GMO Is Helpful Or Harmful?

GMO is helpful or harmful ?

Genetically modified foods are seen by many as the answer to the challenges posed by population growth and climate change. But the question still remain, whether they are safe or not.  These are some of the promises that biotechnology have promised:  Rice with built-in Vitamin A that can help prevent blindness in 100 million children suffering from Vitamin A deficiency, A tomato that softens more slowly, allowing it to develop longer on the vine and keep longer on the shelf;  Potatoes that absorb less fat when fried, changing the ever-popular French fries from junk food into a more nutritional food; Strawberry crops that can survive frost.

Many agricultural scientists and food policy specialists view GM crops as an important element in sustainable food security and environmental management.

GM supporters tell all the farmers that they will get an enormous profit from growing GM crops. Farmers could spray these crops with herbicide to kill the weeds, without killing the crops, which means a reduction on spending money on pesticides. And it takes shorter time to produce a desired product.

Genetic modified fruits and plants are better quality than the plant breeding one. Besides, animals could also be modified to be leaner, grow faster, and need less food, leading to improved productivity for farmers and costs ultimately lower for the consumer. They could modify them to have special characteristics, such as for cows to produce greater milk.Modified crops for animals to eat can help farmers eventually. They could perhaps prevent outbreaks such as foot or mouth disease which has devastated many farmers. Also, biotechnology companies are even experimenting with crops that can be modify to be drought and salt-tolerant, or less reliant on fertilizer.

There has been lots of concern about the safety of GM foods, since some crops are modified using the DNA from viruses and bacteria. Will we see a new disease emerge?

People who have allergies are the one whose very concern about their food supply, particularly about the proteins in their food. Most allergies are caused by the human immune system reacting to specific proteins, such as those found in nuts, fish, or eggs. And this is where GM food is really concern to allergen, because if a protein form nuts, for example, were inserted into a common food crop, and people who are allergic to nuts would not be able to eat the altered food. If they try to, it can cause a dangerous or even fatal immune reaction.  

Changing plants may have long lasting effects on the other organism in the ecosystem, but the change in plant itself may cause it to be toxic to an insect or animal that uses it as its main food source. Insects may be become resistant to the genetic due to the widespread use of insect resistant genes in crops. This would lead to a widespread loss of crops and plants that have the natural immunity and leading to a loss in biodiversity.

A huge concern is that genetic modification could cause allergies in humans due to gene modification of plants. People may find that they are now allergic to other food products – people because they contain a gene from the allergen they have. One example is the use of a Brazilian nut gene in corn.

The genetic modification could cause allergies in humans due to gene modification of plants. People may find that they are now allergic to other food products because they contain a gene from the allergen they have. One example is the use of a Brazilian nut gene in corn.

The disadvantages of GM foods are more than the advantages. Hence, GM  food are harmful to us as human.

Written By

Khoo Siew Ling