Genetically modified crops are one of the UK’s most passionately debated environmental subjects. Those who advocate them claim that they are beneficial for your wellness and wellbeing because they don’t have any pesticides sprayed onto them. They say that GM crops naturally resist pests, which gives a false impression of a crop that insects do not go anywhere near. In truth ‘resists pests’ means that the GM crops have their own built in pesticides, which means that when an insect bites into it, the stomach of the insect splits open and this kills them.
It is quite worrying, therefore, to think that human beings may well be consuming these same pesticides in every bite of food. The Environmental Protection Agency, however, along with the biotech companies, claim that this pesticide (bacillus thuringiensis) is perfectly safe as it is naturally produced in soil bacterium. They claim that there is a long history of safe use. They point out that organic farmers have been using solutions that are made up of natural bacteria for many years now, as an organic way of controlling insects and stopping them from destroying their crops. What genetic engineers do is simply to remove the gene that makes the soil produce this bacteria and implant it into the DNA of a plant, so that the plant then naturally produces this bacteria, too.
The GM crops industry also claims that this Bt-toxin is very rapidly destroyed by the human stomach, and that humans (and other mammals) don’t have the right receptors for this toxin, anyway. There are arguments, however, that seem to present a different side to the story. There was a recent case where a natural BT spray was used in an area surrounding Washington State and Vancouver, and about 500 people reported to hospital suffering from flu or allergy-like symptoms, six of whom had to go to the emergency room. Other reactions included ulcers of the cornea, burning, swelling, itching and redness. Those with suppressed immunity are also thought to potentially be at risk.
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