what are negative effects of genetically modified food?

Answer 1

Actually, contrary to what everyone here is telling you *glare*

There is certain drawbacks. Sometimes they put genes into the new product that some people might be allergic to. Like adding Protein to corn with the Peanut gene. Now people who are allergic to peanut's can't eat the corn, because they're allergic.

Answer 2

I don't know. What are the negative effects of the banana? The carrot? Potatoes? Rice? Cows? Chicken? Everything that we eat is genetically modified and has been for thousands of years. That's what artifical selection is all about.

Seriously, the thing about genetic modification is that it is nothing unnatural, nor some strange Frankensteinian process that will produce strange chimeric critters poisoning us. Sure, they might make a tomato that makes a person very sick, but that's no different than picking the wrong berry in the wild. I don't even doubt that the corn mentioned above wasn't tasty, but it wasn't because there is something innately wrong with genetic modification. There was something wrong with the end product. That corn could just have easily turned out to be the greatest ear of corn ever tasted by a living person.

Fear of genetically modified food is utterly irrational. There is no scientific evidence that modified food differs in any way from non-modified food (which, as I hope I showed above, is a meaningless term in any case). If you learn about evolution and how genes actually work, you'll see why this question is irrational.

Answer 3

Tough and algid discussion point there.

1) You can put in any gene you want inside a plant, a gene from HIV virus if u want, and it would not be harmful to you (the gene), cuz you cannot incorporate it to your genome (and you digest it anyways)

2) if the product of the gene is a protein (which is always, in the case of transgenics, including pesticidal genes) it will not harm you, cuz you digest it (although it is true that some proteins can elicit alergic reactions, so it is important that they are properly labeled).

3) If this protein (or set of proteins) that are expressed in the transgenic form a metabolic pathway that results in the production of a weird molecule, it will only be harmful if it is specificaly toxic to mammals. But the genes introduced are necesarily very well known and studied, so there's little chance of that happening.

4) If the gene gives the plant an advantage over the natural population of theese plants, there could be an ecological problem if it becomes an invasive plant. And it could be serious. (this particular aspect is not usually much looked into before aproving the product)

5) The big biotech companies can easily create technologies that "enslave" the producer (they cannot harvest viable seed from the crops, so the must buy the seed to the company every year, best known as Roundup tehnology). This could be a problem in poor countries (like mine) and needs a close watch from governments so big companies make fair deals (which doesn't happen much)

6) If the gene is a proteic pesticide (of biological origin) it can originate resistance among pests. an amount of the crop should then be non-transgenic, so the resistance doesn't spread quickly causing ecological unbalance (same as the case for excesive use of antibiotics). Again, this is not watched mostly

7) If the gene pases from one comercial crop to the wild populations (via polinization) it could affect the environment. (depending on the gene of course, if it's the carotene gene it is absolutely inocuous). This transmission is however very difficult.

8) Transgenics wont make your kid be born with three hands. They have been in the market for over 25 years, ecologists just made a big fuss about them some years ago.

9) The only real problem that i see with transgenics could come from the ecological viewpoint. Most ecologists, however, don't really know what they're talking about, they don't inform themselves properly, so people don't take them seriuoly. Environazis are a big threat to the environment

This is humbly the most i have figured out about the subject

Answer 4

I will go with this statement to anwer this question:
"Fear of genetically modified food is utterly irrational. There is no scientific evidence that modified food differs in any way from non-modified food (which, as I hope I showed above, is a meaningless term in any case). If you learn about evolution and how genes actually work, you'll see why this question is irrational"

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Answer 5

They don't know yet. We do know that science has been proven wrong when given a little time. They once thought that grapefruit juice wouldn't affect you if taken with meds. Now they know better. And some may remember Thalidomide, the drug that was given to pregnant women in the mid 1950's to reduce the pain of child bearing and morning sickness. ( It was This FDA approved .) Now they know that it causes malformations in infants born to mothers using it during pregnancy. It's still around as a treatment for leprosy. We'll just have to wait and see.

Answer 6

We don't know of any for sure. There seem to be some types of allergy that can be made worse by engineered wheat or peanuts, but the statistics are questionable. In general it just doesn't seem very smart to make a food that serves as a natural antibiotic or poison for somebother organism. We assume that it doesn't have some effect on ourselves, who have evolved over millions of years to live in equilibrum with all these organisms.

Answer 7

they haven't actually proven that genetically modified foods are unsafe, but they havent proven them safe, either. the effects could be anything.

best case scenario, you get grossed out by eating a tomato that has scorpion DNA in it

worst case scenario, you get cancer or something.

Answer 8

Taste.
Nutrition.

Genetically produced foods are for faster growth and disease resistance.

They tried it with corn in my area and it did not go over very well.
The corn grew more cobs on a shorter stalk with less pesticides but did not have the sweetness of the original.

Answer 9

Genetically modified people.

Answer 10

So far, as far as scientists have been able to detect, none. That doesn't mean drawbacks won't be detected later or that they will, just that none of been detected yet.

I do not speak to the religious or philosophical aspects as that is too individual to comment on.