Top US Scientist: Farming Must Embrace GMO

Nina Fedoroff, the chief scientist of Secretary of State Clinton, has come forward with new research advocating the expansion of genetically modified organisms in farming. Published in the journal Science, Fedoroff is calling for world leaders to move "beyond popular biases against the use of agricultural biotechnology and develop forward-looking regulatory frameworks based on scientific evidence." Fedoroff's task force posits that without a widespread adoption of genetically modified crops, the dual problem of overpopulation and climate change will lead to a staggering increase of starvation and malnutrition deaths, as well as violence and political instability.

Scientists from the European Union, including the UK's chief scientist John Beddington, have also voiced that an expansion of genetically modified crop use is essential in both developed and developing nations. All plants have a specific temperature, humidity, and soil moisture content at which they grow the most efficiently. As our climate changes, it could take thousands or millions of years for new strains to naturally emerge. Human deaths as a result of this evolutionary lag could be staggering. Genetically modified plants have been accelerated through hundreds or thousands of generations of "evolution," allowing them to grow efficiently in new or changing climates.

Critics of genetically modified crops say that human-driven evolution is less comprehensive because it only targets specific traits, like the ability to resist drought and disease. Other effects of agriculture, such as waste byproduct that feeds animals, insects, and crop pests that serve as prey to the local food web, may not be present in genetically modified crops. The environment could be damaged by artificially advancing crops faster than the rest of the naturally evolving biosphere can keep up. Environmental groups like Friends of the Earth call genetic modification the worst form of pollution, as it is irreversible. "Engineering life from scratch ignores nature’s inherent wisdom, gained from billions of years of evolution, and removing all natural controls that prevent life from past lessons learned," said the group in a statement.

Another issue taken against genetically modified crops, though it is not unique to them, is seed patents. Most genetically modified crops are covered under a patent that makes it illegal to save and replant the seeds created by the crops themselves. This forces farmers to return to the seed seller each year to buy new genetically modified seeds, or risk prosecution if they choose to illegally replant seeds from the previous year's crops. GMO companies like Monsanto were vilified in the documentary Food Inc. for investigating and suing farmers who they believed were illegally replanting their product. Some companies that sell high quality non-GMO seed, such as DuPont, also employ seed patents. Farmers are able to save seed from GMOs with an expired patent, though these varieties do not take advantage of the latest advancements in biotechnology.

Multiple studies exist both for and against genetically modified crops. An Australian study in 2007 showed that pollen from some GM crops has spread to non-GMO farm areas, where the resultant offspring contains GMO properties. Bred for resilience, the study says that GMO varieties are taking over fields that are thought to be non-GMO, practically eliminating natural evolution. Against this study comes one from the European Union in 2009 that showed GM crops to be "nutritionally equivalent or superior" to natural seed, and added that efficiency of land and natural resource use is between 30 and 35% greater with GM crops.

US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsak has been a long-time supporter of GMOs, going as far as voting down measures that would allow state and local governments to regulate against their use. To a crowd of anti-GMO agricultural scientists, Vilsak said, "You all can disagree with [my position on GM crops solving the food crisis]... As I travel the world, I am just telling you what people are telling me. They are very concerned about this."