Modified Foods

Genetically modified foods consist of combining genes from different organisms. Food is most likely altered because of insects and farmers want to have "insect resistance" on their plants. Would genetically engineered food be good for humans? Would the food cause human allergies? Many questions are still waiting to be answered. Many cancers could evolve from these genetically engineered foods. Even animals are becoming engineered to reproduce faster and produce meat differently.

Most importantly, the ecosystem. Genetically engineering animals and foods changes the outcome of the environment around them. Genes can cause an uncontrollable side effect that can wipe them of the face of the earth. Some forms of pollution can be contained but for gene pollution it cannot be contained. Cross-pollination can carry genetically changed organisms to other places and can cause harmful species.

GM Products: Benefits and Controversies

Benefits

• Crops
  • Enhanced taste and quality
  • Reduced maturation time
  • Increased nutrients, yields, and stress tolerance
  • Improved resistance to disease, pests, and herbicides
  • New products and growing techniques
• Animals
  • Increased resistance, productivity, hardiness, and feed efficiency
  • Better yields of meat, eggs, and milk
  • Improved animal health and diagnostic methods
• Environment
  • "Friendly" bioherbicides and bioinsecticides
  • Conservation of soil, water, and energy
  • Bioprocessing for forestry products
  • Better natural waste management
  • More efficient processing
• Society
  • Increased food security for growing populations

Controversies

• Safety
  • Potential human health impacts, including allergens, transfer of antibiotic resistance markers, unknown effects
  • Potential environmental impacts, including: unintended transfer of transgenes through cross-pollination, unknown effects on other organisms (e.g., soil microbes), and loss of flora and fauna biodiversity
• Access and Intellectual Property
  • Domination of world food production by a few companies
  • Increasing dependence on industrialized nations by developing countries
  • Biopiracy, or foreign exploitation of natural resources
• Ethics
  • Violation of natural organisms' intrinsic values
  • Tampering with nature by mixing genes among species
  • Objections to consuming animal genes in plants and vice versa
  • Stress for animal
• Labeling
  • Not mandatory in some countries (e.g., United States)
  • Mixing GM crops with non-GM products confounds labeling attempts
• Society
  • New advances may be skewed to interests of rich countries

Chart:

[Genetically modified foods and organisms. (2008, November 05). Retrieved from http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/gmfood.shtml]


Pollack, A. (2001). Rice genome called a crop breakthrough. NYTimes, Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/27/science/27RICE.html