The debate on GMOs has elicited quite a buzz in Kenya in the recent past, following the government’s advances to embrace the importation of genetically modified organisms (seeds). This subject has split the Kenyan society into two; proponents and critics of the GM organisms.
When the proponents opine that GMOs will help ease the burden of over reliance on natural crop production thus solving the hunger puzzle in the country, critics argue that while capable of enhancing crop yields even in climatically disadvantaged regions, GM organisms are proven to cause cancer and will therefore burden the nation with a sick population. They add that maintaining and treating cancer patients in Kenya will be costlier and devastating than venturing into alternative means of hunger management.
GMO is the acronym for genetically modified organisms (RoyalSociety.org, 2016) describes the genetic modification of organisms as the technology that involves the insertion of DNA into the genome of an organism, usually in plant cells. The cells then grow into tissue culture and eventually into plants. The seeds of the latter organisms inherit the new DNA that is desirable. Genetic modification therefore entails the addition of a specific stretch of DNA into a specific plant’s genome, giving it new or different characteristics. This includes changing the way that the plant grows, or making it resistant to a particular disease. The new DNA becomes part of the genetically modified plant’s genome, which the seeds produced by these plants will contain.
“GMOs may have not been scientifically proven to negatively affect lives but that does not mean that they don’t. modifying seeds will for example lead to an extinction of our indigenous seeds. This will in turn cause an over-reliance of seeds from GM companies, and this is not sustainable in a long run,” says Professor Thomas Owiny.
Professor Owiny is the chairman of the Gem Farmers Center (GFC), a consortium of farmers from the west region of Kenya.
Genetic modification (or genetic engineering) is primarily used to improve crop yield and performance in an industrial farm setting. It is the technology used to achieve herbicide, pest and virus resistance, tolerance in crops, and change in metabolism among other favorable traits. It is lauded as the technology that helps modify or manipulate crops only into desirable traits. It aids in the production of tolerance to abiotic stresses like harsh weather conditions among crops and even reduced reliance on chemical pesticides. It can also be used to enhance nutritional value of the crops. It basically helps tailor make plants into only the desirable characteristics.
Although a successful technological advancement in crop enhancement and production, the flip side of GMO has been controversial and a hotbed for opposition. GMOs have publicly been disregarded in many jurisdictions, leading to a full or partial ban in 38 countries including the European Union. This has consequently severely impacted on their image.
Despite being proven unfounded, the controversies surrounding GM crops depict it as a malicious or intentionally imperfect technology, with the potential for major health risks of toxicity, allergenicity and genetic hazards associated to them. These could result from the insertion of gene products and their potential pleiotropic effects, the GMO’s natural gene disruption or a combination of both factors.
The major risks include; allergic reactions, toxicity, cancer, antibiotic resistance, immune – suppression and loss of nutrition in the modified crops.
