If you have consumed foods containing peanut butter, chocolate, or berries or have used sugar, dairy products, or canola oil in cooking, then you have tasted the genetic engineering of foods. Genetic engineering, GE or GM, of foods is the modification of desired food traits through gene transfer and transgenesis. It is when a GMO (genetically modified organism) is created from crossing species that would not have naturally occurred. GM foods were produced with the initiative for crop protection in the late 1900s. To achieve herbicide and insect resistance, the toxin production gene from BT (bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis) was transferred into the aimed food plants. The first commercially available GM food was the tomato in 1994. Today, about 200 million acres of land is used to grow crops that are genetically modified such as corn, rice, and soybeans.
The impact of genetic engineering has protected the nation from viral diseases, helped farmers with drought resistance, and favored companies to sell products with longer shelf-life, yet GM foods has also introduced many potential health risks. Such worries include allergies and intolerances, toxic-food level safety concerns, increased pesticide exposure, and faded chances of organic foods to grow. Although foods containing soy or corn are labeled “organic”, they still may be of GE origin.
The impact of genetic engineering has protected the nation from viral diseases, helped farmers with drought resistance, and favored companies to sell products with longer shelf-life, yet GM foods has also introduced many potential health risks. Such worries include allergies and intolerances, toxic-food level safety concerns, increased pesticide exposure, and faded chances of organic foods to grow. Although foods containing soy or corn are labeled “organic”, they still may be of GE origin.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not require genetically modified foods to be labeled unless there is an introduction of allergies in the modified form. Virtually all foods today are genetically modified, from pizza to salad dressing, with North America, South America, and Canada as the leading buyers. Genetic engineering of foods has allowed for many advances in agriculture as well as creating cheaper, tastier food, but it has also raised critical ethical and health concerns.
Resources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0003084/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18989835
http://www.encognitive.com/files/images/gmo-seeds-of-deception-cancer-heart-disease-unhealthy.jpg
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18989835
http://www.encognitive.com/files/images/gmo-seeds-of-deception-cancer-heart-disease-unhealthy.jpg
I do not have a lot of knowledge about genetic engineered food, but without any research I would infer from that name that they are trying to chemically better the food. However, after reading your blog post there seems to be both positives and negatives from genetic engineering. The positives being that it helps create better tasting and cheaper more affordable food. The negatives being that this can lead to food allergies, increased chance of pesticide, and much more. Even though, there are a few positives, from your posting it seems to me that the genetic engineered food seems harmful for our health. I think that there should be more research done, before genetically engineered food is available to the public. Why do you think that they are letting the consumer purchase these products knowing that there are negatives to genetically engineered food?
ReplyDeleteThis topic has always been something that has interested me. I think it’s really interesting and almost crazy that scientists can take one gene and then mix it with a different gene to create something completely new that otherwise would not have been created through the course of Mother Nature. Although this is something that can help industries and companies in terms of making food cheaper and tastier, it also raises a lot of ethical issues and dilemmas. One ethical issue that I can think of is just the fact that we are not letting nature take its course. We are scientifically “messing” around and not letting things naturally happen. I can see how some people may even consider that this move is going against their spiritual beliefs. This is just another step in science that aids to the science vs. nature debate.
ReplyDeleteGenetic Engineering of food has always been a popular topic that has been discussed through out the nation. This topic always leads me to thinking what the best option could be for my family and I. I like how you mentioned in your post that there are positive and negative risks in using genetically engineered food. I feel that positiveness in using genetic engineered food are pointed towards the general populations and the overall benefit such as viral diseases and like staying away from drought. Specifics like allergies is pointed towards certain individuals only. Like Nilam Mistry said in the above post, by genetically engineering food, we are not letting nature play its role and I completely agree with that. Despite all the positiveness of genetic engineering of food is important, I believe that the health risks are definitely important and should be taken into consideration when genetically engineered food is being processed.
ReplyDeleteI am surprised that a lot of food I have had in my life are genetic engineered. The fact that genetic engineered foods have raised critical ethical and health concerns makes me worried; however, I would rather feel secure since genetic engineered foods have ability to protect people from viral diseases. I never got any serious diseases so far even though I have eaten things considered as genetic engineered foods. Maybe, my immune system was strong enough or the foods that I had were too fresh to knock me down. I feel sorry that absolutely pure and natural organic foods are hard to find in the reality where the technology of science has dramatically been advanced. I think that it is important to have Environmental Protection Agency make more effort on scrutinizing chemicals used for GM food.
ReplyDeleteThis topic always has been interesting to me. Many food we find in the local supermarkets are genetic engineered. I knew there was debate going on regarding ethical and health point of view of genetic engineered food. Personally, I try not to buy genetically engineered food since I used to have allergies and sensitive skin. Even though I did not have certain scientific knowledge, I knew GE food may be not so good for immune system or other diseases like allergies. I am sure there are some advantages of genetically engineered food, and that is why scientists and researchers spend lot of effort and time to develop GE food. However, I wish the public can have exact and accurate scientific background information according to GE food.
ReplyDelete