Organic + GMO?

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Organic + GMO?

Have something to say about this essay in the latest issue of Organic Gardening? Join Editor Scott Meyer in the OG forums to discuss, November 13 9-11 p.m. ET.

The authors of a new book--she's a plant geneticist, he's an organic farmer--assert that biotechnology is a tool that can benefit organic farms and the environment.

By Pamela C. Ronald and Raoul W. Adamchak

When the USDA announced in 1998 its proposed rules for the National Organic Program, Organic Gardening campaigned (along with other defenders of organic principles) to prohibit genetically engineered crops from being approved for use in certified organic foods. As a result of the public outcry, the USDA banned them from organic food. In the meantime, what are now called GMOs (genetically modified organisms) have become widely used in industrial agriculture, primarily as crops designed to survive dousing with the herbicide Roundup.

Now, in a provocative new book, Tomorrow's Table, Pamela C. Ronald and Raoul W. Adamchak argue that the tools of genetic engineering can be an important component of sustainable agriculture and they respond to many of the concerns about the technology. While we found the book insightful and well-documented, we trust the research that consistently shows organic farmers can produce high yields of nutritious, tasty food without genetically engineered (GE) varieties. We are publishing this excerpt because biotechnology is impacting our food system and we believe organic principles can be protected where it matters most only by understanding the nuances of scientific opinion.

Pest Control

Geneticist: I saved some 'Santa Rosa' plums last summer and froze them. We are lucky to have an orchard with plenty of "stone" fruits such as apricots and peaches, and I hope that they will always thrive here, but I am not sure. Stone fruits are susceptible to plum pox virus (PPV), which has been a devastating disease in Europe since the early 1900s. In 1992, PPV was reported for the first time in Chile, and in 1998 it was found in an Adams County, Pennsylvania, orchard. The only known method of control in case of an outbreak is to pull up and bulldoze the trees before the disease spreads. Because of this threat, the USDA developed a GE plum variety that is resistant. The GE trees look like their non-GE female parent--'Bluebyrd'--a commercial cultivar developed through traditional breeding. And their fruit tastes the same.

Organic farmer: The genetic approach of introducing disease-resistance genes into cultivated crops has been the mainstay of agriculture for the last 100 years....In the same way that the introduction of genes from wild species through breeding revolutionized farmers' management of pests, so can the introduction of genes through GE revolutionize control of diseases, insects, and nematodes for which there is presently no organic solution.

Health Risks

Geneticist: Unlike fluoride or some types of organic pesticides such as rotenone, which are unquestionably lethal to animals at high concentrations, GE traits are composed of the same chemical building blocks that we eat every day....Within one hour, 98 percent of the DNA in foods is digested completely. In other words, the fluoridated toothpaste on your toothbrush or the soft drinks in your refrigerator likely present greater risks to your health than the genetically engineered papaya you had for breakfast.

Contamination

Organic farmer: There has been much concern about the spread of pollen from GE plants and how this movement could affect non-GE crops and native plants. There is also the concern that GE traits could be transferred and persist in wild plants in such a way as to disrupt the natural ecology. GE pollen behaves no differently than its non-GE counterpart. Gene flow between wild and domesticated species can occur, but so far it has only created problems for the domesticated crop, not for the environment.

Geneticist: Curiously, while some consumers oppose even trace amounts of transgenes, they accept a small amount of pesticide drift on organic crops, even though some types of pesticides poison thousands of people each year. Despite these risks, we can sell our produce as certified organic even if a limited amount of pesticide drifts onto our fields. The USDA also permits selling crops as certified organic if there is inadvertent pollen drift from GE crops.

Ownership of Seeds

Organic farmer: It is distressing to think that something as magical as seed will cost a lot of money and can no longer be propagated by the farmer, but that exactly describes hybrid seed as well as some GE seed.

Sensible Use?

Organic farmer: What if a tomato plant is genetically engineered with another tomato gene? The advantage of GE instead of traditional plant breeding would be that only one gene would be introduced--the gene that expresses the desired trait--and it could be done in less time. If, for example, you wanted a 'Brandywine' tomato to be resistant to nematodes, you could put the nematode-resistant gene from 'Red Sun' tomato into 'Brandywine'.

Geneticist: Genetic engineering is not a panacea for poverty, yet it is a valuable tool that farmers can use to address real agricultural problems such as pests, diseases, weeds, stresses, and native habitat destruction. Like any tool, GE can be manipulated by a host of social, economic, and political forces to generate positive or negative social results. The question is not whether we should use GE, but more pressingly, how should we use it--to what responsible purpose?

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