The term transgenic is usually associated by default with a series of negative attributes that most people have internalized, although on many occasions without knowing exactly what the supposed dangers of consuming genetically modified foods are. In fact, in general terms we are not usually clear about how these genetic modifications are obtained and what are their repercussions on the environment, health and the global food chain. Thus, saying that something is transgenic is, in certain contexts, practically comparable to qualifying it as poisonous, so many people avoid consuming these genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or transgenics at all costs.
The truth is that avoiding the consumption of transgenics is a complicated mission for omnivores, with the exception of those who only consume meat and derivatives of organic origin. "A good part of the transgenic soy produced in the world reaches the European Union for animal feed, not for human food, therefore it ends up being consumed indirectly. There is nothing to worry about, since despite all the hoaxes that have been disseminated about the health risks of GMOs, nothing happens: neither to animals nor to humans," explains José Pío Beltran, research professor at the Institute of Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology (IBMCP). ), of which he was the founder, a joint center of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) and the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV).
Beltran is the author of the book Transgenic Crops and insists "categorically" on their safety, assuring that "I'm not saying it, the WHO says it." It is true, since this body points out that "genetically modified foods currently available on the international market have passed safety evaluations and are unlikely to present health risks." The WHO even highlights the benefits of some of them. Insect-resistant GM crops have been shown to require lower amounts of insecticides in specific situations, for example where pest pressure is high." This organization also points out that "virus resistance makes plants less susceptible to diseases caused by such viruses, which leads to higher crop yields."
Where does this widespread hate towards GMOs come from? Bertran has been asked that question many times and he assures that it is still difficult for him to answer it. "Contrary to what happens in other parts of the world, the EU has a strong anti-transgenic position. A position, to say the least, curious, since although they are not cultivated, they are imported, so that the population ends up consuming them anyway. In my opinion, the anti-transgenic cause has to do with social, political and economic reasons. It comes from sectors that question capitalism, the world of large corporations and business. From there, a generalized social rejection has been generated, since that false information has been disseminated, such as that the transgenic harms the environment or health", explains the scientist. The expert affirms that in some countries, such as Germany, the social rejection caused by large-scale food production through the use of biotechnology has given rise to false and gruesome stories "that appeal to Nazism, to genetic manipulation, even to the betterment of the human race."
However, organizations such as Greenpeace have been denouncing for years the havoc that transgenic crops cause in the environment, beyond macroeconomic and sociocultural reasons. The person in charge of the Agriculture campaign in Spain, Luis Ferreirim, explains it: "We are not against biotechnology, but rather the damage that it produces in the environment, since GMOs are invading other fields, something that undoubtedly has an impact on the rest of crops". A good example of this is, according to Ferreirim, that of transgenic corn, which has ended up prevailing over other crops in countries like Spain or Mexico. "This corn has been genetically modified to generate its own insecticide that kills pests, which has ended up contaminating organic corn. Taking into account that in the case of organic corn, the use of insecticides is prohibited, it has ended up disappearing," explains the Greenpeace expert.
A large scientific review on the impact of transgenics carried out in 2016 by the National Academy of Sciences of the United States coincides, in part, with this thesis. Although the conclusions affirm that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are not only indistinguishable from the rest, but that their consumption does not carry any type of health risk, they also point out that resistance to certain herbicides is causing "a major agricultural problem order”, since the ideal conditions are created for other plants and insects to develop that same immunity.
Ferreirim also points out that "transgenics arrived several decades ago as the solution to all food problems and not only have they not solved them, but the food crisis is worse than ever. It was said that by 2050 50% of crops they would be transgenic, and yet the numbers of the four main crops (soybean, corn, cotton and sugar beet) have not multiplied, but have actually decreased, due to the fact that the seeds are more expensive, they do not solve pest problems such as the borer (some lepidoptera that damage corn cobs) and certain problems have even worsened, such as generating resistance to certain insects and affecting non-target species, which means that they can generate their own insecticide and end up killing an insect that just wants to eat".
In fact, according to data from Greenpeace, 96% of transgenic crops in the EU are in Spain and the remaining 4% in Portugal. In Spain, the cultivated area has been decreasing since 2016 and in Portugal there has been a clear decline since 2012 (the area has decreased by more than 50%). In addition, according to this body, "the Spanish administration itself is opaque about the figures for transgenic crops: the Government continues to only offer estimates based on the seed sales data provided by the industry, when it has already been seen that the real area is lower to estimates".
The reality, according to Greenpeace, is that the biotechnology that once promised to end hunger in the world has proven to have failed, something uncomfortable to recognize both for the sector and for its champions. "The reality is that genetically modified crops do not feed the world: 99% of farmers do not grow them, 97% of the world's agricultural area remains free of them and the vast majority of production goes to feed animals or produce biofuels", highlights the environmental organization. In this sense, Ferreirim calls for "systemic, structural solutions that make it possible to address the root of the problems of access to food in the world" and advocates a model of sustainable and local agriculture and livestock. "Generating a drought-resistant transgenic wheat is not going to end the drought if water mismanagement continues," she summarizes.
For Beltran, however, the model based on organic agriculture and livestock that is advocated by a large part of the anti-GM and environmental movement is absolutely unfeasible. "The so-called Green Pact establishes that in the year 2030, 25% of all agricultural land in the EU is organic. This is going to mean a significant loss in production, which means that more will have to be imported, without that that we import has the desired requirements. Of course, traditional and local agriculture must be defended, but it is a model that must be compatible with other technologies that allow us to produce food for everyone. Exclusively organic agriculture cannot be achieved."
For his part, Beltran recalls that traditional crops also suffer genetic modifications."You have to understand that a tomato, from the time it is planted to the time it is harvested, undergoes an average of 10-12 mutations. In the case of transgenics, the result is the same without depending on a sexual cross, since the gene responsible for a characteristic that is interesting in a plant can be isolated and incorporated into another plant", explains the researcher.
It also highlights the good results of some crops that are being carried out in countries where legislation is more lax. "In Japan, for example, tomatoes with a high content of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) are being grown, which causes a drop in blood pressure, while Americans are already marketing soybean oil without trans fats, or mushrooms that they do not brown. Once the pertinent changes are introduced in these plants, they are indistinguishable from those produced by spontaneous mutations", concludes the author of Transgenic crops.
