Farmers have used seed mixtures and other methods of creating new species of foods for hundreds of years. Only recently have scientists entered the field with the creation of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. GMO Compass, an independent agriculture and food industry website based in Germany, defines a GMO based on European Union law. This states that a GMO has an artificially altered genetic structure, created by the introduction of DNA or fused cells developed in a laboratory. While a number of organizations have campaigned against GMO foods for safety reasons, scientists have outlined numerous advantages for their use.
Nutritional Benefit
The primary purpose of food is providing nutrition, but inhabitants of third-world nations often lack essential vitamins in their diets. The Rockefeller Foundation funded a study in the late 20th century to supplement rice with vitamin A. The World Health Organization reports that vitamin A deficiency causes more than 1.1 million deaths and another half-million cases of blindness annually. In the early 1990s, Swiss and German scientists modified the DNA of rice. The researchers infused rice plants with daffodil genes to increase levels of beta-carotene--a type of vitamin A--to create Golden Rice.
Environmental Protection and Chemical Resistance
The use of herbicide, such as weed killers, contributes to the suppression of crops and overuse of chemicals, leading to polluted groundwater supplies. Some herbicides can invade the plant's genetic code and modify the food. Monsanto, a St. Louis-based agricultural manufacturer, has developed a herbicidal-resistant soybean. According to its own research, the insect-protected herbicidal-resistant soybean has an 11 percent higher yield than plants with only insecticide treatments.
Pest Resistance
Insect damage to crops ranges from the spread of disease to all-out destruction of the plant. Farmers use chemicals to keep pests away and will often overspray in an effort to protect their crops. Monsanto is testing aphid-resistant soybeans. Aphids can destroy up to 50 percent of a soybean crop by sucking the sap from plants. The aphid-resistant bean would prevent crop destruction as well as prevent groundwater pollution from chemical runoff.
Disease Immunity
Fungus, bacteria and viruses attack plant life causing an array of problems. The infamous Irish potato famine of the 19th century was caused by a fungal outbreak, resulting in widespread hunger and more than one million deaths. According to GMO Compass, scientists have introduced enzymes including chitinase and glucanase, which break down cell walls in fungi.
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