Genetically Engineered Corn Threatens Natural World Order

Genetically engineered (GE) corn seed is also known as a genetically modified organism (GMO). There is a threat of GMO corn crops contaminating traditional corn fields. The GMO being addressed is the Bt gene corn. The impact of GE corn on the environment, other species, biodiversity, human health, Native American agriculture and ceremonies is a concern.

No long-term tests have been done to prove that GMO corn is safe to eat or to give to animals as feed. Traditional corn naturally promotes biodiversity, insures the health of the corn crop, and doesn't threaten other species because it is in natural harmony with the environment. Heirloom corn seed is reasonably priced for the common gardener and farmer alike and can be shared. Corn is a native crop and is of primary importance to Native American culture. There is a vast difference between the DNA of natural corn and GMO corn, which is produced in the laboratory, and this dissimilarity affects Native American agriculture and ceremonies.

Acreage of GMO Corn Planted

Corn is one of the most important food crops in the world besides rice, wheat, and potatoes. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the 1999 estimated growing season saw 20 to 25 percent of corn acreage planted with genetically modified organism corn in the United States. This figure translates into 16 to 22 million acres planted with GMO corn.

GMO Plants Kill Insects and Possibly Imposes Health Risks

GMO corn contains the Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) gene. The gene enhanced corn now contains a pesticide in every cell and in turn aids the corn in combating the European corn borer, bollworm, and other pests. This means that the naturally occurring Bt bacterium in the soil has been replicated, in the laboratory, and is inserted directly into corn seed altering the corn's natural DNA. Corn that has the Bt gene now becomes a genetically modified organism because it has a bacterium (another species) in the plant, and in turn humans are subjected to eating pesticides in food. Only time and further studies will enlighten the public on the safety of genetic engineered food crops.

Contaminating Traditional Corn Crops

Neighboring traditional (organic) corn fields near GMO corn are becoming contaminated with GMO pollen that rides on the wind, and Bt gene corn ends up infecting traditional corn fields. According to the Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, most of the 2000 non-GMO corn crop, that has been tested in the U.S. Midwest, showed a 25% contamination rate from GMO corn fields. (Martens, p. 45).

Effect of GMO Corn Pollen on the Monarch Butterfly

There has been a lot of controversy over the past few years regarding two studies, from Cornell University and Iowa State University, concerning the findings that Bt gene corn kills Monarch butterflies. In 1999, Cornell University researchers J. E. Losey, Assistant Professor of Entomology and lead investigator in the study, L. S. Rayor, Instructor in Entomology, and M. Carter, Research Aide conducted laboratory research that showed Bt gene corn had the potential to kill monarch butterflies. The findings were published May 20, 1999 in the journal Nature.

A year later, October 2000, J. J. Obrycki, Professor of Entomology and L. C. Hansen-Jesse, graduate student, Iowa State University, conducted further studies in the field to confirm these findings. The paper Field Deposition of Bt transgenic corn pollen: Lethal effects on the monarch butterfly was published in Oecologia.

According to both studies, GMO corn pollen lands on common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), that grows near GMO corn fields, and poisons the leaves. Monarch butterflies leave eggs on milkweed (host plant); young caterpillars (larvae) eat leaves of the milkweed plant. Eating Bt gene corn pollen on milkweed leaves can in turn kill the Monarch butterfly. Milkweed happens to be the only food source of the Monarch butterfly caterpillar. Some critics found that the scientific methods used in the studies were in question. For example, Losey's work was conducted in the laboratory, and Obrycki used potted plants of milkweed in the field instead of free standing milkweed.

The May 2001 issue of the journal BioScience addresses the environmental risks of using Bt gene corn including risk to non-target species such as the Monarch butterfly. Obrycki, is the lead author of the paper Transgenic insecticidal corn: Beyond insecticidal toxicity to ecological complexity. The other co-authors are Losey, O. Taylor, Professor of Entomology, Ecology, and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Kansas, and Hansen-Jessa, working under Obrycki's direction at Iowa state.

In 2002, Professor M. Rice, Department of Entomology, Iowa State University, wrote a paper Monarchs and Bt Corn: A Research Update, which was published in Integrated Crop Management.

Rice says, "The only transgenic corn pollen that consistently affected Monarch larvae was from Cry1Ab event 197 hybrids, which is currently less than 2 percent corn planted and for which reregistration has not been applied." According to Rice, in 2002, R. L. Hellmich and L. Lewis, USDA-ARS Corn Insects Lab, Iowa State University, conducted further research on the impact of Bt corn pollen on Monarch butterflies. The series of scientific studies were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA.

The difference in the scientific findings, of the effect of Bt gene corn pollen on the Monarch butterfly, raises some interesting questions. The Monarch is teaching us to "Pay Attention" to the environment. Losey has awakened the interest of the public to look at genetic modified organisms, in the food chain, and the impact of Bt gene corn on non-targeted species. And that is a positive step in the right direction. The studies done on the Monarch butterfly may be too narrow to evaluate the total effect of Bt gene corn on the environment; however, some other effects of GMO crops are as follows: According to some critics, insects are becoming super bugs in order to have a resistance to GMO crops, and super weeds are also starting to emerge.

Effects of GMO Corn on Native American Culture and Ceremonies

Corn is an indigenous crop originating in Mexico. Native Americans gave this food staple to non-Indians as a gift. The people in every way respect corn. Corn crops are donated for ceremonies and feast days, and extended families are fed from the fields. The planter of corn, in Ojibwe culture, places the seed reverently in the ground by first offering tobacco for the safety of the corn crop. Other Native American cultures have different customs and ceremonies. The people have a relationship with the food they raise and eat. GMO corn does not possess the same spirit as the intergenerational corn seed, which is passed from one generation to the next. Traditional seed carries with it the strength of the corn crop and the will of the people to honor the plant. When GMO corn replaces traditional corn, the sacred relationship that Native Americans have with corn changes. This staple of the Earth now undergoes a change, and the culture is threatened because of the loss of an heirloom seed to GMO.

Some tribes such as the Pueblo Indians of the Southwest hold corn dances to honor the planting of corn. There are ancient chants and drumbeats imitating thunder accompanying the dancers. The dancers lightly tap Mother Earth reminding her of their reverence toward the balance of life and their need for substance from a principal life sustainer which is corn.

Indigenous people of Mexico and the Southwestern tribes are experiencing a threat to their human and plant relationship evolving together. They are concerned about the loss of their ecological relationship. There is a resurgence of the importance of native heirloom seed. Native Americans and non-Indians realize the power to nourish the body and soul comes from healthy diverse crops that spring forth from traditional heirloom seeds. And many tribes are promoting this indigenous wisdom by planting and gathering traditional foods.

The biggest question with GMO crops is what is our relationship to the plant that feeds us? M. Price, a Native American teacher, speaks on biotechnology and he says, "Ceremonies and traditions help us keep respect for life and remind us that what we do affects everything else. Our ancestors knew we had the power to manipulate and destroy the world around us, so they developed these traditions to keep our activities in check and monitor our behavior."

Effect of GMO Crops on World Hunger

Critics say that genetically engineered corn promises to feed the starving people of the world, but many countries such as Mexico, Austria, France, and Germany ban GE crops. Genetically engineered seed can be an expensive choice for poor countries because the seed needs to be purchased yearly. The corn is a hybrid so it cannot replicate itself with the same strong DNA characteristics; if you want more seed, you have to go to the owners of the seed to purchase it, and farmers can expect to see additional cost in corn seed. Poor countries may not have the money to purchase expensive seed. Eliminating seed saving and the loss of biodiversity can have untold harmful effects on hungry people. What if the monoculture failed in some way? The people may no longer be able to be self reliant because they may not have any traditional seed to plant.

Conclusion

GMO food crops in the food chain is a food safety issue, an environmental issue, and a cultural issue. Anytime something new is added into the environment it is like opening Pandora's Box. On the surface, the lofty position of wanting to insure an abundant food crop is a noble ambition; however, there are no long term studies done to guide agribusiness, the small farmer, or the home gardener on the side affects of introducing GMO crops into the environment. GMO corn is already in the human food chain, and the public didn't have a word to say about it. It is important to "Pay Attention" and look at our own personal relationship with the food that we eat. Are we going to let big agribusiness decide for us what we can eat or are we going to have an intimate relationship to the food we eat, make up our own minds, and have the freedom to choose traditional open pollinated corn seed? This is the dilemma. May we make the right choice.

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