by Lucy Sharratt
Biotechnology corporations would like us to believe that their technology can remake industrial agriculture and usher in a second “Green Revolution” that will feed the entire world. Now that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have been in the ground for almost 20 years, we can evaluate the reality of GMOs, and their future “green” potential. We can also look at our options for making green food choices.
A fundamental problem, that’s never been dealt with, is that
genetically engineered (also called genetically modified or GM) plants are living, self-replicating pollution. Once GMOs are released into the environment, they cannot be controlled or recalled. This fact alone begs us to use the precautionary principle, and yet our government has allowed GM soy, corn, canola, and white sugar beets to be grown in Canada, while GM cotton, alfalfa, papaya and squash are planted in other countries – mainly the US Even after multiple, serious contamination incidents our government is still considering approving a GM apple and a GM salmon and the first GM perennial crop, GM alfalfa, could be put on the market any day.
The ecological impact of GM contamination is particularly profound because contamination threatens the future of ecological farming. GM contamination not only directly threatens organic farming, which prohibits the use of GMOs, but also threatens crop diversity and the future of small-scale farming around the world.
GM contamination can change how plants perform in unpredictable ways and threaten the food security of people who depend on those crops. For example, imported GM yellow corn from the US has already contaminated some native corn varieties in Mexico and created havoc for indigenous farmers who are gradually removing this contaminant. Mexico is the centre of origin of corn (maize), with the greatest genetic diversity in this crop and its wild relatives. That’s why a recent court-ordered suspension of proposed massive GM corn plantings in Mexico needs to become a permanent ban.
Toxic Fallout
The GM crops currently on the market – mostly corn, canola, soy and cotton – are developed for large-scale, monoculture industrial agriculture and have increased the use of pesticides (Benbrook, 2012). Right now, 85% of all GM crops are herbicide-tolerant, which means they’re engineered to survive herbicide sprayings that kill all the surrounding weeds. New glyphosate-tolerant weeds are evidence of the overuse of glyphosate, a key ingredient in Monsanto’s “Roundup” formulation that goes with their GM “Roundup Ready” corn, canola and soy. These superweeds have led Dow and Monsanto to develop GM crops tolerant to other, older herbicides such as 2,4-D and dicamba. Even the GM insect-resistant (Bt) plants designed to kill insects are no longer reducing insecticide use because the Bt crops themselves function as pesticides, and the pests are now becoming resistant.
The dominance of GM herbicide-tolerant corn in the American corn-belt has further destroyed the milkweed food source of monarch butterflies, which are now suffering record-low numbers.
Together, the US, Brazil and Argentina grow 76% of the world’s GM crops. It’s huge pesticide-dependent soy farms that dominate South America’s GE production, mostly for animal feed and biofuels. This soy is called “green gold” but it’s responsible for intense social devastation as well as ecological harm.
Argentina’s largest fertilizer association is now warning that the country is planting too much soy, which is depleting soil nutrients. But it’s not just soil fertility and insect diversity that’s sacrificed in toxic GM farming. Soy production in Paraguay, the world’s fourth largest exporter, now takes up triple the area it did in 1998, and it’s poisoning small farmers. Small farms are being surrounded by endless fields of GM herbicide-tolerant soy and farmers are either forced to leave to the city or be poisoned. Children have died from this pesticide poisoning, and farmers cannot protect their animals and crops from spray drift.
Organic Prohibits GM
There is no “green” food without justice and this is why genetic engineering will never be green. Food sovereignty requires local control over our food system, for the benefit of all people. Genetic engineering comes from the lab, not from farmers, and is owned and controlled by corporations, for corporate profit. The same six companies that control all the GM seeds in the world – Monsanto, DuPont, Syngenta, Bayer, Dow, and BASF – also control 75% of all private sector plant breeding research, 60% of the commercial seed market, and 76% of global agrochemical sales (ETC Group 2013). Such a high degree of control over agricultural inputs warns us that GM seeds will never be more than corporate seeds.
In a confusing world where we have less and less control over the impacts of basic decisions we make everyday, taking control over our food choices is a concrete way to contribute, not just to our own health, but also to the health of the planet and the people who grow our food.
Organic farming prohibits GM and local organic food provides the greenest choice available. The organic standard prohibits the use of GM seeds and GM animal feed. For example, if meat, dairy and eggs are not certified organic, the animals were likely fed GM grains. But certified organic food is not just produced without GMOs and chemical pesticides, it’s also made in accordance with many proactive ecological practices including standards for animal welfare and soil conservation.
Buying more fresh food over packaged food also removes our exposure to GM ingredients. Most GM corn, canola and soy is processed into ingredients for packaged food and animal feed. With the exception of some GM sweetcorn, and papaya and squash imported from the U.S., there are no whole GM fruits or vegetables in our grocery stores.
However, there are some tricky choices if we are seeking non-GM food that may lead us to less-than-green products. For example, “natural” is a meaningless label on food products, with no rules or laws. There are also now some “Non-GMO Project Verified” products on grocery shelves in Canada. The Non-GMO Project Verified logo (www.nongmoproject.org) provides a strong standard of non-GM products for consumers, but this choice is not necessarily green.
It’s important to know that while organic food is grown without GM, non-GM ingredients are not necessarily organic. Canadian company Nature’s Path manufactures certified organic products that are also Non-GMO Project Verified and while Nature’s Path is a strong supporter of the Project, it also acknowledges that the Non-GMO label is not enough by itself. As company founder Arran Stephen’s recently told protestors at a March Against Monsanto this year, “It’s a step in the right direction. However, it is not all that great. Harmful and unsustainable toxic agricultural chemicals are still allowed with this label, just not GMOs. The trouble with this label is that some companies are using it to greenwash their products. It is nowhere near as good as organic.”
We need to celebrate the progress we are making, and the choices that we take when we can. If we all take some steps in the right direction, we will move faster towards the future we want. And if we can match the healthy and ethical choices we make as consumers with political actions in our communities, we will be able to transform our society together.
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Lucy Sharratt is the Coordinator of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, www.cban.ca
ETC Group, “Putting the Cartel before the Horse…and Farm, Seeds, Soil, Peasants.” www.etcgroup.org/content/new-report-putting-cartel-horse%E2%80%
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“Impacts of genetically engineered crops on pesticide use in the U.S. – the first sixteen years” by Charles M. Benbrook, www.enveurope.com/content/24/1/24/abstract
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