GMOs and the Eugenics Movement of Food

Advancements in technology and science have enabled us to accomplish seemingly impossible things. Video chats, 3D sonograms, and digital cameras never cease to amaze me. So when the genetic manipulation of crops paved the way for an inexhaustible food source, it was hard not to think that we had created a real solution to the world's hunger problem. But have we just created a new problem in the form of Frankenfood?

Scientists now have the ability to genetically manipulate common crops such as corn, cotton and soybeans, inserting traits that, in one case, let farmers spray weed killer without hurting the crop and, in other instances, fight off insects. While this enables farmers to produce more food for less money, it also causes consumers to ingest pesticides, hormones, and other chemicals. These genetically modified foods are found on every aisle of any major (non-organic) grocery store in America, yet this is not the case all over the world. For instance, Europeans have largely rejected GMOs on the basis that they pose potential ecological and health nightmares.



According to a study conducted by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications and the USDA, 85% of the corn produced in America is genetically modified compared to 26% worldwide. Furthermore, the United States is the biggest adopter of biotech crops, growing 158 million acres. The second largest producer of GM crops, Brazil, grows a third of this amount. Globally, biologically engineered crops continue to be embraced in both developed and developing nations. However, Europe still remains largely resistant. According to a USA Today article published last week, "of 26 European Union countries, only six plant the one genetically modified, or GM, crop accepted there: insect-resistant corn. Germany discontinued GM planting in 2008." In February, India decided to reject a newly approved eggplant variety genetically engineered to produce its own insecticide. The debate over the use of GM crops still wages in Asia and Africa. In November of last year, China approved biotech rice and corn varieties. This decision has the power to greatly influence the future of agriculture. As Eric Hoffman, a genetic engineering policy campaigner argues, "[China] grow[s] an incredible amount of food and fiber, and the more they embrace this technology, the more it's going to be used. There's potential for China shifting the balance away from the movement that Europe is creating to stop these technologies."

What I ate today: organic banana, cabbage crunch salad, pesto pasta, vegetable spring roll, homemade chicken salad (all of these things were bought at Whole Foods)