Jennifer Su
In the recent decades, genetically modified (GM) foods have become increasingly common as they offer benefits such as better taste and better price. However, there remains debate as to whether GM foods are safe to consume and whether it is ethical to manipulate organisms through genetic engineering.
Genetically modified foods describes any food that comes from organisms whose genetic material has been modified in a way that doesn’t occur naturally, such as through the insertion of a gene from another organism [1]. To create a genetically modified organism (GMO), scientists must first identify the gene that encodes for the desired trait. Next, they copy that gene and insert it into the DNA of another organism [2]. If successful, the new organism will now hold the genetic information of the desirable trait as well. The time between the creation of a GMO to seeing it in the market typically takes several years, though this method still tends to be significantly faster than naturally breeding organisms. Currently, while the majority of GM foods consists of modified crops, modified organisms are also becoming increasingly common with the advancement of biotechnology.
With the growing world population, there is a need to be able to grow crops at a faster pace and quantity. In fact, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that the world would need to grow 70% more food by 2050 in order to keep up with the demand, a task that would be difficult without the help of gene technology [3]. GMO provides a method for scientists to choose favorable traits such as disease resistance and herbicide intolerance [1]. Through producing plants that can withstand a wider range of environments and tolerance to pests, researchers allow farmers to obtain higher yields at a lower cost. Subsequently, this lowers the market price of the food, making it more affordable for both the producers and consumers. Furthermore, scientists can engineer more nutritious, tastier, and arguably “safer” food, such as potatoes that produce less cancer-causing substance when fried [4]. GMOs also serve an important pharmaceutical role, as it is utilized to produce a multitude of proteins and antibodies that serve as treatments to diseases. For example, the first FDA approved GMO product was human insulin, which millions of people rely on as a form of diabetes treatment [5]. This strategy of transforming bacteria to generate human proteins has since been heavily utilized to produce medications and vaccines.
Currently, GM foods are accessed by WHO Department of Food Safety and Zoonoses, with rigorous evaluations on the safety of the GMO for human health and the environment [1]. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must also approve GM foods before they are sold on the market, and both the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and US Department of Agriculture (USDA) strictly regulate all bioengineered organisms [4]. However, despite GM foods being rigorously screened before human consumption, there still remains concern regarding the long term safety and effects. Some genes are not static, meaning that they have the ability to move and transfer between cells and organisms. If such horizontal gene transfer of a pesticide, herbicide, or antibiotic resistance gene were to occur between GMOs and other organisms, it could lead to detrimental health consequences and ecological imbalance [6]. There is also concern regarding the possibility of accidental vertical gene transfers between the GMO and its wildtype counterpart, which may drastically affect the entire species and ecosystem. In fact, a study showed that the release of a transgenic organism into the wild threatened the viability of the offsprings, which could lead to the distinction of the entire population [7]. There is fear that the transfer of a foreign gene from one species to another may have unintended adverse effects. Afterall, this technology is still relatively new. While the current evidence indicates that the risk of marketed GM foods is low, the long term consequences are yet to be well understood. As a result, even though some countries such as the United States and Canada are heavily dependent on GM crops, other parts of the world have restricted or banned the production or import of GM foods altogether [8].
Today, all GM foods that could be found on the U.S. market have undergone careful screening and have been deemed safe to consume. Nonetheless, the decision of purchasing GM foods rests with consumers, as each of us may evaluate the benefits and risks differently. Because of this, the federal Public Law 114-216 was passed in 2016, requiring the disclosure of GMOs on food labels. In hopes of improving transparency, all foods that have been bioengineered must be labeled as so on the packaging. For more detail regarding the terms and conditions, visit Congress.Gov to read the bill [9]. In addition, The Non-GMO Project, a non-profit organization, verifies products that have not been genetically modified in hopes of protecting the non-GMO food supply [10].
References:
Genetically modified foods describes any food that comes from organisms whose genetic material has been modified in a way that doesn’t occur naturally, such as through the insertion of a gene from another organism [1]. To create a genetically modified organism (GMO), scientists must first identify the gene that encodes for the desired trait. Next, they copy that gene and insert it into the DNA of another organism [2]. If successful, the new organism will now hold the genetic information of the desirable trait as well. The time between the creation of a GMO to seeing it in the market typically takes several years, though this method still tends to be significantly faster than naturally breeding organisms. Currently, while the majority of GM foods consists of modified crops, modified organisms are also becoming increasingly common with the advancement of biotechnology.
With the growing world population, there is a need to be able to grow crops at a faster pace and quantity. In fact, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that the world would need to grow 70% more food by 2050 in order to keep up with the demand, a task that would be difficult without the help of gene technology [3]. GMO provides a method for scientists to choose favorable traits such as disease resistance and herbicide intolerance [1]. Through producing plants that can withstand a wider range of environments and tolerance to pests, researchers allow farmers to obtain higher yields at a lower cost. Subsequently, this lowers the market price of the food, making it more affordable for both the producers and consumers. Furthermore, scientists can engineer more nutritious, tastier, and arguably “safer” food, such as potatoes that produce less cancer-causing substance when fried [4]. GMOs also serve an important pharmaceutical role, as it is utilized to produce a multitude of proteins and antibodies that serve as treatments to diseases. For example, the first FDA approved GMO product was human insulin, which millions of people rely on as a form of diabetes treatment [5]. This strategy of transforming bacteria to generate human proteins has since been heavily utilized to produce medications and vaccines.
Currently, GM foods are accessed by WHO Department of Food Safety and Zoonoses, with rigorous evaluations on the safety of the GMO for human health and the environment [1]. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must also approve GM foods before they are sold on the market, and both the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and US Department of Agriculture (USDA) strictly regulate all bioengineered organisms [4]. However, despite GM foods being rigorously screened before human consumption, there still remains concern regarding the long term safety and effects. Some genes are not static, meaning that they have the ability to move and transfer between cells and organisms. If such horizontal gene transfer of a pesticide, herbicide, or antibiotic resistance gene were to occur between GMOs and other organisms, it could lead to detrimental health consequences and ecological imbalance [6]. There is also concern regarding the possibility of accidental vertical gene transfers between the GMO and its wildtype counterpart, which may drastically affect the entire species and ecosystem. In fact, a study showed that the release of a transgenic organism into the wild threatened the viability of the offsprings, which could lead to the distinction of the entire population [7]. There is fear that the transfer of a foreign gene from one species to another may have unintended adverse effects. Afterall, this technology is still relatively new. While the current evidence indicates that the risk of marketed GM foods is low, the long term consequences are yet to be well understood. As a result, even though some countries such as the United States and Canada are heavily dependent on GM crops, other parts of the world have restricted or banned the production or import of GM foods altogether [8].
Today, all GM foods that could be found on the U.S. market have undergone careful screening and have been deemed safe to consume. Nonetheless, the decision of purchasing GM foods rests with consumers, as each of us may evaluate the benefits and risks differently. Because of this, the federal Public Law 114-216 was passed in 2016, requiring the disclosure of GMOs on food labels. In hopes of improving transparency, all foods that have been bioengineered must be labeled as so on the packaging. For more detail regarding the terms and conditions, visit Congress.Gov to read the bill [9]. In addition, The Non-GMO Project, a non-profit organization, verifies products that have not been genetically modified in hopes of protecting the non-GMO food supply [10].
References:
- https://www.who.int/health-topics/food-genetically-modified#tab=tab_1
- https://www.fda.gov/food/agricultural-biotechnology/science-and-history-gmos-and-other-food-modification-processes
- https://news.un.org/en/story/2013/12/456912
- https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002432.htm
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/4594039/
- https://www.pnas.org/content/96/24/13853
- https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-truth-about-genetically-modified-food/
- https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/764
- https://www.nongmoproject.org/gmo-facts/what-is-gmo/
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