Genetics - One World Essay

Genetically Modified Food

Crop loss due to viral infection is a devastating problem that affects farmers and
people all over the world. Global crop yields are reduced by 20 - 40 percent per year due
to plant diseases. Specifically, 26 - 29% in soybean, wheat and cotton, 31% for maize, 27%
for rice and 40% for potatoes (Oerke, 2006). Food supply is a growing challenge as the
world population continues to rapidly increase, and the amount of crop loss could be the
difference between life and death for millions around the globe (Anderson, 2011). As a
result, many people are already seeking help from genetically modified foods (GM foods),
and for the specific problem of infestation by the feathery mottle virus in sweet potatoes,
scientists have created a solution named GM sweet potatoes, which are viral resistant. This
solution has shown to have large impacts both potentially and factually on the society as
well as the economy both positively and negatively, and these ideas will be further
discussed in this essay.
Due to the fact that sweet potatoes are grown underground, they are extremely
prone to viral infections. Up to 80% of the yield of sweet potato can be destroyed by crop
diseases such as the sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV) (Wambugu, 2003).
Florence Wambugu, a Monsanto-trained Kenyan scientist, identified this problem as she
grew up, and through her decade long efforts, she was able to successfully come up with
a solution to genetically modify the alleles of sweet potatoes, which then allowed her to
modify its phenotype, therefore giving it the trait of being viral resistant (Pearce and
Wambugu, 2000). Dr. Wambugu noticed that there were genes in the flower species,
Pyrethrum, that enabled it to be resistant to SPFMV. She then isolated the specific
genotype that coded for this SPFMV resistance, extracted it, and then copied and mixed
tens of thousands of the gene with microscopic tungsten balls. Thousands of genes then
stuck to each ball which was loaded into a gene gun, which was used to shoot
microscopic gene-bearing balls into sweet potato leaves. The phenotype of the sweet
potato could then be able to be modified when the genotype from the tungsten moves
into the nuclei of the leaves cells, and is absorbed into the DNA (Cook, 2002).
When evaluating the gene insertion process that takes place in the modification of
sweet potatoes, it can be observed that a limitation to its method is that it is extremely
complicated, and so because there are so many steps to the process, just a slight mistake
would make the entire method ineffective. Each step is extremely specific as well, and
even the slightest imperfections would result in a failure of achieving viral resistance in the
end. Besides, during the second last step of the process where the genotype from the
tungsten moves into the nuclei of the leaves cells, only some genes will migrate off the
tungsten, and so as a result there can not be a 100% certainty that the potato will achieve
viral resistance (Cook, 2002).
Despite all of Florence Wambugus ambitions and hard work, GM sweet potatoes
are now proven to be extremely ineffective at solving the problem of crop loss due to viral
infection, and research shows that their non-GM counterparts are shown to be even more
effective. In 2002, halfway through the field trials for Wambugus GM sweet potatoes, US
Magazine Forbes, released an article praising Wambugu on her findings and work on GM
sweet potatoes. According to the article, the GM food had produced double the yields of
its non-GM counterpart (Cook, 2002). However two years later in January 2004, Kenyas
Daily Nation reported that the results released before had been falsified, and that the
three year long field testing for the US biotechnology had been a failure. Despite its
success in labs, the GM sweet potato just couldnt resist the virus challenge out in the field.
Investigations conducted by Kenya Agricultural Research Institutes (KARI) Biotechnology
Centre showed that the GM sweet potato had failed to produce viral resistant
phenotypes and that all tested crops were susceptible to viral attack (Ching, 2004). Apart
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from the fact that these GM sweet potatoes turned out no less vulnerable to viral attacks
than their non-GM equivalents, KARI announced that apparently the yield was sometimes
even lower (Gathura, 2004).
When comparing the GM sweet potato with non-GM sweet potatoes, the contrast
between their effectiveness in solving the problem of viral resistance brings attention to
the GM crops ineffectiveness. In Uganda, conventional breeding of sweet potatoes
which also had the aim of achieving viral resistance through the modification of the
phenotype of sweet potatoes was extremely successful. According to Aaron deGrassi of
the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, UK, this non-GM method
produced a viral resistant, higher-yielding sweet potato variety which raised yields by
approximately 100%. On the other hand, the maximum possible national production
increase in GM sweet potatoes is only 18% (deGrassi, 2003). In addition, the project had
achieved this success in just a few years, while the GM sweet potato project lasted 25
years (Cook, 2002).
During the testing of GM sweet potatoes, several potential positive impacts on
economy were identified by the scientists involved. In developing countries and areas
such as tropical Africa, the price of food is constantly increasing because most of the food
is manually produced instead of produced using technology and machinery (which is
how it is in developed countries). People with a small salary spend a large percentage of
it on food, and so this creates a huge strain on the other areas of their lives. With the help
of GM sweet potatoes, due to the decreased crop loss from infestation and viral
infections, the amount of food produced would be increased. This means food
productivity would go up, therefore bringing the price of food down and in the long run,
generating more money for investment which eventually helps improve the economy
(Pearce and Wambugu, 2000). According to Dr. Wambugu, if the viral resistance of the
GM sweet potato is able to increase the yield by at least 15%, the additional gain from the
GM sweet potatoes would have the potential to be 1.8 million tons per year. Since each
ton has a value of approximately $275, the GM sweet potato can potentially be worth an
additional $495 million per year to Africa (Wambugu, 2003).
Despite these potential positive impacts, the actual negative economic impact of
the failure of the GM sweet potatoes to solve its problem is seen as a much more
significant statistic due to the fact that it is based on actual factual evidence. During the
decade between 1993 and 2003, Monsanto, the World Bank and the US government had
spent an estimated $6 million into the GM project which turned out to be a failure. One of
the factors contributing to this costly project was the fact that it had dragged on for a
long period of time - 25 years - and that the many researchers with impressive
qualifications were somewhat costly to hire - 16 out of over 19 researchers had PhDs
(deGrassi, 2003).
Apart from economic impacts, potential impacts on society were also identified by
Dr. Wambugu during the testing process. As mentioned earlier, the additional gain from
GM sweet potatoes has the potential to be 1.8 million tons per year. This would then be
able to supply half of the dietary needs in 10 million people, and no additional production
costs would be necessary (Wambugu, 2003). As a result, the living standards of many
families, particularly rural ones, could also be improved. In addition, the project is
expected to provide real benefits to sweet potato farmers, and since the GM sweet
potato was designed to suite the existing cultural practices in Kenya, no additional
training for farmers would be necessary, and the GM sweet potato could then be easily
adoptable by famers. Furthermore, the partnerships that have been created as a result of
this project between developing and developed countries can encourage more
opportunities for employment and industrialization as well as increased flow of information
and further collaborations that may continue to improve the living standards of the
people of Kenya (Wambugu, 2003).
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In conclusion, the viral-resistant GM sweet potato is quite obviously an extremely
ineffective solution to the problem of infestation of the feathery mottle virus in sweet
potatoes. Despite the 25 years spent on this project, there still hasnt been any factual
evidence of the effectiveness of this solution and its impacts on society and economy.
Scientists have just claimed these potential impacts, but there isnt any statistical evidence
of legitimate tests undertaken to demonstrate these results. In early 2004, it was exposed
to the public that this GM sweet potato hype was completely overstated, and ended up
as a failure. The years of research, millions of dollars, and scientific attention focused on
GM sweet potatoes was a huge loss, and it has been proven to society that the genetic
modification of sweet potatoes is extremely ineffective when compared with
conventional breeding methods. Having said this, it does not mean that society should
loose hope in GM foods as a whole. Just because one project has failed, it doesnt mean
there arent countless more successes that have happened already or are on their way to
huge success. We must be open-minded when considering the benefits and limitations of
genetically modified foods, and consider the solution that is the most beneficial to society.
Word Count: 1593 words (excluding bibliography)
Bibliography:
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