Genetically Modified Organisms - Assignment Example

GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS Genetically Modified Organisms Genetically modified organisms refer to organisms that have genetics whose nature has been altered through genetic engineering methods. The modification is usually done on plants and animals. These medications usually result to organisms that are of completely different nature to the traditional organisms. This paper aims at discussing the production and consumption of products with genetically modified organisms. There are a number of reasons as to why genetic modification is always carried out on plants and animals. For example, in plants genetic modification is always carried out with the aim of increasing their nutritional values and making their yield higher. As the world faces an increase in its population on a daily basis there is always a need to increase food product so that the increasing population can be catered for. This is always amplified with the existence of natural calamities such as droughts. With the alteration of the genes or even introducing new genes or DNA genetic engineers are always able to make sure that they modify organisms that are of more benefit to human beings and their environment (Ghosh& Jepson, 2006). For the genetic modification and engineering to effectively take place there is always a long process that involved thorough study and testing before the product are introduced and sold for human consumption. Genetic engineering of plants and animal usually involve the modification of genes and DNA of organisms so that they can have more desirable characteristics. The process usually involvesvarious stages. The genetic engineers usually get the desired genes from the genomes of the organisms that are supposed to act as donors. The desired genes are then introduced to the organism that is supposed to be genetically modified. Only the desired genes are always transferred to the genome of the organism that is supposed to undergo genetic modification. The resulting organism is usually very different from the original organisms. Sometimes the genes of the organisms are simply modified while in other situations the genetic engineers usually introduce foreign genes to the organism that they aim at modifying. There are a number of foods that are available in the supermarkets that contain genetically modified organisms. These products include cheese, soya beans oil, corn syrup, bread, snacks, squash, papayas, sugar beet, sweet pepper, polish canola, and petunia. All these foods have been modified with the aim of making them more beneficial to the lives of human beings. There are high numbers of products that contain genetically modified organisms in the market and it would be hard for a person to completely ignore the consumption of such products. Safety of consumption of foods that contain genetically modified organism is something that has been debatable for a long time. Despite the fact that people have always been constantly assured of the safety of GMO products, the uncertainty of the safety of consumption of these products have never been eliminated. It has been discovered that human beings have shown allergic reactions to GMOs almost at the same rate at which they have shown such reactions to natural foods. Furthermore, the GMOs usually go through thorough studies before they are availed to human beings for consumption. However, one of the biggest concerns has been the fact that GMOs have been discovered to have a little bit more effect to the body weight of human beings as compared to natural foods. Other concerns about the consumption of GMOs include the fact that consumption of foods that containGMOd can lead to the increase of toxic loads in the human system. The toxic materials that have been noticed to be in the system of many people include heavy metals and plastics. These levels of toxic materials are believed to be the reason behind the high rate of cancer diagnoses (Piguet&Poindron, 2012). The combination of the various modified genes from the GMO products that are consumed by human beings has also been discovered to have negative effect to the lives of human beings making them more vulnerable to health complications. To make sure that there is increased safety in the consumption and production of GMO foods there are a number of regulations put in place to make sure that the production is done in a way that the final products are of minimal negative effect to the people who consume them. Producers of foods that contain genetically modified organisms must adhere to certain rules that are put in place by Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act. The act asserts that the producers of foods that contain GMOs must consult with the FDA before they start any marketing program for products that they come up with (Ruse & Castle, 2002). This is in the bid of making sure that the GMO products that are marketed and sold to the public are safe for their consumption. The developers are expected to produce safety assessments, which should include theidentification of specific effects of the new genetic characteristics. They should also include information of whether any part of the new genes or DNA can be toxic or allergic when consumed by human beings. The assessment should also include a comparison of the nutrient content of the genetically modified product to the traditional products. This helps in determining if these products can be termed to be of higher beneficial to human beings as compared to their traditional nature. The FDA can only allow the products to be marketed and sold to the public if they are satisfied with the producers’ safety assessments. The FD&C Act advocates for the labeling of product that have genetically modified organisms. The labeling should not be misleading or have any false information as this is highly prohibited by the FD&C Act. This is done with the sole aim of making sure that the public makes informed information about the genetically modified foods that they consume. This help in reducing the criticism of foods that contain GMOs and also reduce the dangers of consuming these products by making sure that human beings do not consume GMO products that might of negative effect to their health. References Ghosh, K., & Jepson, P. C. (2006).Genetically modified organisms in crop production and their effects on the environment: Methodologies for monitoring and the way ahead : expert consultation, 18-20 January 2005 : report and selected papers. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Piguet, P., &Poindron, P. (2012).Genetically modified organisms and genetic engineering in research and therapy. Basel: Karger. Ruse, M., & Castle, D. (2002).Genetically modified foods: Debating biotechnology. Amherst (N.Y.: Prometheus books. Read More