Intellectual Property & Your Health Series - Sociopolitical relevance of GMOs

Shidonna Raven
Jun 23
2 min read

Photo / Image Source: Unsplash,

Before you go to the Doctor!

Sociopolitical relevance of GMOs

While GMOs offer many potential benefits to society, the potential risks associated with them have fueled controversy, especially in the food industry. Many skeptics warn about the dangers that GM crops may pose to human health. For example, genetic manipulation may potentially alter the allergenic properties of crops. Whether some GM crops, such as golden rice, deliver on the promise of improved health benefits is also unclear. The release of GM mosquitoes and other GMOs into the environment also raised concerns. More-established risks were associated with the potential spread of engineered crop genes to native flora and the possible evolution of insecticide-resistant “superbugs.”

From the late 1990s, the European Union (EU) addressed such concerns by implementing strict GMO labeling laws. In the early 2000s, all GM foods and GM animal feeds in the EU were required to be labeled if they consisted of or contained GM products in a proportion greater than 0.9 percent. By contrast, in the United States, foods containing GM ingredients did not require special labeling, though the issue was hotly debated at national and state levels. Many opponents of GM products focused their arguments on unknown risks to food safety. However, despite the concerns of some consumer and health groups, especially in Europe, numerous scientific panels, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, concluded that consumption of GM foods was safe, even in cases involving GM foods with genetic material from very distantly related organisms.

The strict regulations on GM products in the EU have been a source of tension in agricultural trade. In the late 1990s, the EU declared a moratorium on the import and use of GM crops. However, the ban—which led to trade disputes with other countries, particularly the United States, where GM foods had been accepted openly—was considered unjustified by the World Trade Organization. In consequence, the EU implemented regulatory changes that allowed for the import of certain GM crops. Within Europe, however, only one GM crop, a type of insect-resistant corn (maize), was cultivated. Some countries, including certain African states, had likewise rejected GM products. Still other countries, such as Canada, China, Argentina, and Australia, had open policies on GM foods.

The use of GMOs in medicine and research has produced a debate that is more philosophical in nature. For example, while genetic researchers believe they are working to cure disease and ameliorate suffering, many people worry that current gene therapy approaches may one day be applied to produce “designer” children or to lengthen the natural human life span. Similar to many other technologies, gene therapy and the production and application of GMOs can be used to address and resolve complicated scientific, medical, and environmental issues, but they must be used wisely.