Sunday, 22 February 2009

Genetically Modified Food





Genetically modefied food is a kind of food which has been modified in laboratories or for penetrated roots by special substances which change their structure.Genes come not only from other plants but also from animals. Genetically modified food (GM) is very important for people all over the world. This discipline of science can be very helpful for us in the nearest future. Now we use this kind of food in many fields of activity. Though that, we can help poor and starving people living in the Third World countries. We are able to grow some plants in different climate. Thanks to that people from regions where growingeven small edible plant is very hard, can grow themselve a little essential food.

At the beginning we should discuss possitive sides of GM Food.

GM food help people suffering from allergies .Scientists can change the genetical structure of a plant and eliminated genes which evoke the allergy.

Pest resistance Crop losses from insect pests can be staggering, resulting in devastating financial loss for farmers and starvation in developing countries. Farmers typically use many tons of chemical pesticides annually. Consumers do not wish to eat food that has been treated with pesticides because of potential health hazards, and run-off of agricultural wastes from excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers can poison the water supply and cause harm to the environment. Growing GM foods such as B.t. corn can help eliminate the application of chemical pesticides and reduce the cost of bringing a crop to market.

Herbicide tolerance For some crops, it is not cost-effective to remove weeds by physical means such as tilling, so farmers will often spray large quantities of different herbicides (weed-killer) to destroy weeds, a time-consuming and expensive process, that requires care so that the herbicide doesn't harm the crop plant or the environment. Crop plants genetically-engineered to be resistant to one very powerful herbicide could help prevent environmental damage by reducing the amount of herbicides needed. For example, Monsanto has created a strain of soybeans genetically modified to be not affected by their herbicide product Roundup. A farmer grows these soybeans which then only require one application of weed-killer instead of multiple applications, reducing production cost and limiting the dangers of agricultural waste run-off.

Disease resistance There are many viruses, fungi and bacteria that cause plant diseases. Plant biologists are working to create plants with genetically-engineered resistance to these diseases.

Cold tolerance Unexpected frost can destroy sensitive seedlings. An antifreeze gene from cold water fish has been introduced into plants such as tobacco and potato. With this antifreeze gene, these plants are able to tolerate cold temperatures that normally would kill unmodified seedlings. (Note: I have not been able to find any journal articles or patents that involve fish antifreeze proteins in strawberries, although I have seen such reports in newspapers. I can only conclude that nothing on this application has yet been published or patented.)

Drought tolerance/salinity tolerance As the world population grows and more land is utilized for housing instead of food production, farmers will need to grow crops in locations previously unsuited for plant cultivation. Creating plants that can withstand long periods of drought or high salt content in soil and groundwater will help people to grow crops in formerly inhospitable places

On the other hand:

New allergens could be inadvertently created - known allergens could be transferred from traditional foods into GM foods. For instance, during laboratory testing, a gene from the Brazil nut was introduced into soybeans. It was found that people with allergies to Brazil nuts could also be allergic to soybeans that had been genetically modified in this way. No allergic effects have been found with currently approved GM foods.

Antibiotic resistance may develop - bioengineers sometimes insert a ‘marker’ gene to help them identify whether a new gene has been successfully introduced to the host DNA. One such marker gene is for resistance to particular antibiotics. If genes coded for such resistance enter the food chain and are taken up by human gut microflora, the effectiveness of antibiotics could be reduced and human infectious disease risk increased. Research has shown that the risk is very low; however, there is general agreement that use of these markers should be phased out.

Cross-breeding - other risks include the potential for cross-breeding between GM crops and surrounding vegetation, including weeds. This could result in weeds that are resistant to herbicides and would thus require a greater use of herbicides, which could lead to soil and water contamination. The environmental safety aspects of GM crops vary considerably according to local conditions.

Pesticide resistant insects - the genetic modification of some crops to permanently produce the natural biopesticide Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxin could encourage the evolution of Bt-resistant insects, rendering the spray ineffective. Wherever pesticides are used, insect resistance can occur and good agricultural practice includes strategies to minimise this.

Biodiversity - growing GM crops on a large scale may also have implications for biodiversity, the balance of wildlife and the environment. This is why environmental agencies closely monitor their use.

Cross-contamination - plants bioengineered to produce pharmaceuticals (medicines etc) may contaminate food crops. Provisions have been introduced in the USA requiring substantial buffer zones, use of separate equipment and a rule that land used for such crops lie fallow for the next year.

6 comments:

  1. Your presentation is very informative and I learn many things of genetically modified food. It’s great that you give advantages and disadvantages of GM. In my opinion, studies of the GM should be continued, because they can make for relief for poor and starving people living in the Third World countries. Distrust and a lack of knowledge can’t stunt a growth of science. There are some health dangers of GM, but they can be eliminated by scientist. The most important is to inform people, what GM is and why it is worth to scrutinizing.

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  2. That's very nice that with GM plants some contemporary world's problems can be eliminated, like starvation in Third World's countries and lack of important nutritious ingredients in ordinary food (so that today's people who live in a hurry could grab anything edible to eat and still be healthy). But the thing that bothers me is - are we ready for such improvements? Will the natural enviroment stay unharmed despite planting GMO anywhere we like and will WE be unharmed as well? I mean - not only new allergies can be crated that way. What about damage caused by herbicides/pesticides that will leave modified plant healthy but could accidentally change it in a dangerous way for consumers? I don't blame the plants or whole idea (which, by the way, is quite noble) but I'm worried that lack of knowledge or ignorance in that case may lead to something awful. Afterall GMO is something new and should be well-researched before being produced on a massive scale.

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  3. It just seems strange to me that when a herd of hungry cattle are offered two bins of feed they will eat until both bins are completely empty. When that same hungry herd is offered two bins of grain - one natural and one genetically modified - they will only eat the natural bin to the bottom and leave the genetically modified feed. Peculiar, isn't it?

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  4. I have to say that I’m afraid of genetically modified food. My fear is a result of lack of knowledge about this type of food. I don’t know which effects may GM food causes and such information is really difficult to manage. In the Internet we can find only very promising opinions or very bad comments about genetically modified food. So how normal people can decide about healthiness of GM food?

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  5. Your presentation is very informative I didn't know so much about GM. I just knew that GM food looks appetizing and is't not made by nature. I don't really know if it's danerless for natural environment but now we know that it can help for poor countries in Afrika.In the other hand, it is the only one advantage for me... Personally, I avoid this kind of vegetables.

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  6. GM food still arousing controversy. 'Using the latest molecular biology techniques' in production of fruit or vegetables? It doesn't sound good. I prefer traditional production, without modifying in laboratories, it seems to be healthier.

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