Using Genetically Modified Foods
The use of genetically modified food is particularly relevant to preventing hunger and malnutrition which has afflicted many people in various parts of the world. Drought, poverty, and war have been known to be major causes of starvation and that is the reason as to why technologists and scientists in general have continued to look forward towards new inventions. The new inventions in agricultural technology are aimed at solving food and hunger problems in Third World Countries through provision of cheap and easily available food.
Majority of people in the world are known to suffer from malnutrition and hunger due to lack of easily available and affordable food. It is therefore through genetically modifying crops or plants that food security can be ensured for such vulnerable populations. GMO foods are the only answer towards solving problems associated with the lack of food and the expenses incurred to get it. Great amounts of cheap food can easily be produced through GMF technologies. It is a result of these that most firms all over the world are doing all they can in order to increase the quality, profits, and production of genetically modified food products. For instance, tomatoes, found in most places all over the world, have been genetically modified to resemble the natural ones or even become better. This has been made possible through recent innovations in which tomatoes are made to have fresher flavor and ripen faster while at the same time having a better look.
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There are also future genetically modified food production technologies which are aimed at invention of potatoes which consume little oil during frying, strawberries which remain with their natural flavor, and soybeans and corn with enhanced or increased contents of protein. All these point to the vital benefits of genetically modified food. The claim by vegetarians who are afraid of being injected by animal genes was countered by the scientists who use a special technology to add some extra proteins to the plants through the addition of animal genes which can not affect the proteins. People against GMF have failed to realize the fact that there are as many genes in animals as there are in plants. For example, there is a gene which is prevalent in both rice and the human brain, and thus, vegetarians cannot avoid consuming rice because of this fact (Freedman, 2003).
The appearance of genetically modified foods has been so sudden and it has become one of the largest experiments in the food history of the world. GMF experiments have also proved to be one of the vital improvements in modern production of food.
It is because of such facts that the number of genetically modified food has continued to swell day in, day out. It will not therefore be a big surprise should one wake up in few years to come to find that none of the natural foods exist. It is in this view that genetically modified foods should be acknowledged since it is the best form of food production that has emerged during this century. Future plans of eliminating any side effects arising from the consumption of GMF should be applauded. In future, GMO foods should also have higher nutritional capacities and be healthier than the natural food that is being currently consumed by the human population. Awareness campaigns should be carried out to inform people about the positive impacts of using genetically modified products.
Studies conducted have indicated that the insertion of new genes into an organism by scientists in order to create genetically modified foods can result in unpredictable changes and disruption in the general structure and pattern of the new genetic capabilities and functions. These disruptions and unpredictable modifications have been known to be done quite randomly during the insertion process done by the scientists. This random insertion can easily damage the normal genes leading to the formation of harmful substances. The formation of harmful substances as a result of random insertion of genes can lead to the appearance of harmful substances which may eventually lead to creation of viruses, hence, new dangerous diseases. Genetically modified foods can lead to undesirable diseases since such GMO food products are not examined by the experts before being released to the consumers. This poses a grave risk to the consumers who may not be aware of the cause of such dangerous diseases (Nestle, 2010).
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Genetically modified foods have been known to contain some toxins which can negatively affect the health of human beings upon being consumed. The evidence against the use of genetically modified food products meant for human consumption can be proved on an experiment run on rats. In this experiment it was revealed that the use of genetically modified food products is harmful because of the negative impacts that were observed on the rats. The genetically modified potatoes which were fed to the rats were known to result in adverse impacts on their immune system, modification of their organs in terms of weight, and a deleterious effect on their digestive tracks. According to the South Pacific Consumer Protection Programme, such negative impacts of genetically modified food products can easily be replicated in the human beings who consume GMO products. It is therefore through such experiments that the safety of genetically modified products is highly doubted. This, therefore, calls for further and thorough examination of genetically modified food products in order to ensure their safety before they are released to human beings for consumption. Some other long term effects of consuming GMF products by human beings have, unfortunately, not been identified yet.
Considering the fact that genetically modified food products have increasingly entered the market, it will become difficult for consumers to distinguish between products which have been genetically modified and those ones that have not. Such situation puts the consumers’ safety at risk. The lack of knowledge on how to distinguish between GMO products and those that have not been genetically modified is due to the fact that the producers of GMF products do not label their products. The introduction of genetically modified products worldwide will create competition for the natural crops and food products and, therefore, lead to low economic gains in countries which are developing. The production and use of genetically modified foods will also make it difficult for the consumers to ascertain the person responsible for the effects arising from consumption of genetically modified products. This is because there are no clear laws to indicate where the bug lies in case of any problems arising from consumption of genetically modified food products (Evenson, et al, 2004).
It is because of safety concerns that some developed nations have come up with laws which require the manufacturers of genetically modified products to label their ingredients and the capacity of carbohydrates, vitamins, proteins, and fats that are contained in their food products. The availability of such nutrition information not only prevents the consumers from imminent harm which may arise from genetically modified food products but also presents them with a level of choice and awareness. Under the laws, producers of GMF apart from labeling their products are also compelled to provide their clients with all relevant information regarding the produce. By so doing, such laws present the clients with the right to know and make informed choices or decisions in the consumption of such food products. The seriousness of consuming genetically modified products is further compounded to the worry exhibited by consumers who would like all genetically engineered food products to be labeled.