Type Of Food People example essay topic

Genetically Modified Food Genetically modified foods are the plants that are modified in the laboratory through procedures of improving their nutritious picture and developing the new and improved species of food that people will later consume. People have been doing this for ages by natural ways of plant selection and natural matching of different kinds of plants, for example creating new kind of wine grapes by matching two kinds to get a new one. This was all done in a natural way and by natural processes of growth and adjustment of plants. But today technology has gone further and we have started modifying our food in the laboratory by matching plant genes with animal genes, growth hormones, vitamins and other plants. Newly modified food is resistant to all kinds of natural processes (floods, insects), it is "more nutritious" and we can produce it, regardless of the kind of soil because of its modifications that benefit the growth and development of the plants. All those things people and companies are doing to improve their production and automatically to increase their profits.

Should we care about this or not? In my opinion we should. For example, plant geneticists can isolate a gene responsible for drought tolerance and insert that gene into a different plant. One other example is B.T. corn which produces proteins that rejects insects that attack the plant.

In that way the plant produces its own pesticide protection against insects. These kinds of food are already on the market, some countries have restrictions on the import of these items, but other countries like U.S. are putting a lot of pressure on the countries that still resist from consuming them and it is becoming harder to avoid such foods. The question raising is how people can benefit from these foods and the greatest good we can achieve through this technology that will benefit us the most and what procedures should we perform in order to achieve the highest possible benefit from it. Since the technology is still not researched enough and still a lot of countries are implementing the GMFs in their stores without even realizing the possible risks involved with this type of foods. "Environmental activists, religious organizations, public interest groups, professional associations and other scientists and government officials have all raised concerns about GM foods, and criticized agribusiness for pursuing profit without concern for potential hazards, and the government for failing to exercise adequate regulatory oversight. It seems that everyone has a strong opinion about GM foods".

In my opinion, since this technology is already around us, and although it might be bad for people, we should observe what is good about it and make the best of it and "produce" the greatest good for the greatest number since the technology is obviously developing. I think the biggest question is how can we benefit from this technology and avoid the problems that might occur. One of the main advantages mentioned is the increase of the amount of food in the world which can be beneficial for third world countries where food and resources are scarce. Since the world population has reached 6 billion people and is expected to rise drastically in the next 50 years especially in Southeast Asia and Africa, one often wonders how all the food is going to be produced and nevertheless have quality and nutrition to feed all the population. "Normal way" of growing crops will not be sufficient anymore because by just using natural methods, people cannot generate enough food for everybody. The answer could lie in the GMFs and their widespread usage in the market.

Nowadays it is possible to breed, plants and animals with improved nutritional and health benefits to humans. Due to higher pollution and the spread of cities and exploitation, there is less soil available for crop and plant growth and some of it is used for non efficient purposes. By using the GMFs, we can improve the world's food picture by feeding the ones that need it the most. We can use this type of foods to prevent diseases by matching food with certain vaccines and medications that will reduce the cost in health industry and the number of diseases and therefore the number of deaths from curable diseases in the world. Also with this type of food people can get more nutrition by eating only several types of foods instead of many. As Dr. Liz Dennis, Chief Research Scientist CSIRO Plant Industry in Australia says, "crops with defined health benefits will become available.

Two examples of particular significance to developing countries are the recent announcement of 'golden rice' -- rice genetically modified to produce enhanced levels of vitamin A. These technologies offer solutions to dietary deficiencies that affect millions of people for whom rice is the staple diet". She is also referring to modification of plant oil to increase monounsaturated oils that would lower cholesterol in the human body and benefit the overall heath. She is also mentioning the possibility of developing vaccines in plants so that people could be immunized against diseases like measles by eating some simple food which could be a major advantage for the developing countries because of the high disease rates and lower health benefits. The foods are also made resistant to certain diseases and animals and bugs that attack them which also make the use of pesticides and herbicides that make the human environment and health more improved. Plant researchers also look for genes that will benefit the farmer, the food processor, or the consumer. It will benefit the farmer in the way that he / she will need less time and money to take care of the crops, spray them with different kinds of pesticides and herbicides that might endanger the environment and health of others.

Food processing will be easier and consumers will have a wider variety of choice of food and they will choose which kind of vitamins and benefits they want to get from these types of foods. For example, scientists have inserted into corn a gene from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, usually referred to as BT. This gene makes a protein lethal to certain caterpillars that destroy corn plants. This form of insect control has two advantages: It reduces the need for chemical pesticides, and the BT protein, which is present in the plant in very low concentrations, has no effect on humans. Although the overall benefits for the society sound very convincing, there are certain dangers concerning this technology and I think the public as well as the scientists are not informed enough about them. The biotechnology companies admit there are dangers, but still not enough research has been done on the issue and there are examples where this technology backfired like in the Showa Denko debacle where a number of people died from the contents of genetically modified food.

There are concerns about the natural environment and variety of species. As the new and improved kinds of crops are created, the types of plants that have been in the world for sometimes thousands of years are starting to disappear, and there is also a major question of human health. Since it is a new technology, not researched enough in terms of safe gene and the main questions arising are the effects of genes in the food on the human organism, the possibility of allergies, diseases, and what are the risks in consuming this type of food. How will the human organism adapt to the changes in food and how will this affect the lifestyle, eating habits and diet.

"Within just three years a fundamental transformation of the human diet has occurred. This was made possible by massive consolidations among agri-business. Ten companies now own about 40% of all US seed production and sales. The Biotech industry especially targeted two of the most commonly eaten and lucrative ingredients in processed foods - corn and soy". 'Lots and lots of people -- virtually the entire population -- could be exposed to genetically engineered foods, and yet we have only a handful of studies in the peer-reviewed literature addressing their safety. The question is, do we assume the technology is safe based on an argument that it's just a minor extension of traditional breeding, or do we prove it?

The scientist in me wants to prove it is safe,' says Dr. Margaret Mellon, director of the agricultural and biotechnology program, Union of Concerned Scientists. 'Today the vast majority of foods in supermarkets contain genetically modified substances whose effects on our health are unknown. As a medical doctor, I can assure you that no one in the medical profession would attempt to perform experiments on human subjects without their consent. Such conduct is illegal and unethical. Yet manufacturers of genetically altered foods are exposing us to one of the largest uncontrolled experiments in modern history,' says Dr. Martha R. Herbert, pediatric neurologist.

Since GMFs are already on the market and it will be difficult to avoid them, one wonders what is the best thing to do in order to benefit from this technology after all. First of all it should be determined which foods are safe to eat and which are not. I think there should be more funding for this type of research because it is clear that this type of food might be a potential danger. If we would put more pressure on the research we could clearly identify what is the best for us, what is safe to eat and what products should be excluded from the market. I also think that the labelling of the GM foods is mandatory and it gives the consumers a chance to choose whether they are going to consume that product or not. The label should also clearly state the ingredients, and in this case additives which were being used to "produce" and grow the crop or a plant.

Consumer will have to be able to know what they are eating simply because of safety and health reasons, and freedom of choice. People should also be educated about the effects of that type of food. I think that these actions are still not being implemented and consumers in general do not know what they are buying and eating. They might know that the food is modified, but they are not informed enough about it and do not know the possible consequences they might experience. Personally I think that people should try to resist the GMFs and consume them only if they know it is safe to consume them. I believe that I was affected by the GMFs during my senior year that I spent in the United States.

I think this because according to statistics the prevalence of GM foods in U.S. grocery stores is more widespread than is commonly thought, and I might have consumed some of it during that period. In general, I try to eat as normal as I can in these days. Bosnia is still one of more traditional countries and a lot of value is put on the family gathering, and homemade meals. Due to EU and domestic restrictions, I do not think that there are any GMFs in Bosnia concerning the imported and domestically produced goods. I also think that there are other ways how to produce enough food for the growing population and the first one is the increased environmental protection and pollution control because they are one of the main factors that affect the food we eat.

In my opinion, I do not think that GMFs are not a good choice for people. We still do not know how this technology works, and besides enough research has not been done on the subject. We still do not know how certain genes from animals or some artificially grown bacteria react with some of the food ingredients. Therefore GMFs should be properly labelled to give consumers a choice whether to consume it or not. I also believe that GMFs will have a huge impact on human eating habits and we will use the "sense of food" we are eating. In the future we might get all our nutrition in just one pill a day, similar to what is done to the astronauts in space.

It will also affect the environmental diversity in a sense that certain types of plants will disappear from their natural form and only appear in the genetically modified form. On other hand a lot of companies will make huge profits on some products which are not completely proven yet. On some way they are cheating us, without any good explanation and without giving us a good choice.

Bibliography

Battalion, Nathan. 50 Harmful Effects of Genetically Modified Foods. SCOPE: GM Food. Showa Denko Debacle. SCOPE: GM Food. GMF Questions, Many Positions. Mitchell Paul and Keith Lee. Concern grows over genetically modified food. World Socialist Web Page. Thompson, Larry. Are Bioengineer ed Foods Safe? U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Whitman, Deborah B. Genetically Modified Foods: Harmful or Helpful? Genetically Modified Foods-Hot Topics Series. PBS-harvest of fear: should we grow GM crops? .