Union of Concerned Scientists. “Union of Concerned Scientists USA.” 30 Oct. 2002. Web. 8 Apr. 2011. http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_agriculture/science_and_impacts/impacts_genetic_engineering/risks-of-genetic-engineering.html
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Possible Health Risks Involved With Genetic Engineering
As the use of genetic engineering rises in food production across the country, people are starting to ask about the adverse side effects of this technology. One concern with genetic engineering is that new allergens may appear in foods. An example would be soybeans that have been genetically altered with brazil nut proteins. People allergic to brazil nuts developed reactions to these soybeans. Another concern is that genetically modified food may affect antibiotic resistance. Most genetically engineered foods contain functioning antibiotic resistant genes. It is thought that if these foods were eaten at the same time an antibiotic was taken, the effectiveness would diminish. If this is true, foods would need to be identified if they contain these genes so people taking antibiotics or with allergies, would know to avoid them. A third concern involves toxins and toxic metals. Plants that are genetically altered may start to produce toxins because the new genes added to the DNA activated certain pathways. Some plants have been altered to take up heavy metals from the soil and to store these in inedible parts of the plant such as the leaves and stems. These plants could help make the use of municipal sludge as fertilizer possible. Issues with these plants would involve disposing of the parts that contain the heavy metals. I personally would not feel safe eating a tomato from a plant that contains high levels of mercury in it's leaves. How could the scientists be sure no metals would end up in the fruit of the plant? It is almost expected that with any new technology, there comes risks. In my opinion, studies in this field should continue, but the risks involved need to be acknowledged and respected.
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I just read an article in a magazine I have that gave a huge amount of info on GM Foods. It was very interesting. There was a part talking about livestock that were getting really sick and Vets were prescribing non GMO diets. After they did autopsies on these GM fed livestock they found damage to the liver and ulcers. After they stopped feeding the animals the GMO diet the death rates dropped, stillbirth rates were down and the size of their liters increased.
ReplyDeleteI would not feel safe if i know that a vegetable Im eating has high levels of heavy metals. I understand its giving it extra yeilds of food for one plant but i think extensive amount of research should been done on the plant and its fruit. In testimg for high levels of nutrients. Down at disney world i went on a tour of their greenhouse research. And they had plants growing without soil. They plants ran threw a misting device then back to sunlight. They also had potatoes growing from a wire that had large potatoes dangling from the roots in air. It was pretty cool
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