Genetically Modified Food: Pros and Cons Essay

A few years ago, I was invited to ground a talk at the incline Salon, a weekly seminar series sponso bolshy by the YWCA Language School in Nagoya, Japan. My motion was genetically modified (GM) diet and my attitude was distinctly supportive. (Dont start throwing the unpleasant-smelling tomatoes now ) Despite my hour-and-a-half long presentation, I was unable to convince most of the hearing that GM foods were safe to eat and had galore(postnominal) environmental benefits as fountainhead.GM food seems relatively benign if its the go of cross-breeding two organisms of the same species, such as crossing strawberry plants with a deeper red color with those that have larger fruit. The eccentric person of genetic modification that causes the greatest irritation amongst consumers and activists, however, is when genes from two totally unrelated organisms be combined. For example, Roundup Ready soybean crops have been genetically engineered to carry a gene from a bacteria that is r esistant to Roundup, a hummer killer. When Roundup is sprayed on these crops, every plant in the vicinity dies except the soybeans.Sounds frightening and un native, still con expressionr the positive effects genetically modified crops would have on health, gardening methods, and the environment. Current and future GM products allow in Food that can deliver vaccines bananas that mystify hepatitis B vaccine More alimentary foods rice with change magnitude iron and vitamins accelerated growing fish, fruit and nut trees Plants producing naked plastics Jonathan Rauch wrote in The Atlantic Monthly, Recall that foundation food output will claim to at least double and maybe triple over the next around(prenominal) decades.Even if production could be increased that more than than using conventional technology, which is incertitudeful, the demand amounts of pesticide and fertilizer and other polluting chemicals would be immense. If in good order developed, disseminated, and used, genetically modified crops might well be the best hope the planet has got. The Human Genome Project summarizes the controversies surrounding GM foods Potential human health equal allergens, transfer of antibiotic resistance markers, unnamed effects Potential environmental equal unintended transfer of transgenes through cross-pollination, mystic effects on other organisms (e.g. , body politic microbes), and loss of flora and fauna biodiversity. control of world food production by a few companies Increasing habituation on Industralized nations by developing countries Biopiracy hostile exploitation of natural resources Violation of natural organisms intrinsic values Tampering with record by mixing genes among species Objections to consuming creature genes in plants and vice versa Stress for tool Labeling not mandatory in some countries (e. g., United States).Mixing GM crops with non-GM confounds labeling attempts crude advances may be skewed to interests of blue co untries Theres no doubt that the GM food supply should be closely monitored and regulated, but that doesnt soaked it should all be banned. I hope that genetic engineering of plants, animals, and humans has much to offer as long as we are aware of potential benefits and side effects. And thats true even for more traditional methods of farming, animal husbandry, and medicine.