Genetically Modified Organisms

The issue of genetically modified organisms (GMO) such as wheat or corn gets a lot of press.  For instance, this article from today's NY Times is about a farmer in Oregon who has found wheat in his field that has the gene inserted by Monsanto that will allow the herbicide Roundup to be used on it without killing it while getting rid of weeds.  The farmer's issue is that he has never purchased the wheat seed from Monsanto that has the genetic modification; nonetheless, its now present in his fields.  Out here on the West Coast this issue gets a lot of attention.  However, too many people protest the genetic alteration of plants for the wrong reason.

Too many think that the plants with altered genes will cause them some sort of harm.  I suppose they think that the genetic material will somehow alter their own genes.  It will not and let me explain.  When your body ingests food, it will break that food down to into very basic materials.  They'll be reduced in your stomach and bowels into carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and nucleic acids which are the building blocks used to make up cells.  The genetic material only exists at the cellular level.  After digestion there is no cell left and the genetic code which is in DNA and RNA are broken down to the pieces of the genetic alphabet, the nucleotides of adenine, thiamine, cytosine, guanine and uracil.  A gene only has meaning when the letters of the alphabet are in a very particular order. 

After digestion you cannot possibly determine from what type of cell and from what type of organism the nucleotides originated let alone what gene.  Genetic material cannot pass from one species to another via ingestion.  So, anyone who says that genetically modified foods could harm them by modifying their own genetic material is full of hogwash. 

Now what you can be offended about is the whole issue of using herbicides.  Any residue of herbicide on the plant being protected may cause harm.  And, even if the residue isn't present by the time you ingest it, the runoff of the herbicide into the soil and ground water may cause problems for other plants, animals or humans in the food chain that may be poisoned. 

In addition, you may be offended by the idea of making genetic modifications to any organism because of the problem of unintended consequences.  As illustrated in this story, once you let an organism out into the world you don't know where its going to end up  with a case in point being this Oregon farmer's wheat crop.  You also don't understand what impact it will have on the ecology.  We certainly have all sorts of examples of noxious plants such as some species of honeysuckle, scotch broom, and kudzu which have become dominant and crowd out other species of desirable plants. 

The other problem with genetically modifying plant either by engineering or by selective breeding is when it becomes the dominant variant and diversity is lost.  Take for example, the Irish Lumper potato in 19th century Ireland which became the staple of the population's diet until Phytophthora infestans came along and wiped out the crop resulting in the Great Famine.  If we become dependent upon the dominant variant, when pestilence of some sort occurs, as it always seems to do, we are at risk.  Diversity is good.

We may not want genetically modified food due to its impact on diversity.  We may not want to aid and abet the use of herbicides.  We many not want unintended consequences.  However, we do not need to fear our own genetic modification.