US Green Living .com
Genetically modified foods are formed by organisms that receive a genetic part from another organism through genetic engineering techniques. This process’s main objective is the acquisition of organisms with new or improved characteristics when they are compared with the original organism. Using this technique, scientists can cross different organisms and eventually get foodstuffs produced from genetically modified
organisms. This will alter their genes through genetic engineering.
Research about genetically modified foods started in 1990, with the most common modified foods coming from plants such as soybean, corn, canola, wheat, and cotton seed oil. In order to produce a genetically modified food it is necessary to complete a specific process, step by step. The process begins by taking DNA from one organism and modifying it in a laboratory. It then becomes necessary to insert it into the target organism's genome so they can produce new and useful traits. The applications of this process and the results gained have commercial, medical and agronomy interests.
One of the most common types of genetic plants is soybean. This plant is genetically modified and, after a long process, it becomes more resistant against bugs, viruses, and other threats.
Genetically modified foods are usually referred to as transgenics and there is much debate about their health benefits. There is much research about the effects of this type of food in the human body and there is no completely correct and complete answer about this. The majority of research about genetically modified foods is done in the United States, Argentina, Canada, Brazil, China and South Africa. The Grocery Manufacturers of America believe that as much as 75 percent of all processed foods in the U.S. may contain an ingredient that has been genetically modified. So, when the consumers buy food products that contain a genetically modified ingredient, they consume food that has been altered and can have various effects on their bodies, either negative or positive.
Concerning future developments, there is a lot of research into how to use genetically modified food to help fight against infectious diseases. Nowadays there is a study about how to include drugs in food, so, if a patient eats an apple, it will produce human antibodies against infectious diseases such as Hepatitis B. Because of the growth of the presence of genetically modified food there exists a very important increase of safety procedures for all the products and strict regulations will at the same time be needed to make sure that the supposed benefits will offset observed and hidden costs associated with development.
Scientists are supported by results of modern comprehensive profiling of crop composition. Concerning genetically modified food’s market, the intellectual property is a very important subject since the companies that make important and big investments on these types of research are looking for discoveries and need the patent to go ahead with their findings. Another important reason for the regulation of patents on genetically modified plants is that the gene flow is very hard to control. Genetically modified food is something new in the area of science and there is a lot to explore and test, mainly because of its potential to benefit human health.
