Genetically modified organisms and environmentalism

DEFINITION: Living organisms whose genetic compositions have been altered through technology

Organisms can be engineered for use in scientific research, human and veterinary medicine, industry, agriculture, and environmental remediation. Despite the beneficial applications, potential risks and ethical issues associated with the technology have led to controversy and restricted its use in some countries.

With the advent of recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) technology in the 1970s came the ability to modify and create genes and to transfer genetic material between unrelated species in a rapid and specific manner. The development of new traits is no longer limited to mutation or natural selection from a limited pool of genes; to alter an organism, scientists can introduce genetic traits from any species. Scientists first developed transgenic animals and plants in the early 1980s using in combination with techniques such as cell fusion, tissue culture, in vitro fertilization, and embryo transplantation. Clonal propagation, possible in cell and tissue culture for years, was successfully applied to mammals with the birth of Dolly the sheep in 1996.

Applications

Industry has made widespread use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Modified microbes are used in fermentation processes and to produce food ingredients. In the chemical industry, GMOs are engineered to produce reagents and novel catalysts and to convert into harmless or useful substances. The result has been increased efficiency of certain industrial processes and decreased waste. In 1982, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of human insulin derived from genetically engineered bacteria. Subsequently, the pharmaceutical industry has made significant use of GMOs to develop new drugs, vaccines, and diagnostic tests.

Genetic engineering has also been used extensively in agriculture. Products of engineered organisms are used to protect plants from frost and insects, manipulate lactation and growth processes in livestock, and improve animal health. In 1986, regulators approved the of the first genetically engineered crop plant, tobacco, in the United States. By 2006, seed producers had applied to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for permission to field-test almost 11,600 genetically engineered varieties. By 2023, more than 90 percent of the corn, cotton and soybeans produced in the United States were grown from genetically engineered seeds. These plants have been designed to resist disease, drought, frost, insects, and herbicides; other uses of the technology have focused on improving the nutritional value and flavor of foods. Plants have even been engineered to produce synthetic rubber, plastics, vaccines, and renewable fuels.

One of the first examples of an genetically engineered to address environmental problems was a bacterium created to degrade oil. This oil-eating bacterium was at the center of an important US Supreme Court case (Diamond v. Chakrabarty, 1980) in which it was ruled that the bacterium was a living invention and thus patentable. Such have proven effective in cleaning up oil spills both in the oceans and on land.

The use of living organisms to remove toxic chemicals from the is known as bioremediation. Genetically engineered microorganisms (GEMs) are essential to this process because many pollutants are human-made chemicals that cannot normally be degraded by living organisms. GEMs contain new or modified enzymes that enable them to digest the pollutants and convert them to nontoxic compounds such as carbon dioxide and water. GEMs are also advantageous in that they can be used for in situ (in place) treatments including on-site soil decontamination, detoxification of and streams, and purification, eliminating some of the technical problems associated with other methods. GEMs are also used to recover minerals from mining and industrial wastes.

Genetically modified plants are also used to remove environmental pollutants. Researchers have genetically altered poplar trees to absorb trichloroethylene, a toxic solvent and common groundwater contaminant, from a liquid solution in quantities roughly thirty times greater and at rates one hundred times faster than naturally occurring poplars. The engineered trees break the solvent down into nontoxic components. In the future, genetically enhanced phytoremediation—the use of trees, grasses, and other plants to remove contaminants—may be employed to clean up sites contaminated by hydrocarbons, heavy metals, and radioactivity.

Concerns and Regulation

The modification of natural selection and the disruption of ecosystems are the major concerns associated with the introduction of genetically engineered organisms into the environment. In addition, not all consequences of this technology are predictable because of a lack of data on the stability of artificial genetic changes, the tendency of DNA manipulation to induce mutations in organisms, and the natural complexity of organisms. Unforeseen environmental problems posed by GMOs are intractable, because once introduced into the environment, they may be impossible to remove and isolate. Critics of the technology make reference to “genetic wastes” that are able to propagate, mutate, and migrate.

The possibility of gene flow or escape—the transfer of genes from the modified organisms to related species in the wild—is of concern. Antibiotic genes used as markers in the development of transgenic organisms might be transferred to bacteria, leading to new treatment-resistant strains. (While scientists regard this as unlikely, the remote possibility has led to the use of alternative types of marker gene, such as one that causes the plant to fluoresce under ultraviolet light.) Modified viruses used in many recombinant DNA techniques might escape to create new disease-causing agents. Transgenic organisms designed to be more vigorous, or any new species created by the gene transfer may have selective advantages over native species, leading to the disruption of natural balance in ecosystems and possibly exacerbating restriction. However, even without human interference with genetic material, the exchange of genes can occur in nature.

Underlying some criticisms of the genetic engineering of organisms are ethical concerns related to the fair treatment of animals and the possibility that the technology could be used to modify humans selectively. Furthermore, critics note the potential for the misuse of the technology in human experimentation, the development of biological weapons, and acts of terrorism.

In the United States, three federal agencies evaluate new genetically engineered crops. Under the Plant Protection Act of 2000, the Department of Agriculture is responsible for agricultural and environmental safety associated with genetically modified crops. The FDA has oversight of safety aspects where human food and animal feed are involved. The Environmental Protection Agency evaluates food safety and environmental quality where genetically modified plants have insect resistance or other pesticidal properties. Within the European Union (EU), the European Food Safety Agency provides scientific advice regarding food and animal feed safety. Between 1999 and 2003, the EU imposed a moratorium on genetically modified imports. By 2023, sixty-five countries, including the United States, required foods produced from GMO ingredients to be labeled. Many countries banned these products, including France, Germany, Austria, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Poland, Denmark, Malta, Slovenia, Italy, Croatia, Switzerland, Russia, Australia, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Bhutan, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Belize, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela. Another 43 countries in Africa at least partially banned the growth of GMOs.

In 2000, more than 130 countries adopted the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which entered into force in 2003. The objective of this supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was to contribute to the safe transfer, handling, and use of living modified organisms (LMOs) such as genetically engineered plants, animals, and microbes that cross international borders. The protocol was an effort to protect biodiversity and human health on a global scale without causing unnecessary disruption to the world food trade. Under the protocol, LMOs intended for introduction into the environment may not be imported into a country without that country’s informed consent. As of 2023, the United States was not a party to the CBD and thus, could not become a party to the Cartagena Protocol; however, the United States did participate in negotiations for this international treaty.

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