In recent years, armed with new knowledge about DNA and how it functions within living organisms, we've been able to apply the bigger-better-faster-more principle to the foods we eat. By manipulating the genetic code of organisms that provide food sources, we have created new strains of plants and animals capable of growing larger in less time on less suitable soil.
If that weren't enough, the new plant strains are able to do all of this while resisting their primary insect pests.
The promise of genetically modified foods seems almost too good to be true. With a human population of more 6 billion, producing higher yielding foods may be more crucial than ever.
While the potential benefits of GM food appear to be indisputable, serious concerns have also surfaced.
Pest-resistant crops may also be harmful to beneficial insects and pests. And what happens when modified genes spread to unaltered crops? There are health concerns about the effects of consuming food that has been genetically modified, and there is opposition to any form of genetic modification on ethical grounds.
What is GM?
GM, which stands for genetic modification or genetically modified, is the technique
of changing or inserting genes. Genes carry the instructions for all the characteristics
that an organism – a living thing – inherits. They are made up of
DNA (see below for an explanation of DNA). Genetic modification is done either
by altering DNA or by introducing genetic material from one organism into another
organism, which can be either a different variety of the same or a different
species. For example, genes can be introduced from one plant to another plant,
from a plant to an animal, or from an animal to a plant. Transferring genes
between plants and animals is a particular area of debate.
Sometimes the term 'biotechnology' is used to describe genetic modification.
This also has a wider meaning of using micro-organisms or biological techniques
to process waste or produce useful compounds, such as vaccines.
People have been breeding animals and new varieties of plants for many hundreds
of years to develop or avoid certain qualities. Examples include racehorses
that are bred to be faster and stronger, and roses, bred to give us a wider
range of colours and to make them more resistant to disease. Over many generations,
sometimes for thousands of years, the world’s main food crops have been
selected, crossed and bred to suit the conditions they are grown in and to make
them tastier.
But whereas traditional methods involve mixing thousands of genes, genetic modification allows just one individual gene, or a small number of genes, to be inserted into a plant, or animal, to change it in a pre-determined way (click here to see an illustration of this). Through genetic modification, genes can also be 'switched' on or off to change the way a plant or animal develops.
For example, herbicides are used to kill weeds in fields of crops but they can also affect the growth of the crops they are intended to protect. By using genetic modification, a gene with a particular characteristic, such as resistance to a specific herbicide, can be introduced into a crop plant. When that herbicide is sprayed on the field to kill the weeds, it will not hinder the growth of the crops.
Similarly, genetic modification can be used to reduce the amount of pesticide
needed by altering a plant's DNA so it can resist the particular insect pests
that attack it. Genetic modification can also be used to give crops immunity
to plant viruses or to improve the nutritional value of a plant. In animals
intended for food, genetic modification could potentially increase how fast
and to what size they grow.
What happens when people eat GM food?
Human beings have always eaten plants and animals, which means we have always
eaten their DNA without it causing any health problems. Given that GM DNA is
still DNA, eating it should not pose any greater risk than eating unmodified
DNA. Indeed, no one has ever been reported as suffering from illness because
the food they had eaten had been genetically modified.
When someone eats GM food it is processed in the same way as non-GM food. When
we eat any food, our digestive systems break down the tissue, the proteins,
and the DNA in the food. The DNA in GM food has the same structure as non-GM
DNA and is broken down in the same way. Most DNA that is consumed, whether GM
or not, is broken down in our stomachs and intestines.
Sometimes, the DNA from the food we eat isn’t broken down. However, it is unlikely that this DNA will become part of our genetic material by passing into our cells – any non-human DNA should simply be broken down in the cell. Siemenssolar
Antibiotic-resistant marker genes
During the process of genetic modification, marker genes are used to check whether
particular cells have taken up the modified gene. Antibiotic-resistant marker
genes are one type of marker gene. If a cell is resistant to the particular
antibiotic, this shows that the cell has taken up the modified gene. Some people
have suggested that antibiotic-resistant marker genes could be transferred into
the bacteria in our gut, along with the resistance to the particular antibiotic.
If this happened, the particular antibiotic, if prescribed to treat an infection,
would not work in that person.Other reading material bionet-us.org
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