there seems to be a lot of confusion around the topic of gmos among the public. and with the plethora of information and fear surrounding the topic, it’s easy to get overwhelmed in deciphering the truth.

but as a consumer and an environmental science and nutrition student, i was determined to broaden my perspective, and set out to speak with a farmer and a plant scientist to learn more about what role gmos may have in our world.

after reading the book “tomorrow’s table,” i spoke with authors raoul w. adamchak, an organic farmer and educator at university of california davis, as well as his wife, pamela c. ronald, a professor from the department of plant pathology and genome center, also at university of california davis.

as i read, researched, and spoke with different people about gmos, i discovered an under-appreciated perspective, worthy of being more widely shared.

what is a gmo anyway?

surprisingly, there is no true precise or universal scientific definition of the phrase “gmo,” nor is there any regulation around its use for labeling in the united states, which may contribute to the large amount of public confusion surrounding the topic.

says ronald: “many people use it to mean ‘genetically modified organism,’ but the fda doesn’t use that term because everything we eat is genetically modified in some manner, and we generally don’t eat whole organisms, so it doesn’t really have a scientific meaning.

“i try not to use that term because i think it really confuses people,” she added.

and confuse people it does. many misinterpret long-used gene-altering techniques to be the same thing as genetic modification, when the two are in fact distinct (albeit similar) entities. and while media hype may lead you to believe all things non-organic and local are full of gmos, large cost and regulatory barriers actually keep the number of genuine gmos on the market quite low.

are gmos safe?

the safety of gmos is frequently brought into question. but when it comes to gmos and human health, the science overwhelmingly agrees that genetically modified foods are indeed safe for consumption. the american association for the advancement of science, who, national academy of sciences, and fda, all say that gmos are safe for consumption based on the plethora of available data.

so why are people so afraid of gmos?

according to ronald, part of the broad misconception about gmos may be due to lack of ample communication on the topic from scientists, farmers, and the agriculture industry.  

the rampant and increasing mistrust of scientific entities in combination with the plethora of false science, nutrition, and agriculture information flooding our news feeds makes it increasingly difficult for legitimate information to reach people’s ears in what ronald calls a “fear-based market and economy.”

and although the notion of food that has been tinkered with in a lab is understandably unsettling to some, it’s interesting to reflect on our otherwise general trust of medications that have been created in similar settings.

gmos, it seems, are often villainized, despite the fact that they have no proven long-term negative health or environmental impacts, have offered enormous benefits to others and are addressing real-world issues related to sustainability and malnutrition.

can gmos be useful?

gmos and gene-altering techniques on agricultural crops can, in fact, be useful.

how exactly? “geneticists are using modern gene modification to enhance sustainability,” ronald says.

gmos already have been shown to reduce pesticide use, increase crop yields, and boost farmer income in both developing and developed nations, which may help move the planet toward a more sustainable food system.

furthermore, the genetic addition of certain micronutrients to staple crops, as with the addition of beta-carotene to “golden” rice, has helped address some issues of malnutrition.

and with climate change creating more severe storms and unpredictable weather patterns, gene modification may offer an added layer of heartiness to plants to manage extreme weather.

for example: ronald’s lab and their collaborators have used marker-assisted breeding, to “develop gene markers that can survive floods as the climate changes.”

sometimes, gmos can even save a crop. the papaya once was threatened by extinction by the papaya ringspot virus. fortunately, a plant geneticist from cornell university was able to insert a gene modification that made the crop resistant to the devastating disease, thereby essentially saving the papaya industry and allowing consumers worldwide to enjoy this popular vitamin c-rich fruit.

and although not currently allowed in organic farming, some believe gmo seeds could offer a benefit to the organic industry, as well.

could gmos have a place in organic farming?

as with conventional crops, using gmos in organic farming could improve yields of organic (and conventional for that matter) crops, and deliver fewer heavily pesticide-raised foods to the market.

“i think that if genetically engineered traits were allowed in organic farming, there could be could be a lot of benefits, because there are pests that are difficult to control (by organic methods),” adamchak says.

pests are an issue for all farmers, but a particular challenge for organic farmers, who are unable to use many pest-resistant pesticides on their crops. with climate change increasing the burden of invasive species and pathogens, a gene modification that could improve pest-resistance could lead to higher yields of organic crops, a win-win for consumers and farmers alike (as long as those extra crops don’t go to waste, of course).

but will the organic farming industry accept gmos?

adamchak didn’t seem overly optimistic at the prospect, which could potentially be a missed opportunity for sustainable food systems going forward.

“the bigger issue as an organic grower is how does the attitudes of organic growers affect agriculture as a whole? because organic agriculture uses only 1% land in the u.s., and 99% is conventionally grown,” adamchak says.

“so if you want to change that system, if you want to make that system more sustainable, using genetically modified traits that reduce pesticide use, that reduce soil erosion depending on how it’s used, this could make that 99% of agriculture more sustainable — less of an impact on the environment, more profit for growers,” he says. “and clearly the attitudes of the organic community have impacted the spread of genetically modified traits and also how they’re perceived by consumers. and i think that’s a problem.”

the farmer-consumer dynamic is challenging: consumers rely on farmers for food, but farmers must produce things consumers will buy. the difficulty lies in creating a sustainable and trusting system that pleases both sides.

moving forward

after gathering these nuances about gmos, i reckoned with what i could do to improve the food system myself. i think the first step, as a scientist and consumer, is to educate oneself about the topic and help spread factual information, which may lessen the fear of gmos in general.

furthermore, supporting sustainable food technologies — gmo, gene altering, or otherwise — may help us address the monumental challenge of creating a more sustainable food system for our future.

the morning of my arrival, as we entered the highway on the way to our first destination, i saw the familiar green exit signs with white lettering, the billboards that displayed a plethora of advertisements for local companies, and miles and miles of concrete road ahead of us. as we exited the highway, i began to realize it wasn’t quite as familiar as i had initially thought.

we passed colorful, expansive orchards, ones like i had never seen before; although, it is hard to tell what is growing on the trees when you pass thousands of them at 50 miles per hour. i asked one of the drivers what kind of trees were on the left, expecting to hear some kind of fruit — turns out, they were almond trees.

i was dumbfounded to say the least. not only did i suddenly realize how little i knew about food, but also how little i actually thought about it. i had no idea that almonds even grew on trees, and never had the impulse to wonder where they came from either. it’s funny because i love almonds; salted, covered in rich, milk chocolate, plain, or even as a milk substitute for my cereal or coffee.

this realization made me question everything. had i ever seen an almond tree before and just not realized? why am i so quick to judge a place? my eyes were opened and i understood that woodland, california, located smack dab in the middle of — yes — yolo county, is like no place i had ever seen before this trip.

i welcomed this perfect wake up call and was thankful that it happened at the beginning of the trip. it helped me understand that things can be equally similar and different, and that nothing can be understood from just a surface view.

my thoughts were interrupted as we arrived at the morning star company — a tomato processing plant. they handed us goggles, hard hats, and asked for us to remove any jewelry. i entered this facility with no knowledge of what tomato processing was, and once again came to the realization that i have never thought about it much before — a product of growing up in pre-packaged, pre-processed america. this time, i tried not to make any assumptions.

one of the students pointed out that she loves the smell of tomatoes. i tried to imagine what i thought tomatoes smelled like, before taking a big breath in through my nose. to my surprise, tomatoes did have a very distinct smell, and it was pretty overwhelming at first. it is now also a smell i will never forget. gigantic trucks, each towing two industrial sized dumpster-like things, piled high with red, orange, and even green tomatoes, filed into the production plant.

even after a full tour of the plant, i could hardly picture just how huge and complex this operation was — from farmers, harvesters, and truck drivers, to quality check or teams who work in the offices keeping track of all the transportation, temperatures and each machine. the operations at the plant go nonstop, 24 hours a day, for about three months on end. i had never considered how much human energy, time, and money goes into the operation in order to supply the demand for things such as packaged tomato sauce that we use on spaghetti or pizza whenever we want it.

the tour guide informed us that the time it takes for the tomatoes to be harvested, inspected, and processed is approximately one hour. one hour from farm to finished: and ready to be sent to companies like campbell’s or heinz. i also was surprised at the company’s willingness to give students a complete tour of their operations and answer all of our questions. the operation is almost completely zero-waste; any parts of the tomato not suitable for processing are used for animal feed or composting. for certain products, they can use the yellow or green tomatoes depending on what the company is and the demand they are processing it for.

after the tomato processing plant, we continue to work backward through the journey our produce takes on the way to groceries and markets. next, we visited schreiner farms, which grows the tomatoes for morning star, along with other crops for other companies. the farmer, eric schreiner, seemed excited to talk about his work and answer our questions. with us was a seed sales representative, who had set up a meeting with the farmer. they started the meeting with a little small talk, and delved further into seeds, changing prices, competitors, and many other things that take part in making the production succeed.

schreiner is a third generation farmer, trying and seemingly succeeding at keeping up with the competitive and risky business of growing crops. he has to stay on top of the technological advances happening in the farming industry in order to make his work as efficient and effective as possible. he showed us his recent investments, which included a big harvester with sorting technology, and a scary looking machine that removes old drip tape. he explained that farming today is nothing like what the generations before him had done.

schreiner farms has seen three generations of extensive change and adaptation in the agricultural sector of this nation’s economy. before this trip, i had no idea how complex and overwhelming the agriculture industry had become. the technology farmers use today is more advanced than i could have ever imagined; including things such as gps navigation, drones, and radars that can detect disease-ridden plants in the densest fields, or even biologically/genetically engineered seeds that can withstand the toughest cycles of nature.

the use of engineering and technology in agriculture is needed in order to keep up with population growth, increasing hunger, and decreasing access to fresh fruits and vegetables. if this kind of technology was implemented within agriculture, it would be simply an adaption to the ever-changing world around us.

farmers like schreiner, who dedicate their life to the efficient and sustainable production of the nation’s food are undeniably necessary. farming is universal, but also communal. as consumers, we need to further educate ourselves on the complexity of the networks that provide simple things such as almonds or tomatoes. by understanding the time, effort, and labor it takes to produce a farm-to-table item, it allows us as consumers to reconnect with our food and therefore creating a level of appreciation and respect we never would have perceived before. to put it simply, wasting these products is a waste of this effort.

one of the largest food producing regions of the world, the central valley is home to massive industrial agriculture operation, small organic farmers, and plant breeders working to stay relevant in a quickly changing industry full of skeptical consumers. 

according to bayer’s holly butka, “it’s a multi-pronged force,” the necessary push to sustainable crops is being driven by consumer demand, the economics of farming and the development of technology helps farmers operate more efficiently.

ultimately though it is a consumer-driven market and farmers and seed companies like bayer want to produce products consumers will buy. when main concerns of consumers are taste, appearance, and sustainability, farmers and seed suppliers have their work cut out for them.

click through the slideshow above to learn more.

show notes:
follow on the table on soundcloud.

fern, the food and environment reporting network:
thefern.org/

barry yeoman:
barryyeoman.com/

organic sales trends from the organic trade association:
ota.com/resources/organic-industry-survey

music by blue dot sessions:
freemusicarchive.org/music/blue_dot_sessions/

in each average-sized nutella jar, there are about 94 hazelnuts, and every year, over $2.4 billion worth of nutella is sold. that’s a lot of hazelnuts, and now that the wholesale prices of hazelnuts are increasing by more than 60 percent, the tasty treat may become so expensive that it becomes unsustainable as a snack food.

as a college student, i have seen firsthand exactly how many different ways nutella can be used in a semi-broke student’s life. last year, i watched a boy use nutella as makeshift glue after he put it on his pretzels.

so just maybe, i thought, this nutella problem has the potential to raise awareness about climate change among the younger demographic that considers the product a staple. it can be difficult to see the bigger picture when climate change isn’t directly affecting you.

earlier in 2014, students across my college campus were horrified at the prospect that they would no longer have to say, “i know guacamole is extra,” at chipotle, not because it magically became free, but because avocado crops were being heavily affected by global warming. the prices of avocados could increase so much that chipotle warned in a securities filing that they might have to temporarily discontinue their guacamole option. a true american horror story, no?

as frightening as pricey nutella or a guac shortage may seem to a 20-year-old, it is minor compared to the daily struggle of the estimated 805 million chronically undernourished people in the world. food insecurity is a global issue that demands solutions, and it’s hard for college students to understand the severity of this epidemic until the prices put favorite treats well out of a college student’s budget.

our earth is in trouble, but i feel fortunate to be a part of the generation that will be the next leaders, policy makers and business owners. we have a chance to work toward a cleaner and healthier future. however, everyone in my generation needs to be of this same mindset to make change happen.

in january of 2014, a pew research center poll showed that climate change was “ranked second to last among 20 issues” on the public’s priority list for the government. political instability in pakistan and north korea’s nuclear program were both ranked higher than global change. don’t get me wrong, those are very important issues, but worldwide food shortages and destroyed crops are a common denominator for all countries and deserve more attention.

maybe when favorite treats start to disappear from daily life, people will start to ask questions and look for solutions. first, hazelnuts are too expensive, and then the price of sugar is raised. then, starbucks around the world begin to close because coffee had a few bad years. and then what? will we have a black market for corn?

our generation cannot afford to take climate change seriously only when something drastic and irreversible has occurred. we should be thinking now about the environmental consequences that result from our dangerous habits.

we’re not going to lose nutella entirely – there are enough hazelnuts to keep production going, but it’s going to cost us. but even if the college student diet staple does remain the same, that isn’t the point. a shortage scare of a chocolate-like spread shouldn’t be what finally makes young americans think about climate change.

clutch onto your jar for dear life, this ride is only just beginning.

^{top photo courtesy of s smith.}

rationale: if multiple people in a neighbourhood place orders in a window of time, wouldn’t it make sense if they are able to coordinate their orders? wouldn’t it make easy for the cargo delivery guys to make few visits to a neighborhood and deliver the goods? most importantly doesn’t it make economic and environmental sense?

what the app does: let’s say a person “x” order in parkstreet. an ecoorder will come in effect in the parkstreet area for a limited period of time. this means that anyone who places orders in the parkstreet area in that limited time will be delivered on the same day along with the delivery for person “x”. since the orders in parkstreet are coordinated, the delivery guy makes just one trip and delivers all the goods for the consumers in parkstreet. in turn consumers who opt for ecoorder can either get credits or lower shipping fees.

consumers: they can add the items to the cart and check ecoorder. the order will be placed when the ecoorder for their neighbourhood is in effect. if there is no ecoorder (within a stipulated time), the order will be automatically placed. they can get alerts about ecoorder for their locality. for instance the alert says “ecoorder in effect for parkstreet. place order before 4 p.m.”

subscribe and save consumers: show them the window of ecoorder for their neighbourhood. if they select ecoorder, their subscribed items will arrive during that period.

this will be add-on functionality which is easy to implement. therefore consumers who are only interested can opt in. ecoorder is social ordering which presents a unique sustainable choice to consumers.

market: this would be attractive to environmentally conscious consumers in countries like usa. it presents a win win opportunity that was not possible before. particularly in markets like asia, pacific region amazons shipping costs range from $4.99 to $29.99. the average consumers in these parts of the world are cost conscious, therefore any opportunity to reduce the shipment costs would be a welcome feature.

impact:

• streamlined delivery for service providers and service personnel.
• lower number of delivery trips .helps save fuel,emissions and positive impact on traffic.lower delivery fees for consumer.
• win win win for business, consumers and environment.

the idea “ecoorder” truly is an untapped opportunity and uncharted territory in the world of business apps.