GMO vs HYV: What does it all mean?

Nowadays you have, in all likelihood, run into terms like organic foods, or genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and the like. The question that arises then is, are these simple marketing buzzwords or are these real changes in the way food is grown? The question of GMOs versus HYV (Hybrid crops) is one that we should be thinking about. For starters, the health effects of GMOs are largely untested and should be treated with caution, if not skepticism. Even though genetically modified corn is one of the few GMO vegetables you are likely to run into on your bi-monthly grocery store visits; understanding the difference between the two is important in a more comprehensive knowledge of our food, and where it comes from. With this in mind, let’s take a closer look at what exactly GMO and HYV seeds are and how they differ from each other.

GMO, or genetically modified organisms are, first and foremost, man-made. They are created in laboratories using high-tech technologies such as gene splicing and need to be carried out by scientists, and other trained professionals. In line with this, GMO seeds are not naturally occurring: they feature the crossing over of species that are unrelated to each other and whose genetic combinations would never manifest by themselves, without human intervention. This involves the combination of genetic sequences from different species entirely, ones that are not even members of the same kingdom: for example, GMOs often cross over plant and bacteria genetic codes. But why? This genetic modification is carried out with the intention of combatting obstacles these plant species tend to run into; this could be allowing the plant to grow in different climate conditions than they would normally grow in, or even to make them more resilient against disease or infection that could affect the whole crop. The issue that we run into with GMO seeds, and why they are often discussed in a negative light is that we still do not know how many of these seeds will behave over time. Some organizations that engage in this process of genetic modification do not allow scientists to test, or conduct studies into the long-term efficacy of these seeds which creates issues of transparency: issues that should not be present when they concern something as fundamental as our food. For example, the crossing over of corn with bacteria, by agrochemical giant Monsanto, has resulted in a crop called Bt Corn: however, this crop is registered as a pesticide by the US Environmental Protection Agency. The question that arises then, is whether this lack of transparency could have severe health consequences not only for human consumption, but for the livestock it feeds, and whose byproducts we consume.

HYV or Hybrid Crops, on the other hand, also display processes of man-made intervention. However, in this case, this intervention is one characterized by acceleration, rather than modification. Hybrid seeds involve the cross-pollination of plant species, a process that human beings have been carrying out for thousands of years. The key difference arises in the fact that today, modern science has evolved to the point where this process can be carried out faster than it ever has before. Instead of waiting for the six or seven generations it would take for these hybrid seeds to develop, this process can now produce results much faster. This technology is built on research by the scientists Darwin and Mendel in the mid-nineteenth century. Their discovery of controlling, and so accelerating, this process allowed these hybrid seeds to withstand adverse climate conditions more quickly than if they had had to evolve to that point. The key difference between GMO and HYV seeds lies in their composition: while GMO seeds can be seen as a result of the ‘unnatural’ crossing over of species, HYV seeds are products of the natural process of cross-pollination between two different, but nonetheless related plants.

Sources:

https://www.foodrenegade.com/hybrid-seeds-vs-gmos/