Biotech Food Industry Filled with Promises, Pitfalls
Despite Benefits, Biotech Crops Remain Steeped in Controversy

Listen to Cheryl Corley's talk with author and NPR reporter Dan Charles about his new book, Lords of the Harvest

Read about some of the winners and losers among bioengineered crops

Scientists inserted a gene into corn that makes it poisonous to insect pests. Most "Bt corn" grown in the United States ends up in animal feed. Photo: Courtesy of Monsanto

Nov. 28, 2001 -- Most food scientists and biotechnology watchdogs agree that about two-thirds of the processed foods currently sold in the United States likely contain something that's been bioengineered -- a cutting-edge process where a desired gene is extracted from one organism and inserted into another.

The science has rapidly altered agriculture in the United States, creating crops resistant to pesticides and others that are poisonous to insects. In its most grandiose claim, the biotechnology industry promises to feed the world by producing more nutritious foods and boosting yields for farmers worldwide.

Despite their potential benefits, genetically modified crops remain one of the most controversial subjects in agriculture.

The Pros Genetically engineered crops hold the promise of: • producing more crops on less land, making more food available to the world's hungry • improving plant resistance to pests and disease • giving foods like sweet potatoes and rice -- primary food sources in Asia and Africa -- more nutritional value • making better tasting fruits and vegetables with longer shelf lives

NPR science writer Dan Charles jumps into the controversial world of the biotech industry's designer foods in his new book, Lords of the Harvest: Biotech, Big Money and the Future of Food. Morning Edition correspondent Cheryl Corley talks with him about the implications of these "engineered" crops.

The relatively new biotech industry hasn’t accomplished all of its goals, but has produced several practical accomplishments, says Charles.

Biotech giant Monsanto isolated from the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis a gene that produces a toxin deadly to some insects. Monsanto took that gene and inserted it into crops, making them in turn lethal to several major insect pests. Several crops engineered with the "Bt" gene proved successful, including cotton. Farmers formerly plagued by the tobacco budworm started saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in pesticides by planting Bt cotton.

In what some say was the fastest and most dramatic adoption of a technological innovation in the history of agriculture, genetically modified "Roundup Ready" soybeans took over more than 50 percent of the U.S. market within a few short years of their commercial introduction. The soybeans, also created by Monsanto, were resistant to the pesticide Roundup, allowing the crop to flourish while weeds died.

The Cons Reasons cited by consumers, farmers and activist agencies for boycotting the industry: • some feel these "unnatural" plants could harbor hidden dangers to human health or the environment • they represent a further step toward human control and domination over nature • a handful of multinational companies own most of the patents on the crops, raising fears of a corporate monopoly over world crop production • many poor farmers can't afford the altered seeds, leading to charges that developing countries are denied the technology's benefits

Yet environmentalists and legislators around the world have waged a bitter battle over the genetically modified foods, saying they pose revolutionary new and scary risks to human health and the environment.

Despite opposition, the industry received regulatory approval in the United States and Europe, and met with some commercial success here. By the time the products made it to the market in Europe, however, a powerful political movement ensured they were met with a widely distrustful public. Foods containing GM crops now require identifying labels in Europe, and a similar movement is underway in the United States.

But Charles writes there’s a double standard for genetically engineered foods. They are subject to more tests and scrutiny than products created in traditional plant breeding. Charles says there are valid reasons for such scrutiny; scientists can manipulate crops in a way that’s impossible with traditional breeding.

Charles' research on the biotech industry, however, brought about a disturbing discovery: the lack of standards applied to traditional agriculture.

"I would like it to be an avenue to more attention, care and concern to the entire process by which we eat," Charles tells Cheryl Corley. "I'd actually like to see a standard applied more equally, but unlike some of the defenders of biotechnology, I don't want to see the regulation applied to biotechnology lowered, I'd actually like to see the standard of scrutiny applied to traditional agriculture raised a bit."

In Depth

 Browse for other NPR stories about biotech foods.

Other Resources

• The Food and Drug Administration is responsible for making sure that biotech foods are safe, while the Department of Agriculture is charged with watching for any special risks the crops might pose to the environment.

• In 1983, the United Nations launched the International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, an organization devoted to biotechnology research, with emphasis on aiding developing countries.

• India's Department of Biotechnology promotes biotechnology in various industries. With more than 30 percent of the country's one billion people living in poverty, food scientists hope biotechnology may increase agricultural output and stability.

• The international nonprofit organization Friends of the Earth is one of the main environmental groups leading a global fight against the biotech industry.

• Biotech giants Monsanto and DuPont are two of the major innovators in the industry.

• One of the main projects at Tuskegee University's Center for Plant Biotechnology Research is creating a more nutritious sweet potato.

• The International Potato Center focuses on improving potatoes and other root and tuber crops, with the aim of reducing poverty in developing countries.

• Find out more about Dan Charles and his new book at his Web site, lordsoftheharvest.com.