of the daily caloric intake of 3 billion people [5], the ability to gain vitamin A from rice is an astonishing feat that could be a key to saving some of those 1.15 million children. Just by modifying plain rice, we can save lives. Amazing isn't it? 

A team of Italian scientists reviewed a whopping 1,783 studies about the safety and environmental impact of GMO foods, with the goal of creating a single document where those of all levels of expertise could get an overview of what the scientific community has done regarding the safety of GMOs. What did they find? Yup, you guessed it. They concluded that "The scientific research conducted so far has not detected any significant hazards directly connected with the use of GE crops" [1][6]
While this was not the only information to convince me that GMOs are safe and love-worthy, (see note above) it was the most significant. Knowing what I know now, I can easily say that I am comfortable with eating and feeding my family GMOs. Not only that, but I learned to stop worrying and love GMOs, because the science is clear: GMOs are more than just safe, they are beneficial for me, you, and the world. So chill out, grab a non-organic banana, and eat that tastiness with a smile, knowing that you not only are saving your hard-earned money, but that you are munching down on a food that has years of science behind it. Delicious, isn't it?

Footnotes
[1] Critical Reviews in Biotechnology; An Overview of the Last 10 Years of Genetically Engineered Crop Safety Research by Alessandro Nicolia, Albert Manzo, Fabio Veronesi, and Daniele Rosellini.
http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/07388551.2013.823595
[2] The Genetics Society of America; Plant Genetics, Sustainable Agriculture and Global Food Security by Pamela Ronald. http://www.genetics.org/content/188/1/11.long
[3] Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) ; Project Brief. 
http://wema.aatf-africa.org/project-brief
[4] PLoS ONE; A Meta-Analysis of the Impacts of Genetically Modified Crops by Willhelm Klümper and Dr. Matin Qaim
[5] Golden Rice Project ; Frequently Asked Questions: Will Golden Rice solve the Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) Syndrome?
[6] Real Clear Science; Massive Review Reveals Consensus on GMO Safety
http://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2013/10/massive-review-reveals-consensus-on-gmo-safety.html
More information on GM crops, their safety, the myths debunked and why you should love them:
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