An inconvenient truth on the kitchen table

[Letter to the editor] 

This is Patrick’s diet: A glass of soy milk for breakfast, Chinese food and coffee for lunch, chicken and coke for dinner, and beer and French fries as a late night snack.

Patrick’s diet looks fairly “normal” to most people. But, unbeknownst to him, the food he eats is almost completely made up of genetically modified food. Genetically modified organisms are animals, plants or other organisms whose genetic structures have been altered or created with the use of genetic engineering. GMOs have been created to improve nutritional value and food production.

GMOs are seen as a miracle in some third world countries, where malnutrition and starvation caused by over-population are commonplace. For example, blindness due to lack of vitamin A has been a common health issue in some parts of Africa and India. To combat this, scientists created “golden rice,” a strain of the grain loaded with vitamin A.

But, these advances in science have come at a high price. According to Environmental Sciences Europe, an online environmental science journal, genetically modified crops are also responsible for creating superbugs and super weeds that are resistant to antibiotics and herbicides. As a result, farmers are forced to use more and more herbicides, thereby posing a danger to biodiversity as the chemicals harm more than the targeted species.

In addition, studies have shown that mice that consumed a diet of 33 percent genetically modified food for a period of two years were more likely to develop aggressive cancers or other health problems, such as breast cancer, liver failure, and kidney failure, according to a study carried out by researchers in Caen University in France. This finding is alarming, since mice and humans share similar DNA structures.

The European Union put a two-year precautionary ban on GMOs starting Dec. 1, 2013. Russia, Switzerland, France, Italy, Slovenia and Ukraine had previously placed restrictions on the use of certain pesticides in their countries. In addition, South Korea, which imports almost half of its total wheat from the United States, decided to suspend purchases until further tests could be performed.

Still, conventional methods of farming aren’t working. Due to space constraints, farmers can’t grow enough crops for everyone. Technology may be necessary to double, or even triple, the food supply.

GMO crops significantly increase the quantity of the world’s food supply since these crops are less likely to spoil, are more disease-resistant, and are more adaptable to fast-changing environments, such as climates affected by global warming. GMO crops could potentially provide enough food for those who can only dream of having three meals a day.

The Korean food market is a good example. The Korean government implemented a law in 2008 which requires restaurants to declare the source of their beef. This law was enacted after a much publicized debate over Mad Cow Disease broke out in the United States, and as more and more South Koreans insisted on their right to be informed.

South Korean fish markets are also joining the trend. The 2011 Tohuko earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan resulted in several nuclear power stations exploding. This caused concern that fish from this region might be contaminated with radioactive chemicals and other toxins. As a result, in September 2013, the Korean government prohibited the purchase of fish from Fukushima and seven other Japanese prefectures. This decision was also made after South Koreans insisted on their right to know where their food came from.

Similar policies of labeling GMOs, as well as ensuring that consumers are informed of the sources of their foods and can thus make their own dietary decisions, might relieve some of the tensions around genetically modified foods.

Whether food is bad for your health or not, it needs to start from customers’ right to know. Customers should be able to choose.

By Park Chan-dong

Park Chan-dong is a student of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul. ― Ed.