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A review of GM food

A short debate on GM food

By kashifPublished 3 years ago 9 min read
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Image by Arturs Budkevics from Pixabay

Hi guys, I hope you fine and doing their routine activities in normal way. This discussion, as the title shows is about the food but is genetically modified food. First question is not what I mean by genetically modified food? This is because all you already know about at least, if you have not eaten them.

But I would like to define them first to make them clear:

Genetically modified food is the food made from genetically modified organisms. It means that scientists take genes of their interest of a particular trait and insert them into the plant or animal which is the source of the food. The genes of particular trait then produces that trait in that organism. Here is a term to explain, what are genetically modified organisms? These are the organisms whose genetic material is altered by inserting genes into their DNA (these organisms are actually those whom we get food) by using a technique called genetic engineering or modern biotechnology. Before this, selective breeding and mutation breeding were used. These two, I have mentioned here, do not allow as much to produce the organisms according to the choice, as genetic engineering allows.

There are many crops that are genetically modified such as corn, soybean, potato, canola, papaya and sugar beet etc.

These are made genetically modified to increase their yield to meet the food challenge of world population. This is the main goal of the scientists to meet the food challenge of world. All the genetically modified crops are used mostly as processed food and as a food for livestock.

Benefits

Bacillus thuringensis is a soil bacterium that has gene for certain toxins (proteins toxin). This gene is inserted into the corn. This called Bacillus thuringensis corn (BT corn) is a genetically modified corn that have genes to produce toxic proteins harmful to pests and insect pests (larval caterpillars, for example) but not to all those who eat it.

Before it farmers use sprays using this protein for pests but now farmers use this genetically modified corn.

Genetically modified potato has been developed to prevent bruising and browning. The browning was (before GM potato) very serious problem not only for potato but for fruits (for example apple). Most genetically modified canola and sugar beets (used to make granulated sugar) are resistant to herbicide and so the farmers easily use more herbicides to kill unwanted herbs and hence if the extra herbs are killed, they grow well.

Photo by Dmitry Ant on Unsplash

The scientists are also trying to make genetically modified rice that has increased level of beta carotene that converts into the vitamin A in the body. The scientists are trying to produce crops that are draught resistant because California had to suffer due to draught for four years and the San Francisco, its golden state faced this situation for a century.

It was 1990 when a virus; ringspot virus, cleared all papaya in Hawaiian; an island in USA. Through genetic engineering the scientists made Rainbow papaya that resists the ringspot virus. The gene from the virus is inserted into the papaya genetic material.

Every year, 250,000 to 50,000 become blind due to vitamin A deficiency and half of these die after a year of their becoming blind. The genetically engineered bananas have increased level of beta-carotene which is converted into the vitamin A by body when the banana is ingested.

The apple browns when it is cut and people think it to be spoiled but is actually not spoiled. To avoid this, browning resisting apple; Arctic apple

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

is formed by modifying it genetically. This apple will not brown even if it is sliced into pieces. About 40% of the apples are wasted due to this behavior of people according to the research of Tesco; the UK supermarket. The plants are also used to make vaccine of infectious diseases and some important products. For example, the bananas are used to make the vaccine of hepatitis B.

As, the food wasting; due to browning, especially fruits and vegetables, is a major problem in the world wide and about half of the products that are grown in the United States, are thrown away. Genetic engineering helps the people to avoid this loss as it has controlled the browning of food.

Florida has a large industry of citrus fruits, most produced fruits are sweet oranges and grapefruits. Huanglongbing (HLB) is an outbreak that led the citrus industry to crossroads. This is a bacterial disease and caused by a non-indigenous pathogen. This has caused many economic losses and warns the survival of our industry. A gene; SAR gene, called NPR1 that is isolated form a mustard plant (Arabidopsis) has ability to control the HLB. This gene is inserted into the citrus by a bacterium; agrobacterium. The gene remains switched on all the times and hence help the immune system ready to fight against infection. The story of papaya industry and citrus industry has similarities in history.

Through genetic engineering seedless fruits such as lemons, oranges have been produced.

The tomatoes, when transported to large distances, loss their taste and their nutritional value also get affected. They are genetically modified to make them of longer life hence not losing their taste and nutritional value. One species of tomatoes known as Physalis pruinosa has its berries slightly sweet and tasty but with sprawling growth pattern and tendency to drop its fruits which make it unsuited for large scale agriculture. The genetically modified one’s are compact with larger fruits than non-modified having low tendency to drop its fruits. Genetically modified tomatoes are also made pests resistant.

Onions, I think you know them, when cut, we get into tears. Why is so? This is because a tear duct tickling chemical is released by an enzyme when the onion is cut. The scientists are asking to suppress the gene of the enzyme responsible for the release of chemical. In this way tears will not release and these onions are called Sunions

Karolina Grabowskaand taste good. The important note is that they are not actually genetically modified, how? The gene that is already present in the onions responsible for the chemical releasing enzyme is suppressed. And there is no other gene is inserted into it from any other source. So it is not known as genetically modified.

Harms

You had known about the tomato which are resistant to rotting, what about seedless fruits and disease resistant papayas and tearless onions. But now, you have to know the concerns of these genetically modified foods. Here a few, I am mentioning:

The most common adverse effect faced by the people due to the eating of genetically modified food is allergic reactions that occur when certain pollens or allergens present in the GM crops enter the body and stimulate immune response that will have adverse effect. The over immune response results in the production of antibodies against own body cells.

There are two ways by which gene of interest insertion may lead to production of toxins. The first way is, during insertion process, there can happen a damage to the gene of interests that results in the production of toxins, these toxins will harm us when we eat food. The other way is that when we insert the gene of interest in the targeted organism, there may happen that it could not accept the gene. This may happen when the gene of interest disturbs the recipient metabolic pathway. This can lead to the production of toxins in the recipient, when we eat the recipient (food), these toxins will enter in our body.

The GM foods have many harms to environment, the main, I am discussing to you, is toxins releasing to the environment. For example, BT corn controls the pest in one way and on the other way it releases toxins to soil. As toxins harms pests, similarly harms and check the growth of benefiting soil bacteria helpful for growth of crops grown in the soil. The area that is used to cultivate the genetically modified pests resistant crops had reached 13 million hectares. Now what would have this area spread?? This means that if any other crop is grown in the field will not flourish well. Moreover, a note must be mention is that if many crops are cultivated with toxins producing properties then the pests will develop resistance to these toxins as bacteria develop.

The eating of GM food can lead to cancer formation because cancer is the result of gene mutations. The gene mutation can occur due to the genetic engineering.

Now take a short decade over the genetically modified fruits and vegetables. The genetically modified fruits and vegetables have less nutritional components like iron, calcium, phosphorus vitamin C and protein. You might be thinking it is not a big problem. This is the problem in this way that iron deficiency?? And calcium deficiency can affect our bones?? Fruits less in vitamin C can lead to scurvy? Vitamin C deficiency also leads to fatigue and defects to connective tissues. More period (around 1 to 3 months) deficiency can lead to depression and to anemia.

Future of GM foods

The herbs insects and pests are gaining resistance against the genetically modified crops but if we insert the genes that produce more harming toxins to which the pests are not resistant to. The result will be the resistant development after a few years. So this matter will not be solved by the genetic engineering only. Better management and debates over the problem can solve this problem.

The GM foods is also disturbing and disrupting biodiversity in some ways. This will be seen in near future if not checked. The production of genetically modified foods can disturb the normal gene flow because the insects and birds can be responsible for pollination. It means that when two pollen grains of genetically modified crop fall on the stigma of organic plant then there are two different types DNAs to produce the third organism. What will be result, can you imagine? Moreover, these become weeds as they grow many in number and compete the organic crops as normal weeds do. And some genes that are replaced by the gene of interest may become extinct. Extinction of some genes can occur in near future. What will happen?

Will genetically modified food affect the natural food chain in future? You will be thinking; yes, they will. Of course, they will affect. This means that all organisms will be affected by their harm effects. This is because all organisms come in the food chain at any trophic level. If a rat eats toxins producing corn, all the organisms that come in this food chain (starting from corn at first trophic level) at any trophic level will be effected.

There are many countries where GM foods are banned but why they do so? You also know, because of their alarming effects on health. Some are mentioned below; there are many others also:

China, Pakistan, United States, England, France, India, Russia, Japan, Indonesia, Brazil, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Mexico, Philippines etc.

These countries are according to the 2021 survey.

An experimental example I want to give you of GM food eating affects.

A study on rats (who eaten the GM maize) showed acute kidney and liver damage and hormonal disturbance. There are also seen large cancerous tumors in them. Other studies on rats also show that their reproductive system was disturbed after the GM food eating.

You also have this opinion that I have:

Hence, using GM foods, quantity is compromised over quality.

Image by Q K from Pixabay

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About the Creator

kashif

I am a newbee in freelancing, starting freelancing from here

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