Hydrogen

What is the big deal with genetically modified (GM) foods?

With changing climate awaiting us, and world food supplies at risk, aren’t drought resistant, pest resistant crops exactly what we need? Yes, yes, I know, they aren’t proven safe. But what would be the relationship between genetic modification to increase production, and safety to the consumer. Isn’t it like saying “crops produced using agricultural equipment that runs on Hydrogen fuel aren’t proven safe”. I’m wondering if it is just political hype causes us to shoot ourselves in the foot. This is not an opinion, it’s a question. I am listening..

I am a molecular biologist so have created my share of subcloned genes to look for novel protein function and I worry. Not about altering food but about the specific modifications chosen, they seem very short sighted.
We have some 40 altered crops in the US expressing either HT herbicide tolerance or Bt for insect resistance. HT allows farmers to use a glyphosphate herbicide on the crop plant but only kill the weeds. Putting a Bt protein in the plant lets the plant fight the specific insect that eats it.
Large scale use will quickly breed insects Bt resistant and weeds glyphosphate resistant. Glyphosphate, as commonly formulated with POEA, is not as safe in long term studies as the original short term studies implied. It kills off earthworm, nitrogen fixing bacteria and other soil fauna. We rely on earthworms to aerate soil as well as fertilize it with their castings. They are the primary soil predator of bacteria like E. coli. Nitrogen fixing bacteris are the soils primary means of getting fertilized. Doesn’t it defeat the purpose of growing more food if we have to modify the plant to survive the herbicide we use to kill the weed. Then in tandem destroy the beneficial soil inhabitants that maintain the soil and prevent E.coli outbreaks?
Wouldn’t it make more sense to screen the wild ancestral plants for genes to enhance the plants own disease resistance we bred out because it tasted bad. We could add nutritive value from these related plants or factor in drought tolerance. We could add to our crop diversity by returning to the parental plants for forms new to agriculture.
Lateral transfer of genetic material occurs in the microbial world constantly and may be as old as cellular life. Maize has transposons, bacteria have plasmids, virus’ are little more than mobile genetic elements ready to move any and all DNA. It is the natural mobility of genes that lets us create transgenic plants at all. Their changes are random so there is no pre-selection for benefit, neutrality, or harm from the change. The outcome of mutation is random and we have survived without being aware of it. The difference is the scale. When a mutation happens naturally it is a few organisms that slowly breed into a larger population. When we do it we put out entire populations all at once. This could place selective pressure in ways we do not yet know are interrelated.

AUTARC World first energy storage by Hydrogen