The harms of GM Food – Myth or Reality? November 23, 2009

We have discussed the various benefits of GM crops in this blog at a number of occasions. Environmentalists and many other studies have put up stiff resistance against GM food. These controversies remain unaddressed and are a serious cause of concern regarding the broader use of GM crops. While in the US, the use of GM soya and corn is commonplace and most of the food products on an average American supermarket shelf contain some sort of materials derived from GM foods, their use is strictly regulated in Europe. They are viewed with a lot of suspicion and distrust in developing markets like India.

This article that appeared in an online Indian news site describes the vehement opposition to the introduction of genetically modified eggplants to produce pesticidal toxins. These vegetables are going to be the first genetically modified food crops in India. Earlier, GM cotton was introduced but did not face such a lot of resistance primarily because it was not entering the food chain. Although the manufacturer of the GM eggplants, an Indian company in collaboration with Monsanto, claim that the testing of the seeds in the lab have yielded no evidence of harms. The article claims that the concerns against GM food are based on strong scientific evidence. There is no mention of the harms of GM eggplants specifically, but it describes in a fair amount of detail the harms of other GM foods on lab animals.

The harms presented are quite concerning. How can products that have such harmful effects in the lab, be allowed to enter the food chain, and nothing is done about it. Following this article, I looked up for research that has been done regarding the risks of genetically modified foods and came across the work of Jeffery M. Smith, who wrote the critically acclaimed book, Seeds of Deception, in which he talks about the unregulated manner in which GM foods are entering our food chain. The FDA does not regulate the use of these GM foods even though there have been known side effects in lab animals. Lab rats were shown to have a variety of harmful side effects ranging from allergic reactions, organ damage to sterility and decreased life spans of these rats. This interview of Jeff Smith neatly summarizes his concerns regarding GM foods. Thought he interviewer does seem to dramatize facts quite a bit, the responses in general are eye opening.

Then the question once again arises, about whom to believe or to trust regarding GM food, the corporations and the government or environmentalists and other independent scientific studies. GM foods have been portrayed in general as the solution to the looming food crisis and is the main candidate for the new ‘Green Revolution’ but considering unaddressed concerns like the ones presented in the article, one does wonder if GM foods are a plausible solution.  No rational debate on this topic has happened, and as the lab trials are shrouded in mystery, the situation is not likely to get better. GM foods will continue to face such opposition and continue to be a bone of contention. I personally believe that the FDA should get more involved into the regulation of the GM foods. It should look into the results of the lab trials and carefully scrutinize them for any harmful results. This is imperative to get to the more transparent analysis of GM foods. But I am sure that this will not be an easy affair, given the heavy influence of American corporations in the corridors of power.

Bidwai, Praful, “Bt Bringal, A step towards disaster”, Rediff Business, 26 October 2009, http://business.rediff.com/column/2009/oct/26/bt-brinjal-a-step-towards-disaster.htm

Seeds of Deception, http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/Home/index.cfm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7rXIujvXGc