Genetically Modified Crops & GMO Foods: Benefits, Risks, CRISPR Edits

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Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) remain controversial despite decades of use.

Key facts:

  • GMOs were first commercialized in the 1980s and now comprise over 90% of corn and soybean crops in the US.
  • Potential risks include food safety issues and environmental impacts from gene transfer to wild plants. However, no direct hazards have been reported over decades of use.
  • New gene editing techniques like CRISPR offer more precise genetic changes without transferring DNA between species.
  • Global population growth means boosting food production should be a higher priority than debating crop biotech drawbacks.

Source: Food Sci. Nutr. 2021

Agricultural Innovation with Genetically-Engineered Crops

With the global population expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, food production must increase dramatically to meet demand.

However, yields of staple grains like corn, rice and wheat are only growing at around 1% annually – less than half the pace needed to double output by mid-century.

Closing this gap will require utilizing every available technology, including genetic engineering (GE) of crops.

While techniques like genetic modification (GM) and transgenic crops remain controversial in some regions, the uncertainties around their safety must be weighed against the urgent need to improve agricultural productivity and feed billions.

How Genetic Engineering Works

GE alters the genetic makeup of organisms to introduce desirable traits like higher yields, disease resistance or added nutrition.

Traditional breeding also changes genetics, but more slowly and less precisely than modern biotech techniques.

GM uses recombinant DNA technology to insert specific genes, often from a different species.

For example, genes from a soil bacterium were added to corn to produce insecticidal Bt corn.

Transgenic crops contain DNA transferred from another organism.

Newer gene editing methods like CRISPR/Cas9 create changes without inserting foreign DNA.

They act like molecular scissors to cut DNA at precise points so genes can be deleted, added or altered.

CRISPR enables rapid, inexpensive and accurate edits.

Evolution of Genetic Modification in Crops

Humans have worked to improve crops and livestock for thousands of years through selective breeding.

Hybridization and crossbreeding create better varieties by combining genes from parents with desired traits.

But traditional breeding relies on random mutations and natural genetic variation.

Mutagenesis using radiation or chemicals to induce mutations arose in the mid-1900s.

It helped expand genetic diversity, but causes random and unknown changes to DNA.

Neither conventional breeding nor mutagenesis are regulated for food safety or environmental impact.

Recombinant DNA technology in the 1970s enabled isolating genes and inserting them into other organisms.

GM crops were commercialized in the 1980s and 1990s, including pest-resistant and herbicide-tolerant varieties.

Critics consider GM foods “unnatural” and risky.

As gene editing advanced, new methods like CRISPR emerged to precisely edit DNA without introducing foreign genes.

CRISPR avoids GM regulation and showed immediate use improving crops.

Global Use of GMO Crops

Despite controversy, GM crop adoption has soared since the 1990s, especially in the Americas.

The US grows GM varieties on over 90% of corn and soybean acres.

Large percentages of cotton and canola crops are also GM.

Other leading producers include Brazil, Argentina, Canada and India. GM soybeans, corn, cotton and canola are most widely grown.

Insect resistance and herbicide tolerance are the main traits.

But adoption in Europe and Africa remains low due to strict regulation and consumer opposition.

Only Spain and a few other countries grow over 10% GM corn.

Technologies like CRISPR may enable wider acceptance by avoiding transgenic changes.

Benefits of GMO Foods & Crops

GM and biotech crops provide multiple advantages responsible for their widespread adoption outside Europe:

  • Higher yields from improved resilience to insects and weeds. GM crops increase farmer incomes and food production.
  • Lower pesticide use and easier weed control due to herbicide tolerance and Bt crops. Saves labor, fuel and equipment passes.
  • Reduced insecticide spraying benefits workers’ health and the environment.
  • Crops with enhanced nutrition such as Golden Rice with added Vitamin A precursors. Can combat malnutrition and diseases.
  • Resistance to viruses and other pathogens reduces crop failures and loss.
  • Drought-tolerant strains help stabilize yields under climate change pressures.
  • Less land required increases production sustainability and saves biodiversity.

Risks of GMOs & Uncertainties

Scientific consensus affirms GM foods are safe to eat and environmentally benign, but uncertainties still trouble some consumers and regulators:

  • Unknown allergenicity or toxicity. But no evidence over decades of wide use indicates higher risks. GM crops undergo extensive testing unmatched by other breeding methods.
  • Gene transfer to non-GM and wild plants. Has occurred with insect-resistant traits, but ecological impacts appear small. Hard to prevent in open pollinated crops.
  • Pest resistance could reduce effectiveness of Bt and herbicide tolerance. But crop rotation and new approaches can manage resistance.
  • Loss of crop biodiversity from GM dominance. Traditional seed variety conservation is still needed.
  • Unknown long-term or indirect effects are possible. But clear benefits warrant continued adoption with ongoing monitoring.
  • Consumer preference for non-GM, organic or “natural” foods. But all crops are genetically altered from their original wild relatives. GM traits pose no documented hazards to consumers.
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Addressing these uncertainties can balance precautionary regulation to manage valid risks without foregoing potential benefits to farmers, the food system and the environment.

New Breeding Techniques: CRISPR Edits of Crops

Advanced genetic tools like CRISPR overcome many downsides to transgenic GM methods:

  • Precise in-place edits of native DNA avoid introducing foreign genes with unpredictable effects.
  • Rapid, inexpensive development speeds beneficial new varieties to farmers.
  • Altering genes that control multiple traits boosts precision breeding.
  • Non-transgenic changes may avoid stringent regulation based on process, not product risk.

These new plant breeding techniques enable major improvements:

  • Delete allergy-causing gluten genes from wheat to make it safe for celiacs.
  • Remove toxins like nicotine from crops.
  • Boost nutritional value by increasing vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
  • Confer drought tolerance to protect yields under climate change.
  • Create resistance to plant diseases and pathogens to reduce crop losses.
  • Remove growth limiting factors to increase productivity per acre.
  • Reduce food spoilage and waste through genetic enhancements.

CRISPR and similar methods open new possibilities for sustainably enhancing the food supply while sparking less opposition than transgenic GM.

Weighing Priorities: Food Needs vs. Uncertain Risks

With the global population rising about 80 million annually, increasing food production must become a critical priority.

Staple crop yields are not growing fast enough to double output by mid-century as needed.

Africa faces a huge challenge to raise yields and imports to feed its booming populations.

Against this backdrop, banning proven yield-increasing technologies due to uncertainty over hypothetical risks makes little ethical or practical sense.

All farming affects ecosystems in complex ways impossible to fully predict.

But sensible precautions can manage risks.

Halting adoption of biotech crops in Africa and Asia would damage food security and safety.

Europe’s near ban on GM crops reflects public fears more than science.

Its opposition to GM imports imperils African nations. Countries must be free to evaluate costs and benefits of biotechnology.

Using every available means to sustainably increase productivity and nutrition should take precedence over restrictive policies based on exaggerating potential risks of GM technology that remain theoretical after decades of safe use.

Genetically Modified & Biotech Crops/Foods (GMOs)

With growing populations and a changing climate straining resources, improving agriculture must responsibly balance many complex factors.

GM and biotech crops can aid progress, especially as new tools arrive.

Issues to address looking ahead include:

  • Maintaining genetic diversity alongside biotech innovations. Agro-ecological farming practices remain vital.
  • Managing herbicide resistant weeds and pest resistance to Bt crops through integrated practices.
  • Assessing gene edited crops for environmental impacts and food safety despite less regulation.
  • Allowing open access to patented biotechnologies by public sector scientists for further innovation.
  • Expanding low-cost rapid diagnostics like CRISPR to detect plant viruses and diseases.
  • Investing public funds in agricultural development matching the UN Sustainability Goals.
  • Embracing transparent decision-making processes based on evidence not ideology.

With openness, responsibility and science leading the way, biotechnology can continue bettering agriculture while sustaining ecosystems for the benefit of all.

Humanity has long adapted nature to feed itself.

Genetic knowledge lets us breed more nourishing, resilient crops while reducing impacts.

This historic transition requires wisdom, care and humility – and avoiding detours down dead-ends of dogma.

With commitment and precaution, the fruits of science offer hope of abundance.

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