Genetic modification is the process of manipulating the traits expressed by an organism by artificially inserting genes from one species into a completely different species in order to create a new genetic characteristic. The genetic modification of organisms which began back in the 1980’s was seen to be one of the greatest genetic discoveries of all time. Genetically modified crops and food were an attractive option for all commercial producers, providing a much more cost effective and efficient way of producing vast scale production of crops and food. Scientists believed that finally they would be able to develop much more cost effective, tastier, healthier and nutritionally improved products. But are these genetically modified products only beneficial? Or could they be detrimental to our future?
Experts throughout the world are now beginning to express concern over the risks associated with the genetic modification of crops and food products. Health concerns in particular are centring around some of the main issues, with fears that new combinations of genes in food crops could produce unexpected toxins during ingestion in the human body. Similarly investigations surfacing which suggest that genetically modified crops could produce new allergy causing proteins is instigating major concern in the medical field, who are worried that they will not be able to deal with these new allergenic strains. The use of antibiotic-resistant marker genes to identify those crops which have been successfully modified, is also causing increased concern amongst the experts. It is feared that the antibiotic-resistance marker used in genetically modified foods might transfer to many of the disease causing organisms within the human body, increasing antibiotic resistance and potentially restricting the effectiveness of antiobiotics in combatting disease and infection in the future.
Environmentally, the risks associated with genetic modification of food and crops is also causing widespread concerns for many scientists.One of the major environmental concerns is the affect that the introduction of insect-resistant crops may have on the organisms(insects in particular) that depend on these crops as major food sources. A reduction in the number of these organisms could have large implications on the life cycles and food chains associated with these organisms, potentially causing dramatic impacts across whole ecosystems. An additional environmental issue also of major concern is the widespread production of herbicide-tolerant crops. It is believed that these crops may have a cross breeding affect with weed plants resulting in the transfer of herbicide resistant genes from genetically modified crops into weeds. This could have adverse affects, causing the production of herbicide-tolerant ‘superweeds’ that have the capability of reproducing at rapid rates, eventually dominating entire environments as they are unable to be effectively controlled by herbicides.
On a global scale, it’s a big decision. Genetic modification could provide ways to allow us to excel into the future but are the risks associated with genetic modification worth it?
Either way, the debate over genetic modification will still continue.
For more reading:
http://www.ourfood.com/Genetic_modification_food.html
http://www.csiro.au/pubgenesite/foodsafe_faqs.htm
By Peta Masters(41725847)
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