In 2014, the imports of edible GMO exceeded 200 million tons for the first time. Considering that 90 percent of beans and 99 percent of corn are imported GMO, it is clear that GMO is going to be an inevitable being to our livelihood. By contrast, the used sign of GMO is nowhere else, and consumers are eating GMO products while they do not know this. GMO products are already served on our table but are there any problems in GMO that cause trouble in our body?

▲ What does GMO mean in our lives?

First, GMO is an abbreviation of a Genetically Modified Organism. This is a technology of getting a new characteristic that does not exist in existing organisms by inserting the gene of other creatures into other creatures. We can say that GMO is a technology that inverts the traditional improvement of breeding in an artificial way. The improvement of breeding and planting had been already performed thousands of years ago. We preserved specific animals and plants by breeding the same species that have an outstanding production and are beneficial to humankind. So, there is a considerable difference between animals and plants of the present time and the past. So, what makes the difference between GMO and original plant breeding?

Original plant breeding has an incarnation that relies on its luck. However, gene manipulation decreases the factor of luck dramatically. We can change the traits that we want. It is a relative standard, so we also need tremendous time, capital and luck to make GM products. For example, to make a product named round-up ready soybean, much time and an investment of 80 million dollars are needed.

Then, how does GMO attract people? We can protect agriculture by using GMO. In Bangladesh, eggplant is an important crop. However, it is often destroyed in harvest due to pests. Because of this, farmers had to rely heavily on pesticides. Not only it is very expensive, but farmers also frequently got sick. The introduction of modified eggplant solved this problem in 2013. It decreased 80 percent of the usage of pesticides, farmers became healthier, and their income was highly increased. Sometimes, the introduction of new GM products is the only way to win and solve problems.

▲ What you have to know about GMO Foods

Surely, technologies do not exist with their own meaning. The development of technology can change flexibly with the concept of how to use it. If we try to use and produce GM products in the right way, these can solve the problems in the shortage of food. If not, these will completely devastate our lives.

June 15th, 2019

by Dae-hwan Kim