Introduction
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are a wide group of animals, bacteria, and plants which have been genetically altered or engineered for different applications such as agricultural production or scientific research. Despite courting a lot of controversies and attention from different news and media outlets, a very large portion of the public still remains largely unaware of the disadvantages and advantages of the technology. People are still not fully aware of what GMOs are or the consequences of the technology mostly in regard to the range of application for which they can be used. Indeed, GMOs potential hazard varies in accordance with not only the organism being altered but also with its intended application. Since its inception, the two main areas of concern concerning the organisms have been its risk to human health and the environment (Southgate et.al. , 1995). This paper is going to review some of the potential risks these organisms pose to human health and even the environment.
Genetically Modifying a Plant
Though it has always existed, the conventional breeding methods have always taken so long, even up to 15 years, to achieve the desired outcome. For the production of genetically modified crops, there are two most commonly used techniques. They include the use of the bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens , which has a natural capacity to transfer DNA to plants and the ‘gene gun’ a technique which involves the shooting of microscopic DNA coated particles in to plant cells (Southgate et.al ., 1995). Mostly, sets apart plant cells that are targeted and then re-engineered into whole genetically modified organisms using tissue culture procedures.
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From this, we find that genetic engineering tremendously cuts breeding period of plants to achieve desired traits through the introduction of small numbers of genes that accelerates the process in highly targeted areas. This technology has also helped circumnavigate the breeding challenge of lack of compatibility between plant species hence increasing the size of the existing gene pool (Southgate et.al ., 1995). Despite all these plus the fact that all the GM crops or foods approved by the government are considered to be safe, most of them are usually unregulated. Also, there are certain aspects of this procedure which has raised a lot of questions concerning human health. These concerns include; (1) the possibility of increased mutation in the GM crop due to the reorganization of DNA around the insertion site of the foreign gene. (2) Possible transfer of extraneous DNA into the plant genome. (3) Use of selectable markers to identify transformed cells (Key, Ma & Drake, 2008). From this, some of the potential health risks which could arise with the insertion of a new gene into an organism include increased toxicity, production of new and different kinds of allergies, antibiotic resistance and decreased nutrition.
The Negative Effects of GMOs
Increased toxicity
Most plants including those that humans consume usually produce toxins. For those plant that people eats, the level of toxins produced is usually low to pose any serious effect on humans’ health. As such, during the insertion of an exotic gene into a plant other genes could be damaged causing the crop to alter its production of toxins producing more of it that could be harmful to human consumption. Alternatively, the novel gene introduced into the plant could interfere with the biochemistry of the plant, causing the stressed organism to yield more toxins in return. Regardless of the fact that this negative impact has not been seen in Genetically Modified plants, they have been perceived through conservative reproduction techniques hence that has created a room for safety concern in GM plants (Bakshi, 2003). A very good case, for example, are potatoes which when conventionally bred for increased resistance to diseased the crop have produced higher levels of glycoalkaloids.
Food Allergy
A food allergy occurs when our bodies react to usually harmless protein i.e. entry of the harmless protein stimulates an immune response. Form this, we find that in the event that a new type of protein in a GM crop is introduced from a source that causes allergies in people or a new source that has never been taken as food by humans the chances of the food increasing immune response in human goes up (Bakshi, 2003).
Decreased Nutritional Value
This is another area of concern regarding GMOs. Compared to their traditional counterparts, GMOs have the propensity to have lower nutritional quality by making nutrients either unavailable or indigestible (Bakshi, 2003). For instance, if phytate, a compound in seeds which combines with minerals making them unavailable to humans when ingested, if its gene is inserted in a plant, it could cause the plant to produce a high amount of it hence reducing the mineral nutritive value of the plant. Another good example of this negative effect is seen in genetically modified soybeans which are found to produce reduced levels of phytoestrogen compounds compared to traditional soybeans. This compound is believed to play an important role in protection against cancer and heart disease.
Environmental concerns
Other than their short-term benefits to human beings, the consequences of this technology are not well known in the long term. Ideally, all naturally occurring organisms have intrinsic value and exist in their own right without the need for human beings to add value to them. The earth and all forms of lives on it are a product of evolution which has taken place through the years through a web of vast and complex interactions. The predictable and simplistic model of genetic modification could bring some imbalance in the system to serious ramifications. Already some of the consequences of genetic modification have started to show. In countries such as Mexico where GMO corn is still prohibited, several smaller farmers have been found to experimentally plant corn imported from the US which ends up contaminating the traditional varieties. The same is happening in Canada where organic canola farmers are complaining the difficulty of growing certified organic canola due to GMO contamination (Southgate et.al ., 1995).
Conclusion
Though important in the fight against hunger, Genetic engineering technology, is still a new phenomenon which requires extensive research and experimentation before it can be fully adopted. As we stand several countries across the world have adopted its use without the full knowledge of its consequences something which places human health and environment in jeopardy.
References
Bakshi, A. (2003). Potential adverse health effects of genetically modified crops . Journal of Toxicology and environmental health. Part B, Critical reviews, 6(3): DOI: 10.1080/10937400306469 ,
Key, S., Ma, J & Drake, P (2008). Genetically modified plants and human health. Journal of Royal Society of Medicine, 101(6): doi: 10.1258/jrsm.2008.070372
Southgate M, Davey R, Power B &Merchant R. (1995). Factors affecting the genetic engineering of plants by microprojectile bombardment. Biotechnology Advances , 13(4), 631-651. https://doi.org/10.1016/0734-9750(95)02008-X
