Introduction:
Genetically modified or biotech foods are products from genetically modified organisms, specifically genetically modified crops. To genetically modify food, scientists changed their DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) through genetic engineering. These techniques are much more precise than mutation breeding.
What Are Genetically Modified Foods?
It involves the insertion of DNA from one organism into another or modifying an organism's DNA to achieve a desired trait. Genetically modified organisms have been adjusted in a way that does not occur naturally. Modern biotechnology, gene technology, recombinant DNA technology, and genetic engineering permit selected individual genes to be transferred from one organism to another.
What Are the Characteristics of Genetically Modified Foods?
Genetically modified foods are genetically modified in a way that will benefit humanity. Two aspects can be improved by genetic modification. The alternation of input traits leads to resistance to pests and harmful factors, resistance to pesticides and herbicides, and resistance to diseases and viruses. Second, the alteration of output traits leads to an increase in the output of crops, increased duration of shelf life, improved nutritional value, and increased health and medical benefits.
What Are Genetically Modified Food Techniques?
There are three types of techniques for food genetically modified:
-
Gene Shifting: A different sequence of DNA determines genes; when a specific gene is inserted into a plant, it becomes a part of the plant's gene and works with its function. This method can increase or improve the plant's resistance to insects, increasing food yield.
-
Gene Silencing: The function is reduced through gene modification. Example: The role of the virus, which causes dried spots in tomatoes, is reduced by removing the parts of the gene; thus, the virus cannot be reproduced, and tomatoes can grow healthy.
-
Gene Splicing: Food can be improved by modifying the catabolism process, such as limiting the percentage of starch in glutinous rice. It also includes controlling food's taste, mass, color, and usefulness.
What Is the Genetically Modified Food Process?
The process for genetically modified food has eight steps:
-
Isolation of the gene of interest.
-
Insertion of the gene into a transfer vector.
-
Plant transformation.
-
Selection of the modified plant cells.
-
Regeneration into whole plants via tissue culture.
-
Verification of modification and characterization of the inserted DNA fragment.
-
Testing the plant performance.
-
Safety assessment.
What Are the Common Genetically Modified Foods?
-
Soybean, Corn, and Sugar Beet: These are modified to become resistant to glyphosate by inserting an herbicide-resistant gene.
-
Cottonseed Oil: It is made by inserting pest-resistant bt crystal protein gene.
-
Tomato: It is made by removing the gene that codes for polygalacturonase, which is responsible for softening fruits after harvesting.
-
Potatoes: The amylopectin-rich variety is responsible for amylase production by switching off the granule-bound starch synthase gene.
-
Rapeseed (Canola): It is modified with high oleic acid content by adding a new gene.
-
Rice: It is modified with high vitamin A by inserting a gene from daffodils.
Why Are These Genetically Modified Foods Needed?
Genetically modified seeds are made in a way that alters the plant and provides them increased resistance to pests, herbicides, and even against drought, cold, or heat. These changes can also improve the quality and size of the foods grown on these crops or increase certain nutrients such as protein or calcium.
Ever Wondered How Some Watermelons and Grapes Do Not Have Seeds While Others Do?
These seedless foods are the result of the genetic modification of their plants. These genetic modifications are beneficial, especially in remote areas where people cannot access sufficient or nutrient-rich food. Genetically modified foods with increased nutrients and shelf-life can be transported to these remote areas and thus helps to feed the people living there.
What Is Genetically Modified Food Labeling?
The consumers may find the labeling “genetically modified” while purchasing that product so that the consumers are aware of what they are eating.
What Are the Benefits of Genetically Modified Products?
-
Crops: Crops enhance taste and quality, reduce maturation time, increase nutrients, productivity, and stress tolerance, and increase resistance to disease and pests.
-
Animals: In animals, it increases resistance, hardiness, feed efficiency, and the productivity of meat, eggs, and milk, and improves animal health and diagnostic methods.
-
Environment: Friendly bioherbicides and bioinsecticides, conservation of soil, water, and energy, bioprocessing for forestry products, better natural waste management, and more efficient processing.
-
Society: It increases food security for growing populations.
What Is the Potential Risk to Human Health Associated With Genetically Modified Foods?
The safety assessment of genetically modified foods generally investigates the following:
-
Direct health effects like toxicity.
-
Tendency to provoke allergic reaction (allergenicity).
-
The stability of the inserted gene.
-
Nutritional products are associated with genetic modifications.
-
Any unintended effect results from the gene insertion.
What Is the Negative Impact of Genetically Modified Crops?
1. Cross-Breeding:
The potential for cross-breeding between the genetically modified crops and surrounding vegetation, including the weeds, which are herbicide-resistant and require greater use of herbicides, may lead to soil and water contamination.
2. Herbicide-Tolerant Crops:
The increasing age range of herbicide-tolerant crops such as soybean and canola has increased the type of weeds that are now glyphosate-resistant.
3. Allergens:
Genetic engineering could produce allergens. The bioengineers insert a marker gene. If genes get inserted into the food chain and taken up by the human gut (microflora), the antibiotics' effectiveness could be reduced, and human infectious disease risk increases. In the last decades, the incidence of food allergies in the United States has increased significantly. The incidences of food allergies in people under 18 years have risen from 3.4 percent in the late 90s to 5.1 percent around 2010. The transfer of proteins from one plant to the other causes allergic reactions. For example, genetically modified soybeans have a protein from Brazilian nuts, so many people who had an allergy to Brazilian nuts got an allergy to these soybeans. So the sale of these genetically modified soybeans was stopped.
Conclusion:
Genetically modified foods present some potentially harmful aspects, but they also have a lot of pros. This field requires awareness and continued research to ensure safe and healthy food is available. Genetically modified foods can preserve money, eradicate poverty, decrease hunger and malnutrition, and encourage creative approaches. Some people think genetically modified foods intrude on the atmosphere and human health. Through comprehensive analysis, technology continuously pushes the limitations of what is attainable. Customers should consider the positives with the negatives and adopt this creative procedure to help free the world of multiple troubles.
