Genetically Modified Food

GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD Genetically modified foods ( GM foods) are a part of most people’s diets in the 21 st century. GM foods offer more cost effective ways of producing better quality food on a larger scale, and can even make the food look more appealing to the consumer. With the technology and resources available, scientists have developed more than one way of creating the ideal crop or produce for both the producer and consumer. Although, as with many other modern day scientific discoveries, genetic food modification poses problems practically and ethically. However, in this busy era when people are looking for ways to save time and money, and make better quality products, GM food is a solution to a variety of problems. The genetic modification of foods is quite a complicated process and requires skilled and experienced research scientists and the most up-todate technology in machinery to achieve the desired result. An example of a GM food is GM fish. One case in particular, in 1985, was when scientists in China inserted a human “growth -regulating” gene into goldfish eggs. These GM goldfish grew to “more than twice their normal size”. A few years later, another team of scientists inserted the “growth -regulating” gene from rainbow trout into carp eggs, which resulted in the carp not only growing larger than their normal size, but almost twice as fast as well (1994,  Biology). There is more than one way of creating designer organisms. For example, selective breeding, hormonal and genetic engineering (1994,  Biology). Selective breeding is a slow process that involves the cultivation and selection of animal or plant material which display the desired phenotype. Animal or plant material can be genetically altered through hormones, which is when the hormones cause a change in chemical processes within the organism, which may turn on or turn off some genes. Genetic engineering is when a gene is taken from an organism with the desired traits, and is transplanted into another organism using very new technology and machinery. A successful product of genetic engineering can be easily multiplied by breeding in a controlled environment, or cloning. Frost Resistant Strawberries

There are many benefits of genetically engineering food, which is why it has become more and more widely used since its discovery in the 1970’s. It saves time and money for farmers and distributors of the GM food products. Some desired phenotypes of GM foods are: 





Genetically modified strawberries

Usual strawberry climate

Frost resistant fruit and vegetables; so they can be grown in cooler climates (refer to figure 1).

Colder climate

More strawberries

Disease resistant plants and animals; to be ensured of a healthy produce.

Supply meets demand

Herbicide-resistant food (from plant origin); so the farmers can use herbicides while not destroying the crops.

Cheaper strawberries Figure 1 –  1 – Market Market effect

© Sarah Don, Australia, 2006

There are also practical problems with GM food, however; for example, contamination. If the GM produce became contaminated with natural produce, the genetic modifications would eventually die out. Or on the other hand, the GM produce could affect the natural produce, which would affect the natural ecosystem. Another problem with GM food is that there are many people who are uneducated on what exactly GM food means. People sometimes protests against the genetic modification of food, without really understanding what they are talking about. This may discourage more and more people from buying GM foods, resulting in a collapse in the industry. However, there are many other fields for genetic engineers to work in, rather than just food. The Human Genome Project is an international cooperation of scientists working together to unravel the mystery of the human genome, by identifying every gene, its position, base order and phenotype. Once this is completed in many years to come, scientists will be able to do the same for animals and plants. This will enable scientists to find exactly the right gene, or combination of  genes, to create entirely new organisms. When genetically modifying food, several ethical issues arise. For example, when a gene from an animal is added to a chromosome in a vegetable, some people may question whether the food is still 100% vegetable and suitable for inclusion in a vegetarian diet. Of course, the transferred gene does not contain any biological material specific to an animal. To add genetic information from an animal to plant material means that the genetic information was extracted from an animal specifically chosen or produced for harvesting genes for transplantation. For example, the particular gene that allows the codfish survive in very low temperatures can be inserted into a strawberry, to make the strawberry frost-resistant (2006, BHC). After the gene has been transplanted, the frost resistant strawberries are isolated from the outside world to prevent contamination. This isolation isolation process is essential so as to not disturb the natural ecosystem. There are laws to control the process and distribution of GM foods. These laws prevent environmental accidents and unlawful genetic modification of produce. Once all the genetic alterations of a food are completed, the scientists involved must perform many tests and present their results to Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) before the GM products can legally be released onto the market (2004, FSANZ). This is important for the safety of the consumer. Genetic modification of food is a useful, safe, versatile and relatively new, constantly developing technology, yet often misunderstood by the public. Being able to genetically modify food is just the start of many amazing developments that will expand in the future. Almost everybody in the community benefits from the products of GM foods, from the farmers who can produce more of a   better crop, to the consumer who pays less for better food. It’s amazing what scientists are discovering, and it’s exiting to think about what benefits we may experience from genetically modified foods in the future.

© Sarah Don, Australia, 2006

Bibliography: Essenfeld, B.E.; Gontang, C.R.; Moore, R., (1994) Biology, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., United States of America. (2003) Genetically Modified Food  –  Arguments for and against , CHOICE, Australia, http://www.choice.com.au/viewArticle.aspx?id=100255& http://www.choice.com .au/viewArticle.aspx?id=100255&catId=100288&tid=10 catId=100288&tid=100008&p=2&titl 0008&p=2&title=GM%3a e=GM%3a +Genetically+modified+food (12/8/06) (2006) Genetically Modified Foods  –  Technique, Better Health Channel (BHC), Victoria, Australia, http://www.disability.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcart http://www.disabili ty.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Geneti icles.nsf/pages/Genetically_modified_f cally_modified_foods_techniques?Ope oods_techniques?Ope nDocument (7/8/06) (2000) Lessons from the green Revolution , Food First, USA, http://www.foodfirst.org/media/opeds/2000/4greenrev.html (20/8/06) (2004) Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), Australia & New Zealand, http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/standardsdeve http://www.foodstandar ds.gov.au/standardsdevelopment/notifica lopment/notificationcirculars/cu tioncirculars/current/notificati rrent/notificationcircular24 oncircular24 35.cfm (20/8/06) Personal Correspondence with Don, M (1/8/06).

© Sarah Don, Australia, 2006