A GMO is ‘any organism that has had its genetic materialmodified in a way that could not occur through naturalprocesses’ (Food Ethics Council 1999:6).GM food crops have many
potential
benefits, notably:1.
Better for the environment
because their resistance topesticides simplifies and reduces the spraying regime;i.e. lower use of ecologically damaging pesticides(and reduces costs);2.
Increased crop productivity
because their resistance todisease, pests and weeds, and to extreme weatherconditions, increases crop yields.3.
Improved human health
from ‘functional foods’ that canlower cholesterol or provide vital vitamins to supplementdiets of poor people. Thus advocates of GM food crops suggest they may helpcombat world hunger and poverty.
However,
if cross-pollination from GM plants results in thespread of pesticide-resistant genes in the wild population, then weeds and pests could spread uncontrollably and the speciescomposition of wildlife communities could be altered, withdevastating consequences for biodiversity.We are not
certain
whether this cross-pollination will happen,or what the exact effects would be if it did. More broadly, thereare other
political
solutions, such as land redistribution and debtrelief, to problems of poverty and hunger.
Policy problem:
How strictly should we regulate thedevelopment and commercial release of GM crops as aprecaution against the worst-case scenario (see Box 7.6)?