GMOs make 81% of global trade in food crops, but many more questions remain unanswered

It is now certain that opponents of Genetically Modified Organisms or (GMOs) have lost the battle against its proponents, because GM corn or maize now makes about 81% of the trade in crops globally and 89% of the soybean supplied between 2009 and 2010 was from GM corn countries, despite concerns about their safety both to humans and the environment, Prof. Adelaida Harries of Iowa State University in the US has said.

And available data shows that international trade in GM seeds has grown to about $42 billion.

Data from the Iowa State University indicates that more than 70 countries in the world have harmonised their seed policies and regulations since 1992.

GMOs are food crops that have been injected with genomes or genes from other living organisms to make them resistant to pests, grow in some environments or produce high yields, through the scientific process known as biotechnology .

According to Prof. Harries, biotechnology is the solution to global food security.

And the US government also for instance, believes that biotechnology is the solution to global hunger and it is making massive investments in advancing the science. The US government’s ‘Feed the Future’ programme is one of the major strategies to meet that goal. Following the global crisis of 2007 and 2008, President Barack Obama pledged $3.5 billion to address hunger and malnutrition and maximize foreign aid.

Global food security is a major issue, with the current situation in the Horn of Africa serving as a pointer. From now to 2050, it has been estimated that the world’s population will grow by more than 30%, resulting in an estimated 2.3 billion more mouths to feed, and biotechnology is seen as the answer.

Responding to questions from journalists during a visit to the University, Prof. Jeff Wolt, Professor of Agronomy and Toxicology, Biosafety Institute for Genetically Modified Agricultural Products, Iowa State University said there are no known dangers from GMOs when journalists raised the issue of safety.

He said in the United States 93% of soybean and over 70% of corn are genetically modified and he said the country has regulatory mechanisms that regulate the safety of GMOs. He indicated that the US started commercialising GMOs in 1996. He argued that scientists have evaluated GMOs and they cannot find any risks. He was of the view that questions about safety is a judgement concerning the perceived risks of GMOs. He said scientists have done evaluations and can see no reason that GMOs that are grown in the US and other parts of the world cannot be considered as safe.

He said “there are negligible risks in GMOs, because there are no risks to the population.”

While Ghana has no policy yet to regulate the sale and consumption of GMOs, the products are already on markets in the country. For instance a Wikileaks publication has said while Ghana has no regulation on GMOs, cotton seeds from Bourkina Faso where it is legal to grow GMO seeds are entering Ghana, and some GMO products have been sighted on Ghanaian markets.

Ghana suffers 20% to 40% post-harvest losses, and it is believed that the country needs biotechnology to rescue the situation. During a trip to seed improvement centres both in Iowa and Maryland in the US, scientists told journalists that some work is being done in Ghana to finalise the country’s biosafety regulations.

But there are still so many unanswered questions about GMOs, such as whether the technology for manipulating crop genes has any future at all? Other questions include whether it is ethical or safe for instance in some cases to inject the genes of some insects into plants to make them pest resistant.

There is also the concern of farmers especially in developing countries about the inefficiency of second and third generation GM seeds. These as confirmed by officials of Pioneer, one of the leading GMO producing companies in the US have low yields. In effect this means the farmer would always have to go back to the seed companies to buy seeds for planting.

One of the known advocates of agriculture development and food security in Africa, Philanthropist and farmer Howard G. Buffett, president of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, has always made known his views about biotechnology.

He recently called on the international community to rethink its approach to agricultural development in Africa. Although he acknowledges that a variety of solutions are needed to make Africa food secure, he argues that aid agencies must devote their attention to soil conditions across the continent. In other words, he says, Africa needs what he calls a “Brown Revolution.”

He argues that the “Green Revolution” which introduced improved seed varieties, pesticides, and fertilizer to farmers in Southeast Asia and is credited with dramatically boosting yields in the late 20th century, is also blamed for its high-tech solutions which have been noted to have destroyed local environments and made farmers dependent on expensive inputs.

“A Green Revolution really won’t work for the majority of African farmers,” Buffett said at the 2011 World Food Prize symposium in Des Moines, Iowa.

“We need a Brown Revolution. We need to change the debate about how to help African farmers,” he said.

From the facts available on the ground, it appears though that many of the questions will remain unanswered for a long time, but GM products will be on every dinning table around the world. Because while, the US regulatory system insists on labeling organic food, it does not demand the labeling of GMOs.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi, back from the USA