Genetically Modified Foods: Exploring Benefits, Risks, and Impacts

This essay provides a comprehensive overview of genetically modified foods (GMFs), also known as GM foods, which are derived from plants and animals whose DNA has been altered through genetic engineering. It explores the benefits of GMFs, such as disease-resistant crops and enhanced nutritional value, while also addressing the potential risks, including allergenicity, gene transfer, and environmental harm. The essay discusses the controversies surrounding GMFs, including debates over labeling, regulation, and the impact on biodiversity and the environment. It highlights concerns raised by opponents regarding the increased use of herbicides and the control of multinational corporations over food production. The essay also examines specific incidents related to GMFs, such as allergic reactions and contamination events, and discusses the perspectives of organizations like the World Health Organization. Finally, it explores the different aspects of GMFs, including crop protection, herbicide tolerance, and the ongoing debates surrounding their use.

Running head: GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS
GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS
Name of the student:
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Genetically modified food (GMF) also called the GM food has been found to be
produced from plants as well as animals whose DNA had been modified and altered through the
systems of genetic engineering. The genetically modified organisms are called GMOs in short
(Cinici, 2016). Genetic engineering can be discussed as the procedure of manipulating the genes
of the organisms directly like transplanting DNA from different types of other organisms. It is
quite different from the other types of the conventional method like that of the selective breeding
of plants as well as animals in order to get the required traits. All over the world, there is a broad
scientific consensus that the genetically modified foods in the market pose no additional health
risks than that of regular foods (Ribeiro et al., 2016). However, the matter of the use of GMF is
considered controversial. Opponents argue that GMO can result in increase in the utilization of
the chemical herbicides and they have also found that GMOs are mainly owned as well as large
companies patent them. This situation had resulted in debates over whether GMSs should be
labeled or tightly regulated. This assignment would talk about different aspects of GMF in
details.
The benefits of the genetically modified crops are mainly seen to include effective
breeding of diseases resistant crops as well as herbicide tolerant strains. Such crops can also
developed in ways by which they contain vitamins that might be lacking in many important
staple varieties. However, according to the UK Green space Website, the introduction of
genetically modified crops has been considered to be one of the worst disaster (Ishi et al., 2016).
Experts are of the opinion that the science of taking genes from one species and thereby inserting
them into another was considered to be a giant leap forward. However they are of the opinion
that it had posed a threat to the biodiversity as well as to the health of citizens. In addition,
experts opined that the real reason for their development is not to end the world hunger but

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mainly to increase the different types of stranglehold that most of the multinational biotech
organization already have on their food production. The experts have been seem to argue that
GM technology is not required to possess future food security. they believe that if the sustainable
and organic farming methods is utilized successfully, they can help in repairing the damage that
had been already done by the industrial farming along with that of the reduction of the excessive
utilisation of fertilizers and even herbicides and other man-made chemicals making GM crops
redundant. Messer et al., (2017) have stated that there is already enough food production in the
world and that the hunger crisis is mainly caused because of the problems that had been created
by food distribution as well as politics but not because of production. Therefore, people should
not be made exposed to any forms of foods that might carry some degree of risks. () are mainly
found to be opposed to genetic engineering as they are of the opinion that with the result of
current methods of recombinant technology, there would be no ways of ensuring that genetically
modified organisms would remain under control (Mahgoub, 2016). Moreover, they are also of
the opinion that the use of this technology outside that of the secure laboratory environment
represents multiple acceptable risks associated to both the farmed and even the wild ecosystems.
In the year 1996, Brazil nut genes were found to be spliced into soybeans by an organization
namely Pioneer Hi-Bred. Some of the individuals who were found to be allergic to this nut were
seen to get into stages of anaphylactic shock that had the potential of causing death to the
individuals. Azadi et al., (2015) have realized that the increased use of the GM crops had
resulted in a shift of power in the domain of agriculture towards that of the biotechnology
companies that are gaining more and more control over the production of chains of crops and
foods and even over the farmers for using their products.

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A significant event can be depicted here to show how the shift to biotech companies can
be a risk to the citizens of the nation. In the year 1989, dozens of the Americans were found to
have died and several thousands were found to be afflicted and even impaired by the genetically
altered version of the food supplement namely the L-trytophan. The organization namely Showa
Denko is a Japan based organization and had been the main reason behind the massacre that took
place. This third largest chemical company of their nation tried to implement the settlement of
around $2 billion dollars but this could not save the lives of the citizens who had faced an
untimely death because of the genetically modified foods that they have consumed. Even another
incident had taken place on august 18 in the year 2006 where exports of rice from America to
that of Europe had to be interrupted (Sybesma et al., 2017). This was because it was found that
the crops of the US had been contaminated with different types of unapproved engineered genes
mainly because of the accidental cross pollination with that of the conventional crops. In the year
2005, incident reports suggested that Australia had faced one of the most severe genetic
contamination events in the history. The western Australian government had confirmed that there
have been low levels of genetically modified canola that had been found in the non-GM canola
(Raley et al., 2016). Moreover, in the year 2005, a decade long project for developing the
genetically modified peas with that of the built-in-resistance had been found to be abandoned
after tests showed that they had resulted in the allergic lung damage to that of mice. Therefore, a
famous environmentalist called Jeremy Rifkin had been of the opinion that "They're now turning
those seeds into intellectual property, so they have a virtual lock on the seeds upon which we all
depend for our food and survival."
World Health organization had however supportive of the use of the genetically modified
crops. Tagliabue et al., (2016) is of the opinion that there are some perceived advantage either to

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the producer as well as consumer of these foods. This is found to be helpful in translating into
many important food products that have lower price, greater benefit in terms of nutrition and
durability value or both. One of another of the objectives for the development of GMF is
improvement of the crop rotation. These GM crops that are found currently on the markets are
found to be mainly aimed at an increased level of that of crop protection which is done through
the introduction of resistance against plant disorders caused by various pests like insects as well
as virus through the tolerance towards herbicides (Quaim, 2016). It has been found that
resistance against insects can be successfully achieved by the incorporation of the gene for toxin
production from that of the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) into the food plants. This toxin
is found to have a conventional insecticide in the agriculture and is found to have been safe for
the human consumption. The different GM crops that produce this toxin inherently has been
found to require much lower quantities of insecticides in different specific situations like in cases
where pest pressure is found to be high. Experts can achieve virus resistance through the
introduction of a gene from certain important viruses which cause different disorders in plants
(Heddy et al., 2017). The different virus resistance makes plants less susceptible to the disorders
that are caused by such viruses resulting in higher crop yields. On another aspect, herbicide
tolerance is also found to be achieved by the introduction of genes from the bacterium that
conveys resistance to some herbicides. In the places where weed pressure mainly remain high,
the use of such genetically modified crops help in the reduction in the quantity of the herbicides
that are used.
Still there remain many concerns for the use of GMF on the human health. One of the
most important issues that had been found out to be associated with GMF is the allergenicity. In
the present days, the transfers of genes from commonly allergenic organisms to that of non-

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allergic organisms are discouraged (Catacora et al., 2018). Even if they are needed to be done so,
it should be checked an evaluated that the protein product of the transferred gene is not
allergenic. It has been found that foods developed using the traditional breeding methods are not
usually tested for allergenicity but the GM foods produced needs to be tested for allergenicity to
ensure safety of health. Different types of protocols have been developed for testing the
allergenicity for the GM foods and these in turn are evaluated by the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and WHO to ensure safety of the use of the GM foods
that are prepared (Syzka et al., 2017).
Another concern that might also result in case of GM foods is the topic of gene transfers.
Experts have found out that the transfer of the genes from the GM foods to that of the cells of the
body as well as to bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract can become a case of concern if the
transferred genetic material is found to affect the human health adversely. This might occur
when the antibiotic resistant genes which are utilized as markers when creating GMFs are
transferred (Chaudhury et al., 2017). Therefore, the WHO had been of the opinion that although
the probability of such forms of transfers are quite low, the use of gene transfers technology that
do not involve any antibiotic resistance genes are also encouraged.
Another important health concern for humans is out crossing. The migration of the genes
from that of the GM plants to that of the conventional crops as well as related species in the wild
and even as the mixing of crops that had been derived from GM crops and that of conventional
crops might have indirect effects on the food safety and even on the food insecurity (Vlontzos et
al., 2016). One of the studies have found out that cases that have been reported where GM crops
that had been approved for the animal feed as well as the industrial use were also detected at the
lwo levels in the products that have been intended for the human consumption. Studies opine that

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several countries have been also seen to adopt strategies so that they can help in the reduction of
the mixing as well as including a clear separation of the fields within which GM crops and hat of
the conventional crops are grown.
One of the issues of concern of that of the genetically modified foods utilization and
preparation is that it can contribute to environmental harm as well. The GMOs have the
capability of getting escaped and potentially introducing the engineered genes into the different
wild populations (Boccia et al., 2015). Other important concerns are mainly seen to include the
persistence of the genes after the GMO crops have been harvested along with the susceptibility
of non-target organisms mainly those insects which are not pests to the gene products. The other
environmental concerns are seen to include the stability of the gene along with the reduction in
the spectrum of the other plants that include loss of biodiversity and even the increased
utilization of the chemicals in the agriculture. Therefore, many of the experts are of the opinion
that environmental safety aspects of the GM crops vary considerably according to different local
conditions (Brown et al., 2018).
GM crops are now found to be available in the international markets today and they have
been designed using one of the three basic traits. These are the resistance to insect damages as
well as the resistance to different viral infections along with the tolerance towards certain forms
of herbicides. Moreover, GM crops those have higher nutrient content have also been studied
recently (scott, 2015). There is a great concern whether GM foods are safe or not. Different types
of GM organisms are seen to include different types of genes that are inserted in different ways.
This requires each of the individual GM food and their safety needs to be assessed on a case-to-
case basis and therefore general statements made about the safety of GM foods would not be
appropriate. Studies have shown that different Gm foods that are found to be available on the

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international market have passed the safety assessments and that they are not likely to present
any form of risks to the human health (Millstone et al., 2015). In addition, currently, no effects of
the use of the GM foods had been found among the humans when such foods had been
consumed by the by the general population in the varieties of the countries where they have been
approved for utilization by citizens. WHO have stated the importance of continuous application
of the safety assessments to each and every GM foods introduced based on the Codex
Alimentarius principles. In places of importance, adequate post marketing monitoring should
also be done and should be made the basis for ensuring the safety of the GM foods.
In the nation of America, there had no need for labeling and this had resulted in a largely
uninformed populace who are ingesting “gene altered food”. It is only back in December 2020,
the United States Department of agriculture had proposed new guidelines for the labeling of the
foods that contain the genetically modified ingredients. The federal laws had instructed the food
makers to use the labels starting in the year 2020. In the other parts of the world like that of the
European union as well as in the Japan, Malaysia as well as in Australia, consumers have
demanded labeling so that they can effectively exercise between foods that have been genetically
modified as well as organic and conventional origins. Since, its time of implementation in the
year 2004 in April, EU Regulation 1829/2003 had forced both the feed and food manufacturers
in the nation of Europe as well as the overseas suppliers to go through huge issues affecting their
business (Hallman et al., 20160. All the genetically modified foods, which are intended for sale
in the Australia as well as New Zealand, need to undergo a safety evaluation by the Food
Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). This is an independent government agency. This
organization is quite strict in its approach and would not approve any GM food unless it is found
to be safe to be consumed by the citizens. It is mandatory for the different Gm foods to be

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successfully identified on the different food labels in the nation of Australia and New Zealand.
Such form of requirements was found to have become a law in the year 2001 in December. They
were mainly put in place by the food ministers for assisting consumers in purchasing or avoiding
GM foods depending on their own beliefs as well as views.
From the entire discussion, it can be seen that the use of GM foods is a matter of huge
debate in every nations of the world. One set of researchers are of the opinion that various risks
are associated with the utilization of such foods and that they should be not allowed to be
promoted in the nations. Several incidents had been reported that has shown the ways GMF had
been associated with increased health concern like allergenicity, out crossing as well as well
unfavorable gene transfers that would cause human health concerns. Many of the experts are of
the opinion that the idea that GMF would help in meeting the world hunger had been rejected by
many. They have stated that it can be done through proper political governance and strategic
plans and implementations to distribute crops and food products in an effective ways across
people of the nation. Again, many of the experts have associated use of GM foods to resistance
against infections, herbicide tolerance, easy production as well as profits by producing more
amounts of crops because of their genetic stability and strength to fight against different
disorders. Therefore, every nation has to develop efficient monitoring and evaluation systems
and evidence-based protocols that would ensure measuring safety value of the GM crops during
introduction as well as post-marketing monitoring for safety of the population.

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