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Genetic Engineering

Genetic modification (GM), or genetic engineering (GE), refers to any technique of modifying crop genetics through transgenics or direct editing. The most common modified traits today are herbicide resistance and insect resistance 1. Both the range of traits engineered for and the techniques for doing so are likely to expand greatly in the coming years 1. Currently, about 10% of world crops, by planting area, use biotechnology 2.

Current GM technology has brought about the following estimated increases in crop yields.

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Sources: Brooks and Barfoot 3, Klümper and Qaim 4, Pellegrino et al. 5.

Following are a sampling of notable GM projects under development, demonstrating the potential for significant gains from future research.

GMO Projects
ProjectDescriptionRationaleRisksSources
C₄ RiceAlternative photosynthetic biochemistryIncrease yields 30-50%--C₄ Rice Project
Nitrogen-fixing cerealsAllow cereal crops to fix hydrogen via bacteria, as legumes naturally do.Reduce fertilizer consumption and runoff.May decrease yields.Beatty and Good, Rogers and Oldroyd
Golden RiceRice that contains β-CaroteneReduce vitamin-A deficiency--Golden Rice Humanitarian Board

Sources: C4 rice 6, rationale for nitrogen-fixing cereals 7, risk from nitrogen-fixing cereals 8, and Golden Rice 9.

Insect-resistant crops reduce the amount of insecticide needed by about 8% 10, while the use of herbicide-resistance crops has led to an increase in glyphosate usage due to the advent of glyphosate-resistant weeds 11.

In 2016, the U. S. National Academy of Sciences conducted a literature review and found no evidence of a general risk to human health or the environment from GM crops 1. However, there is a need to carefully each individual project for particular risks it may pose 1. An earlier EU review also failed to find a general risk from GM crops 12.

Problem:
Environmental Impacts of Agriculture
Solution:
End GMO Bands in Farming

References

  1. Committee on Genetically Engineered Crops: Past Experience and Future Prospects; Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources; Division on Earth and Life Studies; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Genetically Engineered Crops: Experiences and Prospects. National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences, The National Academies Press, Washington, DC. 2016. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  2. International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications. "Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2018". ISAAA Brief No. 54. ISAAA: Ithaca, NY. 2018 (updated December 2019). ↩

  3. Brookes, G., Barfoot, P. GM crops: global socio-economic and environmental impacts 1996-2015. PG Economics Ltd, UK. June 2017. ↩

  4. Klümper, W., Qaim, M. "A Meta-Analysis of the Impacts of Genetically Modified Crops". PLoS ONE 9(11): e111629. November 2014. ↩

  5. Pellegrino, E., Bedini, S., Nuti, M., Ercoli, L. "Impact of genetically engineered maize on agronomic, environmental and toxicological traits: a meta-analysis of 21 years of field data". Scientific Reports 8, Article number: 3113. February 2018. ↩

  6. C4 Rice Project. "C4 Rice Project". International Rice Research Institute. Accessed June 1, 2016. ↩

  7. Beatty, P., Good, A. "Future Prospects for Cereals that Fix Nitrogen". Science 333(6041), pp. 416-417. July 2011. ↩

  8. Rogers, C., Oldroyd, G. "Synthetic biology approaches to engineering the nitrogen symbiosis in cereals". Journal of Experimental Botany 65(8), pp. 1939-1946. 2014. ↩

  9. Golden Rice Humanitarian Board. "Golden Rice Project". Accessed June 1, 2016. ↩

  10. Pamela Ronald. "Plant Genetics, Sustainable Agriculture and Global Food Security". Genetics 188(1), pp. 11-20. May 1, 2011. ↩

  11. Bonny, S. "Genetically Modified Herbicide-Tolerant Crops, Weeds, and Herbicides: Overview and Impact". Environmental Management 57, pp. 31-48. 2016. ↩

  12. European Green Capital. "Several European countries move to rule out GMOs". European Commission. Accessed September 30, 2022. ↩