{"id":11519,"date":"2011-06-08T10:46:38","date_gmt":"2011-06-08T16:46:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.sustainablog.org\/?p=11519"},"modified":"2011-06-08T10:46:38","modified_gmt":"2011-06-08T16:46:38","slug":"gmo-crops-angst","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/gmo-crops-angst\/","title":{"rendered":"Way Too Much Angst About GMO Crops"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

From what I read on various blogs and comment streams, there is WAY TOO MUCH ANGST OUT THERE about GMO crops. Too much angst because every significant panel of scientists that has reviewed this technology has concluded that it is as safe as any other domesticated food crop. \u00a0Too much angst because the reality is that only a small number of crop species will ever<\/strong><\/em> be genetically engineered for commercial use. \u00a0There are four main reasons why this is the case:<\/p>\n

1. \u00a0Brand protectionism<\/p>\n

2. \u00a0Unfavorable economics<\/p>\n

3. \u00a0Other ways to achieve the same goals, and<\/p>\n

4. \u00a0Anti-GMO activism<\/p>\n

1. \u00a0Brand Protectionism<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>For most crops, somewhere along the chain of commerce from the farmer to the consumer, there is a step where there is considerable “concentration.” This means that much of the market is in the hands of one or a few players. \u00a0A classic case is potatoes. \u00a0In the US, McDonalds corporation is such a dominant buyer of frozen fries; \u00a0it was able to stop the commercial deployment of biotech potatoes with three phone calls. \u00a0Unlike standard potatoes, the GMO potatoes in question are not planted into a supply of insecticide sufficient to be picked up by the roots for 60 days because they make their own, super-safe and specific “pesticide” in their leaves (Bt). \u00a0The GMO potatoes also don’t need to be sprayed for aphids close to harvest because they are resistant to the virus those aphids spread. \u00a0The potato growers were extremely excited about the technology, but purely for the sake of brand protection, McDonalds was able to deprive <\/a>the entire industry of this advance. \u00a0Potatoes are still a perfectly safe food. \u00a0It could just be easier on the growers.<\/p>\n

There are other cases of this sort of brand-protection power. \u00a0The major frozen food companies and grocery retailers have been able to block most use of “Bt Sweet Corn” which could save farmers 8-10 insecticide sprays\/season. \u00a0Frito-Lay blocked the use of GMO, Bt white corn for corn chips even though that technology greatly reduces the risk of contamination with the mycotoxin, Fumonisin<\/a>, which has been linked to neural tube defects in humans.<\/p>\n

Brands are very valuable things and are protected fiercely. \u00a0Activists like GreenPeace know this well, and they are able to use the threat of protest to turn that business instinct into decisions that are counter-productive for farmers and consumers alike.<\/p>\n

2. \u00a0Unfavorable Economics<\/h3>\n

Genetically engineering a crop is not that costly, but doing all the work necessary for the regulators is very expensive. \u00a0Unless the crop in question is very large, very valuable or both, it will just never “pencil” to make the R&D investment, particularly if there is any marketing risk. \u00a0I was once on a team that helped a major banana company and a biotech company think through whether they should spend the money to develop a disease resistant banana. \u00a0In Central America, it is necessary to spray this crop from the air almost every week to control a disease called Black Sigatoka. \u00a0Bananas are a large, global crop so I was certain that the “business case” would be attractive. \u00a0To everyone’s surprise, when we did the math, it came out as a poor investment! \u00a0The problem is that banana plantations only get re-planted about every 20 years, so even if the new technology was available, only a small area would be planted each year. Saving >50 aerial sprays wasn’t enough to cover registration costs once the time-value-of-money is factored in.<\/p>\n

So no minor crop and almost no perennial crop is ever going to become GMO unless the growers band together to make the investment. \u00a0A coffee expert explained this to the global Specialty Coffee Association last year and suggested that they contemplate what it means that coffee will never be GMO. \u00a0With the issues of climate change and declining labor availability,\u00a0that entire industry is at risk<\/a>.<\/p>\n

3. \u00a0Other Ways to Achieve the Same Goals<\/h3>\n

There has been a tremendous, public\/private, global investment in biotechnology, far beyond that for the few crops that have been modified. \u00a0That has led to the development of many new methods to alter the genes of plants etc. that don’t involve the introduction of any “foreign DNA.” \u00a0Most of the crops that fit category 2 above will likely be improved using these alternatives (Marker Assisted Selection, Directed Mutagenesis, Induced Polyploidy…). \u00a0These improvements will not involve expensive regulatory barriers, and so far, don’t draw the ire of activists.<\/p>\n

4. \u00a0Anti-GMO Activism<\/h3>\n

Plant genetic engineering has been the most carefully thought-through new technology introduction in history. \u00a0I remember attending major scientific conferences on the safety and environmental questions at least 10 years before the first commercial seeds were planted. \u00a0We talked through everything with ecologists, botanists, sociologists, economists, molecular geneticists, food industry experts. But none of this influences the “environmental” groups who have seized on this issue to raise funds and draw attention. \u00a0The activist’s task is made easier because molecular genetics is a fast-moving science that few consumers understand. \u00a0The press has also been unwilling to take the time to understand this to the extent that journalistic standards would require and so many have not helped to counteract the fear-mongering. \u00a0This is the only way I can explain some activist-driven rejections.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

My all-time-most-read blog post was titled, “A Sad Day For Wine. A Sad Day For Science<\/a>.” \u00a0There is a virus called Grapevine Fanleaf Virus that is spread by a nematode (Xiphenema index)<\/em>. If the two ever infest a given vineyard site, good quality wine can never be produced there again because the vines will soon decline and die. \u00a0That means that there are many wonderful vineyards around the world that have the an excellent “terrior<\/a>” (something the French appreciate so much), but that site can no longer produce good wine. \u00a0Grapes are grown on “rootstocks” and Cornell University had modified a rootstock to be resistant to the virus. \u00a0This was an elegant solution to the Grape Fanleaf Virus problem because the top part of the vine is unchanged and only one kind of rootstock has to be developed. \u00a0Last fall an experimental block of this new technology was ripped out of the ground by activists who believed they were saving the French wine industry from “genetic contamination.” \u00a0That fear is 100% irrational <\/strong><\/em>– it is a rootstock under the ground that never flowers. \u00a0Besides, grapes are not grown from seeds anyway. \u00a0Different varieties of wine grapes are planted side-by-side all the time with NO ILL EFFECTS!<\/p>\n

Is This Good Or Bad? Consider the Case of Wheat<\/h3>\n

So for a variety of reasons (some economic, some logical, some irrational, some selfish), very few additional crops will ever be GMO. That is not to say GMO is a small contribution to the food supply. \u00a0Corn, Soy, Cotton, Canola, Sugarbeets and Alfalfa are GMO and cover hundreds of millions of acres and find their way into many processed foods, meat and milk. \u00a0Still, \u00a0I will continue to argue that GMO crops can be beneficial. \u00a0The world will survive without a bit more excellent wine (very few vineyards in California, Chile, Argentina or Australia are contaminated!), but the other crop where activist-generated-fear has “won”<\/a> by eliciting Brand Protectionism is –\u00a0wheat<\/a>,\u00a0the second largest food crop on earth. \u00a0By 2004, Greenpeace was able to generate enough fear in Europe to get major millers and bakers to threaten not to purchase North American wheat if any<\/strong> became GMO. \u00a0The Canadian Wheat Board<\/a> blinked, and two, nearly commercial wheat traits, were stopped in their tracks. \u00a0One kind of GMO wheat would have been easier to farm with no-till methods and easier to keep pure for specialty uses. \u00a0The other GMO wheat would have reduced disease-related yield losses as well as mycotoxin contamination.<\/a><\/p>\n

It is far easier to stir up fear than it is to educate the public. \u00a0 There was an excellent article by Justin Gillis in the New York Times on 6\/4\/11 titled, “A Warming Planet Struggles to Feed Itself.<\/a>” \u00a0Much of the article is about how wheat production is failing to increase sufficiently to meet rising global demand. \u00a0GM technology is not the full answer to this challenge by any means, but the fact that we are not including GM in the wheat improvement toolbox is a clear-cut “bad thing” in my book.<\/p>\n

You are welcome to comment here or to email me at applied.mythology@gmail.com. \u00a0My website is Applied Mythology<\/a>. \u00a0Image of Edvard Munch\u2019s 1893 painting, \u00a0\u201dThe Scream\u201d from\u00a0oddsock<\/a>. French Fry image by\u00a0Sun Dazed<\/a>. Alsatian vineyard image near Colmar, France from Andreea<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From what I read on various blogs and comment streams, there is WAY TOO MUCH ANGST OUT THERE about GMO crops. 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