Over the last few decades the practice of creating genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, has become more and more common. GMOs are created by extracting the desirable section of DNA from one species and then placing that section of DNA into a new and different plant or animal. This alters the genome of the organism so that it expresses the trait from the desired DNA (GMO Education). GMOs are typically used during food production. This process makes a more enticing crop for the consumer and is typically more resilient than the average crop. According to the Center for Food Safety, 92% of corn, 94% of soybeans, and 75% of processed foods in the United States are genetically modified (“About GE Foods” , n.d.). Due to the rapid growth of the use of GMOs recently, people are voicing their concerns about the potential risks involved in using GMOs. Scientist believe that GMOs are damaging animal and plant populations and ecosystems as a whole. Bacillus thuringiensis is a bacterium that is commonly used to make GMOs. When introduced into a crop, like sunflowers and corn, Bacillus thuringiensis negatively affect the insects and environment they are growing in.
Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt for short, is a bacterium that produces crystals proteins. These proteins are toxic to a wide range of insect species. Bt is found in soil in different types of terrain all over the world. The use of Bt in agriculture has become more and more widespread because it acts as a pesticide, due to the toxic nature it has toward insects (University of San Diego, n.d.). Crops, like corn, and plants, like sunflowers, are genetically modified to have the Bt gene so that they can be their own pesticide. These GM versions of these crops are supposed to be more resistant pest, thus, doing away with the need for other pesticides. While this may seem like a more practical and environmentally friendly option, there are many problems that come with using Bt in GMOs. Bt crops can potentially be very harmful to insects and other animals who live in the environment in the areas surrounding the crops. The caddis-fly larve and the monarch butterfly caterpillars are just two of the insects that are being affected by Bt. these insects are very important in the reproduction of many plants and in their ecosystems as a whole, and if large numbers are killed because of Bt, the surrounding ecosystem will feel the effects.
Insects and other organisms living in the surrounding areas that GMO crops are being grown are feeling the negative impacts of the crops. Emma Rosi-Marshall, an ecologist at Loyola University Chicago, studies streams in Indiana, which are surrounded by fields of Bt corn. This type of corn is genetically modified to express toxins from Bt, thus the name Bt corn. In her research, Rosi-Marshall found that the streams she and her colleagues were studying contained traces of Bt from the corn by way of leaves, pollen, and other debris. Using Caddis-fly larvae, a type of herbivorous stream insect, Rosi-Marshall and her colleagues tested the effects of bt from different concentrations of bt pollen. She observed in her laboratory studies that the caddis-fly larvae that ate the debris containing high amounts of Bt pollen grew half as fast and died at twice the rate of the larvae that ate debris that did not contain Bt pollen (Emily Waltz, 2009). The stunted growth and deaths of the caddis-fly larvae show that genetically modifying a crop may make it more resistant, but it negatively affects the organisms living in the surrounding environment. While there are are some positive effects that come with genetically modifying crops, the surrounding ecosystems are taking a serious beating that is coming from GMOs like Bt.
Caddis-fly larvae are not the only insects being affected by Bt. In another study by John Losey, an entomologist at Cornell University, a similar correlation was found between between monarch butterfly caterpillars and Bt corn. Losey and his colleagues applied Bt corn pollen to milkweed to mimic that of milkweed found in cornfields (John E. Losey, 1999). Losey discovered that almost half of the monarch butterfly caterpillars in his study that consumed leaves dusted with Bt corn pollen died four days later, while those that consumed leaves with regular pollen lived (Emily Waltz, 2009). The significantly lower survival rate of these caterpillars raises some red flags. Due to the death of these monarch butterfly caterpillars, a negative connection can be seen between the GMO Bt and the environment surrounding crops modified with this organism. The results of the study show that GMOs can be damaging to the ecosystems that they are being placed in. If similar results occur in the real ecosystem, the death of a large amount of monarch butterfly caterpillars will result in the disruption of the ecosystem’s food chain, leading to unpredictable repercussions.
There is further evidence to support the idea that Bt plants are a danger to other wild plants through a study by Allison Snow’s study. Snow is a plant ecologist who recently found evidence that the Bt transgene actually harms wild plants through her study on the spread of sunflowers. A specific gene extracted from Bt allows the sunflower plants to produce a natural insect repellant, creating a more resilient sunflower. This is a huge benefit for farmers because it allows the sunflowers to grow without the risk of being eaten by bugs, which allows the farmers to produce more of their crop. However, this new Bt sunflower is becoming unstoppable. Snow states that there is a major risk that the Bt transgene will migrate and grow into wild sunflowers. This would lead to the increased number of seeds being produced by the growing number of sunflowers (Rex Dalton, 2002). If the Bt genes makes its way into wild sunflowers, the plant could begin to grow rapidly to the point that sunflowers would become synonymous to weed. At a site in Nebraska, seed production in wild sunflowers with the transgene rose by 55%” (Rex Dalton, 2002). This is a huge increase of seed production and would entail an increase in the spreading the number of sunflowers to the wild. As the sunflowers begin to spread like weeds, they are simultaneously their own insecticide, meaning they won’t be killed off bugs. The more sunflowers that grow the harder it becomes to get rid of the persistent plant.
The use of genetically modified organisms is becoming more and more common in agriculture. It is widely debate on whether or not GMOs are harming the environment or not. While there are obviously benefits to using GMOs in agriculture, there are also many risks posed by it down the line. While some say that GMOs help produce more crops for farmers, but there is some evidence that shows Bt GMOs are actually harming the environment. Bt, a natural pesticide, is killing Bt crops as well as the spread of Bt from these crops has shown to be very damaging to growth and the life span of Caddis-flies. Another example of a very important organism that is being negatively affected by Bt crops are Monarch Butterflies.. As a result, populations of Monarch Butterflies decrease and reproduction of plants is hindered. Even though right now it may seem like there are a lot of positives when using GMOs in agriculture, it is also very important to weigh these benefits with the risks. Are GMOs truly worth the risk they pose to ecosystems and the environment?