Critical Thinking Genetically modified organisms have been in use for an extended period, but the safety of the products have

Critical Thinking

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Genetically modified organisms have been in use for an extended period, but the safety of the products have been questioned as it tends to be controversial. A genetically modified organism refers to any organism whether plant or animal to whom the genetic material has been altered with the use of the genetic techniques (Van Eenennaam, 2017). The genetically modified organisms have found their use in the medication and the genetically modified foods and therefore have attracted a significant application in research as well as the production of other goods and products. The technique of genetic engineering in crop management was initiated to the farmers to ensure higher yields as well as the quality of their crops. It is arrogated that the genetic engineering technology would assist the individuals in the agricultural sector reduce the amount of food wastes. There are no proven side effects of using the genetically modified organism but the safety their safety has been questioned by many. There are a lot of benefits that alludes from the use of genetically modified organisms as well as estimated sides effects of using the genetic organisms.

There are significant benefits of using the genetically modified organisms. Among the benefits include the production of insect and pest resistant crops. Some of the genetically modified foods have been altered making the more resistant to pests and other insects that tend to harm them (Wunderlich & Gatto, 2015). Toxic microorganism that are safe for human have also found their use to the crops making able to repel the pests and this reduces the amount of pesticides used in spraying the crops while at the farms.

Stronger crops is another potential benefit arising from the use of the genetically modified organisms. The GM technology is believed to help the plants withstand extreme weather conditions having an implication that the crops are of better quality. Besides, sufficient crop production will be witnessed even under poor conditions (Blum, 2018). As the human population is on the rise, more and more lands are utilized for settlements while less and unsuitable land is left for the farmers for cultivation. The presence of the inadequate conditions such as the high salt conditions in the water and soil along with the dry conditions necessitate the need for genetic altering in the crops that aid the crops to survive under the unfavorable conditions. Besides, the genetically modified plants and animals more resistant to unforeseen diseases, therefore, making the plant and the animals stronger and resilient and thus increased productivity.

The use of genetically modified organisms contributes to the protection of the environment. According to the studies from the Oklahoma state university, the use of genetically modified organisms requires less time, tools as well as the chemicals that are needed for their growth (Clomburg et al. 2017). The use of minimal chemicals aid in the reduction in the amount of the greenhouse gas emissions, environmental pollution as well as the decrease in soil erosion. The overall effect of the reduced use of chemicals implies that the general health, as well as the aesthetic of the environment, is preserved. Besides, the environment surrounding the farms is significantly improved and therefore contribute in the preservation of air and water quality.

Genetic crops and animals are modified to increase the amount of nutrition in them (Kamthan et al. 2016). According to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United States, some of the genetic products have been altered to include more nutrition content. The alteration of the crops to include vitamins and minerals not only assist the people to obtain the much needed nutrients but also play a vital role in the fighting against malnutrition across the globe especially on the third world countries. The United States has a recommendation that rice that is meant for relief get enhanced with vitamins A to reduce the deficiencies of such nutrients across the planet.

The reduced use of pesticides is evident among the plants that are genetically modified, and as a result, less use of pesticides are used against the various types of pests (Perry et al. 2016). The use of fewer pesticides increases the quality of the yields as the crops are exposed to lesser chemical content, and this is of great health benefits to the people consuming the products. On the other side, the use of genetically modified crops increases the yields implying that the farmers produces a surplus of their commodities that translate to more sales and also have an effect of increasing the amount of income with an overall effect of raising the standards of living. With the introduction of the gene, technology has made it possible for the production of new products that are safe for human consumption as well as the environment. Some of the new crops invented thrive in the extreme conditions such as the invention of tomatoes that grow in the salty conditions.

On the other hand, everything that has benefits has some side effects or disadvantages accompanying them. Genetically modified organisms are not an exception as foods containing genetic alterations has some side effects that prove not to be safe for human consumption and even to the environment. Among the disadvantages associated with genetically modified foods is the introduction of allergic reactions to the consumers of the products that contain the genetic alterations. Studies conducted by Brown University suggest that the recently genetic modified foods have the potential of causing significant allergic risks to the consumers (Remington et al. 2017). The report suggests that the genetic modification adds extra proteins to the original crop or animal, thereby having the potential of causing new allergic reactions in the consumer’s body. Having a variety of genetically modified organisms with the possibility of causing allergic reactions implies that the range of food choices among the people will be lessened. The genetically modified organisms are not 100% environmentally as proclaimed by the research experts. The main reason behind is that the genetically modified foods contain some traces of several substances that are not yet proven to be safe for human consumption. And to make the matter worse, the substances are kept hidden from the face of the public.

Another problem associated with the genetically modified organisms is that they lower the level of biodiversity as the technology could cause potential harm to some microorganisms resulting to a reduced level of biodiversity (Corlett, 2017). The reduced level of biodiversity also implies a reduction or the elimination of a food source to another organism along the food chain. For example, the removal a particular pest that is harmful to crops such as cutworm means that another species such as birds have been deprived off their food source. Besides, the genetically modified crops could prove toxic leading to the reduction in their numbers and the eventual extinction.

Genetic modifications have a resultant effect of reducing or decreasing the efficacy of antibiotics (Motlag et al. 2016). According to the Iowa State University, some of the genetically modified foods contain antibiotic features to which are built in them and make them resistant to diseases or viruses. When consumed, the resistant antibiotics remain persistent in the consumer’s body, and upon the application of antibiotics, they are rendered ineffective. Furthermore, the research warns against the consumption of such foods as well as the continued exposure to the antibiotics as they contribute to the low effectiveness of the antibiotic drugs.

Gene spilling and genetic transfer are other disadvantages that prove the genetic modification as being unsafe for use (Shetty et al. 2018). Though unclear of the spilling effects, the genetic pollution that result from the inadequate sequestering of the genetically modified crops would lead in wild crops from the surroundings. It is however stressed that the transfer of pollen from the genetically modified plants into the wild plants surrounding them through the agents of pollination could have dramatic effects on the ecosystem resulting in gene transfer. According to experts, the genes from the organisms resistant to pesticides and herbicides maybe crossed to the wild weed families resulting in the mutation of a new weed plant that is resistant to herbicides as well leading to the development of super-weeds that are hard to kill. For the animals and crops that have been genetically modified, they may develop to become super-organisms to which are capable of out-competing the natural plants and animals that may lead to the extinction of the natural species.

New diseases may arise as a result of the consumption of the genetically modified organisms (Manach et al. 2017). Taking into consideration that the organisms are modified using bacteria and viruses, there is the fear that the bacteria and viruses may get exposed in the bodies of the consumers and present new traits of diseases. The possibilities of such incidences have left the scholars worried and has received a great deal of debate across the nation.

The debate regarding the safety of the genetically modified organisms is controversial with some people claiming it to be safe for consumption. Others are against the consumption or the continued research on genetic modification citing that the presence of the genetic organisms is not of any benefits to the human and crops, but instead, it possesses significant risks to the health, environment as well as on the food sources of individual species. Those who claim to support the existence and the continued use of the genetically modified organism cite that they are not harmful to consumptions and that they are meant to improve the quality as well as the quantity of yields. It is, therefore, a two-sided debate that possess issues to which most of them are just but mere allegations as there is no proven evidence.

In my opinion, I would be of the opposing viewpoint that the genetically modified organisms are not safe and have some hidden trait in them that are harmful to the species. For one, the development of the herbicide-resistant species may also lead to the development of super-weeds that are as a result of mutation that is caused by cross-pollination between the natural weeds and the genetically modified plants. Besides, the consumption of the GM foods may contain traces of resistant bacteria and viruses that may be responsible for causing illnesses to humans to which are not treatable, making the use of the GM foods inappropriate for consumption.

In conclusion, the genetically modified foods can aid in solving the problems associated with malnutrition and hunger in the globe. Besides, they can as well be used to help protecting and preserving the environment through increasing the yields as well as the reduction on the reliance on pesticides and herbicides to eliminate pests. But to fulfill that and ensure the safety of the GM products, it is essential to proceed with caution so that it can avoid the unfavorable consequences to the environment and the human health, taking into consideration that the genetic engineering technology is compelling.

References

Blum, A. (2018). Plant Breeding For Stress Environments: 0. CRC press.

Clomburg, J. M., Crumbley, A. M., & Gonzalez, R. (2017). Industrial bio manufacturing: the future of chemical production. Science, 355(6320), aag0804.

Corlett, R. T. (2017). A bigger toolbox: biotechnology in biodiversity conservation. Trends in biotechnology, 35(1), 55-65.

Kamthan, A., Chaudhuri, A., Kamthan, M., & Datta, A. (2016). Genetically modified (GM) crops: milestones and new advances in crop improvement. Theoretical and applied genetics, 129(9), 1639-1655.

Manach, C., Milenkovic, D., Van de Wiele, T., Rodriguez‐Mateos, A., De Roos, B., Garcia‐Conesa, M. T., & Morand, C. (2017). Addressing the inter‐individual variation in response to consumption of plant food bio actives: Towards a better understanding of their role in healthy aging and cardio metabolic risk reduction. Molecular nutrition & food research, 61(6), 1600557.

Motlagh, A. M., Bhattacharjee, A. S., & Goel, R. (2016). Biofilm control with natural and genetically-modified phages. World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology, 32(4), 67.

Perry, E. D., Ciliberto, F., Hennessy, D. A., & Moschini, G. (2016). Genetically engineered crops and pesticide use in US maize and soybeans. Science advances, 2(8), e1600850.

Remington, B., Broekman, H. C. H., Blom, W. M., Capt, A., Crevel, R. W., Dimitrov, I., … & Glenn, K. C. (2017). Approaches to assess IgE mediated allergy risks (sensitization and cross-reactivity) from new or modified dietary proteins. Food and Chemical Toxicology.

Shetty, M. J., Chandan, K., Krishna, H. C., & Aparna, G. S. (2018). Genetically modified crops: An overview. Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, 7(1), 2405-2410.

Van Eenennaam, A. L. (2017). Genetic modification of food animals. Current opinion in biotechnology, 44, 27-34.

Wunderlich, S., & Gatto, K. A. (2015). Consumer Perception of Genetically Modified Organisms and Sources of Information–. Advances in Nutrition, 6(6), 842-851.