Spectrum | Biotechnology for a Healthy Planet

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Biotechnology

The term biotechnology refers to “the exploitation of biological processes for industrial and other purposes.” One area of growing concern with biotechnology is the subject of Genetically Engineered (GE) foods.

America is the world’s largest producer of Genetically Engineered crops, with a full 70 percent of U.S. soybean crops being GE. As these crops are proliferated around the world and in our daily food supply, governments, growers, regulatory agencies and consumers are taking a hard look at the complex issues behind biotechnology.

Background on Biotechnology
Traditionally, crops have been carefully hybrid over many years, with scientists or farmers cross-pollinating selected plants to achieve an outcome with desired characteristics of the parent plants. Genetic Engineering brings that natural process to a cellular level, whereby scientists isolate a specific gene sequence of a particular plant (or other living organism) and insert it into the gene sequence of another to produce an “improved” result—disease tolerance, ripening characteristics, higher yield, etc.

Proponents for Genetic Engineering claim that biotechnology will feed starving nations and reduce the use of pesticides. Critics claim that we do not yet know the full ramifications of these alterations for future crops, ecosystems, societies and the human body itself. Let’s look deeper into each:

Human Impact
Critics of Genetically Engineered foods argue that the full effect of these cellular manipulations simply cannot be evaluated over the short term. Several incidents have already occurred to cast doubt as to their safety. Unintended toxins and poisons have been unwittingly introduced into some foods; splices between foods like nuts and soybeans have increased the risk of serious food allergies; and the nutritional quality of foods that have been Genetically Engineered is often times inferior to traditional foods.

Environmental Impact
Those supporting biotechnology insist that it will decrease usage of pesticides. But the unfortunate reality is that herbicide-resistant crops (those that have been altered to withstand large doses of toxic, broad-spectrum chemical ‘weed killer’) made up a full 80% of all GE crops planted in 2000. As plants are altered to be more resistant to a particular disease or insect, the risk exists that those pests will adapt accordingly, necessitating an ever-increasing and faster mutating array of pesticides and herbicides. What’s more, some plants which were genetically altered to be pest-resistant have already been shown to damage beneficial insects and soil fertility. Again, it is difficult to foretell the full effect of these ‘super-crops’ on the future of natural foods.

Societal Impact
For the past 12,000 years, most of the world’s cultures have been agriculturally based. Families and tribes have handed seeds down from generation to generation and preserved and cherished the tie between humans and earth. But biotechnology severs this tradition. GE seeds are being patented by the companies that create them, and one of the trends is for scientists to build in a ‘Terminator Technology’ which renders seeds infertile after a certain time, forcing a farmer to buy the new strain. Genetic Engineering threatens to change the face of farming and shift the power from an individual family to a large, global company with societal impacts that we cannot fully understand.

We at Spectrum take the issue of biotechnology very seriously, and go well beyond what is ‘required’ to make sure that our products are free of Genetically Modified ingredients . . . and that our customers are truthfully informed by our labels.

More Information on Biotechnology and Genetically Modified Foods

The Campaign to Label Genetically Modified Foods
The USDA Site on Agricultural Biotechnology
Organic Consumers Association