Vegans Who Support GMO’s (Say What?)

by Christopher Arnett

Native Foods Cafe

Seems strange, right? Well, apparently they do exist. But do they have it all wrong, or do they know something the rest of us don’t? Either way, it’s good to know about. I first encountered this unique sector of the vegan community when I received a comment in response to a blog I had posted a couple of weeks ago on the destruction of a GMO wheat crop in Australia by Greenpeace activists. It turns out that at least in Chicago (coincidentally the newest home of Native Foods Café), vegans are exploring the potential benefits of GMO’s with an open mind. 

In his comment, Dave of Vegan Chicago suggested that using transgenic (the gene swapping that occurs during genetic modification) methods are actually less risky because only a few genes are manipulated as opposed to the hundreds of thousands that are exchanged in traditional breeding. He went on to say that genetic engineering could not only make food more nutritious, but actually benefit the environment by requiring less agricultural inputs (chemicals, equipment, seeds, etc.). In fact, he even said that the implementation of GMO technology would ultimately help to abate animal testing, provide more alternatives to animal sources for medicines and food, and help vegans by providing plant-based sources of nutrients that vegans traditionally struggle to obtain. Wow! News to me! Well, I was intrigued and welcomed the opportunity to expand my knowledge of this issue, so I listened to the pod cast Dave graciously provided. A GMO- supporting vegan activist. Who knew? Click HERE and listen for yourself! 

In the podcast, Dr. Kevin Folta, molecular biologist from the University of Florida, offers his reasons in attempt to dispel ungrounded fears and educate the public on the benefits of GMOs.  He affectionately uses the term “Frankenfoods” when discussing GMO’s, but makes it clear that just because it was genetically modified does not mean it is automatically harmful. Human intervention has played a part in the genetic modification of plants since the beginning of agriculture through cross-breeding and selection (take a look at pics of teosinte corn and wild bananas), so we humans have had been genetically modifying our food from the get go. Dr. Folta goes on to say that the genetic engineering of crops is a viable science with positive benefits such as providing a tremendous yield and producing more disease and weather-resistant types. Dr. Folta  made another good point when he said that most anti-GMO supporters accept the cross-breading of plant species to improve crops (which involves the transfer of tens of thousands of genes with unpredictable results), but reject genetic engineering that typically only transfers a very small number of genes in a highly controlled environment. Hmm. Something to think about, right? 

This is only the tip of the iceberg, and the GMO issue is a huge one. Admittedly, I don’t know everything on the subject (like most people), but with research and informed commentary from people like Dave and his group, it’s a first step. If any readers have information they would like to share that would help shed light on this topic, please post in the comments section!

 

Comments

[Dave]

Christopher,

I must commend you for first, keeping an open mind and second, your tenacity for making it through that marathon of a podcast! While I'm personally excited by the opportunities GM technology may provide, my greatest hope by raising this issue is to get vegans to stay objective on the topic of science and technology. GM technology, like any technology, isn't evil. It's all in the application and that's where we can come in. Ironically, by promoting fear on GM we may be raising the bar so high that only the largest corporations have the means to hurdle.

Thanks for this follow-up post. I think your attitude of "Something to think about, right? " is the way we should be doing it. It's not "GMO is evil!" and it's not "GMO is the best!". It all about critically thinking about the issue. Kudos for that, much appreciated.

BTW we're so excited here at Vegan Chicago to have Native Foods here. People have been raving about your food all week!

[SkepticalVegan]

This is a great post!
And great comments Dave!

Two resources I would highly suggest are Tomorrow's table: organic farming, genetics, and the future of food by Pamela C. Ronald, Raoul W.

and Just Food by James E. Mcwilliams

Everyone focuses on the big scary corporations but often ignores promising examples of genetic engineering like the GE bacteria used to make the B12 that fortifies nutritional yeast, and what vegan doesn't love their nooch? As mentioned by Dave GE technology has literally saved human and animal lives through new insulin production methods.

[James]

Wait, do you think that GMO corn does not also use traditional cross breeding (the more "dangerous" method)? This reads as is if you do. If so, wrong. GMO corn is bred like conventional corn, with the exception of one of the inbred parent lines has had the GMO trait inserted. The hybrid offspring contain the trait. Conventional (or classic) breeding is the background for all GMOs, so to suggest it is more dangerous and that therefore GMO is safer is poppycock. I didn't hear the interview, but am hoping that the molecular biologist from Florida didn't play up this fallacy. SOunds like he did - and he should be ashamed. Dr. Folta, you can't have a GMO variety without background breeding with all those messy "unpredictable results". You are smearing the last hundred years of brilliant classical plant breeding that have developed the most useful traits and characteristics we have. GMO traits alone might be fine (for some crops and some regions) but without classical breeding we truly starve. Bad science writing here. Awful in fact.

[Ibis]

Thanks for this post but evidence does suggest that GMO crops do wreak havoc on the environment.
Explain this:
"Rise of the Super Weeds" NY Times article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/business/energy-environment/04weed.html

[Christopher Arnett]

Thanks to everyone for responding.

Skeptical Vegan, thank you for the book suggestions! The more information, the merrier!

James, you really need to hear the podcast before you can make any reasonable response. If you had taken the time learn about the presentation you sought to criticize, you would have answered your own question. And as for "bad science writing", I can only assume you meant that comment for Dr. Folta, since I never claimed to be a scientist or to represent Dr. Folta. I'm simply providing information for those who are willing to engage it.

Ibis, thank you for the link. New information is always welcome. However, I cannot meet your demand to explain how that particular evidence contradicts what was presented in my blog. I am not obligated to do so since I never claimed to support GMO crops. I am simply gathering and processing information, and hopefully helping others along the way. And again, I am not a scientist, so I am in no position to argue either side of the issue.

And a special thanks to Dave for provding this informative podcast. It's inspiring to know that there are vegan groups willing to venture beyond their comfort zones to attain a true understanding of science and technology as it relates to a cruelty-free and environmentally sound lifestyle.

Whenever a controverial topic surfaces, I think we can all agree that supporters on both sides of the issue share a common goal: the attainment of truth. In order to achieve this, we all must be open to possibilities and think critically on each new piece of information that becomes available. And we must be willing to admit that our original viewpoints could be wrong.

[Dave]

Ibis, It seems like you're arguing that GM is so effective it's speeding up resistance. Resistance to pesticides and herbicides is a constant battle. For example, when using BT and other insecticides farmer use methods like refuge farming to slow resistance. This is not a GM issue. It's an agriculture issue. What specifically about transgenics is bad as compared to natural processes? In the podcast, Kevin Folta says that if he could find good evidence against the use of this technology, as a scientist he would reap great rewards.

[Dave]

Christopher,

BINGO! A truly open mind is one that's open to being wrong. :)

The greatest tools vegans can use (all people actually) is that of critical thinking. Carl Sagan's book: The Demon-Haunted World is one we've been promoting through Vegan Chicago's book club in the hopes of empowering our membership with the powerful tools of critical thinking. In the book it is called "the baloney detection kit" and we're working on a way to distill it into a single pamphlet. I hate to risk overburdening you further, but if there was one book that I would recommend, this would be the one. The ones Skeptical Vegan recommended are great in this issue of GMO.

But GMO isn't the real issue here especially when it comes to veganism. In matters of truth (science) it's best to leverage the benefits our society provides us. We are lucky to have people who specialize in these topics and we should regard their opinions. Not any one expert though, but consensus of such experts. In this sense, it's not enough that we should all be playing armchair scientist evaluating every study or article. Studies are often misreported, hard to parse and in the end it's only a single study. By replicating studies and having multiple experts assess those studies we get closer to the truth.

Science is the best tool we have for finding the truth. It behooves us to better understand how it works. I think most people have a distorted view of it. I know I did until very recently.

[Puma Outlet]

When school-camp ended, Ian rejoiced. He really just wants to play video games and draw pictures and hang out with me. A little computer time is fine, but he we can't let him play Plants vs. Zombies for six hours straight. To distract him from the computer, we keep on the move. He saw the Smurf movie with my mom. We went to Barnes and Noble, the swim club, and the nature center. We went to IKEA for breakfast this morning. After a quick shove out the front door, he always has fun, but sometimes it does take a shove to get moving.