Biotechnology Companies' Monopoly: Potentially Harming the Diversity and the Sustainability of ...

36 Pages·2017·1.72 MB·English

Heidi Mustonen-Park

Biotechnology Companies’ Monopoly:

Potentially Harming the Diversity and

the Sustainability of Agriculture

Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences
Bachelor in Business Administration
International Business and Logistics
Thesis
24th of April 2018
Abstract

Author(s) Heidi Mustonen-Park
Title Biotechnology Companies’ Monopoly: Potentially Harming the
Diversity and the Sustainability of Agriculture
Number of Pages 31 pages
Date 24.04.2018
Degree Bachelor in Business Administration
Degree Programme International Business and Logistics
Specialisation option IBL
Instructor(s)
Michael Keaney, Principal Lecturer

Modern agriculture has started to rely more on the use of biotechnology over the past
years in order to intensify the output and nutrition of food in developing countries. The use
of generically modified crops, pesticides and herbicides has been increasing and the
agricultural market is monopolised by few big companies, that have been questioned on
account of their causing potential damage economically, environmentally and socially.

The use of biotechnology has been a controversial topic since it was firstly introduced and
taken into use in the 1970s. To this day, biotechnology companies keep breeding and
selectively modifying plants in order to enhance some of the most wanted qualities, such
as making plants more productive and stronger. It has been questioned how safe the use
of the genetically modified crops is in reality, and what kind of long term risks they can
potentially bring: the toxins transferring to soil and species, biodiversity and loss of
traditional crops for example, which can bring economical struggle for resource poor or
smaller scale farmers. Another controversial topic has been the use of intellectual property
rights and patents, that the biotechnology companies demand when providing their
products to farmers.

This paper will concentrate on economic, environmental and social aspects of
biotechnology and the effect of genetically modified organisms, and seeks the answer
what type of problems may occur in agricultural industry when being heavily led by
biotechnology companies.

Keywords Seed Industry, Agriculture, Biotechnology, Genetically
Modified Organisms, Pesticides, Herbicides, Environment
Contents

1 Introduction 1
1.1 Research and Methodological Design 2
2 Genetically Modified Organisms, How Did It All Get Started? 3
2.1 The Qualities of GMO Crops 4
3 GMOs, World Hunger and the Environment 5
3.1 Safety of Genetically Modified Foods and Human Health 9
3.2 Agent Orange by Monsanto 10
4 Global GMO Storm 11
4.1 Genetically Modified Cotton in China 12
4.2 Mexico: Clasping the Control of Biodiversity 12
4.3 Argentina: Soybeans 14
4.4 India: The Seeds of Suicide and Destroyed Farming 15
5 How Corporations Control the Food Worldwide 16
5.1 Intellectual Property Rights 20
5.2 Patenting Living Organisms 21
6 Benefits of Sustainable Agriculture 24
7 Conclusion 26
References 28
Abbreviations and Definitions

GM
Genetically Modified

GMO
Genetically Modified Organism

But
Bacillus thuringiensis

IR
Insect Resistant

IPR
Intellectual Property Rights

GATT
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

WTO
World Trade Organization

No-till Production Method
Farming Method, in which seeds are deposited directly in to the untilled soil, which has
preserved residue from previous crop.
List of Figures

Figure 1. The History of Genetic Modification in Crops
Figure 2. Illustrative Examples for Each of the Four Types of Global Crop Yield Trends
Figure 3. The US Corn Exports 1993-2012
Figure 4. World’s Biggest Agrochemical Companies, 2014 Turnover
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1 Introduction

The growth of population has added pressure on the food supply of the world and it
keeps intensifying. It has been estimated that by the year 2050, the demand for food
will be twice as much as in 2005. The need for food is growing in developing countries
both nutrition and volume wise, which takes great amount of resources, especially if the
need for meat keeps growing and the demand for corn and soy for animal feed rises.
Around 40 percent of available lands is used for food production and it requires more
fresh water resource than any other action of human. The deforestation, constantly
expanding growing lands and other aspects, take heavy impact on the environment
and can bring serious long-term damage (Cassidy, 2015).

In recent years, certain tools provided by science and technology to the agriculture
industry have affected food production and other aspects around it worldwide. The new
biotechnological tools have changed many conventional systems, which has enabled to
produce food at unusual rates. The development also has been accompanied by strong
changes in social and economic factors, and in the management of Earth’s productive
assets. The natural interaction with Earth has become manipulated by technological
companies that have allowed humans to selectively breed and modify living organisms
in order to enhance the wanted characteristics, such as to make durable and more
productive plants and other species. The development of these aspects have raised
some controversies and arguments both for and against their implementation since the
1970s (Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations, 2001).

Modified products can bring risks to the food production worldwide, for example for
food safety and uncertain environmental problems, of which one of the biggest
concerns has been the fear of transfer of the toxins or allergens to non-targeted
species and the environment. Other aspects of the issue are ignorance of the potential
long-term negative consequences of these products, such as decreased biodiversity
and the degradation of conventional crops, which leads to potential economic struggle
for smaller scale farmers (Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations, 2001).

Genetically modified organisms are tools that can be managed “democratically” in the
interest of certain players that hold political, economical and technological power in the
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industry. The main sectors benefiting from it have been the large-scale agricultural
producers and private sector technology developers, located mostly in developed
countries. The current situation with intellectual properly rights and patents creates
barriers to ensure that the benefits in developing countries would be shared more fairly
with smaller scale farmers (Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations,
2001).

1.1 Research and Methodological Design

Biotechnology companies have promoted industrial agriculture to be the solution for
increased crop yields, and the use of genetically modified organisms and chemicals as
an alternative for conventional farming. The crop yields have grown around 20 percent
globally in the last 20 years, therefore one of the greatest aspects in the 21st century
will be doubling the supply for food in less than 50 years. Biotechnology companies say
to have the solution for world hunger, but studies have shown that the provided GM
crops have not had significant impact on the crop yields nor contributed to the issue of
food security so far (Cassidy, 2015).

The development of genetically modified organisms has raised many controversial
aspects and ethical issues concerning the modern agriculture and food production.
The purpose of this study is to explore different variables that are linked to
biotechnology companies and agriculture. The study seeks to answer the research
question on how biotechnology companies potentially harm conventional agriculture.
The goal is to analyse the available studies and determine how much the
biotechnology corporations have affected the agriculture industry and society both in
recent years and in the future.

When planning the methodological steps on writing about this particular subject, many
aspects should be taken under consideration since there are a lot of factors that are
related to each other. In this paper, the main concentration will be on the
biotechnology companies that provide the genetically modified products such as the
seeds and pesticides, farmers, and other topics around these such as the economic,
social, and environmental factors. The main methodological approach will be analysing
scientific studies and other materials based on the biotechnology companies and the
results on genetically modified organisms, pesticides and others. The materials that are
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used in this report have been collected from various bibliographical resources and
online materials on the subject.
2 Genetically Modified Organisms, How Did It All Get Started?

Since the beginning of agriculture, the genetics of food have been modified by humans
for over 10,000 years. Today, the technologies used by humans to modify plants and
animals have become more advanced, but in the beginning it all started with a desire to
enhance wanted characteristics in plants and animals. The present day genetically
modified DNA recombinant technique has been used for over 25 years
(Gmoanswers.com, 2018). In the following table, the history of genetic modification in
crops is explained in more detail:

Figure 1. The History of Genetic Modification in Crops. Source: gmoanswers.com.

In earlier times, some of the most common human modified plant hybrids included
cotton, potatoes, bananas, seedless grapes and watermelons, apples, coffee, alfalfa,
peanuts and strawberries for example, and all of these plants are capable of fertilizing
one another. Nevertheless, if humans had not intervened in enhancing some wanted
characteristics, these plant varieties could be rare in modern agriculture. In this way,
humans have altered crops for years without more specific knowledge of DNA or plant
genetics. Modern biotechnology differs from the earlier times, since the plant can be
modified with various sources of genes such as bacterial, animal, fungal or another
plant, and it is no longer dependent on natural formations or changes in the plants
(Lurquin, 2002).
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The research on genetically modified organisms started in the early 1980s, when
researchers were given projects to research the effect of genetically modified
organisms. Since the beginning, it was pointed that the government and biotechnology
industry should handle the matter responsibly and intelligently due to this technology’s
new potencies. Genetically modified organisms were released commercially in the
1990s. Shortly after the release, scientists divided in to two groups, either supporting or
resisting the whole idea of releasing and using GMOs in the consumer market, and the
opinions still vary to this day (Druker, 2015).

Nowadays there are eight commercially available GMO crops that are used in food
production: corn, soybeans, cotton, alfalfa, sugar beets, canola, papaya and squash.
Apples and potatoes were recently reviewed by the FDA and USDA and will be
available commercially soon (Monsanto, 2018).

2.1 The Qualities of GMO Crops

In agriculture, the crops are constantly under threat of disease and parasites. For the
benefit of farmers and even the consumer, it is desirable to be able to control the
pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, fungi and insects. The less crop loss the farmer
has, the lower the price becomes for the consumer in the market. In order to achieve
the desired crop protection, additional herbicides need to be used to control weed
growing, since they decrease yields as much as pests (Lurquin, 2002).

There are several reasons why the GMO crops have been created, not only to achieve
a desired quality in the crops, but also to make them resistant to certain insects or
disease. Some of the main characteristics that are developed for GMO Crops are
explained more in depth below:

Insect Resistance - Benefits the farmers with full-season protection against some
targeted pests, and also lowers the need to apply pesticides, which results in lower
costs of input. The insect resistance plants also reduce the environmental exposure to
toxins, such as other species, human, and soil (Gmoanswers.com, 2018).
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Drought Resistance - This quality helps the crops to grow in more dry areas, which
can help to save water and other environmental resources (Gmoanswers.com, 2018).

Herbicide Tolerance - Allows farmers to eliminate weeds by using herbicides such as
glyphosate when needed since the crops can tolerate specific herbicides. The usage of
no-till production methods is said to help preserve the top soil, prevent erosion and
reduce carbon emissions (Gmoanswers.com, 2018).

Disease Resistance - Helps to prevent bacteria, virus and fungi in crops.
(Gmoanswers.com, 2018).

Besides being resistant to biological stress such as weeds, viruses and bacteria, the
plants also resist physical stress, such as frost and soil salinity. Soil salinity is
something that can limit the production rate of agricultural crops, since high sodium
amount has an effect on water balance in plants and is also a major cause of losing
farming land and deforestation. Therefore, it is an important aspect if it becomes
possible to farm crops in these high-salinity soils to break the cycle (Lurquin, 2002).

There are also plants that are naturally more tolerant to sodium, since their cells can
process it better, and in the 1990s a Canadian research group took the gene and
planted it in other non-sodium resistant plants. It raises the question, what would be the
effect on human health to consume these foods due to their increased dietary sodium.
Thus, the possible consequences should be well evaluated before spreading such
methods in genetically modified crops (Lurquin, 2002).
3 GMOs, World Hunger and the Environment

The methods that are currently being used by biotechnology companies have been
disputed to be lacking, the biotechnology industry is lobbied, and their monopoly makes
small scale agricultural businesses face economical struggle. For example, only some
of the nutrients’ chemical analysis have been reported, and genetically modified crops
are considered equal to its conventional crops (Magahi, B.M. and Ardekani,
A.M.,2011).