Genetically Modified Food

by 11chanh1rchkeduhk (student)

Genetically modified food is an advanced biotechnology to change the genetic material of organisms both plants and animals which will be further processed into food available for human. The aim of this technology was to gain a better quality of food. The gene of the food was enhanced so as to create desirable phenotypes such as having a greater resistance to herbicides, improving the nutrients in foods, being able to tolerate adverse condition, increasing the growth rate or even introducing vaccines into the foods. Genetically modified food originated from genetic engineering which changed the genetic make-up of an organism. The first genetically modified product was tomato, produced in 1993 by California company in United States. This tomato was genetically modified to take longer time to decompose after being picked. After that, a variety of different kinds of food was modified such as soybeans, corns, potatoes and even vegetables in different countries all over the world.

Before applying genetic technique in food, farmers also practiced the artificial selection on agriculture and cattle. They always choose the better quality crop which imply having better gene to produce next generation so that the overall quality of food was improving. Using advanced biotechnology can do it in a faster and accurate way. Scientists know that the genes of an organism determine its feature and appearance. So the scientists use a special technique to alter the genetic material inside. It is like the ‘copy and paste’ method on the computer. For example, we would insert the B.thuringiensis gene into the corn in the following procedures. First the double helix of DNA was isolated and uncoiled. Then, we use a special enzyme called restriction endonucleases. The enzyme was specific and sensitive to the DNA sequence related to Bt gene. This enzyme act as a scissor to cut out the desired gene. After that, an expression cassette is produced from the cut part gene. It consists of promoter and terminator which instruct the corn cell where the gene begins and ends. Next, the expression cassette is inserted into the plasmid which come from a parasitic circle of DNA in a bacteria. Like a photocopier, many copies of genes are produced there. Finally, those copy of genes are introduced into corn cell and inserted in its genome. The cell would incorporated the inserted gene and make particular proteins according to the inserted gene DNA sequence so that a new character of the corn plant would appear.

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Genetically modified food brings both benefits and potential hazards to the world. Genetically modified food solved a lot of world problems. First, it enables crop have great cold , drought and herbicide toleration or disease and pest resistance with addition of more nutrient values such as the vitamins and minerals. In this way, the production food can be carried in a massive and fast way so the rate of food produced can meet with the population growth rate. It solves the problem of malnutrition and starvation. Also, genetically modified food can apply in pharmaceuticals. Scientists now investigate introducing vaccines in tomatoes and potatoes. If this succeeds, the cost of medicines and vaccines will greatly reduced, and even the third world countries people can afford. Moreover, the genetically modified technology can be used in phytoremediation. The trees and grasses are genetically modified to absorbed heavy metal to reduce the pollution. For animals, China now plan to make human milk on cows so it can improve the health of the babies by reducing allergic and increasing nutrition like antibodies. The cattle can also be genetically engineered to produce a better quality of meat. However, the genetically modified food may pose some potential threats to human. First, genetically modified food may break down the food chain and make the ecosystem

unbalanced. Although the pest and weeds damaged the crop yields, their existence are important to the food chain and ecosystem. Once they disappear due to genetically modified food, their predator will lose food source and die, while their prey maybe bacteria, fungi will grow rapidly. Also, the genetically modified food harm other organism unintentionally. For example, Bt toxins would kill many species of insect larvae without selection, even the beneficial insects would be killed. It’s also worried that genetically modified food would be like pesticides which increase resistance of pest and its effectiveness would reduce.

Providing genetically modified food in the market or not is a controversial topic. Fears on genetically modified food appeared, people worry that eating the food will cause unknown effects or potential human health impacts like allergens. Many farmers complain that their incomes had greatly reduced after using genetically modified seeds because the biotechnology company use a tricky strategy to earn more profits from the farmers. They insert a “suicide gene” into genetically modified plants so that the crop will only grow for one season and their seeds would not be germinated. This forces farmer to buy fresh seeds every year which is a great cost to them. Moreover, there is a concern that the engineered gene will transfer to other species. The genetically modified plant will spread their pollen grain to other unmodified plants. Therefore, even farmers grow a modified crop, their yields will be contaminated. This would cost lost to those farmers. Vegetarians may also eat plants with animal genes without being informed.

Personally, I support the development of genetically modified food because the benefits it brings greatly outweigh than its risks. However, we need to practice it ethically. For example, labeling of genetically modified food should be all over world. Different people have different preference on genetically modified or unmodified food. Labeling can give the right to them to choose which kind of food and know what they are actually eating. Furthermore, the practice of genetically modified food can be carried out in a more thoroughly way. Scientists need to do more experiments, scientific researches and safety tests on genetically modified food before introducing them into the markets. In this way, the public health can be assured and the potential hazards to human health and environment can be minimized.

Bibliography

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MYP Biology - Genetics - One World Essay