Introduction
Genetically modified (GM) crops are increasingly shaping the agricultural sector. However, in the past few years, much attention has been on understanding the importance and the side effects of GM crops. In fact, majority of the consumers, are worried about the long-term effects of consuming foods such as GM soybeans. In essence, this paper holds that although GM has led to the introduction of new products in the market, these crops should be tested thoroughly to ensure it is safe for human consumptions. Therefore, the aim of this discussion is to provide some background information about GM crops as well as highlight the negative impacts of genetically modified soybeans on human health.
Background
Genetic modification can simply be described as a type of genetic technology used exclusively to alter or transform the genetic makeup of living things. According to Eckerstorfer et al. (2019), the process of GM entails the integration of genes obtained from plants or organisms. For example, a DNA can be placed within the cells of a plant in order to produce new plant with enhanced or desired traits. Initial GM trials followed the two processes of artificial selection and selective breeding (SB). Different crops such as apples, broccoli and corns have been modified using SB for human consumption. However, today, researchers use more advanced technologies in order to produce high quality products.
The GM process starts with DNA being transferred into the plant cell. There are several methods that are often utilized in the transfer process. One such method, according to Deckers et al. (2020, p. 330) involves coating “the surface of small metal particles with the relevant DNA fragment” Another method that is also used is a bacterium or virus with Agrobacterium tumefaciens being cited as a major example of bacterium used in plants. The process here is two-fold: the gene gets attached to the bacterium which in turn transfers it to new DNA of the targeted plant. (Dalla Costa et al., 2020). Once the DNA attaches itself to the plant cell, the crop is left to grow and develop into a desired plant. This happens because the plant cells have the ability to grow and generate other plants. In rare instances, DNA transfer process can occur without human intervention. An example here is the Agrobacterium bacteria which was used to generating the sweet potatoes that are still consumed up today.
Overall, GM soybeans remain to be one of the most modified crops that are commercially available in the United States. The country produces approximately 35 percent of the world’s total soybeans (Turnbull et al., 2021). The crop contains high protein levels and isoflavones which comes with significant health benefits such as protection against age-related diseases. As explicated in Turnbull et al.’s (2021) study, genetically modified soybean is present in over 70 percent of all food products sold in supermarkets. This is a clear indication that majority of American citizens consume a lot of GM soybeans on a daily basis. With that said, the process modifying soybeans is similar to the one described above. It is modified through transgenics: the process of transferring genes from one plant or organism to another. This process, according to Turnbull et al. (2021), has been found to produce plants with high yields and desirable traits. In other words, transgenics provides a way of increasing beneficial traits.
Health Impacts of GM Crops
Health impacts of GMO crops revolve around toxins, allergens or genetic hazards. According to Daubenmire (2019), there are three main categories used to determine the mechanisms of food hazards. They include “inserted genes and their expression products, secondary and pleiotropic effects of gene expression and the insertional mutagenesis resulting from gene integration” (Daubenmire, 2019, p. 203). Regarding the first category, the expression of the gene is considered as the ultimate cause of any health hazards. This is the case because there is a possibility of new proteins getting synthesized and, in the process, causing undetermined allergic effects. For instance, some genetically modified crops have been found to contain cysteine and methionine contents which are believed to be highly allergenic. Badgley et al. (2020) explicated the need to pay close attention to foods such as milk, eggs, nuts, and wheat before they are genetically engineered. The authors further noted that since the products used in genetic modification are already known, the main focus should be to assess the amount and effects of the new products.
A large percentage of consumers argue that most GM foods contain harmful side effects. Majority of them maintain that the consumptions of these types of food can spur the development of diseases which are resistant to antibiotics. Others maintain that since these foods are results of scientific inventions, little is known about their long-term impacts on the human body. This explains why most of them prefer to stay away from them because the specific health effects are unknown. In a study by Badgley et al. (2020), the authors observed that manufacturers rarely indicate on the label that the foods are developed genetically because they believe that doing so will affect their business. The same extents to religious and cultural groups who find GM unnatural process of producing food. Overall, majority of the people do not support the idea inserting animal genes into the plant cells.
Several studies have been carried out by different scholars to determine the health impacts of GM crops, specifically soybeans. In the study by Bøhn and Millstone (2019), the authors focused on the elements used in making soybeans herbicide resistant. These elements, obtained from Agrobacterium, are the gene of 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (Bøhn and Millstone, 2019). After conducting several safety tests, the Bøhn and Millstone concluded that GM variety was “substantially equivalent” to the traditional soybeans (p. 88). The same findings were made with GTS, glyphosate-resistant soybeans, washed with the same herbicide. However, the authors further noted a few differences between the GM and traditional soybeans: there were changes in contents of genistein which is important for health.
Researchers have undertaken several experiments to determine how safe GM soybean oil is. A good example of such experiments involved four groups of mice placed on different diets for a period of 24 weeks (Deol et al., 2017). The first group, the control group was placed on a diet containing low fat content: the mice consumed less than ten percent of calories every day. The second group was given a diet rich in fat acquired from coconut oil whilethe third group consumed traditional soybeans. The fourth and last group was placed on a diet consisting exclusively of GM soybean oil. The four different groups were given these different diets for a period of 24 weeks. The authors kept a close record of different elements such as insulin sensitivity, glucose tolerance and total food instance.
From the above research, Deol et al. (2017) found that mice that were on diets containing soybean oils had worse glucose intolerance. However, the group that was on a diet with coconut oil were healthy. The findings further indicated that the group whose diet included GM soybean oil had low levels of fat tissues compared to the one on traditional soybean oil. According to the authors, the mice in group four weighed about 30 percent more than the group one (control group) that was fed on a diet with low fat (Deol et al., 2017). Similarly, group four which was given GM soybean did not show any signs of insulin resistance compared to those in group three. This saw Deol et al. (2017) conclude that although GM soybeans has less negative metabolic side effects when compared to traditional soybeans, it does not mean that it is completely safe for human consumption. In fact, it is less healthy compared to olive and coconut oil.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) emphasizes the need to ensure genetically modified food meet the same safety standards as traditional plants. The process of evaluating GM crops including soybeans follows a multi-step process which aim of ensuring it is free from toxins. This process has proven effective in comparing the phenotypic and compositional characteristics of the traditional and GM crop. FDA further encourages manufactures to examine the nutritional content such as carbohydrates and fats and minerals of GM foods. In fact, experts in toxicology should be called upon to conduct safety tests before releasing GM soybeans to the market (Bøhn and Millstone, 2019). Some of the tests performed on GM soybeans have found several incidents of allergic reaction. An example here is the GM soybeans rich in methionine, an amino acid originally from Brazil, which have been found to cause allergic reactions in individuals with nut allergy.
Finally, a large percentage of the soybean crop consumed across the U.S is grown using GM seeds sold by Monsanto. According to Peschard and Randeria (2020), these seeds are “engineered to withstand repeated dousing with the herbicide, glyphosate” which is sold by Monsanto as RoundUp (p. 792). Majority of the farmers use RoundUp to repeatedly spray their farms to kill all weeds. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as possible carcinogen for humans. However, in the year 2020, Environmental Protection Agency stated that if used accordingly, glyphosate does not pose risk to humans. They further clarified that it is less likely to cause cancer in humans. However, it is clear that, glyphosate, if used excessively, can have negative effects to people.
Conclusion
In conclusion, while genetic modification of crops brings with it numerous beneficial traits to the traditional crops, much focus should be to test the resulting products to determine their long-term health effects. This is necessary because health impacts of GM crops revolve around toxins, allergens or genetic hazards. Additionally, GM foods manufactures should strive to ensure their products comply with the set safety standards, similarly to those utilized in traditional plants.
References
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