GMO as a Sustainability Issue - Governing Risk in GM Agriculture - page 203

in food manufacture. 5 In agriculture the focus has been on producing
genetically modified crops that are resistant to insects, viral pathogens,
and commonly used herbicides, such as Monsanto's Roundup. 6 Exper-
iments are also under way to produce crops with enhanced nutritional
and health benefits (“functional foods” and “nutriceuticals”) and with
the capacity to produce pharmaceuticals (“pharming”). The metaphor
of “crops becoming factories, producing vaccines, plastics, industrial
starches, and feed supplements and enzymes” captures the trajectory of
this type of research.
Major Issues
The concerns about the introduction of GMOs in crops and in food con-
centrates on four mutually overlapping areas: environmental concerns;
public health concerns; ethical concerns about “tampering with nature”
and individual choice; and a combination of ethical and socioeconomic
concerns related to the issue of patenting.
The environmental risks include the possibility of a transfer of the
introduced genes to wild plants and nontarget insects and the subsequent
emergence of resistant or highly invasive insects and weeds. There is also
the possibility of harmful changes in the nutritional status of foods and
decline of the biodiversity of wildlife as a result of changes in the avail-
ability of food. 7 Among the health concerns, allergenicity and antibiotic
resistance are most often mentioned. 8 Some scientists also discuss the
5 D. Barling et. al., The Social Aspects of Food Biotechnology: A European View, 7
Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology 85-93 (1999).
6 See R. S. Hails, Genetically Modified Plants - The Debate Continues, 15 Tree 14-
18 (2000); See also Barling, supra., and A. K. Deisingh & N. Badrie, Detection
Approaches for Genetically Modified Organisms in Food, 38 Food Research Interna-
tional 639-649 (2005).
7 See A. K. Deisingh, supra.; D. Barling et al., The Social Aspects of Food Biotechnol-
ogy: A European View, 7 Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology 85-93 (1999);
H. Gaugitsch, Experience with Environmental Issues in GM Crop Production and the
Likely Future Scenarios, 127 Toxicology Letters 351-357 (2002).
8 See D. Barling et al., The Social Aspects of Food Biotechnology: A European View,
7 Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology 85-93 (1999); See also Y. Endo &