GM Foods, Benefits and Related Issues...

Genetic engineering involves the transfer of a select piece of genetic material from one organism to another.
http://www.anarac.com/what_are_genetically_modified_fo.htm

The principal ingredients of GM foods derived from plants are soybean, maize, canola and cottonseed oil.
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Benefits of GM foods
Crops
>Enhanced taste and quality of food products
>Reduced maturation time
>Increased nutrients, yields, and stress tolerance
>Improved resistance to disease, pests, and herbicides
>New products and growing techniques

Animals
>Increased resistance, productivity, hardiness, and feed efficiency
>Better yields of meat, eggs, and milk
>Improved animal health and diagnostic methods

Environment
>Bioprocessing for forestry products
>Better natural waste management
>More efficient processing
>Conservation of soil, water, and energy
>“Friendly" bioherbicides and bioinsecticides
>reduced use of pesticides, fertilizers and energy compared to conventional farming methods.

Society
>Increased food security for growing populations
>economic benefits of GM crops in developing countries are more significant compared to industrialised countries because agriculture in these countries is a larger part of the economy, and employs a larger fraction of the labor force, and often agriculture suffers from losses of crops to insects which are remedied in insect protected GM crops


Issues w GM foods

labeling
There are many risks believed to be attached to genetic engineering and GM foods. Consumers are often not aware that they are consuming GMOs, as the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet made labeling of GMOs in food a requirement. Not mandatory in some countries (e.g., United States)
Mixing GM crops with non-GM confounds labeling attempts
There is continued research and more products are found to contain GMOs. GM foods are unlabelled and are everywhere.

Environment
Once Gm crops are grown they could pose a very real threat to our environment. Herbicide resistant crops are on the rise. These crops are meant to withstand powerful herbicides. Only the herbicide resistant crop will survive being sprayed and all other plants in the field will die.

Crops are now being developed to contain genes that make crops poisonous to insects.
Insects will forage on the crops, and then they will die....What about the birds that eat these insects? What will happen to them?

Potential environmental impact: unintended transfer of transgenes through cross-pollination, unknown effects on other organisms (e.g., soil microbes), and loss of flora and fauna biodiversity

Ethnical
Genetic modification (GM) is the subject of controversy in its own right. Some see the science itself as intolerable meddling with "natural" order, while others recognize the inability of modern science to fully comprehend all of the potential negative ramifications of gene manipulation.
Violation of natural organisms' intrinsic values
Tampering with nature by mixing genes among species
Objections to consuming animal genes in plants and vice versa
Stress for animal

Consumer Rights
On 15 March 2005, World Consumer Rights Day, consumer organisations all overthe world will say NO to GMOs! They will demand labelling of all GM foods and independent safety testing. Ways must be found to establish and secure GM-free areas, and strict rules introduced to prevent contamination of conventional and organic crops.
Consumers have a right to information, a right to choice and a right tosafety.

Health
GM food could be a serious risk to human health. Proteins made from the foreign genes might be directly toxic to humans.

Potential human health impact: allergens, transfer of antibiotic resistance markers, unknown effects

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