My opinion!

My Opinion:
i think that genetically modified food is good because it can change things like apples into a vaccine for pneumonia, strawberry's surviving frost, rice with vitamin A!
i think it is amzing that we can do this!

What are the benefits?

• rice with built-in Vitamin A that can help prevent blindness in 100 million children suffering from Vitamin A deficiency
• a tomato that softens more slowly, allowing it to develop longer on the vine and keep longer on the shelf
• potatoes that absorb less fat when fried, changing the ever-popular french fries from junk food into a more nutritional food
• strawberry crops that can survive frost
• an apple with a vaccine against a virus that causes childhood pneumonia

What are the concerns about it?

• Ordinary familiar foods may become allergenic. As an example, allergic reactions to nuts can be serious and even fatal. A soybean engineered to contain genes from a brazil nut was found to produce allergic reactions in persons with nut allergies.
• Familiar foods may become toxic. The Bt toxin as it appears in bacteria is considered relatively safe for humans because in the bacteria it exists as a protoxin which becomes dangerous for insects only after it is activated in the insect's digestive system. However, some genetically engineered Bt crops produce toxin in the activated form. When the toxin is incorporated into common foods, we are exposed each time we eat those foods.
• GE crops can indirectly promote antibiotic resistance, making it difficult to treat human disease. In the technique of transplanting genes there is need for a marker to identify which cells have taken up the foreign gene. One way is to attach a gene for antibiotic resistance. Following the attempt to insert the new genes, antibiotics can be applied to determine which cells survive, and are therefore carriers of the implanted DNA. Once these resistant genes are into the food chain, more disease causing bacteria may become antibiotic resistant, increasing the problems of public health.

Why are they grown?

• Crops can be made to resist pests and diseases, so they need less insecticide which is potentially less damaging to the environment.
• Crops can be modified so they are tolerant of herbicides making weed control easier.
• Crops that need less spraying may be safer for farm workers. This could be particularly valuable in developing countries. GM maize and cotton that produce a protein to kill insect pests are already grown in several countries.
• GM crops can be made to resist drought.
• Genetic modification can give us enhanced plants, such as:
  • rice with added vitamin A
  • potatoes with more protein
  • food crops with reduced levels of allergens
  • low-flatulence beans
  • watermelons without seeds
• GM plants could also produce products such as plastics, or new vaccines and drugs. GM technology might be cheaper and cleaner than conventional chemical factories.
• GM bacteria that thrive on pollutants could help clean up soil contamination.

What is it?

Genetically modified (GM) foods are foods made from crops that have been given specific traits through genetic engineering. GM foods were first put on the market in the early 1990s. Typically, genetically modified foods are plant products: soybean, corn, canola, and cotton seed oil. For example, a GM food might be a strawberry variety that has been designed to survive in colder climates. The method behind this is complex.