GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, are organisms with DNA that has been changed by genetic engineering. They have the potential to make massive social change, as the introduction of pest-, fungal-, and disease-resistant traits lead to higher yields which can feed more people. Despite its many advantages, there is some opposition to the increase in GMO food, as individuals are concerned about the potential adverse health effects caused by GMOs, many believing that it is too new of a development to be certain of its safety. However, genome editing is not a brand new concept, as changes in plant DNA have been made by humans all throughout history. Additionally, many experiments have been conducted to test the health effects of GMOs, and they conclude that GMO foods are no riskier than their organic counterparts. Genetically modified food is more accessible, safe, and can have a variety of health benefits than non-GMO crops.

Genome editing allows scientists to select favorable traits from certain species and transfer them to others through transgenic techniques, and this tool can help feed those in need. Genetic engineers are able to extract DNA from an organism with desirable characteristics and insert it into plants of interest. When an organism’s DNA is altered, it will have the instructions to carry out the processes coded in the genetic information, so if someone likes an aspect of one organism and wants another organism to have it, transferring the respective gene enables the organism to adapt that trait. There are many ways this can be applied, but a gene that has already been introduced to GMOs is bacillus thuringiensis (BT), a bacterium that produces a compound that kills the insects that eat it. Genetic engineers have implemented the BT gene in many types of crops, causing them to produce the same proteins as the BT bacterium, effectively deterring pests and therefore increasing crop output. The BT gene reduces the use of pesticides and is completely safe for human consumption; a Harvard University paper reported that “[t]he use of Bt crops has led to a reduction in conventional synthetic insecticide use” (Hsaio), and the EPA reported that through all of their trials, the Bt gene did not “show any characteristics of toxins or food allergens” (Mendelsohn et al., 1005). The Bt gene is safe and decreases the need for the regular application of many pesticides, which consequently decreases fuel use since the amount of times having to spread it across fields has decreased. This cuts the time and cost required to upkeep the crops, which is especially crucial in impoverished countries, as it enables farmers to grow more food, feed more people, and send their children to school instead of working on the farm. Using recombinant DNA techniques, scientists are able to take genomic data from one organism and put it into another, which opens the door to improving crops in many ways, including resilience to harmful insects.

The options do not end there; pest-resistance is not the only desirable trait for food that can be developed through genetic engineering. In the UK, tomato farmers are plagued by powdery mildew, a disease that can destroy their harvests. With the assistance of biotechnology, though, researchers engineered a type of tomato that is “more resistant to mildew, making it cheaper to produce and, because it needs to be sprayed less, better for the environment” (de Quetteville). A type of tomato that is resistant to powdery mildew can feed more people for the same cost and has a lesser impact on the environment than ordinary tomatoes. If all crops were engineered to have these attributes, world hunger would decrease and the agricultural industry would have a significantly smaller carbon footprint. On top of the amazing possibilities of pest- and fungal-resistance, plants can even be designed to be resistant to disease. According to Professor Johnathan Napier at Rothamsted Research, a company that conducts influential research on novel plant science, “[m]ost pathogens latch on to a plant by recognising a host protein,” so by removing the identification marker, “you effectively make the pathogen blind to the crop” (Napier). This means that plants can be engineered to be resistant to disease, which would dramatically increase harvest rates, as blights can wipe out entire fields of a crop, leaving farmers unexpectedly with outputs that will not support their families or their countries. Engineering disease, pest, and fungal-resistant plants can lead to much larger harvests, lower costs and time spent, and therefore feeding more people in need.

Some are wary of GMOs because they believe that humans are only recently beginning to edit DNA, so they are uncertain if GMOs are safe. Due to the recent prevalence of genetic engineering, writer Arjun Walia claims that humans “don’t know enough about GMOs to deem them safe for human consumption,” noting in 2016 that they were first sold “only twenty years ago.” However, genetic engineering is not the first instance of anthropocene modification of plant DNA: human activity has impacted crop genomes for many generations. Although humans have only recently developed biotechnological tools in the past few decades, “[h]umans have used selective breeding techniques such as hybridization and plant grafting for thousands of years” (Genetically Modified Food). One example of artificial selection is the planting of the most prolific crops from a harvest. When farmers had some harvests that were more successful than others, they would often choose to sow the seeds of the more successful plants for the next season. This is a natural reaction; farmers would want to plant the successful crops for the advantageous traits they carried in order to increase their yields. Over time, plants’ genomes are changed after generations of breeding for advantageous traits. For example, modern corn looks completely different from its wild ancestor, and its transition was made using selective breeding techniques. Teosinte, “a poorly yielding species bearing barely edible seeds,” was bred into modern corn because farmers chose to grow the crops with the most favorable attributes (Werner). The DNA of plants has been affected by humans for thousands of years, so the argument that genetic modifications are inherently unsafe has little ground. Additionally, experiments have been conducted to ensure the safety of GMOs and have shown that they do not cause more health risks than their organic partners. As reported by the Committee on Genetically Engineered Crops: Past Experience and Future Prospects, a “large number of experimental studies” were done on animals, and the records of their health before and after the introduction of GMO feed “showed no adverse effects associated with GE crops” (25). Additionally, the committee also analyzed 1data on GMOs’ effects on human health and found “no substantiated evidence that foods from GE crops were less safe than foods from non-GE crops” (25). There is no reason to fear the safety of GMO foods, as there is no significant reason to believe that they negatively impact human health. GMOs are not a novel concept that we know very little about, as they have been proven safe for consumption, and selective breeding techniques have been prevalent for generations. 

The amount of opposition towards GMOs because of their perceived health effects is peculiar, as GMOs can actually be more nutritionally beneficial than the same organic crop. Thanks to researchers’ ability to control the genomes of the organism they choose to alter, essential nutrients can be added to plants that are already widespread and regularly consumed. Some “crops have been enriched with vitamin E, iron and zinc,” and gene editing has been performed on tomatoes “to enhance levels of GABA (gamma amino butyric acid),” a key neurotransmitter (Beckett). As a result of genetic engineers’ innovation, crucial compounds have been added to food, meaning a diet that consists of GMOs could include significantly more nutrients than the same non-GMO diet. These advancements have the ability to provide vital elements to people’s diets without changing the rest of the plant’s attributes, such as the taste or cost. These micronutrients can go a long way, and researchers are determined to make positive changes with the biotechnology tools at their disposal. One way scientists are utilizing their resources for those in need is by providing key nutrients to those in impoverished countries. Those without access to a wide range of food often suffer from nutrient deficiencies, such as the lack of vitamin A. “Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) has killed millions of children in less-developed countries,” which have restricted access to foods rich in vitamin A and its precursor, beta carotene (PNAS). In an attempt to combat this unfortunate injustice, genetic engineers created Golden Rice, which includes transgenes from maize and an Erwinia bacterium, and produces beta carotene. Researchers found that replacing rice in the diets of “preschool children in Bangladesh and the Philippines” with Golden Rice “could provide 89% to 113% and 57% to 99% of the recommended vitamin A requirement”  respectively (PNAS). Using biotechnology, scientists were able to make a type of rice that has the potential to save countless lives, and vitamin A is just one example; there are many other compounds that can be implemented using genome editing. If this crop and others like it are implemented in enough agricultural systems, they can nourish thousands of children that have insufficient vitamin levels and nurture global health.

Overall, genetic modification in agriculture enables crops to be more prolific, and can bring unique traits to produce that would not be otherwise achieved. The favorable traits chosen by genetic engineers can help feed millions of people by reducing the cost and time required to maintain crops by adding pest-resistant genes and increase success by eliminating factors that decrease crop outputs. Although skeptics doubt the safety of genetically modified plants, humans have been altering plant genomes for generations, and after years of studies, it has been declared that GMOs are no more dangerous than their organic counterparts. In fact, many GM plants have been designed to have better health benefits than the same organic produce, and can be edited to provide much-needed nutrients to people in low-income nations. GMOs are not to be feared, but celebrated, as they represent endless possibilities of how agriculture can be optimized for health and efficiency.

That was an argumentative essay I recently wrote for my English class! I thought it would be nice to cover GMOs considering my recent interest in them, and because they’re to be a huge part of my future. There’s definitely a bit of overlap from my GMO articles on this website, but it was cool to put it into essay form and do more research and embed evidence. I kind of wish I’d saved the topic for my next essay, though, because there’s so much more I wish I’d discussed!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and stay tuned to learn with me!

Beckett, Emma. “How Gene-Editing Is About to Deliver the Promise of Genuine Superfoods.” BBC Science Focus, 04/23 2023. ProQuest; SIRS Issues Researcher, https://explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2814112237?accountid=163174.

de Quetteville, Harry. “Can Gene-Edited Crops Solve the World’s Food Crisis?” Telegraph.co.uk, 05/23 2022. ProQuest; SIRS Issues Researcher, https://explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2708573353?accountid=163174.

“Genetically Modified Food.” Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2023. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/PC3010999249/OVIC?u=rock89639&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=b390c8b0. Accessed 16 Oct. 2023.

Hsaio, J. “GMOs and pesticides: Helpful or harmful?” Science in the News, Harvard University, 01/26 2015. https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2015/gmos-and-pesticides/

Mendelsohn, Mike, et al. “Are Bt crops safe?” Nature Biotechnology, September 2003, https://19january2021snapshot.epa.gov/sites/static/files/2015-08/documents/are_bt_crops_safe.pdf 

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Genetically Engineered Crops: Experiences and Prospects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/23395

Walia, Arjun. “Genetically Modified Food Is Unhealthy.” Global Sustainability, edited by Dedria Bryfonski, Greenhaven Press, 2016. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010988212/OVIC?u=ante588&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=121d1b60. Accessed 16 Oct. 2023. Originally published as “10 Scientific Studies Proving GMOs Can Be Harmful to Human Health,” Collective-Evolution.com, 8 Apr. 2014.

Werner, Louis. “Caught in a Maize of Genes.” Americas, 06 2000, pp. 6-17. ProQuest; SIRS Issues Researcher, https://explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2267902061?accountid=163174.

Wu, F., Wesseler, J., Zilberman, D., Russel, R. M., Chen, C., & Dubock, A. C. (n.d.). Allow Golden Rice to save lives | PNAS. 15, Dec. 2021. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2120901118