Are GMO crops all that bad?

GMO crops are manipulated to have better shelf lives than organic ones. This induces more sustainability and food security. But some studies suggest that they could potentially harm the human body, so is it a well-established fact or a hoax?

We may have seen certain varieties of potatoes in our homes that last longer and stay fresher. They are usually GMO crops. Genetically modified organisms are foods that are genetically modified by scientists in a lab. They were introduced to the world by Dr Norman Borlaugh in 1961 among wheat crops and later forwarded to India by Dr M. S. Swaminathan sparked the Green Revolution in food production. During the 1960s India was going through a period of high-pressure famine, so the GMO crops were a miracle in curbing the widespread hunger.

60 years from then, we are now a flourishing economy with a majority of it relying on agriculture. According to WTO’s report of 2019, India is a leading exporter of soybean, cotton, rice, wheat amongst many others. According to ‘Agricultural Statistics at a Glance by GoI’, this spurt in agricultural growth is to a large extent owing to GMO varieties, during which many High Yielding Varieties (HYVs) were introduced.

Some of the major crops of which genetically modified varieties are used are soybean, wheat, cotton, corn. What does genetic modification actually do to the crops? The purpose of manipulating their genetic structure was definitely to make them more effective and resilient. In his book, ‘Norman Borlaug on World hunger’ explained how wheat was very prone to plant diseases like ‘stem rust’. To encapsulate his, M.S Swaminathan’s and modern biotechnology’s  findings, the following are the main reasons to use and the resultant benefits of GMO crops:

·         They are more immune to plant diseases, bugs, and rotting during the cropping

·          Shelf life of fresh produce is longer

·         Breeding is fast and offers maximum yield

·         They are less sensitive to temperature, altitude, and geographic location.

And for a developing nation like India, which still ranks 94th out of 102 countries on the Global Hunger Index 2020, this is a big boon on food and textile production. GMO crops are better and there is another major proponent for it. As discussed earlier, they are economically profitable to the farmers and sellers, but it will only be truly sustainable if it holds well for the environment. 

The United chronicle presented facts on combating malnutrition by Golden rice. Golden rice was developed by researchers in Germany and Switzerland and is fortified with Vitamin A. Children in Africa and Southeast Asia who are deficient in Vitamin-A showed improvement in their health. In general, GMO crops have easy sowing, harvesting, and production. Also, they are much more cost-effective to produce on a large scale so they are also more affordable for every section of people. It requires less manpower, and quick production ultimately results in more availability.

GMO crops are known for their ability to withstand pest and microbial attacks. It straight-up means that there will be lesser usage of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. One example of such a crop is nitrogen-efficient rice. This variety of rice has been shown to have been using 50% less fertilizer application. And considering rice being the staple food for a major chunk of the world population and its vast prevalence, the multiplier effect will be very effective. Another promising GMO crop is Bt-cotton. This type of cotton is genetically modified to be resilient to a bacteria called Bacillus thuringiensis which is notorious for considerable crop loss in India. Fertilizers are non-biodegradable and often seep into the underground water table and alter its purity. Many times it also weakens the soil quality. Data supports that GMO farming has reduced pesticide usage by 8.6% in the last 20 years and promoted crop yield by 22%.

Besides that, GMO crops have been shown to decrease greenhouse gas emissions. According to researchers provided by gmoanswers.com, globally greenhouse emissions have been reduced by 50.7 billion lbs. This is possible due to conservation tillage, and conservation fuel. We know that any commercial farming requires extensive preparation and tractors and harvesters. But GMO crops require less of it and that is how they contribute to carbon reduction and greenhouse emissions.

Like every coin has two sides, GMO crops have their own downside as well. The benefits the crops come with regards to their production, their manifestation on human health may not be the same. According to research, presented by NCBI, GMO crops may contain trace amounts of toxins which lead to infertility and the development of cancers. Additionally, the rise of food allergies in people especially seen with wheat and peanut is said to be linked to GMO crops. But sufficient long-term studies still are nonexistent. 

There is little evidence to support the fact that they are safe or unsafe for human consumption in the long run. As with the analysis of anything, both pros and cons need to be weighed. Especially when a system like GMO cropping which is so well set in the agricultural systems of both developing and developed countries, a rapid and rushed shift to organic farming is something to be really thought after meticulously, considering the well-being of not just an economic section of the society but every person in every nation and the larger ecosystem that we are a part of.