GMOs Part 6: Finally, a definition!

In part 5, I showed you how almost every food at your market has been genetically modified either by selective breeding, crossbreeding (mixing genes from different species), or mutation breeding (accelerating mutations by exposing plant seeds to chemicals, enzymes, and radiation). Thousands of genes were changed, yet all these foods can label themselves "NON-GMO."

Which begs the question...

Q: What is a "GMO"?

A: A GMO is a food that is genetically modified using a specific technique called "genetic engineering".

Q: What is a "NON-GMO"?

A: A NON-GMO is everything else. It may have been genetically modified, as long as it wasn't with"genetic engineering".

This definition and dichotomy "GMO vs NON-GMO" is obviously misleading. Instead of focusing on WHETHER a food was genetically modified, as the term "Genetically Modified Organism" implies, or the NUMBER of genes modified, or WHICH genes were modified, it singles out a specific TECHNIQUE of genetic modification. So don't feel bad if you didn't know this definition; none of my medical colleagues did either. The problem isn't with you; it's with the definition.

Q: So what is "genetic engineering"?

A: Genetic engineering is a technique, or set of techniques, that allows us to choose a single gene and edit it.

Q: When was genetic engineering discovered?

A: Genetic engineering was discovered in the 1970's.

Q: How does genetic engineering work?

A: Genetic engineering uses enzymes found in nature. As it turns out, life has been cutting and pasting genes for billions of years.

Q: What are the goals of genetic engineering?

Genetic engineering has the same goals farmers have pursued for thousands of years: increasing yield, improving pest resistance, reducing pesticide usage, reducing water and fertilizer requirement, mitigating environmental impact, improving flavor, and increasing shelf-life.

Q: What are the advantages of genetic engineering?

Unlike breeding techniques, genetic engineering is more targeted, more predictable, and has far greater potential. Breeding, as you may recall, relies on waiting for random mutations to produce a desired trait. It takes years of trial and error and unintentionally modifies hundreds or even thousands of unknown genes. It's like sculpting with explosives. Eventually you may get a sculpture you're content with, but it will take a long time, cause tremendous damage, and demand considerable compromise.

Genetic engineering, on the other hand, is like sculpting with a chisel. A single gene with the desired trait is inserted or removed from the organism. Nothing else is altered. You get exactly what you intended. No more, no less.

The chart below compares genetic engineering with the three main breeding techniques:

Let me provide some examples of genetic engineering...

Healthier foods

To create healthier foods we can isolate a specific nutritional element and insert or remove the gene. For example:

1. Allergen-free Peanuts - The gene for the protein causing peanut allergies (and anaphylaxis in children) can be removed.

2. Acrylamide-free Potatoes - The gene for acrylamide (a possible cancer causing agent in potatoes) can be removed.

3. Golden rice - The gene for vitamin A can be inserted into rice. The resulting yellow rice (pictured below) can help prevent the 500,000 cases a year of vitamin A-related childhood blindness in the developing world.

   

   
   

These targeted modifications would be impossible with breeding techniques. It would not only take a lifetime, but thousands of unrelated genes would be changed in the process.

More efficient pesticides

Another example of genetic engineering is Bt corn. Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) is a bacteria that produces a protein toxic to pests, but safe for humans and animals. Organic farmers spray Bt as a pesticide. (Yes, organic farmers use pesticides, and lots of it, they’re just “organic” pesticides).

With genetic engineering, instead of spraying Bt, the gene for the protein can be spliced in, and the crop can produce its own pesticide. This is Bt corn. It dramatically improves crop yield, reduces use of sprayed pesticide, and is better for the environment.

Key points

1. GMOs are foods genetically modified using genetic engineering. A targeted technique that allows us to edit a single known gene.

2. A NON-GMO is everything else, most of which have also been genetically modified, but with less targeted techniques changing thousands of unknown genes.

Now that we finally have a definition of a GMO, and a NON-GMO, in my next post we will examine this dichotomy. Is there any reason to single out genetic engineering? Is there something inherently dangerous about it? Does it deserve its own labelling? And most important, when you shop for groceries, is this label helpful or harmful?