Author: Chaehyun Kim
All about GMOs
Q. What are GMOs?
GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism. They are organisms, or all living things, whose genes have been artificially changed.
Q. Who made GMOs? When?
The first GMO was developed in 1973 by biochemists Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen. They inserted DNA from one bacteria into another.
Q. Where are GMOs used?
Countries like Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Honduras, India, Malawi, Mexico, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, Portugal, South Africa, Slovakia, Spain, Sudan, eSwatini (Swaziland), United States, Uruguay, Vietnam, and Zambia use GMOs, while France, Germany, Austria, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Poland, Denmark, Malta, Slovenia, Italy, Croatia, Algeria and Madagascar, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Bhutan, and Saudi Arabia, Belize, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela ban GMOs.
Q. How are GMOs made?
GMOs are created through genetic engineering. When scientists make GMOs, they:
Identify the gene that gives an organism its specific trait or characteristic.
Copy that specific trait.
Insert that trait gene into a DNA of another organism. (The gene will not change the existing genes of the organism.
Scientists grow the organism to check that it has really obtained the specific trait. The organisms (especially plants) are grown in greenhouses. They are monitored closely and are tested for safety before they are sold.
Q. Why are GMOs made?
GMO plants are made to protect crops from weather & pest damage, to grow more in less land, and to improve nutrition. They might also be made to have tolerance to herbicides and resistance to plant viruses.
Myths
M. GMOs only refer to plants.
No. GMOs refer to all organisms. Although GMOs mostly are for plants, GMOs also include all living things like plants, animals, and microorganisms. Actually, the first animal GMO, a mouse, was made in 1974, which is earlier than the first GMO plant in 1983.
M. Genetic engineering is a new technology.
No. Genetically modified plants have existed for thousands of years. Centuries ago, farmers crossbred plants for better taste and disease resistance. In the 1920s, farmers started modifying plants with chemicals to get the plant they wanted.
M. GMOs are very common.
Actually, they are quite rare and are hardly visible. The list of available GMO products in the US are:
Corns
Soybeans
Canola
Sugarbeets
Cotton
Alfafa
Potato
Summer Squash
Apples
Papaya
Pink Pineapple
Atlantic Salmon
A type of pork
In addition, these GMO products are mainly used for animal food. As it takes 13 years to approve a approve a genetically modified seed, GMOs are not very common.
M. GMOs are made from companies to make farmers use more pesticides.
This is definitely not true. GMOs have existed for a long time. People might think that GMOs use more insecticides, but in fact, it is completely the opposite. GMOs are made to have resistance to insects, which reduces the need of pesticides. According to the article ‘A Meta-Analysis of the Impacts of Genetically Modified Crops’, GMOs have reduced the use of pesticides by 37%.
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