Topic: 2024-GMOs and Food Security
Country: United Kingdom
Delegate Name: Ella Duffner
The United Kingdom recognizes global food insecurity as an issue of increasing prominence. As the effects of climate change become more prevalent, many food supplies become at risk. To combat this, genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, have become increasingly widespread.
GMOs can be incredibly useful to increase the efficiency of food grown as both produce and for feed, especially as the world’s population continues to rise. These crops are more resilient, have higher yields, and lead to less food waste. All of these factors make GMOs increasingly useful to both producers and consumers. However, with GMOs growing in popularity, concerns for them have also grown. Concerns include the discrete transfer of allergens, as an allergen modifying a non-allergen can create a neo-allergen, causing a reaction in someone who may be unaware of this modification. A rise in pest-resistant qualities could lead to unfavorable shifts in pest populations, as well as more resilient pests. Weed populations could also be affected in a similar way. Concerns have also been raised for human health in relation to GMOs, especially about toxicity. Overall, GMOs have many potential pros and cons, making them an area of increasing interest. GMOs present an incredible opportunity for advancement but must be properly regulated.
Since the United Kindom withdrew from the European Union in 2020, it is no longer held to the previous restrictions of the EU, such as Directive 2001/18/EC, which outlines the need for systematic and independent research to be thoroughly conducted on all potential risks prior to the release of genetically modified organisms. This directive outlines requirements such as the “step by step” principle, calling for the very gradual release of GMOs into the environment, and alongside this, outlines that they must go through sufficient field testing in the ecosystems they affect. This directive also requires a notification procedure prior to the release of a GMO product, containing risk assessments, labeling, and monitoring proposals. While the UK is no longer held to this directive, its policies have not shifted far. The usefulness and necessity of genetic modification are clear, but alongside this is the fact that they must continue to be monitored, regulated, and assessed.
In the United Kingdom, it is required that all foods that have been genetically modified or contain genetically modified ingredients be labeled as such. However, foods produced with genetically modified technology and animals fed by genetically modified feed do not have to be labeled. Safety assessments of genetically modified foods must be carried out by the Food Standards Agency, with the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes. Qualities assessed are toxicity, nutritional value, and allergen presence. These GM foods are then allowed to be introduced to the market if they have been assessed to present no health risks, are not misleading to consumers, and have the same or more nutritional value than the non-GM alternative. Food security has risen in recent years in the UK, and GMOs could help to decrease these numbers. Overall, when monitored carefully and assessed thoroughly, GMOs can be incredibly useful in feeding a growing world population in the face of rising climate change.
Sources:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/genetically-modified-organisms-applications-and-consents
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2001/18/oj
https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/genetically-modified-foods#:~:text=We%20recognise%20that%20some%20people,contain%20ingredients%20produced%20from%20GMOs
https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/publication/FTQ_May_2019.pdf
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3791249/#:~:text=It%20is%20known%20that%20the,antibiotic%20resistance%2C%20toxicity%20and%20allergenicity.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18989835/
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/58-03/0011/FactsheetGenetic.pdf
https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/food-drink/genetic-technology-precision-breeding#:~:text=Rebranding%20GMOs%20as%20precision%20bred%20or%20precision%20breeding&text=The%20name%20’precision%20breeding’%20is,not%20limited%20to%20such%20techniques.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/developing-genetically-modified-organisms
https://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/Article/2024/09/27/one-in-four-people-are-food-insecure-fsa-finds/#:~:text=Conducted%20between%20October%202023%20and,uncertain%20access%20to%20adequate%20food.
