STUDY GUIDE
The Introduction of Genetically Modified Organism Crops
in Worldwide Agriculture
Laurens Sijbrant & Daniel Witte
LUCMUN Presents: Mini MUN
Wednesday September 3rd, 2014
I. Arguments Pro- and Con-GMOs
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are organisms which are modified by genetic
engineering technics. These technics alter the DNA in order to give the organisms new beneficial
threats. This is often done in order to boost efficiency, resistance, or to create new functions. Genetic
modification is applied in different sectors and industries. An important developer of GMOs is the
pharmaceutical industry. Using GMOs helps to create new and cleaner drugs. The use of GMOs in the
pharmaceutical industry is widely accepted.
An example of this is the new production of insulin. Until 1982 it was common to extract
insulin from the pancreas of the cow and other animals in order to help diabetes patients. However,
since 1982 it became common practice to produce insulin with the help of Genetically Modified (GM)
bacteria. This allowed for a cleaner and a more efficient production process than before.
Unlike in the pharmaceutical sector, GMOs are not widely accepted in the agricultural sector.
Countries and organisations are still clashing over the usage of GMOs and the rules and requirements
that regulate GM crop licensing. Many arguments are put forward in favour and against of GMOs.
The following section will provide you with an overview of some of the main arguments used. This
section is however by no means exhaustive and we encourage you to be creative and come up with
arguments of your own.
Main arguments
According to scholars GM crops offer two big advantages. The first advantage is that crops
can be engineered to be less vulnerable against insects by introducing the Bt gene (a gene which
makes the plant produce pesticides).1 This is a gene which produces pesticides making the organism
less vulnerable against insects. The second advantage is that crops can be augmented to produce
higher yields, by reducing their sensitivity to abiotic factors such as amount of rain or temperature.
Qaim and Zilberman (2003) found that GM crops produced by Monsanto gave up to approximately
80 percent higher yields because of the modified Bt genes. “Average yields of Bt hybrids exceeded
those of non-Bt counterparts and popular checks by 80% and 87%”.2 Other crops which were focused
on higher yields also produced substantially more.
In contrast, there are many downsides to the modification of crops. First of all people are
afraid that GM crops will transfer their genes into naturally occurring strains of the species creating
‘super weeds’.3 Since these weeds are stronger than normal weeds they will replace all other weeds
and plants, causing a horrendous loss of biodiversity. The second concern is that insects can develop
a resistance towards pesticides in GM plants, which would cause a growing need for the use of
1
Qaim, Matin, and David Zilberman. 2003. “Yield Effects of Genetically Modified Crops in Developing
Countries.” Science 299, no. 5608: 900–902. doi:10.1126/science.1080609
2
Ibid.
3
Mendelsohn , Mike, John Kough, Zigfridais Vaituzis, and Keith Matthews. 2003. “Are Bt Crops Safe?” Nature
Biotechnology 21, no. 9: 1003–9. doi:10.1038/nbt0903-1003.
additional pesticides. This is already causing a rapid increase in pesticide use in the United States of
America (USA), while GM crops are most importantly aimed at reducing pesticide use.
There are however also other concerns. A lot of people in Europe think for instance that it is
unethical to ‘play’ with nature for our own gain. It goes against the prevailing of notion of technology
and nature. Additionally, farmers in Africa and Asia complain about the high prices of GM seeds.
Moreover, the stringent patent on GM seeds has caused farmers that did not buy the seeds but had
their fields invaded by neighbouring GM crops to pay exorbitant fines.
II. Regional Policies on GMOs
Europe
Europe is generally seen as a GMO-resistant region, since it doesn’t tolerate many GM crops
to be grown within its borders. Though, the stance of European countries in regards to GM crops is
not as black and white as it may seem. Granted that the continent is more critical towards the
implementation of crops, it is not from the outset against using GMO crops. European politicians too
are starting to acknowledge that GMOs can be an answer, and may even be the best answer, to the
current world food crisis. Sir David King, ex-chief scientist to the United Kingdom’s government, has
stated that Genetic Modification is the only technology available to solve the crisis.4 However,
Europe’s strict regulations on and requirements for testing of GMO crops have contributed to the
fact that only one GMO variety has a commercial license in the European Union (EU) – making the
total European GMO crop acreage a mere 0.1% of the world total.5 Europe is arguably the region
with the most stringent regulations on foods produced from GM crops, regarding them as ‘new
foods’ and requiring an extensive, case-by-case, scientifically substantiated evaluation.
The Americas
The Americas harbour four out of the top five countries that are applying GMO crops
worldwide. As can be deduced from the figure 1 (next page), these countries are the USA, Argentina,
Brazil, and Canada (in that respective order). The USA is also home to the most significant companies
producing GMO crops, such as Monsanto. Out of the 114 million hectares (ha) that were planted
with GMO crops in 2007, 100 million ha was sown with Monsanto seeds, giving the company a virtual
monopoly.6 In contrast with Europe, the USA does not consider GMO crop-produced foods as
separate from non-GMO foods in terms of the rules and regulations that have to be met. This means
that they are tested to the same extent as ‘regular’ foods.
Asia
With Europe and the Americas at two extremes of the spectrum, Asia lies somewhere in
between. Although only two Asian countries are cultivating a significant amount of land with GM
crops (being China and India), more and more voices are rising up in the continent calling GMOs the
only solution to growing population size and stalling agricultural capacity. GM rice is for example
seen as the only option to ensure the continuous delivery of the most important food in Asia to its
growing population – new rice paddy fields being scarce - by the Manila-based International Rice
Research Institute.7
4
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f8b45556-4e97-11dd-ba7c-000077b07658.html#axzz3BXCtSsqX
Ibid.
6
Ibid.
7
http://development.asia/issue01/feature-03.asp
5
Africa
African GMO policies have been severely impacted European reluctance to introduce GMO
crops which resulted in European pressure on Africa to take the same stance. Only four countries
allow GMO crops in Africa, being South Africa, Sudan, Egypt, and Burkina Faso.8 Africa is seen as a
continent that holds great potential for abiotic stress-resistant GMO crops, which would mainly
address the severe droughts that are terrorising the continent. The combination of the negative
example from Europe with the higher price of GMO seeds and distrust of small traditional farmers for
large multinational corporations has halted the implementation of GMOs in Africa.
Figure 1 Area covered by GMO crops per country in million hectares9
8
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/10/11/world/science-health-world/africa-becomes-gmobattleground/#.U_5FmkE18kE
9
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f8b45556-4e97-11dd-ba7c-000077b07658.html#axzz3BXCtSsqX