How GMO foods are priced, safe, and what we don’t know about them

Why do GMO products cost less? What do consumers need to know about the GMO controversy? Rethink your food choices based on information about the safety and labeling of GMOs.

 

I’ve been living independently for five years and go to the market two to three times a week. My grocery list ranges from food items such as vegetables, fruits, and meat to daily necessities such as shampoo, conditioner, and toilet paper. However, when I’m trying to decide which one to buy, I can’t help but feel overwhelmed. There are so many different types and price ranges for one item. In this situation, I usually just pick something in the right price range, assuming that the price will vary depending on the brand name or whether it’s organic or not. But then I start to wonder. Is this product really cheap because it’s not organic or branded? Are there other factors that determine the price that I, as a consumer, don’t know about?
Not long ago, there was a controversy in the Korean food industry about GMO canola oil. An imported canola oil product was found to have used GMOs as ingredients. GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism, which is also known as ‘genetically modified organism’ or ‘genetically modified agricultural products’ in Korean. A genetically modified organism is an organism that takes a useful gene from an organism’s genes and inserts it into an organism that does not possess that gene to make it exhibit useful properties. Korea is the world’s second largest importer of GMO crops, importing about 8 million tons of GMOs annually. About 77% of all crop imports are GMOs.
This significant amount of GMO crops or products are imported into Korea, but we can’t tell which ones are GMO. This is because there are too many exceptions to GMO labeling. Looking at the GMO labeling system in each country, Korea exempts foods such as soy sauce, cooking oil, and sugars that do not contain genetically modified DNA or proteins from the labeling obligation. In addition, only 7 out of 18 commercialized GMO crops (108 varieties) are subject to labeling, and they are exempted from labeling if they are not among the top 5 ingredients used in the product, or if the GMO is detected, the content is 3% or less. In contrast, the European Union (EU) requires labeling if GMOs are used as ingredients, regardless of whether genetically modified DNA is detected. The United States, which is a major exporter of GMOs, does not have a GMO labeling system, but does require labeling of foods made with GMOs that have nutritional differences compared to conventional varieties.
GMO crops are primarily food crops such as soybeans, corn, and potatoes. These crops are genetically modified to be more resistant to herbicides and pests, resulting in higher yields than their non-genetically modified counterparts. Increased yields are expected to translate into lower prices, making a significant contribution to humanity’s food challenges. However, despite these advantages, there are reasons why GMOs are not welcome at the table. The first is the “safety” of GMOs. In 2000, Dr. Katz of the University of Jena in Germany announced on ZDF TV that the herbicide resistance gene (pat) from GMO rapeseed was transferred to microbes in the organs of bees. In 1997, Dr. Schubert’s team in Germany claimed that when a viral antibiotic resistance gene was fed to mice, the viral gene was temporarily detected in the mice’s blood. These claims were later refuted in a paper, but the controversy continues because no research has been done to say with certainty that ‘GMO crops are safe. The second is the potential for herbicide ingestion through GMOs. In order to produce a seemingly unblemished and smooth crop, producers spray huge amounts of herbicide on GMO crops with enhanced herbicide resistance. The herbicides used are deadly enough to damage human genes, even at 99.8% dilution.
Because GMO products are still so controversial, consumers have a right to know about GMO foods and food companies have an obligation to disclose them. To do so, Korea’s GMO labeling system needs to be improved. First, it is necessary to change the current method of labeling from identifying genetically modified DNA or proteins in the product to checking the level of nutritional components (oleic acid, vitamins, etc.). This is because even if GMO proteins are not found, it does not mean that GMO products are not used. In addition, for products that cannot be qualitatively tested, it is not easy to confirm even if they are used as ingredients in the top five. Therefore, all ingredients in food should be subject to GMO labeling. Korea has set a “tolerance for unintentional mixing” of 3% or less, which acknowledges the possibility that GMOs and conventional crops are distributed separately, but some mixing may occur unintentionally. Therefore, it would be a good idea to lower the ‘unintentional adulteration tolerance’ to 1%, as we have sufficient testing technology.
The reason why food companies are against GMO labeling is because they are aware of all these controversies. While it’s true that GMOs can make food more affordable, consumers will turn away from GMO products if there are no guarantees of safety. Rather than pulling the wool over consumers’ eyes, food companies should be more open to researching and promoting the safety of GMOs, and governments should be more open to enforcing food safety standards and encouraging GMO labeling.