# Myths and Realities about Genetically Modified Food: A Risk-Benefit Analysis
## 3 Myths and Realities of GM Crops: Risk Assessment  
Humans have been altering plant and animal genomes for thousands of years [33]. Since ancient times, selective breeding, also called artificial selection, has been a routine method in agriculture [34]. For instance, humans have driven maize evolution from a plant with many branches and small cobs to a plant with fewer larger stalks and larger kernels, which result from the selective seed selection of plants with highly desirable traits [35]. Something similar has taken place with tomatoes, which are the product of applying careful genetic selection to alter their size, shape, seeds, and taste (Figure 3) [36]. Although the process of creating new traits takes time because it requires spontaneous genetic mutations, the development of GE tools has accelerated the production of GMOs [34]. The first transgenic plant was created in 1983: a tobacco plant that resists antibiotics [33]. Nevertheless, the first GM food was not marketed in the USA until 1994: the Flavr SavrTM late-ripening tomato. Although the Flavr SavrTM tomato study was a scientific success, public opinion forged its commercial failure [38]. One reason for its commercial failure was that GM foods inspired moral debate that was closely tied to views on what is considered \"unnatural\". Religion is generally associated with opposing GE, and some people believe that it is like \"playing [PERSON]\" [34; 39]. Nonetheless, there is evidence that gene transfer between species is not as unnatural as we think. For instance, _Elysia chlorotica_ is a marine gastropod mollusk that has integrated a gene from an alga into its genome, which confers on it a photosynthetic capability [40]. Anti-GMO activists argue that GM crops occupy much space and are related to intense monoculture systems. Despite monoculture agriculture offering many advantages, it is still a very controversial issue in modern agriculture. Monocropping implies lots of disadvantages, including biological diversity loss. As biodiversity is lacking, crops are more susceptible to pests, and these threats spread more quickly. Consequently, farmers apply more herbicides and pesticides to safeguard crops. These pollutants normally sink into the earth and pollute both soil and groundwater. As monoculture farming exhausts soil by depriving it of biodiversity, farmers will wish to artificially enhance the fertility of their affected fields and apply chemical fertilizers. Artificial nutrients severely impact the natural soil composition and, thus, have a destructive effect on the ecosystem as a whole. Applying herbicides, pesticides, and other chemicals strongly impacts bees and other pollinators (Earth Observing System). Yet monoculture is essential for feeding the world population and has extended nearly 5-fold since 1900. From the agronomic viewpoint, it is the monoculture size (temporal and geographical) that makes it beneficial or harmful. Farmers face the challenge of implementing long-term crop management strategies, crop rotation, and farm management to protect soil health and biodiversity. In relation to GM crops, and based on the history of such practice, they have nothing to do with monocropping's origins. Farmers have performed monoculture farming worldwide long before GM seeds appeared on the market. Employing GM crops enhances yields and reduces deforestation and other damaging activities carried out to generate farmland. Nowadays, more and diverse fruit and vegetables are available than ever before. GM seed varieties created specially to include genes from other plants and bacteria widened the genetic diversity of large commodity crops in the 1990s [41] (Genetic Literacy Project). Recently, a survey revealed that consumer GM food views have barely changed since they were introduced in the mid-1990s. Europeans perceive that GMOs are unsafe, and they believe that they can harm not only consumers but also the environment [42].