GMO Podcast
Thanks for listening!
A bit on why I decided to make a podcast about GMOs:
I believe a lot of the general public hold misconceptions about GMOs—I mean, we even talked about those misconceptions in class—and the potential benefits of GMOs are being held back because people are so scared of them. I’ve shared some facts about GMOs with friends and family recently, and almost all of them didn’t truly understand what GMOs are; in fact, most of the people I talked to considered them to be what food additives actually are. A podcast like this will demonstrate how common misconceptions are and that it’s okay to not have heard these facts before. I find this topic fascinating and would love to dive even deeper into it to find the most compelling aspects the issue and discuss them.
Podcast Script
(In case you wanted to follow along!)
GMOs. What are they, how are they used, and why are we so scared of them? I’m Paulina Minnebo, and I’m here to dive into this topic with you. But before I say anything, what do our fellow Americans know about GMOs? I asked a handful of people to find out…
So, first question. What does GMO stand for?
Genetically modified...I don't know what the "O" stands for.
Genetically modified organism.
Uh...genetically modified organism.
I don't know. I think it has something to do with gluctose?
What is a GMO?
It's, like, something you put on food when it grows to make it...better. Or more flavorful.
I don't know what they are.
Well...I think it's mostly just selective breeding for traits that...traits and crops that they want to reproduce, but I know some of it is like gene splicing from other organisms.
I don't really know. [laughs]
That is totally fine.
There's genetics involved.
Yes. [more laughter]
And the final question: are you comfortable eating GMOs?
I don't necessarily like them, but I'll eat them and not really do anything about it.
Sure.
Yeah. [laughs] Probably.
Uh...yeah. I mean, I don't see what harm that could really do for us.
It’s obvious that there’s a lot of confusion on the subject. The goal of this podcast is to answer the first two questions, and to help listeners like you make an informed decision about the last one. So, what are GMOs? GMO stands for genetically modified organism. An organism is considered a GMO when its genes have been artificially altered to produce a desired characteristic. Alright, that still sounds a little scary, but science often does.
The problem is that most people who are concerned about or against GMO use are confusing GMOs for food additives, which are usually chemical additives used for aesthetic, taste, or preservation purposes. When we worry about companies injecting mysterious substances into our food, food additives are usually what we’re imagining, not GMOs.
Companies often prey on consumers’ fears of GMOs. McCann’s Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal carries a non-GMO label on its cans, but the oatmeal never contained GMOs in the first place. This happens with other products, too, like wheat—although genetically modified wheat crops exist, none are available for consumer use. Often, companies will sell two versions of their products, one that is labeled GMO free and another that isn’t, and will charge more for the GMO-free product. This is kind of a dirty trick when you consider that many of those products don’t have a GMO version on the market anyways.
GMOs normally involve making changes to the genes in food—hence “genetically modified.” And this type of technology can actually do a lot of good. Plant geneticist Pamela Ronald has discussed in a recent Ted Talk these potential benefits. For example, Ronald and other scientists have worked together to create a crop called golden rice. Rice farmers in third world countries lose 40 percent of their harvests every year due to flooding. Ronald helped invent a genetically modified rice crop that can survive submerged in water. This crop, golden rice, produces three and half times more grain than the regular rice crop, saving farmers from enormous loss. On top of this, golden rice has also been used to combat world hunger. Every year in less developed countries, 500,000 children go blind because of lack of Vitamin A, and more than half die. Scientists successfully created a golden rice crop that contains enough Vitamin A that just one cup of the rice per day would save thousands of children’s lives.
Another benefit GMOs bring is the availability to reduce use of pesticides and other chemicals by essentially “vaccinating” crops to resist harmful diseases. This technique involves inserting a gene from bacteria into the crop. In Bangledesh, this tactic was used to cut down insecticide use on eggplants to almost zero. Crop “vaccinations” are also responsible for saving the Hawaiian papaya from the deadly ringspot virus in the ’50s. Even if you’re a little queasy at the thought of eating crops injected with a bacteria gene, it’s much safer to eat a crop that contains a single gene from a virus than one that has been completely infected. This strategy is one of the most successful and cheapest ways to fight disease and cut down on chemical use in our food.
All this isn’t to say that GMOs are perfect, however. Unfortunately, many companies use GMOs in unsavory ways. For example, when the seed company Monsanto decided to take advantage of GMO technology, it announced publicly that its goal was to use GMOs to produce disease- and pest-resistant seeds that would contribute to a decrease in the use of pesticides and herbicides in the United States. But Monsanto didn’t do this. Instead, the company merely created seeds that are resistant to the popular pesticide RoundUp, which is produced by—you guessed it—Monsanto itself. This forces farmers to buy not only RoundUp, but the RoundUp-resistant seeds. This type of behavior has caused pesticide and herbicide use to actually increase in the United States. Monsanto isn’t the only company to use GMOs to further not-so-great causes, and it’s a shame that the technology isn’t being put to use in more productive ways that could actually reduce pesticide and herbicide use, help farmers, and contribute to feeding the hungry.
So, now that you know a little more about GMOs, how do you feel? It’s clear that GMOs can be an incredible tool for agriculture across the world, and they carry so much potential. If we as a society can educate ourselves on the issues, move past the stigmas in place, and push for change in the industry, it is possible to take advantage of this potential and do great things. This has been Paulina Minnebo, and thanks for listening.
SOURCES
FDA. "Food Ingredients and Packaging Terms." www.fda.gov. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2 Jan. 2015. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.
“Genetically modified.” Def.1. OxfordDictionaries.com. Oxford Dictionaries, 2016. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.
Hakim, Danny. “Doubts About the Promised Bounty of Genetically Modified Crops.” www.nytimes.com. The New York Times, 29 Oct. 2016. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.
Harmon, Amy. "How Square Watermelons Get Their Shape, and Other G.M.O Misconceptions." www.nytimes.com. New York Times, 2 Aug. 2016. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.
Ronald, Pamela. "The Case for Engineering Our Food." www.ted.com. Ted Talk, Mar. 2015. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.
GMOs. What are they, how are they used, and why are we so scared of them? I’m Paulina Minnebo, and I’m here to dive into this topic with you. But before I say anything, what do our fellow Americans know about GMOs? I asked a handful of people to find out…
So, first question. What does GMO stand for?
Genetically modified...I don't know what the "O" stands for.
Genetically modified organism.
Uh...genetically modified organism.
I don't know. I think it has something to do with gluctose?
What is a GMO?
It's, like, something you put on food when it grows to make it...better. Or more flavorful.
I don't know what they are.
Well...I think it's mostly just selective breeding for traits that...traits and crops that they want to reproduce, but I know some of it is like gene splicing from other organisms.
I don't really know. [laughs]
That is totally fine.
There's genetics involved.
Yes. [more laughter]
And the final question: are you comfortable eating GMOs?
I don't necessarily like them, but I'll eat them and not really do anything about it.
Sure.
Yeah. [laughs] Probably.
Uh...yeah. I mean, I don't see what harm that could really do for us.
It’s obvious that there’s a lot of confusion on the subject. The goal of this podcast is to answer the first two questions, and to help listeners like you make an informed decision about the last one. So, what are GMOs? GMO stands for genetically modified organism. An organism is considered a GMO when its genes have been artificially altered to produce a desired characteristic. Alright, that still sounds a little scary, but science often does.
The problem is that most people who are concerned about or against GMO use are confusing GMOs for food additives, which are usually chemical additives used for aesthetic, taste, or preservation purposes. When we worry about companies injecting mysterious substances into our food, food additives are usually what we’re imagining, not GMOs.
Companies often prey on consumers’ fears of GMOs. McCann’s Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal carries a non-GMO label on its cans, but the oatmeal never contained GMOs in the first place. This happens with other products, too, like wheat—although genetically modified wheat crops exist, none are available for consumer use. Often, companies will sell two versions of their products, one that is labeled GMO free and another that isn’t, and will charge more for the GMO-free product. This is kind of a dirty trick when you consider that many of those products don’t have a GMO version on the market anyways.
GMOs normally involve making changes to the genes in food—hence “genetically modified.” And this type of technology can actually do a lot of good. Plant geneticist Pamela Ronald has discussed in a recent Ted Talk these potential benefits. For example, Ronald and other scientists have worked together to create a crop called golden rice. Rice farmers in third world countries lose 40 percent of their harvests every year due to flooding. Ronald helped invent a genetically modified rice crop that can survive submerged in water. This crop, golden rice, produces three and half times more grain than the regular rice crop, saving farmers from enormous loss. On top of this, golden rice has also been used to combat world hunger. Every year in less developed countries, 500,000 children go blind because of lack of Vitamin A, and more than half die. Scientists successfully created a golden rice crop that contains enough Vitamin A that just one cup of the rice per day would save thousands of children’s lives.
Another benefit GMOs bring is the availability to reduce use of pesticides and other chemicals by essentially “vaccinating” crops to resist harmful diseases. This technique involves inserting a gene from bacteria into the crop. In Bangledesh, this tactic was used to cut down insecticide use on eggplants to almost zero. Crop “vaccinations” are also responsible for saving the Hawaiian papaya from the deadly ringspot virus in the ’50s. Even if you’re a little queasy at the thought of eating crops injected with a bacteria gene, it’s much safer to eat a crop that contains a single gene from a virus than one that has been completely infected. This strategy is one of the most successful and cheapest ways to fight disease and cut down on chemical use in our food.
All this isn’t to say that GMOs are perfect, however. Unfortunately, many companies use GMOs in unsavory ways. For example, when the seed company Monsanto decided to take advantage of GMO technology, it announced publicly that its goal was to use GMOs to produce disease- and pest-resistant seeds that would contribute to a decrease in the use of pesticides and herbicides in the United States. But Monsanto didn’t do this. Instead, the company merely created seeds that are resistant to the popular pesticide RoundUp, which is produced by—you guessed it—Monsanto itself. This forces farmers to buy not only RoundUp, but the RoundUp-resistant seeds. This type of behavior has caused pesticide and herbicide use to actually increase in the United States. Monsanto isn’t the only company to use GMOs to further not-so-great causes, and it’s a shame that the technology isn’t being put to use in more productive ways that could actually reduce pesticide and herbicide use, help farmers, and contribute to feeding the hungry.
So, now that you know a little more about GMOs, how do you feel? It’s clear that GMOs can be an incredible tool for agriculture across the world, and they carry so much potential. If we as a society can educate ourselves on the issues, move past the stigmas in place, and push for change in the industry, it is possible to take advantage of this potential and do great things. This has been Paulina Minnebo, and thanks for listening.
SOURCES
FDA. "Food Ingredients and Packaging Terms." www.fda.gov. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2 Jan. 2015. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.
“Genetically modified.” Def.1. OxfordDictionaries.com. Oxford Dictionaries, 2016. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.
Hakim, Danny. “Doubts About the Promised Bounty of Genetically Modified Crops.” www.nytimes.com. The New York Times, 29 Oct. 2016. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.
Harmon, Amy. "How Square Watermelons Get Their Shape, and Other G.M.O Misconceptions." www.nytimes.com. New York Times, 2 Aug. 2016. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.
Ronald, Pamela. "The Case for Engineering Our Food." www.ted.com. Ted Talk, Mar. 2015. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.