genetically modified food

Genetically modified food
Author’s Name:
Institutional Affiliation:
Genetically modified foods (GMO) result from biotechnological procedures that use recombinant DNA processes to alter the genetic makeup of food (Schneider, Schneider & Richardson, 2009). The recombination process involves changing an organism’s genes or moving them from one organism to another. Such changes will make the organism express attributes that were not available on the original organism (Bawa & Anilakumar, 2013). A company known as Calgene was the first to produce genetically modified food in the early 1990s (Diehl, 2018). The company engineered tomatoes by suppressing the polygalacturonase gene to produce the Flavr-Savr tomatoes which exhibited delayed softening after ripening (Bruening & Lyons, 2000).
Genetically modified food has a range of benefits in terms of reducing environmentally harmful pesticides and raising agricultural productivity (Qaim, 2010). With genetic modification, food supplies can become predictable. The nutritional content is also improved in genetically modified foods (Arya, 2015). The shelf life of genetically modified foods is longer than that of original foods. This makes the transportation process easier. Medical benefits are derived from GMO foods via a process known as pharming. Foods become more appealing after modification of colors via genetic modification (Vittana, 2017).
Several drawbacks of genetically modified foods have been established. They are known to cause antibiotic resistance which makes diseases difficult to cure (Klümper & Qaim, 2014).

The foods expose farmers to legal liability because most of them are patented. Cases of genetic migration from crops to weeds have been known to occur making it difficult to control the weeds (Vittana, 2017). Genetic modification also presents carcinogen exposure (Dona & Arvanitoyannis, 2009). Studies show that crops tolerant to pesticides have increased the risk of cancer in rats. Some studies have also established that there is a risk of allergic reactions from genetically modified foods (Vittana, 2017).
People are concerned about genetically modified food due to the health risks posed especially carcinogenic exposure. In addition to health risks, it is possible that the effects of genetically modified foods are yet to be fully understood (Bawa & Anilakumar, 2013). The United States of America is believed to be the highest genetically modified food producer. In 2014, over 73.1 million hectares of genetically modified crops were produced in the country (Johnson & O’Connor, 2015).

References
Arya, D. (2015). Genetically Modified Foods Benefits and Risks. Massachusetts Medical Society.
Bawa, A. S., & Anilakumar, K. R. (2013). Genetically modified foods: safety, risks and public concerns—a review. Journal of food science and technology, 50(6), 1035-1046.
Bruening, G., & Lyons, J. (2000). The case of the FLAVR SAVR tomato. California Agriculture, 54(4), 6-7.
Diehl, P. (2018, June 28). Genetically Modified Food Timeline and How We Got Here. Retrieved July 30, 2018, from https://www.thebalance.com/genetically-modified-food-how-did-we-get-here-375719.
Dona, A., & Arvanitoyannis, I. S. (2009). Health risks of genetically modified foods. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition, 49(2), 164-175.
Johnson, D., & O’Connor, S. (2015, April 30). Genetically Modified Foods: What Is Grown and Eaten in the U.S. Retrieved July 30, 2018, from http://time.com/3840073/gmo-food-charts/Klümper, W., & Qaim, M. (2014). A meta-analysis of the impacts of genetically modified crops. PloS one, 9(11), e111629.
Qaim, M. (2010, April 02). The Benefits of Genetically Modified Crops-and the Costs of Inefficient Regulation. Retrieved July 30, 2018, from http://www.rff.org/blog/2010/benefits-genetically-modified-crops-and-costs-inefficient-regulation.
Schneider, K. R., Schneider, R. G., & Richardson, S. (2009). Genetically modified food. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
Vittana. (2017, July 11). 12 Advantages and Disadvantages of Genetically Modified Foods. Retrieved July 30, 2018, from https://vittana.org/12-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-genetically-modified-foods.