Is Genetically Modified Food Harmful for Human Health - Literature review Example

Harmful Effects of GMO (Genetically Modified Orgasms) Technology has changed and altered much in the past few decades, and the effect that it has had on the environment as well as on the human society cannot be denied. It has changed from the way Man travels to what he eats. In the following paper there shall be conducted a detailed discussion on the effects that GMO have had on the lives of human being. The food products that are genetically engineered contain genes which have been derived from bacteria and viruses. These have started to be sold in grocery stores, and many are of the belief that the food products that contain genes from insects, fishes and animals will soon follow. Many scientists and health care specialists have expressed concern over the development of such food products, and their unmarked sale in the markets. There are many scientists who believe that the genetically modified food products can be hazardous not only to the health of the individuals but also the environment as a whole, as it disrupts the natural genetic order of food crops and all the living being which are dependent on the crops for their existence. In the following paper there shall be conducted a detailed study of the effects of genetically modifying food products. Genetically engineering of a food product looks at modifying and changing the natural genetic footprint of a food product artificially which causes certain qualities to be transferred to the food products as is desired by the scientists. The scope of the study that has been undertaken is of great significance in the world today. The introduction of food products took place in the US in the years of 1997 to 1999, where in almost two thirds of the processed foods of the country genetically modified foods appeared. The food products were introduced in the markets without making the people aware of the problems that may be faced. In the recent times there has been observed that the genetically modified food products have been in the news due to the fact that European Environmental organizations and public interest groups have actively been protesting against the sale of the genetically modified food products in the market. There is a debate in place among the scholars about the usefulness and harmful effects of the products where some believe that GM food products are healthy and safe to use while others fear that the implications of these food products on the environment and the health of the individual are highly hazardous. The paper will look at the existing literature that has been developed on the topic so that a better understanding of the topic is developed. The question that the paper aims to answer is whether genetically engineered food products are harmful to the human health. As has already been specified in the section above there are a number of scholars who are of the belief that the genetically modified and engineered food products are not harmful to the human beings and there are some who believe that the genetic footprints of such food products are not that different from the genetic footprints of the natural food products. In fact scientists and scholars such as Aartsb h, Eedea G Van Den and others believe that there is minimal risk associated with genetically modified and engineered food. The article that has been developed in the Journal of Food and Chemical Toxicology is one where these findings of the scientists are based. The article aimed at assisting risk assessors and the general public in the development of a more comprehensive understanding of the safety issues that are related to these food products. The results that were stated in the article were developed on the basis of the discussions that took place by the European Commission from the year of 2002 to the year of 2003. The topic that was investigated in the paper was the “exchange of genetic information through horizontal (lateral) gene transfer (HGT) in the context of food and feed safety”. The “mechanisms for obtaining transgenic crops” are first described followed by “HGT mechanisms and its possible evolutionary role”. Then the “use of marker genes” is presented in detail as a “special case for genes that may pose a risk”. Furthermore, the exposure to GMOs and in particular to genetically modified (GM) “deoxyribonucleic acid” (DNA) is discussed as part of the total risk assessment. At the same time in the conclusions that have been stated the role of the genetically modified food in relation to the human health as well as the environment is highly risky and can cause a certain amount of harm to both. There has been observed that the concerns are related mainly to the DNA and the fact that it is feared that the effect of modifying the genes will lead to the loss of the natural and conventional crop, which will have an adverse affect on both the environment as well as on the health of the human beings. There are also scholars who fear that the changes in the DNA will cause loss of the conventional genes of the natural crops permanently. Other than the genetic safety of the genetically engineered food products there are also scholars who believe that the benefits of the food products out weight the negatives that may be associated with it. There are many scholars who have developed papers in keeping with the above mentioned theme. One such article was developed by Stella G Uzogara (2000) in her paper looks into one such position where she believes that the benefits of the food products out weigh the negatives that may be associated with it to a large extent. In her paper some of the positives that have been enumerated in relation to the genetically engineered food products are that firstly and fore mostly they are shelf life of the genetically modified food products are much longer than the conventional one. Another important benefit of these products is that the nutritional value of these products is much higher than the nutritional value of the natural food products that have not been genetically engineered. The quality of these food products is much higher, as they have a higher content of protein, while the content of the carbohydrates and the fats in the food products have been artificially engineered to be less, thus making it more healthy and fitting for the consumption of the human beings (Foster, P. S., Prescott, V. E. & Hagan, S. P, 2006). In her paper she takes the stance that the genetically modified food products are beneficial for the human health as well as for the environment. The article that was published by Food Science and Technology (2003), specifies that the effect of the genetically modified food products in the long run are of great significance, as they can be the answer to the various food problems that are being faced by the nation states today. There are those who are of the firm belief that the genetically engineered food products answer the problems of food scarcity and malnutrition that is being faced by almost all nation states in the world today. This is mainly due to the fact that these are easy to grow, and they are usually pest and rodent resistant. Due to this their production is more economical as they do not require the use of fertilizers and pesticides to grow. Thus the over all attractiveness of these food products in the economical sense in comparison to the natural food products increases. Along with this the fact that the nutrient content of these food products can be controlled and regulated also helps answer the problem of malnutrition which is so common in the world today. Thus, this article state that the role of the genetically modified food products are greatly significant in the world today, and the risk that is run when these are sold are comparatively inconsequential in nature in comparison to the benefits of these food products. Another scholar who is supportive of the genetically modified food products is MacLean N (2003), who argues that there are many health benefits that can possibly be derived from the increased food security and nutritional value form genetically modified food with enhanced qualities. There is also no doubt that a large number of members of the public are consuming genetically modified fish among other foods with enhanced nutritional quality. The ability of aquaculture for example to solve the problem of food insecurity especially due to the rapid reduction of fish populations in the natural fishing ground is evident. This is more important considering the nutritional value of fish as well as it being a major source of essential nutrients in the developing world. Genetic modification of fish cannot only improve the nutritional value of fish but also increase its productivity.   In support of the idea of positive effects of GM fish are Borgatti & Buck (2005), who emphasize that because genetic modification allows scientists to be so particular in trait selection, the process of ‘getting it right’ will take less time and lead to more nutritionally beneficial fish in a lot less time. They also highlight shellfish and finfish as an example discussing current developments to enable them to be genetically modified to be disease resistant thus, reducing the use of antibiotics (which is a common consumer concern for currently farmed non-gm fish). The articles that have been discussed in the section above point out to the various positives of the GMO food products, such as the fact that they are resistant to the various crop infectants and rodents; and also to the fact that they are cost effective as well as time effective. Some scholars even believe that they are highly significant in the world today as they can answer the problems of hunger and malnutrition, and the negatives are very few. The papers have emphasized on the positives, but even then could not ignore the negatives of these food products. The harmful effects of the genetically modified food products are very important and they cannot be ignored. In the past two to three years there has been a lot of research done on this topic, and the results reflect that the damaging effect of these products are quiet serious and can have long term effects on the health of the human kind as well as on the ecology of the planet. These have been discussed in the section below. Yet there has to be realized that there are scholars who believe that the role of the genetically modified food products are mostly harmful in nature, as they adversely affect both the health of the human beings as well as the environment (Key S, Ma J K, Drake P M 2008). In contrast to the various viewpoints that have been presented in the section above, these scholars believe that role of the genetically modified food products create new problems for the people instead of answering the already existing social dilemmas (Kumar, G. B. Sunil; T. R. Ganapathi, C. J. Revathi, L. Srinivas and V. A. Bapat 2005). Studies have been conducted that reflect that after the introduction of the genetically modified food products in the US market, almost 41 % of the children show a tendency towards cancer. Also the cases of allergies to peanuts have increased tremendously in the US as well as in the European states after the introduction of the genetically modified foods in the food chains of these countries (Hammond B, Lemen J, Dudek R, et al, 2006). There has been observed that the bee population in the areas where there are genetically modified pollen becomes non existent which is a serious problem with regards to the environment, and these issues can cause long term harmful effects to the people as well as to the whole ecological balance of the planet (Prescott, V. and Hogan, S., 2006). Reference: Borgatti, R., Buck, E H, 2005, ‘Genetically Engineered Fish and Seafood’, CRS Report for Congress; Pp. 1-11  Eede, G, Aarts, H, Buhk, H. J, Corthier, G, Flint, H J, 2004, ‘The relevance of gene transfer to the safety of food and feed derived from genetically modified (GM) plants’, Journal of Food and Chemical Toxicology, Vol 42; Pp.1127–1156  Food Science and Technology, 2003, ‘Genetically modified foods for human health and nutrition: the scientific basis for benefit/risk assessment’, Trends in food Science & Technology, Vol 14; Pp 173-181  Foster, P. S., Prescott, V. E. & Hagan, S. P, 2006, ‘Genetically modified plants and food hypersensitivity diseases: Usage and implications of experimental models for risk assessment’, Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Vol 111: Pp. 374 – 383  Hammond B, Lemen J, Dudek R, et al, 2006, Results of a 90-day safety assurance study with rats fed grain from corn rootworm-protected corn, Food Chem. Toxicol. Vol 44 no 2, pp 147–60 Key S, Ma J K, Drake P M 2008, ‘Genetically modified plants and Human Health, Journal of Royal Society of Medicine, Vol 101, no 6, pp 290-298 Kumar, G. B. Sunil; T. R. Ganapathi, C. J. Revathi, L. Srinivas and V. A. Bapat 2005, Expressions of Hepatitis B surface antigen in transgenic banana plants, Planta, Vol 222, No 2, pp 484- 493 MacLean, N, 2003, ‘Genetically modified fish and their effects on food quality and human health and nutrition’, Trends in food Science & Technology, Vol 14; Pp. 242-252  Prescott, V. and Hogan, S., 2006, Genetically modified plants and food hypersensitivity diseases: Usage and implications of experimental models for risk assessment, Pharmacology and Therapeutics 111(2):374-83.  Uzogara, S. G, 2000, ‘The impact of genetic modification of human foods in the 21st century: A review’, Biotechnology Advances, Vol 18; Pp 179-206 Read More