Transgenic Foods And Their Impact On Human Health

Transgenic foods and their impact on human health

The use of biotechnology has allowed developing more food, and has the advantage of reducing the use of chemical pesticides and protecting pest harvests. However, genetically modified foods have resulted in concerns to consumers because they bring with them the cause of various problems in people’s health. That is, in the same way that by changing the gene of a tomato can make it more resistant to droughts, this could also lose great concentration of nutrients.

The defenders of this practice think that the foods that are modified are more resistant to herbicides and pesticides, however, when they are subjected to a large number of chemicals, they become harmful to people for people. Transgenic foods can contribute to intestinal disorders, infertility, appearance of new toxic, the development of diseases such as allergies, this kind of food can also produce cancer.

The genetic engineering of crops as practiced today is an inaccurate, raw and outdated technology, this creates unexpected toxins or allergens in food and affect its nutritional value (Fagan, 2012). That is, there is a relationship between genetically modified foods and the development of allergies, because transgenic crops can incorporate them into food by compounds that are handled in them. There have already been cases that show that transgenic foods have affected human health in the aforementioned form, such as a case called "Starlink corn", it is explained that it originates the appearance of new allergies due to the incorporation of proteinsIn food, this time in corn crops, this product was not authorized to human consumption, because corn was modified to produce toxins that prevented the spread of a plague to corn crops.

In this case, overwhelming evidence was shown, according to The New York Times, this protein does not quickly break down into an acidic environment, as is the one in the stomach of humans, for this reason its sale was canceled for human consumption and was authorizedonly for intake by animals. The solution to this problem was given by a group of advisors from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), who prohibited the use of this genetically modified corn in food for humans, in addition, it must be taken into account thatThey are introducing protein foods that are derived from bacteria, viruses, insects, mice and a multitude of other species that have never been part of human food. As a consequence to some people who are susceptible to these toxins caused them allergies.

For the creation of a transgenic food, genes are introduced, which will be resistant to antibiotics, these are used in the genetic manipulation process. It has been proven that DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and proteins resist the digestion process, that is, they will subsist in the stomach of mammals, where they find an infinity of bacteria that even passes to the bloodstream and thento the organs of the body. The intake of genetically modified foods as a consequence brings the degradation of antibiotics that were consumed after food, because bacteria become resistant and survive the presence of antibiotics, canceling their effectiveness in the body. As for example, studies have shown that a specific variety of transgenic corn has a third gene that makes it resistant to an antibiotic, the ampicillin that is used in both humans and animals, here bacteria could appear that become resistant to this antibiotic,What will harm human health. In addition, the possibility of transfer of genes from transgenic foods to gastrointestinal bacteria has been confirmed through experiments, therefore, important medical treatments for the cure against infectious diseases could lose their effectiveness. Another example of genes used for the construction of genetically modified foods is Calgene’s tomato, these genes resist a certain antibiotic class, although these are not frequently prescribed, these are used to combat a certain bacterium causing tuberculosis by tuberculosis bywhich would harm the health of people who present this disease.

Cancer occurs in the body because cells multiply abnormally by genetic or environmental factors. Several studies ensure that genetically modified foods cause cancer. Studies of a transgenic and a pesticide were given to determine the cause of their impact on people’s health, which gave disturbing results. This study was to feed two hundred rats for two years but in three different ways to appreciate the results of these transgenic foods in a living being, they fed this group of rats with a transgenic corn and another with a corn without transgenics, as a result the resultFirst rat which was fed with transgenics died before the rat that was not fed with transgenics, after 600 days of consumption of transgenic foods, in the males they appeared kidney tumors instead in the females in a 94 -day interval of 94 daysThey appeared in the mammary glands, this research proved that transgenic foods could become extremely dangerous for people, since they cause anomalies in the body such as different cancers.

Another experiment in Argentina for animals such as birds and amphibians showed that glyphosate present in transgenic foods produced effects on gene coding in embryonic development that induced embryonic malformations. Even transgenic foods are a great threat to human health due to problems that cause them to various organism organs, however large companies that market and produce transgenic foods are not aware of the problems that their consumption brings. A study released in Environmental Sciences Europe examined the results of corn intake and soybeans in laboratory mice. When investigating the information made on the various studies, it was found that after ingesting the genetically modified food they affected the organs such as the liver and the kidneys, since they are the organs responsible for filtering the substances that enter the body, for whichThey react faster by the presence of food poisoning.

The consumption of transgenic foods can cause fertility problems, as proof of this argument, in Austria a study conducted by experts said that a transgenic corn developed by the Monsanto biotechnological company, altered the reproductive capacity of laboratory mice. This study concluded that the mice fed by genetically modified corn had a reaction to this food as a consequence its fertility was completely damaged, that is, the number of young was considerably reduced. On the other hand, mice fed with corn without transgenics did not suffer any damage to their fertility and were reproduced more efficiently, that is, birth control is executed by the supply of transgenic foods to the body, proceeding to infertility. Another study in Russia by scientists also demonstrates that OMG are harmful to fertility, this research announced that genetically modified soybeans, which was given to hamsters caused these animals to be completely sterile after two or three generations. This problem is because OMG contains glyphosate that can cause reproductive problems such as involuntary abortion, birth defects, correct development of the fetus and in this case infertility.

The great objective of agricultural companies is to obtain foods that are resistant to toxic agriculture and the ability to produce a greater amount of food for consumption. Thus, the transgenic industry is trying to change our food supply in long -range ways and potentially dangerous forms (Robinson, 2012). As a consequence, they have caused an increase in toxic agriculture that has increased the level of waste in food, as a consequence there is contamination of water sources with toxic agricultural due to the toxic waste that was in the foods that were genetically modified givingplace to health problems in rural areas, which also expanded to urban areas. As evidence of this, in the main countries of transgenic crops such as the United States, Brazil and Argentina have presented problems in public health. A proof of this case, a study was carried out in Europe, where transgenic soy consumption is considerably high through processed foods and even in animals that were fed with transgenic feed, glyphosate traces were found, which is a herbicide, in the urine of the settlers.

In conclusion, currently people are no longer able to differentiate whether a food is genetically modified or not and are lack of knowledge of the consequences that this fact could generate. For that reason, it is recommended when buying foods that are coming from the market or directly from consumers, and in case of buying in supermarkets, where genetically modified foods are mostly modified, you have to look at the labels, especially in the barcode, those that begin in 9 and have more than 5 digits are organic. Transgenic foods in the future could become a serious problem globally since these are harmful when consumed by people due to various factors previously said said. So with all the consequences of the transgenic foods expressed above, it is necessary to avoid consuming them or following the recommendations exposed so that there are no complications in health.