Would you avoid Genetically Modified foods (GM foods)?
GM foods mean foods or food ingredients that are, or are derived from, organisms that have been modified through the use of modern biotechnology. With this technology, organisms can fight against particular environmental hazard.
GM foods available on the market come in many forms. Some are whole foods such as soybean, corn and tomato but most are processed food, e.g. corn chips, tofu, soymilk, etc.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) concluded that the use of modern biotechnology did not result in food that was less safe than that produced by conventional techniques. It has pointed out that GM foods currently available on the international market have passed risk assessments and are not likely to present risks for human health. All GM foods are subjected to safety assessments including characteristics of the organisms used, composition, nutrition, toxicity and allergenicity before they become available for sale.
In addition, no effects on human health have been shown as a result of the consumption of such foods by the general population in the countries where they have been approved.
GM crops have high tolerance to herbicide, they can be grown in places with adverse growing conditions, e.g. drought. Thus, the crop yields can be increased. Also this technique can provide resistance to crop pests and reduce the use of pesticides that can reduce the chance of food poisoning, but also cut down the production cost. As a result farmers can make much more money than growing conventional crops.
Genetic modification can improve the sensory attributes of food, e.g. flavor, texture. Besides, this technique can improve the nutrient composition of crops, e.g. increase the protein content of rice, thus we can be able to get the same amount of nutrients with less amount of food. It can also improve the processing characteristics so as to reduce wastage and costs. Moreover, for people who have food allergies, GM food can eliminate the allergy-causing properties in some foods, letting these people to have these foods.
Some vegetarians may afraid of eat GM Foods that contain animal genes. And this will break their religious’ regulations. However, there are no GM foods currently on sale containing animal genes. These kinds of products are still in the research stage and may be released in the future. Nevertheless, these products are subjected to stringent safety assessments by the industry and food authorities of the place of origin before they are available in the market.
Some customers think that GM Foods will elicit allergic responses upon consumption. But allergenicity is associated with many conventional foods including nuts and seafood. When new genes are introduced, there is a theoretical possibility that new allergens may be expressed in the food. However, allergenicity is included in the safety assessment of GM foods before the products are launched on the market. The assessment focuses on the source of the gene and the properties of proteins expressed by the gene. Such assessments could help to exclude GM foods that are likely to be allergenic from entering the market.
And I am not saying that using GM Foods to replace conventional foods. Therefore I am sure both of them can exist together. Also the government has set up some rules to control GM Foods. Clear labels will be found on the packing of GM Foods. Customers will have their right to choose.
Consequently, I will not avoid GM Foods.