Genetically Altered Food
Genetic modification of organisms in general is a biotechnological
process that
forces genes to behave according to certain characteristics.
Changing
characteristics of organisms is based on changing their DNA
(tech
deoxyribonucleic acid; the acid which carries genetic information in a
cell). It
is being used for modifying genes in plants, animals or
micro-organisms. It is
being also used especially with food in order to
improve the nutritious quality,
make less use of chemicals such as
pesticides, which proved to be extremely
harmful, and sometimes to add
flavour. Genetically modified food (GMF) is
considered one of the modern
production improvements and the largest food
experiments in the world’s
history. However, it is very vital to dispel
misconception about the nature
of food. GMF is a mixed blessing which has a lot
of benefits but at the same
time may arouse problems. It has many good aspects,
such as making plants
ripen faster, improving the specie’s taste and look, and
providing Third
World countries with healthier and cheaper food. Genetic
modification of food
has won the admiration of a lot of people, including
myself, because of its
new and attractive accomplishments, but at the same time
we should take into
consideration its disadvantages and try to find ways to
avoid them.
Genetically modified foodstuffs have several disadvantages which I
believe
are possibly avoidable through research and experiments. Most of the
time,
the sale of GMFs is being permitted without posing the risks and
without
informing the public with the possible danger. This of course is a
violation of
human rights which can Nagi2 easily be avoided by simply
informing consumers of
the characteristics of the product. When genetic
engineers insert new genes into
any organism, it can lead to disruption and
unpredictable changes in the pattern
and structure of the new genetic
function. "In fact, the process of
inserting genes is quite random and can
damage normal genes " (Genetic
Engineered Food - A Serious Health Risk
3). Therefore, harmful substances may
appear unexpectedly and can possibly
create viruses and new dangerous diseases.
Therefore, it is the
obligation of experts to examine GM products before making
them available to
the public in order to avoid undesirable diseases. A common
example is, when
some people who are allergic to certain kinds of food such as
fish eat
genetically modified products such as tomatoes which were injected with
genes
similar to these fish, they get easily affected by allergens. Also,
GMFs
might contain toxins, which may negatively affect human beings. An
experiment
run on rats by feeding them with GM potatoes affected their
digestive tracks
caused changes in some of their organ weights and caused
adverse effects on
their immune system(south pacific consumer protection
programme1). Such
experiments show the importance of thoroughly examining GM
products and making
sure of their safety on humans. In addition to that,
there are long-term effects
with reasons not yet identified. That could also
be avoided by further research
and continued experiments. GMF is now entering
the market with an increasing
rate. Products include tomatoes, corn, potatoes
and soybeans. A main problem is
that the issue of labelling these products is
not yet widely used. Most
developed countries have adopted laws Nagi 3 that
require product labelling of
ingredients, fats, vitamin, protein and
carbohydrate. These nutrition
information provides consumers with a level of
awareness and choice. Similarly,
GMF producers are obliged to label their
products. They have to provide their
customers with all necessary information
about the produce. This is the least
that could be done to preserve the
rights of consumers to know and decide for
themselves. Labelling is then one
possible choice that could help in avoiding
some of the GMFs dangers. People
have the right to know if the food they are
consuming is genetically modified
whether it is a matter of health, preference
or just a matter of taste"
Surveys consistently find that 85-90 % of
consumers want clear labelling of
all genetically engineered foods"(Genetic
Engineered Food- A Serious
Health Risk 2). Moreover, it is necessary to label
food if the nutritional
content is changed. Take tomatoes for example; they are
a source of Vitamin
C, but if through modification they lose this characteristic
(Vitamin C ),
consumers definitely have the right to know. The wrong treatment
of GM crops
may cause several environmental risks. It was proved that GM crops
are easy
to grow in most kinds of soils. They can grow in land that is prone
to
drought or erosion in addition to soils with highly salt acid conditions.
They
are also capable of growing in changing climates( Genetically Modified
food 4).
This of course makes it easier to grow GM crops than growing
natural crops.
Unfortunately, this advantage is widely misused. Usually,
farmers are aware of
the tolerance of GM crops to herbicides (a chemical
substance used to kill
herbs), so they overuse herbicides. This of course
harms the soil and greatly
affects its performance later on. This can also
pollute groundwater and can
cause various other Nagi 4 forms of ecological
damages. Such situations are
misinterpreted by some people, as they think
that such damages to the soil are
caused by the growth of GM crops on it. I
believe, that the main reason for such
damages is the ignorance of the
farmers themselves. This problem is very common
and its only solution, in my
opinion, is improving the level of knowledge of the
farmers. They need to be
aware of the right agricultural techniques of GM crops.
Another problem
with growing GM crops, is that some are insect-resistant which
means that
they may be toxic to beneficial or harmless insects. Furthermore,
there are
several way through which the genes of GM crops may move to other
plants.
That is to say, GM crops could pollute nearby natural crops. As an
example,
through insects, birds and wind it can carry genetically altered seeds
into
neighbouring fields by mistake which will influence other natural food.
"In
February thousands of bags of corn chips that had been imported from US
had
to be destroyed in the UK when tests revealed that they contained
genetically
engineered corn". This was because of being polluted by
genetically
engineered corn from neighbours’ crop. A major theme is that
genetic
engineering of food is necessary to help solve world hunger. Many people
in
the world are suffering from malnutrition and hunger. Hunger in the world
is
caused by war, drought and poverty. But this is not the point. Scientists
and
technologists are looking forward to developing new inventions to face
the
continues increase in the world population and get over the problems of
food
shortages and hunger especially for Third World countries. In fact, many
people
in different places suffer from hunger and malnutrition simply because
they
cannot afford to buy food; in addition to that, it is unavailable.
Hence, we
have two main Nagi 5 problems which are the expenses of food and
the lack of it.
GMF could be the only solution to solve this problem, in
the meantime, it can
provide the world with much and cheap food. Today, GMF
hold out promise for
consumers seeking quality, safety and taste in their
food choices. Companies are
doing their best to improve the production,
profits and quality. Many foodstuffs
in grocery shelves all over the world
contain genetically engineered components.
Tomatoes, for instance, have
been genetically modified to taste like home-grown
ones or even better. In
the past, they were put in ethylene gas in order to
ripen faster which
affected its taste and look (squashy). A large amount of it
was currently
lost by damage or degradation during transport and shortage.
Recently,
genetic engineered tomatoes can ripen faster and have fresher flavour
and a
better look. In farms, tomatoes can be left longer and picked when riper
and
thus become tastier. As a result, they will be more available and sold
and
will encourage people to buy them as they are cheap. Likely future
offerings
include potatoes that will absorb less oil when fried, corn and
soybeans with an
increased protein content and strawberries that retain their
natural sweetness
(Genetically Modified food1). This all shows the importance
of GMF. People claim
that transferring animal genes into plant raises
problems for vegetarians. This
might seem confusing, but a deeper explanation
will show that GMF is far away
from this idea. Vegetarians fear eating
genetically modified vegetables because
of being injected by animal genes.
They do not realise that scientists add new
genes from animals intending only
to give plants several proteins. These plants
do not get affected by such
pieces of genes, they will grow just like any other
plant. In other Nagi 6
words, we will not have pieces of animals in vegetables.
" One of the things
people probably don’t realise is that there are genes
in humans and animals
that are in plants. There is a gene that occurs in rice
that also occurs in
the human brain. Vegetarians would not avoid rice because of
that."
(Maryanski 3). So, vegetarians should feel safe when eating GMF.
The
conclusion to be drawn from the above is that GMF in one of the
modern
production improvements and the largest food experiment in the history
of the
world. Its appearance has been very sudden. Now, a very rapidly
growing number
of it is being introduced. Maybe in a few years it may be
almost impossible to
find natural food. No doubt, any dangerous food
production through genetic
engineering should be banned until scientifically
shown that it is safe for
everyone. In the meantime, labelling is required
foe any foodstuff that contains
genetically engineered ingredients, and any
risk that could harm the environment
should be banned. It has to be
acknowledged that GMF is one of the best
production that have emerged in our
century. Hopefully, in the future, it will
not have any side effects, and be
healthier than the current natural food.
Containing all the Vitamins and
nutrition that we need. We have to put in mind
that if people knew all it
advantages, they will surely get convinced with the
idea of producing
GMF.