Genetically modified organisms or GMOs refers to microorganisms, animals or plants in which the DNA or genetic material has been changed other than by the natural means of mating and/or recombination. In this article, we will look at the pros and cons of GMO foods among other things.
Pros and Cons of GMO Foods
These foods are basically products which has transgenic animals or plant sources as ingredients. The process can make the foods more nutritious, stronger, and bigger. When the genes are changed in plants they can be protected against disease, as well as survive the exposure to herbicides which are used to kill plants and weeds.
The genetically modified foods can be used in many ways. For example, people eat the rice in large amounts in some parts of Africa. The transgenic rice plants produce proteins to give extra vitamins and iron. In addition, scientists modify pigs for them to produce meat that is healthier and coffee plants to bring decaffeinated coffee beans, amongst other things.
Another pro is that some of the GMO foods are modified to be more resistant to insects. According to reports, a toxic bacterium could be added to the crops or plants to make them safe to use by humans, yet insect repellent. This could lower the amount of pesticides which are used on plants.
Even though GMO foods might have several benefits for human health as well as the farming industry’s general well-being, they also have several shortcomings.
Cons:
GMO foods could cause substantial allergy risks to humans. Genetic modification usually adds or mixes proteins which were not indigenous to original animals or plants, thus resulting in new allergic reactions in the body.
What Are Transgenic Organisms
This is an organism that is modified with the genetic material from some other species. It’s done when DNA is inserted into an embryo with the use a gene gun, plasmid, or virus. This embryo is then allowed to develop for the mature organism to express the inserted DNA.
Here are some related terms that you should know about:
Transgenic mice: Extra foreign DNA is in every cell of the mice so that they can be used to study the gene regulation or function and model diseases which affect human. A transgenic mouse has additional genetic material that is artificially-introduced to every cell.
Knockout mice: These are important animal models which are used for studying the genes role that have been sequenced, but the functions are not determined. Researchers could probably infer the functions by causing a certain gene in the mouse to be inactive and then observe any differences from the normal behaviour or composition.
Humanized mice: These are used commonly as small animal models in medical and biological studies for human therapeutics.
Conclusion
Genetically modified foods are supported by some people who believe that they could help persons living in areas where the growing conditions are poor as well as help put an end to world hunger. On the other hand, those who are against GMO’s are worried about the safety as different genes are mixed from different species which could produce strange new plant and animal breeds.
Leave a Reply