Genetically engineered foods (GE foods) are foods manufactured from organisms that have alterations in their DNA through genetic engineering techniques. Genetic engineering methods facilitate the introduction of new characteristics and higher control over characteristics in comparison with previous methods like mutation breeding and selective breeding. Commercial trade of GE foods started in 1994 after Calgene first sold its ineffective Flavr Savr delayed-ripening tomato (Nicolia, Manzo, Veronesi & Rosellini, 2014) . Primarily, modifications of foods have mainly centered on cash crops which farmers have a high demand on like cotton, canola, corn, and soybean. GE foods have been engineered to resist herbicides and pathogens and for enhanced nutrient profiles. However, it is high time that the government started regulating these GE foods. Thus, this essay argues that the government ought to put in place measures to regulate the production of genetically engineered foods.
Food production companies are releasing GMO foods with little understanding of their possible environmental and health impacts. According to Nicolia, Manzo, Veronesi & Rosellini (2014) , today, there are no safety assessments which specifically focus on these new techniques, and there is no existing regulatory oversight for this rapidly moving range of new technologies. Research has indicated that newer technologies like gene silencing could pose health hazards, and some genetic materials utilized including double-stranded RNA might impact gene expression in human cells in ways which have not yet been researched.
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The first GMOs generation was encouraged to minimize the use of pesticide in agriculture, but data indicate that the extensive usage of GMO foods has in the real sense increased the utilization of glyphosate-based Roundup herbicide. There are both severe environmental impacts related to this increase, and recently the International Agency for Research on Cancer announced that glyphosate is a potential human carcinogen, and recently a long-term study connected low Roundup doses to severe liver damage (Perls, 2017) . Fundamentally, even less is understood about the probable unintended effects of GMO foods. It is not clear how these new technologies could progress when released to the surroundings; how they could interrelate with their ecosystems; and whether they could lead to permanent transformation to other ecosystems or organisms.
While some professionals put forward that gene-editing technologies such as CRISPR are more specific compared to the first-generation GE technologies, some off-target consequences are still documented, which means that they will possibly have unintended impacts. CRISPR will potentially be used for producing GMOs which are more herbicide tolerant, which will propagate the toxic routine of greater chemical reliance in farming, thus preventing people from consuming healthy food systems. Besides, Perls (2017) states that there are serious concerns about sustainability with GMO foods. For instance, the use of GM yeast for making vanillin needs large quantities of feedstock – the sugary broth utilized for growing yeast. Common feedstock, normally from sugar cane or corn, are generally produced in chemical-intensive manufacturing agricultural systems.
Further, GE foods could as well impact masses of small sustainable agriculturalists globally whose lives rely on producing the valuable natural crops which will be substituted. Most synthetic biology crops are aimed at replacing plant-based products typically produced in developing nations like shea butter, coconut, cacao, saffron, and vanilla. This triggers serious questions regarding who will bear the costs and benefit from the creation of these new technologies (Perls, 2017) . A holistic assessment of sustainability – which has not yet been carried out – would possibly indicate multiple social and environmental disadvantages of this ensuing generation of biotechnologies.
In conclusion, although there is an extensive consumer concern regarding GM foods. Some organizations are working together to create awareness to the public about the GMOs’ next generation. However, rather than being lured by the narrative of the importance of GM foods, consumers should be allowed to consume food which is healthy, organic, sustainable and truly natural. Thus, the government should put in place measures to regulate these genetically engineered foods to prevent their infiltration into the market and prevent the adverse impacts associated with them.
References
Nicolia, A., Manzo, A., Veronesi, F., & Rosellini, D. (2014). An overview of the last 10 years of genetically engineered crop safety research. Critical reviews in biotechnology , 34 (1), 77- 88.
Perls, D. (2017, February 4). Careful regulation needed for next-generation genetically modified foods. Retrieved from https://www.statnews.com/2017/02/02/genetically-modified-foods- regulation/
