Genetically modified (GM) food is controversial due to concerns about its effects on human health and the environment. Farmers worry about cross-pollination and dependency on large corporations. The long-term effects of bioengineering are unknown, but no risks have been identified yet.
Genetically modified (GM) food has raised controversy among scientists, environmentalists and economic activists. Genetically modified foods come from plants whose genes have been engineered to alter their chemistry or biology to resist drought, insect infestation, disease, and make the resulting food rich in vitamins and minerals, bigger, tastier or with a longer shelf life.
The biotechnology of genetically modified foods is controversial for opponents who fear the effects on human health and the environment. For example, they wonder what it’s like to use the genes of an inedible animal or plant species in an edible animal or plant species, even if that resulting food has higher amounts of vitamins or minerals and seems healthier. This is the main difference between GM food crops and crops that have been selectively bred, such as corn or cattle, for taste, shelf life or ease of maintenance. For example, a chemical in some fish that allows them to dive into cold waters now helps strawberry plants withstand mild frosts. The significance or long-term effects of bioengineering have not been fully evaluated, although no risks have yet been identified.
Second, growing GM food is controversial for farmers concerned that growers cannot keep pollen from GM plants producing GM food from spreading and fertilizing wild or non-GM counterparts. These opponents call attention to the damage that could be done if strains of genetically modified species enter the wild and disturb the natural balance of the plant ecosystem. Hybrid species would no longer resist a certain type of infestation because they were engineered without a poisonThey could become incapable of reproductionBioengineers argue that cross-pollination poses negligible risk because pollen has to travel a long distance over constructed “ditches” between genetically engineered crops modified and other species and no such losses have occurred.
International economic concerns have caused mixed reactions among supporters of developing country economies. When a large company is able to manipulate food crops with a large R&D department, they are assured of very successful GM foods. Some argue that this gives them an unfair advantage over traditional farmers’ farming methods, which in turn creates a long-term dependency on society. For example, one company engineered rice with more vitamins, longer shelf life, and ease of growth. They sell seeds that don’t self-propagate because the plants were sterile, which means farmers have to buy seeds every season. Some believe this creates an unnecessary dependency of developing countries on a few large corporations to supply seeds and herbicides year after year to reap the benefits of GM food. Others see this as a natural extension of an international capitalist system that needs careful regulation but has no inherent problems.
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