Genetically modified foods are among the most heavily tested, scrutinized, evaluated and regulated food items in existence. Applications of GM technology reduce the impact of weeds, harmful insects and pathogens. They contain more nutrients like vitamin A precursors, iron, zinc and vitamins. It might even be possible to make edible vaccines. Despite this, there is a lot of anti-GMO sentiment in the public realm, largely based on fear mongering about biotechnology and a dislike for corporations. However, the anti-GMO claims about science tend to turn out to be erroneous and dangerously misguided and the arguments about economics are at best only tangentially relevant. These two facts have not discourages the anti-GMO movement in the slightest.
The editors of Scientific American recently published an article taking a stand against laws requiring mandatory labeling of GM foods. Five major arguments are presented:
Increase misconceptions about the health effects of GM foods: the editors argue that if mandatory labeling of GM foods or foods that contain GM ingredients is required, then this will contribute to the feeding-frenzy about alleged “Frankenfoods” being harmful to human health. In reality, organizations as diverse as the American Advancement of Science and the World Health Organization conclude that genetically modified foods are just as safe for human consumption as conventionally grown food. These conclusions are based on mountains of toxicological and ecological research.
Limit consumer options: companies tend to avoid labels that risk driving potential consumers away, so they stop using GM ingredients in their products. This means that the consumer would have fewer options available to them.
Increased food cost for the consumer: since GM foods require less water and pesticides than conventional foods, so they tend to be cheaper. If mandatory labeling of GM foods become a legal requirement and companies start to remove GM ingredients, this will make the food available to the consumer more expensive. Some estimates suggest that the yearly food cost for an average family could increase by 400 U.S. dollars
More administrative work for farmers: the fourth argument provided is that mandatory GMO labeling would require more administrative work for farmers and others to ensure that they could stand up to lawsuits challenging the non-GM nature of their products.
Increase stigma against beneficial technology: the fifth and final argument provided by the editors of Scientific American is that mandatory labeling threatens to increase the stigma of technology that has helped Indian farmers increase their yield by almost 25% and profits by 50%. Another classic example is Golden Rice, a variety of rice that contains a precursor to vitamin A. Vitamin A deficiency makes half a million children go blind and kills a quarter of a million.
For sure, this is not the final word on GM foods and labels, but it provides a powerful defense of good science and a stance against anti-GMO sentiments. Predictably, this statement by the editors of Scientific American has attracted a number of anti-GMO fearmongers in the comment section.
One commenter made the following claim:
The right to know what we are eating and drinking is a fundamental right that is not diminished by the opinion of some “expert” on what is “good for us.” The same logic that would allow unlabeled GMO manipulation, would also allow adding preservatives to food because — well, they make food last longer, so that’s good for everyone, isn’t it? and if people knew that preservatives were added, they might resist buying those wonderful crackers with a shelf life of years.
Indeed, it is important that consumers have the ability to know what they are buying, eating and drinking. Therefore, product labels should specify the content of the product being sold. However, the analogy between GM foodstuff and a preservative is false. What differs between a product that contains a preservative and a product without that preservative is that the former contains an additional substance, namely, the preservative. However, the difference between a product that contains corn modified by conventional methods and a product that contains corn modified by biotechnological methods is not that one of them contains an additional substance. The difference boils down to the method used to produce those genetic modifications. What should be tested, evaluated and regulated is the end-product, not the method used to produce it. Thus, labels should reflect content, not method used.
The same commenter, in a stunning display of ignorance, also made the following argument:
A normal American diet contains plenty of nutrients. Multiplying the amount of iron in a person’s diet by a factor of four, or the beta-carotene by a factor of 169 is likely an unhealthy thing to do — over and above the issue of doing so without informing the consumer.
The reason scientists are genetically modifying cassava and maize to contain more nutrients like beta-carotene, iron, zinc etc. is not for the benefit of American consumers. They are doing it to prevent hundreds of millions of people in poor countries from suffering deficiency diseases and starving to death. Attempting to make this all about the American consumer is irrational and backwards.
Presumably unaware about the difference between “genetically identical” and “substantially equivalent”, another commenter made the following assertion:
If GMO corn is identical to NON-GMO corn, how can it be detected in the field or lab? How can the biotechnology company know if someone has infringed on their patent so they can sue them? Clearly, they are not identical. They may look the same, but are not the same genetically.
Of course, the claim being made is not that conventionally modified foods are genetically identical to foods modified using recombinant DNA technology. Rather, genetically modified foods are substantially equivalent to foods modified by conventional means. This means that thorough scientific testing has shown that a GM food item is just as safe as the conventional counterpart.
The second commenter continues:
Frankly, I don’t want to eat these novel gene combinations, but beyond that, I am not comfortable with the behavior and ethics of the companies producing them or the environmental risks involved. Stray genes in nature could court disaster. We have no control over nature.
He or she does not want to eat “novel gene combinations”? Such a claim betrays a profound ignorance of basic genetics. Each single time that conventional plant reproduces, thousands of genes are shuffled and recombined to produce novel gene combinations. Using conventional breeding techniques to make safer and more nutritious plants is very imprecise and takes a lot of time. Using biotechnology, the relevant genetic changes can be made faster and much more precise. No need to shuffle and recombine thousands of genes. If “novel gene combinations” makes GM foods scary, then conventional foods should make you tremble with fear.