Myths about GMOs - are genetically modified foods dangerous? Genetically modified foods - pros and cons
In the third final reading, the law banning the cultivation and breeding of genetically engineered plants and animals in Russia. Now the Code of Administrative Offenses will be supplemented by an article on violations in the field of genetic engineering. The amount of the fine for officials on it will be from 10 to 50 thousand rubles, for legal entities - from 100 to 500 thousand rubles. Also, the deputies proposed registering genetically modified organisms imported into the country and products obtained with their use. The Russian government will monitor the impact on humans and the environment of these organisms and products. The law will come into force on July 1, 2017.
We decided to find out from experts whether genetically modified foods are really dangerous, and at the same time remembered other common myths about the benefits and dangers of certain foods and cooking methods.
Alan Skaev
technologist
GMOs are genetically modified organisms, that is, such organisms (animals, plants, bacteria), the genetic code of which has been artificially altered. All this is a product of genetic engineering, a method of targeted selection, which today mainly plants are subjected to in order to increase their resistance to negative factors, and, consequently, to increase the efficiency of agriculture.
In most cases, the inscription "Non-GMO" is just speculation and a marketing ploy. Even those products where GMOs cannot exist in principle are labeled with the inscription "Non-GMO". The manufacturer is thus trying to attract the attention of fans of organic products. In our country, there are clear rules for labeling products containing GMOs, but the labeling of non-GMO products is not regulated in any way. The spread of these myths was facilitated by a completely natural human fear of the unknown.
Opponents of GMOs are focusing solely on the risks that these products could potentially carry, citing a number of failed experiments with GMOs and works of no scientific value. Those who sow panic do not need to confirm their words with facts, they just need to give a few frightening examples, albeit unfounded, in order to forever turn GMOs into a horror story, which, in fact, was done. In fact, the safety of GMOs has been studied for the past 25 years. First of all, these are soybeans and corn and products from them. There are lines of genetically modified potatoes, tomatoes, sugar beets, rice and some others, but in our country only these six crops are allowed to be used. Soy is often used in the manufacture of meat products and semi-finished products, these products may contain GMOs. As well as confectionery, canned food. Officially, we have about 60 such products in our country.
If genetic modifications are properly controlled at the stage of creating and researching a new product, they are not dangerous. To date, there is no scientific evidence that speaks of the dangers of GMOs in relation to anything: cancer, allergies, infertility, and so on. It is precisely the need to control the quality and safety of genetic modifications that to a certain extent restrains the development of this industry and the production of new products.
Andrey Mosov
Head of Expert Direction, NP Roskontrol
Experts all over the world are discussing the potential danger of GMOs for the biosphere and come to the conclusion that there is no danger. The safety of using herbicides in tandem with GMOs is also widely discussed - and here experts also tend to believe that possible residual amounts of herbicides (for example, Roundup) do not pose a threat to human health. As for possible harm of GMO products themselves for consumers, then here all scientists are unanimous: even theoretically, there can be no harm, all the more taking into account strictest regime mandatory research that is carried out in relation to all newly introduced transgenic products on the market. At the same time, the crops obtained by traditional breeding do not undergo such a thorough examination.
Since there is a lot of hype around GMOs, and you can even talk about a GMO phobia, then, of course, it is easier for a manufacturer to write "No GMO" in order to remove their product from suspicion. But if a consumer, for some reason, does not want to eat products with GMOs, palm oil, E additives, this is his legal right, and the manufacturer is obliged to honestly indicate the composition on the package. Although often the inscription "Does not contain GMO" is a marketing ploy to make the customer perceive the product as more natural.
Now comes the fun part. There are no GMO products on the Russian food market, or practically none. Numerous checks carried out by various government bodies do not reveal such products: GMO markers were found only in 0.14% of food samples checked by Rospotrebnadzor (despite the fact that only those products in which the probability of detecting GMOs was the highest) were purposefully investigated. Roskontrol also tested many products for GMO content - none of them were found to contain GMO markers.
Anton Alekseev
nutritionist
At the moment, several types of genetically modified plants are allowed for sale and consumption. There is no genetically modified meat or fish, although such experiments are underway. But in general in the world there is a growing interest in environmentally friendly, safe products - as a rule, consumers are ready to pay extra for non-GMO products, and manufacturers skillfully use this.
Someone considers them progress, someone - a world conspiracy against humanity. Few of the ordinary buyers take the trouble to figure out what genetically modified foods really are, but almost everyone has heard that they cause infertility, cancer and allergies at least once in their life. Hence the fear of GMOs arises, people try not to take risks, just in case.
Today, genetically modified varieties of tomatoes, potatoes, corn, sugar beets, rice, soybeans, wheat and some other agricultural plants are produced in the world. In Russia, GMOs are not produced, all products with GMOs are imported, their market share is decreasing from year to year, and the turnover is getting tougher.
The only proven harm today is caused not so much by products as by the volumes in which they are consumed. For example, sausages... In addition to soy, which in most cases is genetically modified, sausage contains phosphates, an excess of which in the body leads to the development of osteoporosis, and nitrites, which can be the cause of oncology. If there is no soy in the sausage, there will almost always be a so-called protein component - processed hides and cartilage of animals, which are essentially inedible, their the nutritional value is minimal. Therefore, even non-GMO sausage (and in most cases it contains them) is not the most useful product... The situation is similar with vegetables: the beetle does not eat genetically modified potatoes, but let's remember how much poison you need to process ordinary potatoes in order to get a crop.
But the fact that GMOs can be the cause of food allergies is actually a matter of concern for doctors. Most allergies are caused by protein. When a protein is genetically modified, it is difficult to predict an allergic reaction to it in a certain number of consumers.
And a few more common myths
about the benefits and dangers of products and cooking methods:
Images: cover - tashka2000 - stock.adobe.com, 1,2 - Nastya Grigorieva, 3 - Olya Volk, 4 - Katya Baklushina
Today, in many countries (including Russia), the concept of GMOs has been turned into practically equivalent to the concepts of "products that cause mutations and tumors." GMOs are sprinkled with mud from all sides and for a variety of reasons: unsafe, tasteless, and threaten the country's food independence. Whether these very GMOs are so terrible, and what it really is, let's try to figure it out.
GMO - deciphering the concept
Genetically modified organisms are living organisms modified by genetic engineering methods. In a narrow sense, the concept applies to plants. Previously, breeders, like Michurin, had to achieve certain useful (from a human point of view) properties in plants with the help of various tricks: grafting cuttings of some trees onto others or selecting for sowing seeds of plants with only certain qualities, and then long and hard to wait for the results that persistently manifested only after a couple of generations of plants. Today you can transfer the right gene to the right place and get what you want.
Thus, GMO is the acceleration of evolution and its direction in the right direction.
How GMOs are created
Several techniques can be used to create a GMO plant. Today, the most popular is the transgenic method. To do this, the required gene (for example, drought resistance) is isolated from the DNA chain in its pure form, and then it is introduced into the DNA of the modified plant.
Genes can be taken from related species, and then the process is called cisgenesis. When a gene is taken from species that are distant to a given organism, one speaks of transgenesis.
It is about transgenesis that eerie stories circulate. Having learned that now there is wheat with the scorpion gene, many begin to fantasize about the topics, and whether those who eat it will now grow a tail and claws and whether poison will appear in their saliva. Numerous semi-literate publications on websites and forums, where the topic of GMOs are actively discussed, add fuel to the fire.
This is not the only thing that “specialists” who are little familiar with biology and biochemistry scare potential consumers of GMO products with.
Products containing GMOs
Today we have agreed to call everything GMO products that are genetically modified organisms or all products that contain components of such organisms. That is, not only genetically modified corn or potatoes will be GMO food, but also sausages, in which, in addition to sodium nitrate, toilet paper and liver, GMO soy will be added. But the meat of a cow fed with GMO wheat will not be a GMO product. And that's why.
Do GMOs fit into our cells?
Journalists who have not read any normal physiology and biochemistry, who understand the relevance and relevance of the topic of GMOs, but are lazy to seriously work out the issue, launched a “duck” into the masses that the cells of GMO products, getting into our stomach and intestines, are absorbed into the bloodstream and spread through organs and tissues where mutations and cancerous tumors are caused.
It is with great regret to note that this fantasy plot is untenable. Any food in the stomach and intestines breaks down into its constituent parts under the action of gastric juice, pancreatic secretions and intestinal enzymes. And these constituent parts are by no means genes or even proteins, but:
Then, in different parts of the gastrointestinal tract, all this beauty is absorbed into the bloodstream and consumed either for:
- energy (sugar)
- or for its reserves (fats)
- or as a building material of human own proteins (amino acids)
And if, for example, we take a certain genetically modified organism (say, an ugly apple that looks more like a cucumber), then it will calmly be chewed, swallowed and decomposed into its component parts, just like any other that has not undergone genetic modification. Let's give another somewhat strange / creepy example, but which will explain more popularly that genes are not inserted anywhere during assimilation into the gastrointestinal tract: if a crocodile (or cannibal) eats a child with Down syndrome and eats a healthy child, both are equally assimilated by no one will not affect crocodile or cannibal.
Other GMO horror stories
The second, no less chilling, tale concerns the fact that transgenes are incorporated into the human genome and lead to, who knows what, dire consequences, like the same cancers and infertility.
Cancer risk: The French first wrote about cancer in mice fed with genetically modified grain in 2012. In fact, the experiment leader Gilles-Eric Séralini (Institute of Biology, University of Caen, France) sampled 200 Sprague-Dawley rats, a third of which were fed with genetically modified corn, a third with genetically modified corn treated with herbicides, and a third with conventional corn. grains. As a result, those female rats that ate GMOs gave rise to tumors in 80% within two years. The males, on the other hand, developed liver and renal pathologies on this diet. It is characteristic that a third of the rats on a regular diet also died from tumors of various organs and, in general, this line of rats is prone to the spontaneous appearance of tumors, regardless of the nature of the diet. So the purity of the experiment is questionable, and it was declared unscientific and untenable.
Previously, similar surveys were carried out in 2005 by the biologist Ermakova (Russia). At a conference in Germany, she made a report on the high mortality rate of mice fed genetically modified soybeans. After that, this statement, as confirmed in a scientific experiment, went for a walk around the cities and villages, bringing tantrums to young mothers who were forced to feed their children with artificial mixtures, in which this GMO soy was simply heaps of. Subsequently, five Nature Biotechnology experts agreed on the ambiguity of the Russian experiment and did not recognize its reliability.
In conclusion of this section, I would like to write that even if some piece of foreign DNA (which some sources write about) enters the human bloodstream, then in no way this genetic information will be incorporated anywhere and will not lead to anything. Yes, in nature there are cases of embedding pieces of the genome into an alien one. For example, some bacteria in this way spoil the genetics of flies. But in higher animals such phenomena are not described. In addition, there is more than enough different genetic information in all other products without any GMOs. And if until now they are not incorporated into our genetic material, then we can continue to eat everything that the body can digest and assimilate.
GMOs: harm or benefit
The American company Monsanto already in 1982 introduced genetically modified cotton and soybeans to the market. They also authored the Roundup herbicide, which kills all vegetation, except for GMO-modified ones.
In 1996, when Monsanto's GMO products were dumped on the markets, competing corporations, saving their profits, began a large-scale campaign to restrict the circulation of products containing GMOs. The first in the persecution of GMOs was the British scientist Arpad Pusztai, who fed the rats with GMO-potatoes. True, experts later smashed all the calculations of the scientist to smithereens.
Potential harm from GMO foods for Russians
- Nobody hides that on the lands planted with GMO crops, nothing ever grows, except for themselves. This is due to the fact that herbicide-resistant varieties of soybeans or cotton are not stained with herbicide, which can be sprayed in any quantity, achieving total extinction of other vegetation.
- The most common herbicide is glyphosate... In fact, it is sprayed even before the ripening of what goes into food, quickly decomposes in plants and does not persist in the soil. But resistant GMO plants allow you to spray very, very much, which increases the risk of its accumulation in GMO vegetation. Glyphosate is also known to cause obesity and bone growth. And in the USA and Latin America there are a lot of overweight people.
- Many GMO seeds are designed for one planting only. That is, what grows out of them will no longer give offspring. This is more of a commercial gimmick as it boosts the marketing of GMO seeds. There are excellent GMO plants that give excellent next generations.
- Allergization. Since some artificial genetic mutations (for example, in potatoes or soybeans) can increase its allergenic properties, it is said that all GMOs are powerful allergens. But some varieties of peanuts, deprived of their usual proteins, do not cause allergies even among those who previously suffered from it for this particular product.
- GMO plants can crowd out other varieties of their kind... Due to the peculiarities of pollination, they can reduce the number of other varieties of their species. That is, if two plots are planted side by side with GMO and ordinary wheat, there is a risk that GMOs will replace the usual one, pollinating it. Who would let her grow next to.
- Dependence on the firms-holders of the seed fund. Having abandoned its own sowing funds and switched only to GMO seeds, especially disposable seeds, the state will sooner or later fall into food dependence on the holders of the seed fund of GMO plants.
Answering the aspirations of the people
After repeated replication in all the media of tales and horror stories about GMO products, the vector of wide public resonance went against the intrigues of imperialism, completely denying the possibility of expensive Russians eating harmful and unsafe products containing GMOs or their traces.
Rospotrebnadzor, meeting the wishes of compatriots, took part in numerous conferences on this issue. In March 2014, at a conference in Italy, a delegation from Rospotrebnadzor took part in technical consultations on the low content of GMOs in food and the low content of GMO products themselves in Russian trade. Thus, today a course has been adopted for the almost complete exclusion of GMO products for food Russian market and the use of GMO plants in agriculture was delayed, although in 2013 it was planned to start using GMO seeds (Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of September 23, 2013).
The Ministry of Education and Science went even further and, taking into account popular aspirations, suggested using a barcode instead of the mark “does not contain GMO”, which would contain all the information about the genetic modification of this product or its absence. It's a good start, but reading the barcode will be impossible without a special device.
CONCLUSION: the problem of GMOs is clearly inflated, the real consequences of long-term consumption of GMO products are unknown, and no authoritative scientific experiments have been carried out on this issue to date.
For those still wary of GMO foods, here is not a complete list of GMO foods.
Products |
Manufacturers using GMOs in their technologies |
|
|
List of manufacturers of GMO products
Unilever:
Manufacturing company Kellog's:
Mars manufacturing company:
|
Manufacturing company Nestle:
Manufacturing company Hershey's:
Manufacturing company Heinz:
Coca-Cola Manufacturing Company:
PepsiCo manufacturing company:
Manufacturing company Frito - Lay / PepsiCo:
Manufacturing company Cadbury / Schweppes:
Pringles Procter & Gamble:
|
The same product company can produce three categories of the same product:
- the first - for domestic consumption (in industrialized countries)
- the second - for export to other developed countries
- the third - for export to developing countries
The third category includes about 80% of food, drinks, tobacco products exported from the United States and Western Europe. According to the UN Food Commission, some Western firms are expanding the export of goods not only environmentally hazardous, but also prohibited in developed countries.
Meanwhile, more than two hundred names of food additives are not allowed for use in Russia due to the incomplete set of tests. Listing them would take too much space.
Let's name only the definitively prohibited and certainly harmful to humans preservatives and emulsifiers:
Finally, I would like to name some dangerous preservatives and emulsifiers that can negatively affect your health. As a rule, markings with their names are given on product packages.
- E121 - citrus red dye
- E123 - red amaranth
- E240 - formaldehyde preservative
- suspicious: E-104, E-122, E-141, E-150, E-171, E-173, E-180, E-241, E-477
- prohibited: E-103, E-105, E-111, E-125, E-126, E-130, E-152
- dangerous: E-102, E-110, E-120, E-124, E-127
- contribute to the development of oncology: E-131, E-142, E-210, E-211, E-212, E-213, E-215, E-216, G: 217, E-240, E-330
- harmful to the skin: E-230, E-231, E-232, E-238
- contribute to the appearance of a rash: E-311, E-312 and E-313
- cause intestinal disorders: E-221, E-222, E-223, E-224 and E-226
- upset stomach: E-322, E-338, E-339, E-340, E-311, E-407, E-450, E-461, E-462, E-463, E-465, E-466
- increase pressure: E-250 and E-251
- increase cholesterol: E-320 and E-321
It is difficult for an ignorant person to figure out whether GMOs are beneficial or harmful. Scientists engaged in genetic engineering constantly insist that their products are the future. They believe that only scientific developments will save humanity from hunger. Opponents argue that the consumption of such food will cause tumors, mutations and the entire population of the Earth may soon simply cease to exist. Scientists of Russian research institutes demand permission to continue work on the creation of new products, sounding the alarm that our country is already very far behind the developments of the USA and European countries. Whether it’s a desire to end world hunger or a thirst for funding for their research is not yet clear.
What are GMOs?
Everyone has heard about GMOs, but not everyone has figured out what these products are. The name stands for "genetically modified organisms". From these words alone, it becomes scary, monstrous mutants from horror films appear in the imagination. We all know the consequences of even small chromosomal changes on a small piece of DNA. Genetic scientists argue that nothing bad will happen, but people are scared that newly created organisms, when eaten, will cause dangerous diseases, and if handled carelessly, they can proliferate across the planet and cause unpredictable environmental disasters.
At all times they have tried to improve the quality of edible crops. Even ancient farmers noticed that by selecting the planting material of the most resistant and healthy plants, it is possible to breed more productive varieties that are resistant to adverse conditions. Then they began to practice cross-pollination, grafting with cuttings of other crops. It took years and decades to develop a new variety. The selection of vegetables and cereals was faster, and the breeding of new fruit trees sometimes more than one generation of scientists was engaged.
Geneticists have found an easier way. The desired gene is inserted into the DNA chain, and the plant immediately receives the necessary traits. Moisture-loving cabbage can grow in arid desert, pests will not attack the tomato bush. With the help of such technologies, even, smooth, fruits of the same size began to be grown, which can be stored for a long time.
The work of scientists involved in the creation of GMOs is very complex - much more difficult than the work of a jeweler. They isolate a DNA gene with the desired traits from one species and transfer it into the genetic chain of a food crop. It is not necessary for material to be passed between related species. For example, the rat gene is inserted into the plant to increase the protein content of corn, and the jellyfish gene is used to create cold-tolerant tomatoes. It is better not to read such information at the table, the appetite will disappear immediately.
What foods contain GMOs?
Those who want to eat only natural food need to start their own subsidiary farm and grow vegetables, fruits, feed for livestock on their own. It is very difficult to purchase non-GMO products in the store. Any meat products containing vegetable protein contain genetically modified soy. You buy a piece of beef, the label says the meat is non-GMO, although the cow ate genetically engineered corn and wheat.
By law in Russia, it is required to label all products containing GMOs so that buyers can make a conscious choice in favor of new technologies or traditional products. It's a good start, only with an abundance of import purchases it is very difficult to fulfill it. Even baby food companies use genetically modified raw materials. You go to a diner, buy a hot dog, which almost entirely consists of products produced using new technologies. Wheat for flour, sausage, sauce - GMOs are everywhere.
In developed European countries and the USA, the requirements for product quality are very strict, but the GMO content in them is permissible up to 10%. Considering that food companies produce products of 3 categories (for domestic sales, for trade with other developed countries and for underdeveloped countries), we can assume that we get the most harmful and low-quality goods. There are preservatives, dyes and other additives banned in many states. With such a diet, it is difficult to decide from what health is failing: from foreign genes built into plants or from an excess of chemical compounds.
When buying imported products, make sure that the packaging is marked not just "natural", but "100% natural", such an inscription guarantees that GMOs are not contained there.
You can distinguish some GMO foods by sight. If you see fruits that are even, smooth, very attractive, but devoid of a pleasant aroma, you can be sure that this is genetic engineering. All semi-finished products, meat products with vegetable protein are simply oversaturated with transgenes. Now it is almost impossible to find natural soybeans on sale - all products to which this plant is added contain GMOs.
The danger of transgenes for the human body
Even the fiercest opponents of GM foods should not believe all the horror stories told about them. When you eat bread made from wheat that has been injected with the scorpion gene, there is no need to fear that your chromosomes will change. Do not be afraid, chitinous integuments will not appear on the body, and a poisonous sting will not grow instead of the coccyx. Throughout the ages, people have eaten plant and animal food, which necessarily contains genetic material, but humanity has not mutated. You can ignore such tales, but there are warnings about the negative consequences of using transgenes, which are worth listening to:
- the occurrence of tumors;
- allergic reactions;
- weakening of reproductive function;
- obesity and other metabolic disorders;
- decreased immunity.
It should be understood that when we eat genetically modified potatoes, this is not the same root vegetable that humanity has been using for centuries and is accustomed to its properties. This science is still too young to draw conclusions about how new foods will affect our body. The danger of developing tumors, the effect on reproductive function, weakening of the immune system are not immediately noticed. Even about the results of experiments on rodents, there are scientific disputes: some experts argue that animals eating GMO food fell ill more often, others refute this statement.
Unfortunately, science does not exist on its own; research is funded by various corporations. Suppliers natural products want to see results showing the danger of new technologies, and companies that produce genetically modified products require data on their complete harmlessness. The question remains on the conscience of scientists whether they will show reliable data or slightly change them in the right direction. When conducting experiments on rats, official studies found that 80% of females consuming transgenic foods developed tumors. In response, scientists who are on the side of new technologies argue that this breed of rodents is prone to cancer, and the quality of feed does not affect their health.
Danger to humans can be posed not only by the achievements of genetic engineering, but also by the way developments are used in practice. When growing GMO crops, it is possible to excessively poison the fields with pesticides. The weeds will die, but the food plants will remain. It is tempting for farmers to overdo the chemicals so as not to tediously fight unnecessary herbs. Herbicides used on the American continent cause obesity in people, and there are more and more obese people there every year. We can only guess what causes excess weight: a passion for fast food, transgenes or herbicides.
Will new technologies benefit or harm?
To objectively assess the situation and understand whether the harm or benefit will be to humanity from the introduction of GMOs, you need to listen to the arguments of both supporters and opponents. Some of the statements of scientists engaged in genetic engineering can be heeded. The cost of growing a crop is required less, which means that the cost of products is reduced. Plants are resistant to adverse weather conditions, infections, and less hazardous chemicals are used in their cultivation. Good keeping quality allows delivering fresh fruits to the most distant regions and supplying the population with vitamins.
The opposite side also makes reasonable arguments. Breeding new crops and their uncontrolled reproduction can disrupt the ecological balance. New plants, unknown animals will appear, and no one knows how the flora and fauna that has developed over the centuries will react to this. Breeders claim that transgenic seeds can only germinate in the first generation. In fact, they sprout both in the second and in the third application, and no one has studied the properties of these descendants. Wheat and corn cobs that have fallen during harvesting will overwinter on arable land, may fall on neighboring plots, and will yield again next season. Nobody knows whether genetically modified plants will not take over the entire soil in this way, whether they will displace the traditional representatives of our flora.
To solve the question of how the use of genetically modified foods will affect the human body, it is necessary to track the state of several generations. Experiments on humans are banned, and the ecological situation is getting worse. It is impossible to predict the spread of diseases, increased infertility, mutations as a result of the use of transgenic products or as a result of chemical emissions into the water and atmosphere.
You can argue as much as you like about products containing GMOs, but it is no longer possible to stop this production. In a difficult environmental situation, you need to take very seriously the choice of products for your diet, and especially for baby food... If you don't have your own summer cottage, get to know the residents of the nearest village and buy food from them. Eat uneven potatoes, nondescript, but very delicious apples... The scorpion gene may not pose a danger, but such fruits will definitely not cause an appetite.
A man from ancient times studied the world trying to find understandable explanations for the phenomena taking place. Belief in higher powers, numerous myths gave birth to religion, but then the time came for modern science, giving detailed answers to things happening - from the molecular level to the universal worlds. If you look at the alien race of the zerg from the famous game StarCraft, then the peculiarity immediately strikes: they found the opportunity to "suck" the genetic component of various organisms and then change their genome, easily adapting and adapting to new environmental conditions. The invention of the creators of the game seems fantastic, but in fact, the natural capabilities of terrestrial living organisms are quite close to what the fictional race of zerg can do.
Modern society still believes in myths that cover many of the scientific achievements of the best minds on the planet, but in most cases this is due to the elementary lack of a colossal amount of knowledge to figure out what, in fact, we are talking about. Today, myths are actively spreading about the harmfulness of food additives, vaccinations, and of course GMOs, a strange and incomprehensible phrase to the mind. Paranoia has reached its peak - you can even find “Non-GMO” labels on paper napkins.
Let's calmly figure out what GMOs are, why they are needed, how dangerous they are to human health and what are the benefits of them. Many are worried about whether there is scientific evidence for their safety and how true they are.
What is a gene and genotype
Today, there is a lot of information about DNA - more than two million scientific papers are devoted to this long molecule, consisting of two chains twisted into a spiral. Everyone knows that DNA is a carrier of hereditary information, or genome, which is located in any cell of an organism and is responsible for the preservation of unique information about this organism. DNA is a huge molecule that reaches several centimeters when unfolded. It includes a sequence of genes that, along with the conditions of the external world (for development and growth), determine the phenotype, that is, how the body will look internally and externally. Also, the features of the processes occurring inside the individual are programmed. Each gene lays a code for the production of functional RNA or protein - it is they who then take part in the biochemical processes taking place in the body.
There are a great many proteins in our body, and everyone has their own purpose. DNA is different, because people differ from each other, but they tend to constantly change - this happens under the influence of external factors. Therefore, mutations occur in DNA - the transformation of the molecule, the change in genes, their "stop or start". According to evolutionary theory, successful mutations remain, but organisms that mutate unsuccessfully die or are eliminated. Positive mutations make it possible to survive in today's environmental conditions, but a person fixes in animals and plants those properties that are beneficial and necessary for him to improve the quality of life and profitability - large-sized fruits, cows that bring more milk. This is why genetic modification and selection was created.
Natural engineering methods
The principle of modification of plant genomes, similar to agrobacteria, forms the basis of the main means of genetic engineering used in the cultivation of vegetables and fruits. Agrobacteria live in the soil, in which genes are endowed with the ability to encode a number of special proteins that have the property of "pulling" a specific DNA molecule into the cell of any plant. After that, the DNA is inserted into the plant genome, forcing it to produce nutrients that bacteria need to feed and grow. Science took over this development and began to actively apply it - the gene needed for bacteria was replaced with those that encode proteins needed in agricultural production. As an example, Bt toxins can be cited, which do not pose a danger to mammals, but are destructive for insect pests of a particular species. Or proteins that make the plant resist a particular herbicide.
Many bacteria, not even from related groups, often change genes - for this reason, microbes resistant to penicillin emerged after a couple of years after its active use. In modern medicine, the problem of microbial resistance to antibiotics is becoming urgent.
From viruses to organisms
Did you know that in addition to bacteria, the process of natural "genetic engineering" is also subject to viruses. Some organisms, like humans, have a genome containing transposons - these are former viruses embedded in the host's DNA, and in most cases, without causing him any harm. Being in the genome, they are able to move to different places.
If we consider HIV (retrovirus), then it has the ability to introduce its own genetic material directly into the genome of eukaryotic cells (for example, human cells). The genes of adenoviruses do not have to do the same, since they can integrate and function without introducing their genetic information into plant or animal genomes. A number of viruses have found active use in gene therapy - they help to treat a wide range of inherited diseases.
To summarize: natural genetic engineering in the world around us is used quite actively and plays an essential role in the adaptation of organisms to a changing natural environment. An important point is that absolutely all living organisms regularly undergo random mutations, and their genomes undergo changes.
Let us conclude: any organism, if compared with its ancestors, is, in fact, a unique, dissimilar genetically modified organism. Its genome contains not only the latest mutations, but also altered combinations of DNA variations that existed before it. A newborn child has a genome with dozens of genetic variants that have nothing to do with their parents. Each generation that is born has new, transformed based on the parental genomes, combinations.
GMO safety through numerous experiments
All the media are actively discussing an issue of interest to many - how safe are foodstuffs which contain GMOs or genetically modified organisms. It would be more correct to interpret the results of genetic engineering carried out by mankind as "genetically modernized organisms", because this industry only accelerates natural processes at the genetic level, directing them in a channel beneficial to mankind.
The safety of GMOs has been verified in numerous experiments for several decades. More than 1800 scientific papers devoted to the study of this issue were provided to the world. There was, of course, an exception - the Brazil nut gene embedded in a genetically modified soybean variety - its protein caused an allergy while studying the reaction of blood serum.
It is worth noting 12 experimental studies on the safety of eating GMOs, which were published in 2012 - experiments were carried out on animals for several generations. At the same time, 12 more works were presented, the purpose of which was to study the consequences of the use of GMOs by animals over a long period of time: from 3 months to 2 years. Was held comparative analysis with similar products without GMOs and well-founded conclusions were made about the absence of any negative effects.
Before believing all the "horror stories" from the TV box and newspapers running after "invented" sensations and revelations, take the trouble to find out what the learned minds are saying. Then you will draw the correct conclusions whether the advanced achievements of science are actually harmful. Or maybe they do not pose any danger to the health of you and your family, as the newspapers write?
The consequences of eating genetically modified foods
for human health
Scientists identify the following main risks of eating genetically modified foods:
1. Suppression of immunity, allergic reactions and metabolic disorders, as a result of the direct action of transgenic proteins.
The long-term effect of new proteins produced by genes embedded in GMOs is unknown. A person has never used them before, and therefore it is not clear how the human body will react after 10 - 15 years of eating GMOs.
An illustrative example is the attempt to cross the genes of the Brazil nut with the genes of soybeans - aiming to increase nutritional value the latter, the protein content was increased in them. However, as it turned out later, the combination turned out to be a strong allergen, and it had to be withdrawn from further production.
Allergy to food is a fairly common phenomenon and is growing steadily among the population of developed countries. This is primarily due to the unfavorable environmental situation, changes in the traditional diet, to which every nation has adapted over the centuries, and modern technologies. Food Industry leading to an increased content of various xenobiotics in food. And in this sense, the characteristics of transgenic proteins with insecticidal activity should be given close attention, since about half of pathogenesis-dependent plant proteins are allergens. An increase in their content in disease-resistant plant varieties has a direct risk of increasing the allergenicity of food products made on the basis of these varieties.
In Sweden, where transgenes are banned, 7% of the population are allergic, and in the United States, where they are sold even without labeling, 70.5%.
Children's allergies - exudative diathesis and neurodermatitis, generally have a special status in allergology. The human immune system is finally formed only by the age of 12-14, and the intestinal flora, adapted to "adult" food, by the age of 3. The mucous membrane of a child's digestive tract is highly permeable to both nutrients and pathogens. The child's body reacts sharply to "foreign" proteins to which it is not adapted, hence the particularly high sensitivity to allergens. Based on numerous observations, pharmacologists have recommended to completely exclude GMOs from the composition of baby food.
Also, according to one of the versions, the meningitis epidemic among English children was caused by a weakened immune system as a result of the use of GM-containing milk chocolate and wafer biscuits.
2. Various health disorders resulting from the appearance of new, unplanned proteins in GMOs or metabolic products toxic to humans.
There is already convincing evidence of a violation of the stability of the plant genome when a foreign gene is inserted into it. All this can cause a change chemical composition GMO and the occurrence of unexpected, including toxic properties.
For example, for the production food additive tryptophan in the United States in the late 1980s. In the 20th century, a GMH bacterium was created. However, together with the usual tryptophan, for an unclear reason, she began to produce ethylene bis-tryptophan. As a result of its use, 5 thousand people fell ill, of whom 37 died, 1500 became disabled.
Independent experts claim that genetically modified plant crops release 1020 times more toxins than normal organisms.
A. A. Pushtai showed the effect of transgenic potatoes modified with snowdrop lectin, at the histological level - on the state of the intestinal mucosa, partial atrophy of the liver and changes in the thymus, and at the physiological level - on the relative weight of the internal organs of rats kept for 9 months on an appropriate diet, compared with controls fed untransformed potatoes
The digestive enzymes of insects, in particular their functional domains, retained a high structural similarity with similar enzymes of vertebrates, including humans, which leads to a similar effect of the used plant inhibitor proteins on them.
Long-term exposure of rats to soy proteinase inhibitors, as a food additive, or raw soy flour, led to hypertrophy and hyperplasia of the pancreas, up to neoplastic neoplasms and carcinoma. A similar effect of soybean endopeptidase inhibitors on the pancreas has been noted for humans.
3. The emergence of resistance of pathogenic microflora to antibiotics.
When receiving GMOs, marker genes for antibiotic resistance are still used, which can pass into the intestinal microflora, which has been shown in relevant experiments, and this, in turn, can lead to medical problems - the inability to cure many diseases.
Since December 2004, the EU has banned the sale of GMOs using antibiotic resistance genes. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that manufacturers refrain from using these genes, but corporations have not completely abandoned them. The risk of such GMOs, as noted in the Oxford Encyclopedia, is quite high and "we have to admit that genetic engineering is not as harmless as it might seem at first glance."
4. Health disorders associated with the accumulation of herbicides in the human body.
Most of the known transgenic plants do not die during the massive use of agricultural chemicals and can accumulate them. There is evidence that sugar beets that are resistant to the herbicide glyphosate accumulate toxic metabolites.
5. Reducing the intake of essential substances in the body.
According to independent experts, it is still impossible to say with certainty, for example, whether the composition of conventional soybeans and GM analogues is equivalent or not. When comparing various published scientific data, it turns out that some indicators, in particular, the content of phytoestrogens, vary significantly.
6. Long-term carcinogenic and mutagenic effects.
Each insertion of a foreign gene into an organism is a mutation, it can cause undesirable consequences in the genome, and what this will lead to - no one knows, and today cannot know.
According to research by British scientists in the framework of the state project "Assessment of the risk associated with the use of GMOs in food for humans" published in 2002, transgenes tend to be retained in the human body and, as a result of the so-called "horizontal transfer", to be incorporated into the genetic apparatus of microorganisms human intestines. Previously, such a possibility was denied.
7. Infertility, miscarriage.
Laboratory studies on rats showed that, in comparison with the control group, which was fed with regular food, 50% of the droppings in the group of uries eating GMOs died (the pups were born dead, or died immediately after birth). The second generation of rats in the group fed with GMo feed did not have offspring at all.
Now obstetricians are wondering why there have recently been so many "frozen pregnancies" and many infertile couples. This is probably already having an impact on the widespread use of GMOs in the food industry.
P.S. My friend gave birth to a child, gave birth to a child only from the third time. Two pregnancies before that were "frozen".