Some Christians argue that Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are unsafe because they are unnatural. I’d like to challenge that thinking. I think every Christian should welcome genetically modified (GM) crops as God’s gift to the world – especially to the poor.
Here are some reasons to welcome GM crops in our quest to end hunger and poverty.
Image: Creative Commons under Unsplash
The godly beginnings of plant genetics
Humans, using our God-inspired ingenuity, have been modifying wild crops into domesticated ones for several thousand years.
Gregor Mendel (1822–1884) is known as the father of genetics. He discovered how genetic inheritance enables the transmission of characteristics from parents to progeny. His experiments with the humble pea plant revolutionized humanity’s understanding of God’s creation. As an Augustinian monk, Mendel saw the study of nature and genetics as a means of uncovering the beauty and order inherent in God’s creation.
This revelation helped botanists in the next two centuries to carefully crossbreed plants with desirable characteristics, enabling them to produce more resilient and more nutritious crop varieties. The period from the 1960s to the 1990s witnessed the transformative Green Revolution, spearheaded by breakthroughs in plant breeding and biotechnology.
One of the pioneers of this method was another famous Christian, Norman Borlaug (1914–2009), known as the father of the Green Revolution. Like Mendel’s, Borlaug’s faith compelled him to find ways to improve food crops for the well-being of humankind.
Leaving his comparatively comfortable job in the United States, Borlaug traveled the world experimenting with major food crops such as maize, rice, and wheat. He made breakthroughs during his field research spanning decades, giving us crops that have saved billions of lives.
The transition to Genetic Modification
Mendel and Borlaug paved the way for the development of GMOs beginning in the 1990s. This was a milestone in agricultural innovation.
Through biotechnology – gene splicing, manually transferring a specific gene – scientists can introduce desirable traits into crops, such as pest resistance and herbicide tolerance. Genomic research and marker-assisted breeding techniques facilitate the development of crops with enhanced nutritional content and improved adaptability to diverse environments.
What was earlier a tedious process carried out over many generations in the field is now quicker, safer and more efficient. Instead of trying to transfer a trait from one species to another through hybridization – which did yield many excellent results but only over a long time and with many dead ends because there was little control over what traits did and did not transfer – agricultural scientists now achieve genetic modification through gene splicing in which what trait will transfer is far more predictable. The risk of winding up with a “Frankenstein’s monster” – whether plant or animal – is lower, not higher, with modern GM.
GM crops and global food security
GM crops have the potential to significantly increase crop yields, thereby addressing the ever-growing global demand for food. They have enhanced resistance to pests and diseases. This resilience ensures a more robust food supply, reducing crop losses and enhancing productivity, particularly in regions prone to agricultural challenges.
Essential vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients are now incorporated into staple crops, improving their nutritional value and addressing widespread deficiencies that afflict vulnerable populations. Vitamin A-fortified golden rice is one example. It has the potential to save millions of children from having severe vision impairment, and some even from death.
With built-in pest resistance or herbicide tolerance, farmers can use GM crops to minimize the use of chemical pesticides and herbicides, thus reducing pollution and promoting more sustainable farming practices. Additionally, GM crops can be tailored to require less water, land and fertilizer, mitigating the strain on natural resources and contributing to long-term ecological health.
Myths surrounding the safety of GMOs
The safety of GMOs is a complex issue fraught with misinformation. No crop, natural or modified, is absolutely safe for every person in every circumstance. The appropriate question is not “Are GMOs safe?” but “Are GMOs less safe than natural crops?” Strong evidence, based on plentiful tests, conflicts with claims that they are.
In 2016, over 100 Nobel laureates signed a letter supporting GMOs. Among other things, these eminent scientists said: “Scientific and regulatory agencies around the world have repeatedly and consistently found crops and foods improved through biotechnology to be as safe as, if not safer than those derived from any other method of production. There has never been a single confirmed case of a negative health outcome for humans or animals from their consumption.”
Similarly, the Board of Directors of the American Association for the Advancement of Science issued a statement in 2012 that said, in part:
“Contrary to popular misconceptions, GM crops are the most extensively tested crops ever added to our food supply. There are occasional claims that feeding GM foods to animals causes aberrations ranging from digestive disorders, to sterility, tumors, and premature death. Although such claims are often sensationalized and receive a great deal of media attention, none have stood up to rigorous scientific scrutiny. Indeed, a recent review of a dozen well-designed long-term animal feeding studies comparing GM and non-GM potatoes, soy, rice, corn, and triticale found that the GM and their non-GM counterparts are nutritionally equivalent.”
Indeed, GM crops are no less safe for humans and animals than non-GM crops, and, as these scientists continued, “have been shown repeatedly to be less damaging to the environment, and a boon to global biodiversity.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration subjects GMOs to a comprehensive safety evaluation process, including assessment of potential allergenicity, toxicity, and nutritional composition. It concluded that GM crops are as safe as non-GM crops. Likewise, Health Canada, the Canadian federal agency responsible for public health, has stated that GMOs approved for sale are safe for consumption. The government of Bangladesh, too, after rigorous testing and assessment, concluded that GM brinjal/eggplant is safe for human consumption and beneficial for farmers. Likewise, the Philippines has approved the cultivation and sale of golden rice.
Rigorous safety assessments, science-based regulations, and comprehensive evaluation processes justify confidence that GM crops are no less safe than others. It is crucial to rely on evidence-based information and foster informed discussions to harness the potential benefits that GMOs can offer in shaping a more sustainable future.
Biblical basis and why we should promote GMOs
I would offer two arguments for GM crops from the perspective of Christian theology and ethics.
First, believers are called to serve others, promote justice and show compassion. Hunger and malnutrition disproportionately affect the most vulnerable and marginalized populations around the world. GMOs are a powerful tool to meet the escalating food demand and save millions from suffering. GM crops maximize agricultural productivity while minimizing the use of land, water, and other resources.
Second, though some people oppose GM crops on the grounds that they are unnatural, Christian theology tells us the opposite. For the Christian, nature is not best untouched by human hands. In this fallen world, subject to corruption in judgment on Adam’s and Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3; Romans 8:18–22), it is not true that “Nature knows best.” Rather, in Genesis 1:28, God instructed humankind to “subdue and rule” the Earth and everything in it. Genetic modification is one way to do that. It cannot be rejected solely on the grounds that it is unnatural.
By adopting GM crops, we can also fulfill our duty as stewards of creation by optimizing food production and reducing the strain on our planet’s finite resources.
The principles of stewardship, love for humanity, ethical considerations, environmental sustainability, and the pursuit of justice all converge in support of GM technology. By harnessing the potential of GM crops, we can meet the escalating food demand, ensure global food security and save millions from the devastating effects of hunger.
The ability to alter genes has brought solutions to global food security challenges. As faithful stewards of God’s creation, let us work together to embrace GM crops and fulfill our responsibility to nourish the hungry, alleviate suffering, and build a more just and sustainable world. By harnessing the power of science, technology, and sustainable practices, we can forge a path towards a more food-secure future for all.
Vijay Jayaraj is a research associate at the CO2 Coalition, Arlington, Virginia, and a contributing writer with the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation. He holds a master’s degree in environmental sciences from the University of East Anglia, UK, and resides in India.
This piece originally appeared at WND.com and has been republished here with permission.
Charles Ford says
There is a big difference between creating a plant to improve food production and creating a plant that restricts food production and centralizes the processing of that plant in the hands of a few the author seems not to understand the qualitative difference The externalities and poor food quality of most recently contrived GM o’s is another serious problem to health and to the environment But maybe he’s confusing God with the hand do demons
Vijay says
Dear Charles, GM crops have proven to provide more yield, thus improving food production. There are a number of reasons for this. By being more resilient to disease and adverse conditions, there is an automatic reduction in the loss of crops. Secondly, genes specific to yield and higher fruit/seed production are carefully selected in many cases. Contrary to the picture painted by the media, farmers really desire access to GM crops in Africa and Asia. So much so, many risk legal bans on GM crops to smuggle in GM seeds from neighbouring countries. Such is the case of Bt Brinjal (eggplant) which the Bangladeshi farmers are reaping benefits, but banned across the border in India where farmers face huge losses every year as their eggplant crops are destroyed by disease. 93 percent of all corn yields in 2022 came from GM corn plants. There is a big qualitative difference as you suggested, but it has to do with the quality of crops that are incapable of meeting domestic and global food demand, which only advanced variants can do.
Elaine Little says
In my opinion the problem with gmo crops may not the the crop itself but the toxic herbicides used on them, many of them are proven carcinogenic. GMO crops were developed so that the herbicides can be used on them and thus increase production, but at what costs to both the farmer using them and those who consume them.
Vijay says
Hello Elaine, yes, excessive use of herbicides is toxic and dangerous. It is with a sincere mind I say the fact that GM crops have reduced pesticide and insecticide use all over the world. Crop loss due to disease is a big issue and farmers overcome it with excessive insecticides. But GM crops have solved that problem by producing variants that are resistant to traditional diseases. This is a big deal breaker in countries where billions of people still consume pesticide-loaded traditional crop variants. So, when I make these statements, they are not merely an opinion or theory. Rather, these are actual realities in countries across the world. Yield is the biggest factor with GM crops, but that high yield is enabled through the reduction in crop loss to diseases. So, it reduces farmer expenditure on insecticides and protects the consumer from consuming loads of toxins in the name of vegetables. In my part of the world, they say meat is healthier than vegetables, because of the unregulated use of insecticide on various vegetables that make the staple diet. Elaine, I request you to do a small self-study on scientific literature that addresses how GM crops have reduced pesticide, insecticide, and even fertilizer use. I understand your issue is with herbicide, but please consider my points.
Patricia says
I very much disagree. The GMO’s we are encouraged to eat are modified to make them ‘Roundup Ready’ so they could spray the pesticide on the plants we eat. If you think Roundup is acceptable in your food then go ahead, but I try to keep my ingestion of gmo’s to a minimum. This is one of the issues that keep me from advocating for the work of the Cornwall Alliance more often – because I think this view does harm.
Vijay says
Hello Patricia, I welcome your disagreement concerning the points made. GM crops are not controversy-free. But I find it difficult to deny the fact that the majority of opposition to GM crops comes from nonprofits which happen to also promote organic food. GM crops were an eventuality in our conquest to improve crop production – which we’ve tried since farming began. We domesticated wild plants, through centuries of cross-breeding, to get most of the vegetables and fruits that we eat today. The turning point of this conquest was Borlaug’s hard work which gave us high-yielding wheat, rice maize, and other plants that majority of the people on earth eat today. Borlaug himself is a big advocate of GM crops, because they are an extension of our effort to improve plant trait. Desirable traits are amplified in labs, than prolonged decades-long processes in the field. Modification has always been there, in the field. Now, we are doing it in labs. We have an important mandate of feeding the hungry and poor, and I trust it is God who enables and gives wisdom to us humans to improve and tend plants to make them produce higher yields. I take your point seriously. Thank you for making your cocnern known.
Patricia says
I would be more careful what methods of man you attribute to God . Man has a history of trying to improve on Gods design and it doesn’t always work out well .
Vijay says
I will certainly be careful. Thank you. One thing that did work is the domestication of wild plants, by ensuring the propagation of beneficial genetical traits. But again, will take your word of caution.
Charles Stanley says
There is on case at least in which GMO has been devastating for humanity. That is the modification of wheat that allows the direct spraying of Roundup on food just before harvesting it was found to be a dessicant that will dry out wheat so it can be harvested without concern for mildew. As a result humans are consuming Roundup. This story comes from Robert Kennedy Jr.
Vijay says
Hello Charles, thank you for your point. But I do want to make a point that the majority of corn consumed today in the US is GM corn. In 2022, GMO corn made up an estimated 93% of the corn planted in the U.S., occupying more than 86 million acres. Now we also know that the largest United States crop in terms of total production is corn. So, technically it is life-saving crop that feeds the entire population, not only in the US but also abroad. U.S. corn exports were valued at $18.6 billion in 2022, the second-highest year on record. So, I do not view it as a “devastating product” but as an essential one that keeps prices affordable for the poor, keeps farmers profitable, and sustain food security.
Ms T says
I am going to have to read this and digest it. That’s a first for me..! I stay away from that stuff..
Interesting..
Thanks for posting the article!
Vijay says
Thank you Ms T. GM crops are always a difficult topic. But thanks for reading.
David Mackay says
Wow, Has this guy been deceived.
Sure the original idea and experiment is good but obviously he is living in a bubble and not know that corrupt scientists and Globalists etc will always use good intentions and ideas to use against all that God has created.
Even in India where he lives Monsanto sold more on loan GMO seed crops to the local farmers and all the crops failed and that bankrupted the farmers.
So guess what Monsanto sold more “newer seeds” on loan ( they are now in a dept they will never be able to repay.)
This happened about 10 years or more ago.
Charles Ford is correct in what he said in the comments section.
Vijay says
Hello David, thanks for raising this issue. I would disagree with you on a number of points. My approach to plant biotechnology has always been rooted in evidence and common sense. I come from a background of farmers. The majority of the 3000 (or so) people in my extended relatives and family are farmers, including my mom, grandpa, uncle, and many of my cousins. Now, few among them have decided that they will not use GM crops, while many others are open to using GM crops (given the real-world evidence of the success Bt Cotton has achieved in India.) Interestingly, the only ones that have taken an oath against GM crops are the ones that are wealthy. Contrary to your statement, it is poor and middle-income farmers that want GM, as they are not in a state where they play around with their profits or very livelihood. Farmers across India defied bans to use and experiment with GM crops, with many snitched to authorities by neighbours and nonprofit organizations. In fact, poor farmers in Maharashtra even held a protest where they collectively planted banned GM seeds. In India, only Bt Cotton (GM Cotton) is the only GM crop allowed in India and it is a superior higher-yield variant that helped farmers come out of poverty. In the year 2022, Bt cotton completed two decades of cultivation in India. It continues to be a resounding success here, contrary to what you stated. 11.7 million hectares (93.6 percent) of total cotton cultivation in 2019-20 was Bt cotton. According to the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, over the last decade, cotton yields in the country increased by more than 300%; pesticide consumption reduced by ~ 50%; acreage increased by 150% and production increased by 400%. This technological advancement enabled over 7 million farmers earn an additional farm income of USD 16.69 billion. So, how is Bt Cotton (the only GM variety allowed in India) failed and bankrupted Indians against these official numbers, and the 90 percent farmer preference?
Garner says
I oppose the attachment of Christian morality to the blind acceptance of genetically modified or bio-engineered crops. While I acknowledge feeding people is vital, we should be very cautious about what is actually being done to these crops and the effects on the human body and DNA. Some of the changes to the food supply may be relatively harmless, but we know that glyphosate has become so ubiquitous in the food supply that it is damaging digestion, causing liver failure and death in some cases. The Big Food seed oil business has caused inflammation, heart issues, and obesity because our bodies don’t know what to do with it. And lately, it’s lab grown meat.
Ultimately, this is not helpful. Nor does it honor God.
The last three years have shown us that Big Corporate groups will do very harmful things for a buck, and lie constantly about what they are doing. Government is hopelessly craven with revolving doors between regulators and the corporations they are charged with regulating, and they lie constantly about what they are doing, including faking tests and ignoring and burying unfavorable data.
The media who used to take their responsibility seriously to speak truth to power has long abandoned the post. They have become megaphones for the lies told by Big corps and their friends in Govt. Literally, everything you read in a major newspaper or media site has been placed there by a PR organization.
As Christians, we are charged to use our minds and seek Guidance. He alone is trustworthy. We are not to bow blindly to the idols of science, medicine, govt and tech. These things are gifts, but like any gift they can be abused, and that is certainly the case in our current time. One of the reasons I follow this site is because I believe the truth is taken seriously here.
I suggest the author educate himself, as he has suggested to others, about the appalling corruption in the Big Agriculture and Big Food industries.
Tim says
Dear Vijay Jayaraj,
thank you so much for your article. As a farmer we used to use a lot more pesticides and herbicides since the invention of GMO’s. How quick people forget those days!
GMO’s have so much less exposure to pesticides and herbicides! Organic food also has more pesticide and herbicide use than GMO’s. Thanks to GMO’s we can now feed the world many times over and as long as God allows us to remain on this cursed earth.
Bryan Dulock says
I would argue we don’t know the long-term effects of GMOs (this would need to be studied individually for each GMO). And by long-term, I mean over at least the life-time of a person since the effects may not manifest until the latter part of a person’s life… and a longer time period to study effects on the food chain. There are also the ecological effects to account for.
Certainly GMO foods can bolster the food supply, but at what long-term cost– reduced nutritional value of food, ecological damage that destabilizes the food chain, decreased disease resistance in living beings? These effects cannot be predicted nor understood over short spans of time. It is always easier to focus on short-term benefits and ignore possible negative long-term consequences (think of the U.S. national debt which has cumulatively reached over 32 trillion dollars).
Personally I would not expose my health to an unknown variable in the food I eat, nor would I take it upon myself to recommend GMOs to others when my information on long-term effects was uncertain or incomplete.
Bryan Dulock says
Another avenue to consider regarding GMOs is genetic abuse. By that I mean the alteration of a genetic plant such that it becomes very profitable for its manufacturer but ends up causing great harm to a large population of people (e.g., cancer, or some nutritional deficiency) only after many decades. Such harm would be defined as pernicious–having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way.
By opening the door to the idea of GMOs, we are opening the possibility of great harm, whether intentional or by accident.
Bryan Dulock says
In my opinion, by allowing GMOs–whether the organism is a plant, virus, or bacterium–we are literally opening a Pandora’s box… one that would be very difficult or impossible to close.
Shelburne Warren says
GMO foods have not been adequately tested and many of the tests used to validate them have been paid for and done by the industry itself.
One example with many of my friends and my wife: they had to stop eating wheat products due to digestive issues but eventually realized they could eat wheat in many other countries without problems. They learned that that foreign wheat was not GM. Now my wife orders wheat from one of those non GMO countries.
David Ulrich says
GMO do have higher yields BUT 1) the non-natural protein (e.g. gluten) produced by the modified DNA is causing gluten intolerance, 2) also the higher amount of pesticides allowed (by inserting the bacteria B.t. gene into the plant) – is cause havoc on the human microbiome and 3) since the modified genome can be patented and many “seeds” are sterile (i.e. don’t germinate) –> the “seed” companies now control the food supply (since you have to buy seeds every year). So GMO plants are not a good thing
Robert Pegram says
Whether a genetic modification is beneficial or harmful depends on what the modification does to the plant and what we eat when consuming it. In some cases animal genes have been inserted into crop genetics in order to cause the plant to create an insecticide to prevent the plant from being eaten by bugs. This means humans are eating the “poison/insecticide” that is created by the plant due to the genetic modification. This is obviously bad and harmful to humans. Saying that all GMOs are good or all are bad shows a lack of understanding and laziness in researching the subject (if any research was done at all). For any individual to not do the research and advocate for GMOs without sufficient knowledge is bad enough, but for a Christian leader to do it is WAY worse!
lima says
I just can’t trust anything human hands do to modiy genetic make up. I would agree that at one time in the hands of truely Godly men who sought only the beneficial outcomes. After witnessing the evil that is springing from a different kind of goal from gene splicing, proramming ai into gene code has caused countless tragedies throughout the whole world during covid. Iknow vax is not food but what you can do there you can do in food. In fact they will be altering beef, and pork by administering the mRNA vax to animals b4 slaughter.Look into Missouri bill.This world was never supposed to be under the dominion of men such as walk the halls of power now. We also have made many discoveries proving the existance of nutrients we knew nothing about.With new technology we have discovered new antioxidents, etc. in natural foods.How do we know what we destroy when we go so far as to change the very make up of an organism. Its a sticky wicket. No easy answer, bur i certainly know one easy answer for me is …I trust the people you say have given their stamp of approval (usda, fda,health Canada…) about as much as i trust satan himself right now.6 years ago i’d agree w/you wholeheartedly, but the carnage, and cont. lies and new atrocities in this very area of “science” far outway making more food. As a Christian I will not give up this easily.We can do better than this.But you do have wonderful points…if man was not so depraved.Science is not practiced anymore when they cant admit God created them male and female.
Miko says
In regards to our health I think it matters much more how agricultural products are processed before they reach our kitchens.
In regards to world hunger I’m sure the author is correct, but it will never be eliminated due to the corruption in governments.
Before politicians and experts wrecked the world-wide economy, poverty was on a very low level for all the reasons the author mentioned above.