Last week the FDA approved the first genetically engineered animal – GM salmon – for human consumption. The fish, which had been awaiting approval for nearly two decades, is engineered to mature twice as fast as traditional salmon. AquaBounty Technologies developed the fish as a response to the diminished number of salmon in the face of overfishing and expanding demand.
The FDA’s decision marks the third time this year it has given the go ahead on a genetically engineered product bound for supermarket shelves. In March, the FDA approved the non-browning Arctic Apple and non-carcinogen Innate potato. The apple, potato, and salmon all have something in common: they are engineered with traits targeted to benefit a group that has until now largely been ignored in GM crop development – U.S. consumers. The crops mark a shift in the potential audience for GM crops. For consumers who have been wary or indifferent with respect to GM crops these new crops may cause them to reconsider.
The Arctic Apple, produced by Canadian company Okanagen Specialty Fruits, promises not to brown, like traditional apples, after being cut, bitten, or bruised. The apple offers the aesthetic and taste benefits of staying fresher longer. That offers a major benefit: it will cut down on food waste. This is a significant benefit, as about 40% of apples produced worldwide are currently wasted, often due to browning. Food waste in general is an expensive problem. Food waste costs U.S. consumers $165 billion dollars a year – $15 billion of which is unsold fruits and vegetables in supermarkets. An apple that doesn’t brown when bruised would be a lot more likely to make it off the shelf and into the hands of a consumer – especially if it can be sliced into lunch boxes without fear of discoloration. Reducing food waste at the household level is crucial too, as Americans throw out 14-25% of their groceries—wasting food and money and adding to landfills. The Arctic Apple has the potential to not only reduce food waste at the consumer level, but to save consumers cash as well.
The Innate Potato, produced by the J.R. Simplot Company, is another crop that offers to improve taste and reduce food waste. The potato is also non-browning (again promising to make a dent in the $165 billion dollar food waste problem), and has reduced sugars, which maximizes taste and texture. And that’s just for starters. The Innate potato also offers health benefits—it contains lower levels of carcinogens when cooked at high temperatures.
The Innate potato is not the only crop engineered for health benefits. The soybean is also undergoing a similar makeover. DuPont Pioneer has developed a soybean with more oleic acid – the monounsaturated fatty acid found in olive oil – rendering it healthier than conventional soybeans, which contain high levels of saturated fats. Monsanto also recently entered the soybean market, developing a GM variety higher in omega 3 fatty acids – fats critical to human health that lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.
The development of crops like the Arctic Apple, Innate Potato, and GM soybean marks a shift in the focus of GM crops. Until now most of the benefits of GM crops have accrued to farmers: the majority of GM seeds planted in the U.S.– pesticide and herbicide resistant corn and soybeans – are sold to and used by farmers, allowing them to increase yields and profits. The Arctic Apple, Innate Potato, and healthier soybean, however, may prove more attractive to the consumer who stands to reap directly the monetary, aesthetic, health, and environmental benefits of these redesigned products.
Of course it is necessary to acknowledge the risks of these new consumer-oriented crops. Critics of the GE salmon decision, for example, have already voiced their concerns; they fear the fish will escape and disrupt native ecosystems. AquaBounty has responded by arguing the sterile fish will be raised inland in tanks, but the concerns are still worth discussing. However, a complex conversation about GE salmon can’t ignore the benefits of this newly approved product; the fish, which requires 25% less feed, would require fewer resources, and provide consumers with more affordable salmon.
These new generation GM crops offer to make a real impact on looming problems in the U.S. food system – from overfishing to food waste. The crops, and the FDA decisions approving their use, show that genetically modified organisms are at a turning point. For those consumers who may have dismissed GM crops, it’s time to take another look at their potential benefits.