Let's Think a Little Harder About GMOs

The Olympic conversation at lunch the other day turned to genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Someone mentioned that Russia is attempting to ban GMOs outright (check out the Feb. 3 article on the Russian news site RT under the headline “Total ban on GMO food production mulled in Russia”). There was much head shaking around the table over the fact that, in the United States, the government is struggling to even get GMOs labeled. Someone commented that it seemed wrong to be messing with the plants and animals that make our food in the laboratory, conjuring images of pipettes and test tubes and 75 percent ethanol.

It is interesting to note the strong emotional response many seem to have to GMOs. I routinely get emails from Food Democracy Now! Similar to this Jan. 24 plea:

“Dear Will, If you haven’t heard, apples are the single most popular fruit served in school lunchrooms across the U.S. and a fruit so iconic it was the fruit that inspired Isaac Newton’s theory of gravity and the heartbeat of the phrase, ‘as American as apple pie!’

“Tragically, a Canadian firm has created a new GMO apple, using a new “gene silencing” technique that could interfere with the expression of genes in humans, even silencing vital human genes, potentially causing serious health problems.”

Of course, my immediate emotional response is: how could anyone possibly let a company sell such an apple?  But then, the Molecular Biology and Biochemistry major in me pauses; what is this new “’gene silencing’ technique”? And how does it work? And what vital human genes does it silence? And where is all of the research that proves these claims? Where is the data?

Some quick Google work reveals that the company in question is Okanagan Specialty Fruits, which strives “to develop new commercial tree fruit varieties that offer exciting benefits to the entire supply chain, from growers to consumers,” according to their website.

The genetically modified apple in question is a strain that the company has created called Artic® apples. The company claims that the apples do not brown from “bruising, cutting, or biting.”

Apparently, scientists at Okanagan Specialty Fruits stopped the browning process by suppressing production of the enzyme polyphenol oxidase (PPO). The technique was developed by Australian researchers in potatoes. The technique used to silence the production of PPO is called RNA interference. I won’t go into details here, but it’s a fascinating technique.

Where is the research demonstrating that the act of eating a fruit expressing PPO suppression RNA can have dangerous effects on human health? Entire books have been written on the subject. It is vast, complex and intricate, and there is no easy answer to the question of the safety of GMOs.

So, what’s my point? I find the strong emotional response to GMOs expressed by individuals, non-profits groups like Food Democracy Now! and governments intriguing and disturbing. Though, for the record, I find the actions of biotechnology companies like Monsanto equally disturbing.

When an email about GMOs starts with a fact about school lunchrooms, I see an emotional and populist appeal that demonstrates a complete lack of willingness to dig deeply into the issue of GMOs and critically examine its many facets. In twenty minutes with a computer and Internet access – hardly deep digging –  I found an entire semester-worth of work. Anyone receiving Food Democracy Now!  presumably has both a computer and Internet, and could come to the same conclusion.

To my lunchmates the other day and to the campus at large, hear my plea: There is lots of work to be done around the issue of genetically modified organisms and their place in society. Please don’t jump to emotional conclusions. Start reading, thinking and questioning. It’s the only way we’ll ever arrive at a rational, reasonable solution.