Ideas about Genetically modified foods?

Question

I was reading an article and I read something about GM(genetically modified) foods, and i was wondering wat is good and bad about them, what is the debatea bout them, y r they called that?

Thank You vm.

Answer 1

Combining genes from different organisms is known as recombinant DNA technology, and the resulting organism is said to be "genetically modified," "genetically engineered," or "transgenic." GM products (current or in the pipeline) include medicines and vaccines, foods and food ingredients, feeds, and fibers.

GM Products: Benefits and Controversies

Benefits

* Crops
o Enhanced taste and quality
o Reduced maturation time
o Increased nutrients, yields, and stress tolerance
o Improved resistance to disease, pests, and herbicides
o New products and growing techniques
* Animals
o Increased resistance, productivity, hardiness, and feed efficiency
o Better yields of meat, eggs, and milk
o Improved animal health and diagnostic methods
* Environment
o "Friendly" bio-herbicides and bio-insecticides
o Conservation of soil, water, and energy
o Bio-processing for forestry products
o Better natural waste management
o More efficient processing
* Society
o Increased food security for growing populations

Controversies

* Safety
o Potential human health impact: allergens, transfer of antibiotic resistance markers, unknown effects Potential environmental impact: unintended transfer of trans-genes through cross-pollination, unknown effects on other organisms (e.g., soil microbes), and loss of flora and fauna biodiversity
* Access and Intellectual Property
o Domination of world food production by a few companies
o Increasing dependence on Industrialized nations by developing countries
o Bio-piracy—foreign exploitation of natural resources
* Ethics
o Violation of natural organisms' intrinsic values
o Tampering with nature by mixing genes among species
o Objections to consuming animal genes in plants and vice versa
o Stress for animal
* Labeling
o Not mandatory in some countries (e.g., United States)
o Mixing GM crops with non-GM confounds labeling attempts
* Society
o New advances may be skewed to interests of rich countries.

Answer 2

Genetically Modified Food
Radiance magazine's feature from Winter 2001 on genetically modified foods. ... authors, and others who make food their...
radiancemagazine.com/.../2001/winter_0...
GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS
Genetically-Modified (GM) Foods have been in UK. shops ... Many research ideas are now moving out. of the laboratory into...
www.parliament.uk/post/pn115.pdf