What are the benefits and harms of genetically modified foods? Are GMO foods dangerous?

The problem of finding new sources food products for a person in modern world could not be more acute. There are more and more people, and everyone needs fresh, high-quality and nutritious food. One solution to this problem is GMOs, products obtained through genetic engineering. But are they useful for humans?

The definition of genetically modified organisms (this is what GMO stands for) is much broader than food products with new properties. In science, this term refers to any organism whose genetic code has been artificially changed in order to obtain specified properties for this organism.

Changes in the genetic code in living organisms in nature occur constantly and are called mutations, i.e. spontaneous change in genotype. Mutations can be beneficial, neutral, or harmful to an organism depending on whether they help the organism survive.

Most mutations are neutral in their effect and do not manifest themselves in any way or their manifestations are insignificant. Beneficial mutations form the basis for the future evolution of the species. Carriers of harmful mutations are most often not viable or cannot have offspring, which makes it possible to reduce the impact of harmful mutations on the species as a whole. It is believed that approximately one in a million genes on the planet contains a mutation.

Considering that the human genetic code includes more than two million genes, we can say that every person is a carrier of one or more mutations, usually neutral and asymptomatic.

Man has long interfered with the course of evolution in order to obtain organisms with the properties he needed. Artificial selection made it possible to breed great amount breeds of domestic animals and varieties of agricultural and ornamental plants. In essence, selection is a method of indirect human intervention in the genetic code of living organisms. As a result of such selection, animals and plants appear with the properties that are necessary for humans.

GMOs are the next stage of artificial selection. Genetic engineering makes it possible to obtain organisms with desired properties already in the first generation, avoiding the appearance of individuals with undesirable characteristics and their culling. Processes that occur in nature and are adopted by humans can occur much faster in artificial conditions with the help of genetic engineering.

Thus, An organism that has undergone a purposeful change in its genotype is considered genetically modified.. In a narrower sense, when it comes to the food industry, we mean organisms into whose genotype genes that are uncharacteristic for them have been artificially introduced. The term applies to animals, plants and microorganisms, and in no case to people, including because experiments in the field of human cloning are prohibited in most countries.

How GMO foods are produced

The most common way to obtain GMO products is through transgenic organisms. The essence of the method is that the sequence of genes characteristic of one of the organisms is introduced into the DNA of another species. In this way, organisms are obtained that have the properties of a different species (potatoes resistant to the Colorado potato beetle, microorganisms capable of synthesizing human insulin, etc.).

In the process of creating GMO products, there are the following stages:

• Isolation of an isolated gene in a donor organism;
• Creation of a vector - a biochemical construct that allows you to introduce a DNA sequence into a cell without destroying it;
• Transfer of the vector into the organism under study. The vector is the carrier of the necessary gene, the mechanism of its interaction with the main organism has common features with the penetration of the virus, but it would not be entirely correct to compare them with each other;
• The vector is inserted into the genetic code of the organism, causing its changes;
• The last stage is the selection of those organisms that have been successfully modified and the exclusion from reproduction of those that have not received new properties.

After all these procedures, those organisms that exhibit the specified properties are selected for further reproduction. Those individuals that are not affected by changes in most cases remain unchanged.

More complex technologies Genetic engineering is currently not widely used in agriculture and the food industry. They are used mainly for research purposes to study and develop better genetic engineering methods.

However, since the technology is still new and its full implications and impact on later generations are not yet fully understood, mass use of GMOs is still a long way off.

Are GMO products harmful?

What should an ordinary person do - buy any products without fear, or prefer those whose producers do not use GMOs? There is still no clear answer to this question even among scientists. Research is being conducted to determine the dangers or safety of consuming GMO foods.

In modern science, the benefits and harms of GMOs are the subject of constant debate. Some researchers argue that throughout its evolution, humans have repeatedly encountered the fact that the genetic material of the foods they eat has changed dramatically, and this has not had a negative impact, therefore, GMOs are absolutely harmless.

The evidence is given the fact that in the digestive system all macromolecules break down into simpler compounds, which are the same for all living organisms. The individual nucleotides into which the DNA macromolecule breaks down cannot harm a person, since they are contained in his body in the same form.

In addition, the historical factor also serves as proof of the harmlessness of GMOs. Changing the diet, including species that had never been eaten before, the discovery of new lands with completely unusual animals and plants, which people also began to eat, did not bring any harm.

However, there are studies on mice that show that when consuming exclusively GMO foods after 3-4 generations, the risk of metabolic syndrome, diabetes and other metabolic diseases significantly increases.

From scientists who support GMOs, such studies are sharply criticized, since the set of products used in them corresponded to the diet of a person, not a rodent, which could serve as an additional provoking factor.

The two camps of scientists are quite firmly in their positions, bringing ever new evidence of their correctness, analyzing the pros and cons of GMOs. The results of research and the competence of its implementation are always questioned by supporters of the opposite idea. However, convincing evidence clearly confirming the benefits or harm of GMOs has not yet been obtained. Therefore, whether or not to buy products that contain them remains a personal choice of the consumer, and the manufacturer is obliged to indicate on the packaging the presence or absence of GMOs.

GMOs in Russia today

In our country, the attitude towards GMOs is ambiguous, as well as all over the world. Since their harm or benefit has not been clearly proven, manufacturers and importers food products are required to indicate GMO content on product packaging. This is necessary so that the consumer can decide for himself whether he wants to eat food that is not always healthy.

In 2016, the State Duma adopted a resolution banning the cultivation of GMO products in Russia. Given the import substitution policy, it has become difficult to see modified food products on store shelves.

The question of the appropriateness of such a measure remains open. If GMOs are truly harmful to the health of future generations, then it is necessary to protect people from them until technology makes them safe. If GMOs do not in fact pose any danger, then our country may have deprived itself of the opportunity to avoid a food crisis in the future.

According to sociological surveys, the attitude towards GMOs in Russia is rather negative - more than 2/3 of the population would not buy genetically modified products. However, there is no need to deny low level knowledge in the field of biology, and especially genetics, among the adult population of our country, therefore it was wrong to consider public opinion authoritative.

How can GMOs be useful?

Genetic engineering technologies make it possible to significantly speed up the selection process and obtain individuals with the necessary characteristics already in the first generation, which is extremely rarely achieved with conventional selection. In addition, the percentage of culling individuals that do not have the necessary characteristics is significantly reduced. This allows you to reduce the costs of selecting and breeding new varieties and breeds, therefore, the final price of the product will be slightly lower.

Genetic engineering techniques open up new possibilities for breeders, such as transferring genes between species that cannot interbreed. This makes it possible to create fundamentally new varieties of plants and breeds of animals that would be impossible to breed in any other way. For example, such species include potato varieties that are resistant to the Colorado potato beetle, and many other agricultural plants that are not susceptible to pests.

According to statistics collected for 2014, the yield of genetically modified plants is up to two times higher only due to resistance to pests. Growing GMO crops can significantly reduce the cost of insecticides, as well as losses from pests and unfavorable climatic conditions.

A large harvest makes food cheaper and more accessible. In developing countries, this makes it possible to ensure sufficient quantity food for the entire population, in developed countries - reduce food costs, make food more varied.

Work is underway to create plant varieties that produce increased yields and are also able to tolerate unusual climates (cold-resistant forms of fruit). This will make many fruits and vegetables more accessible, reducing the cost of their transportation and the inevitable loss of product.

Raising GMO animals is much more complex and there is much less research in this area. In nature, the frequency of viable mutations among animals, especially mammals and birds, is much lower than among plants. Therefore, work related to genetic modifications gives much less results. Therefore, the problems facing livestock breeders are mainly solved through conventional selection, which is still far from becoming a thing of the past.

A few words about non-food use GMO. Tree species with a high cellulose content have found their use in forestry. This allows the use of wood in much smaller quantities, reducing deforestation while maintaining the volume of production of paper and other cellulose products.

The pharmaceutical industry uses soil bacteria with an additional gene that allows them to synthesize human insulin. This is how the closest analogue of insulin is obtained for patients with diabetes. Its bioavailability is much higher than that of pork or bovine, it is hypoallergenic and much more effective.

In addition to insulin, other recombinant human proteins have been created - interferons, hormones of the endocrine glands. Before the advent of GMOs, they could only be obtained from donor blood, which created a risk of drug contamination, or similar substances obtained from animal blood, which have very limited compatibility with human tissues, could be used.

Using examples of modified organisms, the patterns of various processes in the human body are studied, which will help in the future to find drugs that slow down aging, cures for chronic diseases that are now considered incurable.

Currently, the development of research in the field of genetic engineering is significantly slowed down by debates about the dangers or benefits of GMOs. Laws that prohibit the cultivation of GMOs have been adopted not only in our country. Protecting the population from possible harmful effects modified foods, such laws limit the ability to make GMO foods safer.

Advantages and disadvantages

So far, most of the arguments for and against GMOs remain in the realm of speculative conclusions. It takes time to obtain accurate evidence of the benefits or harm of genetically engineered products for humans, and it will be possible to put an end to this dispute only after several generations. At the moment, it is premature to talk about the clear need to grow GMOs or the dangers of such products. Now attention should be paid to increasing the level of biological knowledge among the population.

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“Michurin with his selection is outdated, the time has come for genetically modified organisms,” scientists once said, and then for years they began to convince how right they were in answering the question of what GMOs are, in short - the future. More: this is controlled evolution. Others see harm in GMOs and are in no hurry to agree with innovations. And when it comes to food use, such scientists are usually joined by ordinary people. So, are GMOs good or bad? Understanding this issue is not so easy.

Purposes of creating GMOs

Scientists are turning to genetically modified technologies to develop agriculture and medicine. For example, the introduction of GMOs justifies the properties that plants begin to “possess.” They are not afraid of cold, pesticides, drought and poor soil. In addition, the purpose of using genetically modified organisms is the desire to “feed” the population of third world countries.

What is GMO - benefit or harm?

A genetically modified organism is a natural organism that has been intentionally altered by humans. Genetic techniques are used to reduce losses in agriculture, as well as to achieve greater productivity and resistance of plants and vegetables to not always favorable environmental conditions. For scientific medicine, GMOs (the benefits or harm there have not yet been determined, since research is underway) are also of interest.

GM food is products obtained from genetically modified organisms or containing them in their composition. Proponents identify several purposes of genetic modification:

1. Increase the resistance of agricultural crops to pesticides, insects, viruses and fungi.
2. Create plants useful in wastewater and soil purification.
3. Make plants invulnerable to cold or drought, as well as salts and aluminum contained in the soil.
4. Increase productivity, increase the content of vitamins and minerals in finished products.

However, scientists immediately admit potential danger such organisms:

1. Cultivated GM foods can negatively impact the ecosystem.
2. The genes are resistant to the effects of antibiotics, and this can be transmitted to humans.
3. A new allergen may arise in GM foods.

Some anti-GMO sentiments are associated with the confrontation between Europe and the United States. America, by replicating GM products, interferes with European producers and pushes them out of the market. The “against” position is quickly spreading to other countries. Scandinavia also bans GMOs.

Security check

Before releasing GM products onto the market, scientists conduct experiments on mice or rats that are fed modified food. Genetically modified organisms entering the Russian market for the first time are subject to medical, genetic and biological assessments. In Russia, the study of GM products is carried out at the Research Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences and Rospotrebnadzor.

Stages of obtaining such organisms:

1. First, an isolated gene with certain properties is isolated.
2. The gene is placed into the DNA of the organism being modified.
3. The DNA with the gene is transferred back into the body.
4. Successfully modified organisms are selected.

GMO products

What foods contain GMOs? What humanity consumes en masse every day is what they are trying to grow using GM technologies. They are more often found in soybeans, potatoes, beets, rice, pumpkin, canola, tomatoes and corn. Russia previously allowed the use of GM technologies in soybean, corn, beet and rice varieties. There were 18 varietal lines in the Russian Federation, and more than a hundred around the world.

To recognize products with genetically modified organisms, you need to know the following rules:

• GM vegetables and fruits have the correct shape, the same size and remain fresh for a long time;
• imported products labeled “Natural” may contain GMOs;
• the mark “100% natural”/“100% natural” guarantees the absence of GMOs;
• products with soy concentrate and many additives most likely contain GMOs - E111, E222, E333;
• On the packaging of products that have passed the appropriate certification, the manufacturer may place the designation “does not contain GMOs.”

All GMOs are subject to mandatory registration: an open database contains information about all GM products released onto the market with a description of their changes.

Defenders of GMOs often, in support of their position, mention the report of the Director General of the European Commission for Science and Information, which calls into question the dangers of GM products due to the emphasis on the opinion that GM technologies are harmless in agricultural crops to the same extent as traditional ones selection technologies.

Pros and cons of GMOs

So, is it possible to use GMOs? Are Russian scientists for or against? The Russian Academy of Sciences has long created a commission whose task is to expose pseudoscience. The same body is obliged to prevent the spread of falsifications in scientific research. After successfully completing the fight against homeopathy, inspired specialists took up GMOs. They are confident that the harm of GM products is far-fetched and that they will stop frightening people.

Experts spent a long time developing a special memorandum, which they promised to publish in the fall of 2017. Then this news was declared fake, but the direct speech of the chairman of the commission on this topic cannot be attributed to fiction. The scientists expressed their opinion and did not take their words back. But they still disowned the memorandum.

Judging by the statements of the RAS commission, it was still preparing to defend GMOs. Scientists promised to convincingly prove the pseudoscience of the theory about the damage that GMOs have on the human body and all living things in general. Scientists of the Russian Academy of Sciences say that the future of humanity lies in GM products, and persecution of this “miracle” of thought is nothing other than obscurantism and prejudice.

Positive ratings

In general, the head of the commission, Professor Evgeny Alexandrov, considers all opponents of GMOs to be ignorant. His arguments are simple: the population would have faced complete extinction from starvation if pundits had not come up with GMOs. Another thesis, according to Aleksandrov, is worthy of the attention and respect of skeptics: genetic modification uses an active method that changes heredity and inserts third-party genotypes into plant DNA.

And the most “eloquent” proof, according to the Russian defender of GMOs: the entire population of the Earth owes its existence to GM products - without them there would be less than 7 billion of us. He also mentioned that if we banish GMOs, the planet's population will thin out significantly (up to 1 billion people will remain).

By putting forward such theses, the commission advocates competition between agricultural producers. They see it as wrong when businessmen who grow natural vegetables pay for studies confirming the harm to human health from GM products. The RAS says that this is how dishonest and unscrupulous business is conducted.

Why the scientists of the commission to combat pseudoscience think so is unclear. Do not hush up negative results. If they are truthful and really talk about the damage to humanity, then what does business have to do with it. Moreover, GMO advocates do not make any claims that these “paid” tests are falsified.

In general, some kind of shaky and unconvincing thesis. With the same success one can doubt the work of GMO “lawyers” from the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Against GMOs

Professor Aleksandrov says that for ten years, scientists around the world have been studying the effect of genetically modified food on all living things. 1,700 scientific projects speak only of positive impact.

Opponents of GMOs counterbalance this with their research, which casts doubt on the conclusions of their opponents. Moreover, there are more questions about GMOs than answers. They found out, for example, that pollen from territories sown with genetically modified wheat will certainly affect neighboring ones, “infecting” them.

GM products are developed by Argentines, Americans, Mexicans, as well as countries in Southeast Asia. According to a statement made in March by RAS academician Vladimir Shumny, genetically modified organisms will not be useful in Russia for 50-100 years. Land resources and other factors make it possible to grow a lot without genetic engineering.

Among opponents of GMOs, there are also quite harsh positions: GM products are biological weapons.

GMOs and agriculture

Research into the safety of GMOs has long been of concern to scientists, as evidenced by about two thousand studies on this topic. Despite the positive findings, biologists do not understand why traditional methods selective breeding does not frighten opponents, but the creation of a genetically modified organism does the opposite. Maybe because selection has been tested for centuries?

If we talk about GMOs in agriculture, biologists explain the unequal influence of species and their harm. For example, you can give a gene to a plant so that it becomes a poison for insect pests, or you can “knock down” the scheme and get a plant that can easily tolerate the effects of herbicides. And the greatest pride of scientists in the use of GMOs in agriculture is GM rice enriched with vitamin A.

However, GMOs have also been introduced into medicine. For example, GM bacteria are used in the production of insulin.

Soya-GMO: production technology

Genetically modified soybeans are not afraid of herbicides. When it is grown, the fields are “flavored” with glyphosate and other poisons. All vegetation dies, except for GMO soybeans (the growing technology requires such “sacrifices”), but with the departure of the weeds, the habitat of insects and birds also changes. By acquiring a soybean field, a person breaks the ecosystem and affects nature.

GMO soybeans are grown in the USA, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Mexico, Romania and Uruguay. The Americans were the first to begin breeding the crop due to falling yields. Later, US farmers often cited data: from 1930 to 2006, the increase in yield was more than 26 kg, and with the introduction of GMO soybeans from 1997 to 2009. - more than 44 kg.

Are GMOs beneficial or harmful? American farmers did not pose the question that way. Whether there will be a profit or not - that's what I was worried about.

Position of Russia and Europe

In the summer of 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law that does not allow the feeding and breeding of plants and animals using genetic engineering technologies in the Russian Federation. The exception is conducting scientific research and analysis. For non-compliance with the provisions of the law - sanctions of up to 500,000 rubles.

Products containing GMOs are required to be labeled. The marks have been introduced since September 2007.

In Russia and some European countries, the import of GM seeds is prohibited, and it is impossible to develop GM products, but importing from abroad is allowed.

There is an opinion that sometimes political motives get in the way of deciding whether GMOs are beneficial or harmful.

Greenpeace is also against GMOs

The positions of the Russian Federation Council, which approved the bill banning the cultivation of GM, coincide with the opinion of Greenpeace. However, a year ago, the “greens” had to withstand the onslaught of Nobel laureates defending genetically modified technologies. Then more than 100 Nobel Prize laureates called on Greenpeace environmentalists not to criticize GMOs so harshly, saying that genetic modifications of crops are not necessarily dangerous and it is time for humanity to accept GMOs. The laureates especially praised genetically modified rice, which simply saves the population of developing countries.

Environmentalists objected: the problem of hunger must be solved by other methods, without depriving people of normal and natural food. Also, the environmental organization Greenpeace stated that the speech of hundreds of Nobel Prize laureates in defense of genetically modified food is a promotional event before US senators discuss changes in the labeling of GM products.

GMOs and dogs

In China, three clones of a beagle dog were bred, which were born through gene editing. In general, scientists will try to increase the offspring of clones to 10.

Cloning of genetically modified organisms (GMO dogs in in this case) took more than two months, and they are almost no different from ordinary ones. They can also reproduce, the altered gene will be passed on to the offspring. The only failure of the experiment was the excess fat content in the dogs' blood. If the clones' nutrition is not balanced, but with an emphasis on foods with high content fat, there is a risk for the dog.

Why does China need genetically modified dogs?

The Chinese bred clone dogs using gene editing so that in the future they would develop diseases that humans suffer from. Genetically modified dog - model. Animal advocates will consider this approach cruel, but Chinese scientists strictly warn: the development of medicine requires this.

Dogs and humans have similar genes, and using “models” one can understand how safe a medicine is or how the risk of diseases such as atherosclerosis, autism, diabetes, etc. arises.

The next step for Chinese scientists is to clone a cat. These are, of course, plans - it is unknown how the experiment with dogs will end. And in the cat family, experts are attracted to the endangered Amur tigers and leopards.

Nowadays, more and more people are trying to eat healthy and pay increased attention to the quality of the products they eat. This is especially true for parents, since the child’s health directly depends on his diet.

In the wake of the popularity of the principles of a healthy lifestyle, so-called pure organic bioproducts have also become in great demand. The inscription on the packaging “non-GMO” has become a kind of sign High Quality, safety and naturalness.

What actually lies under this abbreviation GMO and how is it translated into simple human language? Are genetically modified foods really that bad for our health? We will try to answer these questions further.

What is GMO?

So, what is GMO and, as they say, “what do they eat it with”? Genetically modified organisms (hereinafter GMO) are organisms whose genome (DNA) has been purposefully changed (improved, supplemented) using genetic engineering methods (source - Wikipedia). It is important to note that changes specifically made by humans to genotype Such organisms would be impossible in living nature due to the mechanisms of natural recombination and reproduction.

This is due to the fact that most living organisms on Earth develop gradually, i.e. generation after generation, adapting to changing conditions of existence. That is why people have learned to influence the process of evolution of plants and animals in order to use the advanced achievements of genetic engineering for scientific as well as economic purposes.

In principle, the decoding of GMOs itself gives a minimal idea of ​​what a genetically modified product is.

In simple words, this is the product for the production of which improved technology was used. gene level raw materials. For example, bread made from wheat that is resistant to temperature changes, products made from modified soybeans, and so on.

Currently, GMOs are produced using transgenes , i.e. specific pieces of DNA that scientists insert into the original genome of an organism. As a result we get transgenic organisms , which, by the way, are capable of passing on improved DNA to their offspring ( transgenesis ).

Genetic engineering has provided modern breeders with an advanced method for improving the DNA of plants and animals. This makes it possible to solve global food problems in those countries where people do not have enough food due to climatic conditions or other unfavorable conditions.

GMO creation process or editing genome consists of the following main steps:

• isolating isolated gene responsible for certain exceptional properties body;
• introduction of genetic material into a nucleic acid molecule (DNA vector) for further transplantation into a cell of a new organism;
• transfer of the vector into the DNA-modified organism;
• cell transformation;
• sampling of GMOs and elimination of unsuccessfully modified organisms.

Genetically modified organisms use:

• In applied and fundamental scientific research. Few people know that thanks to GMOs, scientists are learning more and more every year about the mechanisms of regeneration and aging, about the work nervous system , as well as about such serious diseases as or .
• In pharmacology and medicine. Genetic engineering insulin person was registered in 1982. From that moment on, a new era began in the development of modern medicine. Thanks to breakthroughs in genetic engineering, there are now many life-saving drugs produced from recombinant human proteins, for example, vaccines .
• In agriculture and livestock breeding. Breeders use GMOs to create new varieties of plants that will produce greater yields while being resistant to diseases, climate change and other external factors. Improved animal DNA helps protect them from certain diseases. For example, genetically modified pigs do not become infected African swine fever .

Regarding GMOs throughout large quantity There were fierce disputes over time. The whole point is that opponents of genetically modified products claimed that they could cause irreparable harm human health (provoke the development cancer , cause mutations ). In addition, the altered DNA of products will have a negative impact on the health of future generations, causing terrible diseases in such genetically modified people.

However, today proponents of genetic engineering have irrefutable evidence of the safety of products improved with transgenes. At the dawn of the development of selective agriculture, scientists such as Michurin tried to improve food plant species using various tricks.

If we talk about GMOs in a broad sense, then these are organisms of the future, obtained thanks to the ability of humans to influence the process of evolution. Scientists involved in genetic engineering set themselves noble goals - to provide people all over the earth with food in the required quantities.

And this is really not easy to do, because there are places where it is really very difficult to grow crops or raise livestock for food. So, we learned how the abbreviation GMO stands for, now let’s talk about the painful stuff.

Harm and benefits of GMOs

As we found out above, GMO products contain components of genetically modified organisms. It turns out that not only the fruits and vegetables themselves and grains (corn, potatoes, rye, wheat, soybeans, and so on) can be called GMO food, but also the products in which they are found.

For example, soy sausages or liver sausage, baked goods, ketchup, sauces, mayonnaise, sweets, and so on. It is important to note that meat from cattle or poultry fed with GMO plants cannot be classified as genetically modified products.

It was previously assumed that altered cells of genetically modified foods are capable of integrating into the DNA of the organism that consumes them. However, as scientists have proven, this statement is false. Any food, even if it contains GMOs, under the influence of gastric juice and enzymes breaks down in the human body into fatty acid , sugar, amino acids And triglycerides .

It means that regular products just like genetically modified ones, they are equally absorbed and do not cause harm to health. Another talk of the town about the connection between GMO products and the risk of development oncological diseases , and mutations at the DNA level has been debunked by the scientific community.

In 2005, domestic scientists conducted an experiment on mice and received sad results. As it turned out, the mortality rate of mice from cancer that ate genetically modified soybeans increased sharply. Similar experiments were carried out around the world.

Researchers were in a hurry to publish the sensational results of their observations, sometimes forgetting to double-check everything thoroughly. The media, in a constant state of pursuit of “hot facts,” have been relishing this topic for several years and writing exclusively about possible harm GMO.

Indeed, only a few tried to understand the issue without emotions and get to the truth. As a result, mass hysteria about GMOs reached its apogee and hundreds of thousands of people around the world firmly believed that there was nothing more terrible in their lives than Genetically modified foods .

On forums on the Internet, at home in the kitchen, on the street and in the store, mothers shared their concerns about baby food, which contains ominous GMOs. Grandmothers could not sleep peacefully and thought only about the benefits and harms of Nesquik cocoa, chocolate and other sweets that their grandchildren love so much, and fathers and grandfathers lamented the “no longer the same” meat products and chemical bread.

Actually for Lately Scientists have not been able to find evidence that eating GMOs increases the risk of developing cancer or other diseases. And all previously conducted experiments could not resist comprehensive criticism and verification.

It turned out that the mice and rats that were used to conduct the experiments also died en masse both when GMOs and regular food were used in their diet. The problem was not with the fruits of genetic engineering, but with this particular species of rodents used in laboratory research. They are genetically more susceptible oncological diseases, regardless of diet.

According to the World Health Organization, talking about the dangers of GMO products can only be based on the results of specific studies of one type or another. Available worldwide, genetically modified products undergo rigorous quality and safety controls. They are consumed as food by entire isolated nations without any massive negative consequences, and therefore can be considered safe.

In fairness, it is worth talking about some, albeit not fatal, but still negative aspects associated with GMOs:

• It has been proven that where genetically modified plants once grew, conventional varieties will never be able to grow again. This is due to the fact that the soil where GMO plants grow is poisoned by pesticides, herbicides and other toxic compounds used in agriculture to combat pests and diseases. They kill conventional crops, but cannot harm genetically modified crops.
• GMO plants can accumulate toxic substances (pesticides, poisons).
• Due to changes in DNA structure, not only positive, but also some negative properties plants. For example, GMO soybeans or potatoes can cause persistent.
• GMO plants displace other varieties of their species. This is due to the peculiarity of their pollination.
• GMO plant seeds are disposable material that does not produce offspring. This important point, which is primarily associated with commerce. When the state switches exclusively to GMO plants, abandoning its own crops, it automatically becomes dependent on seed producing companies.

List of GMO products

In 20016, more than a hundred world-famous scientists (chemists, biologists, doctors), including Nobel laureates, sent an open letter to the UN and Greenpeace with a request to stop the persecution of GMOs. Even devout Jews have recognized genetically modified products as kosher, Muslims that they are halal, and the Catholic Church says that it is GMOs that will help solve the food problem in the world.

However, if you still want to know what exactly you are eating, then below is a list of manufacturers who use GMOs and their trade names in their products.

The product's name	Trade name
Chocolate	Hershey's, Fruit&Nut, Milky Way, Mars, M&M, Twix, Snickers, Cadbury, Ferrero, Nestle, M&M’S
Cocoa, tea, coffee, chocolate drinks	Cadbury, Nestle, Nesquik, Kraft, Lipton, Conversation, Brooke Bond
Soft drinks	Soca-Cola, Pepsi, Sprite, Fanta, 7-up, Dr. Pepper, Kinley tonic, Mountain Dew, Fruittime, Fiesta
Cereals and breakfast cereals	Kellogg's, Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies, Frosted Flakes, Corn Pops, Froot Loops, Smacks, Apple Jacks, Chocolate Chip, All-Bran, Raisin Bran Crunch, Honey Crunch Corn Flakes, Cracklin'Oat Bran
Cookies and sweets	Parmalat, Kraft, Yubileynoe, Hershey’s products (Toblerone, Kit-Kat, Mini Kisses, Kisses, Milk Chocolate Chips, Semi-Sweet Baking Chips, Milk Chocolate Chips, peanut butter Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Strawberry Syrup, Chocolate Syrup, Special Dark Chocolate Syrup), Pop Tarts, Crispix
Canned soups	Campbell
Rice	Uncle Bens
Sauces (ketchup, mayonnaise, salad dressings), seasonings, dry soups	Gallina Blanca, Knorr, Hellman's, Heinz, Ryaba, Vprok, Baltimore, Calve, Maggi
Meat and sausage products	Minced meat and pate from Mikoyanovsky Meat Processing Plant CJSC, minced meat from Cherkizovsky MPZ OJSC, pate from MK Gurman LLC, Klinsky Meat Processing Plant LLC, MLM-RA LLC, ROS Mari Ltf LLC, Bogatyr Sausage Plant LLC ", LLC "Daria - semi-finished products", LLC "Talosto-products", CJSC "Vichyunai", MPZ "KampoMos", MPZ "Tagansky".
Baby food	Similac, Hipp, Nestle, Kraft, Delmi Unilever
Canned vegetables	Bonduelle
Dairy	Danon, JSC "Lianozovsky Dairy Plant", Campina, Ehrmann
Ice cream	Algida
Butter, margarine, spread	Puffy, Delmi
Chips	Russian potatoes, Lays, Pringles

This is not an exhaustive list of trade names and manufacturers that use GMOs. Since many people have a very negative attitude towards genetically modified organisms, not all companies want to spoil their image and openly declare that they use the achievements of genetic engineering. And although the problem of GMOs is overblown, and the harm from such products is clearly exaggerated, only the person himself can decide for himself whether to eat them or not.

Ecology

The question of the benefits or harm of genetically modified products began to arise as soon as such products appeared in nature. Some defenders of such production began to say: "This is the only way to feed the poor! GM crops benefit farmers! GMO foods are safe!" and so on... However, opponents of the use of such products find many refutations.

We invite you to learn about 10 reasons why you should avoid genetically modified foods, which I talked about Jeffrey Smith from Institute for Responsible Technologies. An expert in the field of GMOs will talk about the dangers that lie behind products produced using genetically modified organisms.

1) GMOs are very unhealthy food

American Academy of Environmental Medicine calls on doctors to protect patients from consuming GMO products. They cite studies that such products harm organs, digestive and immune systems, accelerate the aging process and lead to infertility. Human studies show that such foods can leave a special material in the body that over a long period of time causes a variety of health problems. For example, genes that are introduced into soybeans can be transferred into the DNA of bacteria that live inside us. Toxic insecticides produced by genetically modified corn enter the bloodstream of pregnant women and fetuses.

A large number of diseases appeared after genetically modified foods began to be produced in 1996. In America, the number of people with three or more chronic diseases has increased from 7 to 13 percent in just 9 years. The number of food allergies and problems such as autism, reproductive disorders, digestive problems and others has skyrocketed. Although there have not yet been detailed studies that have confirmed that GMOs are to blame, Academy experts warn that we should not wait for these problems to come and should now protect our health, especially the health of children, who are at greatest risk.

American Health Association and American Association Nurses are also warned that modified ruminant growth hormones increase levels of the hormone IGF-1 (insulin growth factor 1) in cow's milk, which is associated with the development of cancer.

2) GMOs are becoming more widespread

Genetically modified seeds are constantly spreading around the world naturally. It is impossible to completely purify our gene pool. Self-propagating GMOs can survive the challenges of global warming and the effects caused by nuclear waste. The potential impact of these organisms is very high, as they threaten subsequent generations. The spread of GMOs could cause economic losses, leaving organic farmers vulnerable as they struggle to protect their crops.

3) GMOs require more herbicide use

Most genetically modified crops are designed to be tolerant of weed killers. From 1996 to 2008, US farmers used approximately 174 thousand tons of herbicides for GMOs. The result was “superweeds” that were resistant to the chemicals used to kill them. Farmers are forced to use more and more herbicides every year. Not only is this harmful to the environment, but such products end up containing a high percentage of toxic chemicals that can lead to infertility, hormonal imbalances, birth defects and cancer.

4) Genetic engineering has dangerous side effects

By mixing the genes of completely unrelated species, genetic engineering entails a lot of unpleasant and unexpected consequences. Moreover, regardless of the types of genes that are introduced, the process of creating a genetically modified plant itself can lead to serious negative consequences, including toxins, carcinogens, allergies, and nutritional deficiencies.

5) The government turns a blind eye to dangerous consequences

Many of the health and environmental consequences of GMOs are ignored by government regulations and safety analyses. The reasons for this may be political motives. US Food and Drug Administration, for example, has not required a single study confirming the safety of GMOs, does not require appropriate labeling of products, and allows companies to send genetically modified products to markets without informing the government.

They justify themselves by saying that they do not have information that GM products are significantly different from conventional ones. However, this is a lie. Secret memos the agency receives from the public who file lawsuits show that most of the agency's scientists agree that GMOs can cause unpredictable effects that are difficult to detect. The White House has instructed the Office to continue working with biotechnologies.

6) The biotech industry is hiding facts about the dangers of GMOs

Some biotech companies try to prove that GMO foods are completely harmless using sketchy and falsified research data. Independent scientists have long refuted these claims, finding evidence that the situation is completely different. It is profitable for such companies to distort and deny information about the dangers of GMOs in order to avoid problems and stay afloat.

7) Independent research and reporting is criticized and suppressed

Scientists who uncover the truth about GMOs are criticized, silenced, set on fire, threatened, and denied funding. Attempts by the media to convey the truth about the issue to the public are censored.

8) GMOs are harmful to the environment

Genetically modified crops and related herbicides harm birds, insects, amphibians, sea ​​creatures and organisms living underground. They reduce species diversity, pollute water, and are not environmentally friendly. For example, GM crops have displaced monarch butterflies, whose numbers have fallen by 50 percent in the United States.

Herbicides have been shown to cause birth defects in amphibians, embryonic death, endocrine gland disruption and organ damage in animals, even in very small doses. Genetically modified canola (a type of canola) has spread into the wild in North Dakota and California, threatening to spread herbicide resistance genes to other plants and weeds.

9) GMOs do not increase crop yields and cannot help fight hunger

While non-GMO, sustainable agricultural practices used in developing countries increased yields by 79 percent, GMO-based methods, on average, did not increase yields at all.

International Organization for the Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology Development, citing the opinion of 400 scientists and support from 58 countries, reported that the yield of genetically modified crops is "highly variable" and in some cases is even beginning to decline. She also confirmed that with the help of GMOs it is currently impossible to fight hunger and poverty, improve nutrition, health and livelihoods in rural areas, protect the environment, and promote social development.

GMOs use tools and resources that could be used to develop and use other safer methods and more reliable technologies.

10) By avoiding GMO foods, you can do your part to help reverse the negative consequences

Since GMOs do not provide any benefit to the consumer, many may refuse them, therefore, producing such products will become unprofitable and companies will stop offering them. In Europe, for example, back in 1999 they announced the dangers of GMOs, warning about the potential harm of these products.

However, after experts analyzed positive reviews, it turned out that almost every “scientific” study, the conclusion of which is “GMOs are harmless!”, was funded by the manufacturers of such products. Therefore, it is difficult to consider them objective. Scientists note that even though there is a lack of long-term studies on the toxicology of animals and humans, what science already knows raises serious concerns about the health of people, animals, plants and the environment.

Facts proving the harm of GMOs

In fact, there are a lot of well-reasoned facts about the negative effects of transgenes, especially in English-language sources.

The three scientists are John Fagan, who pioneered genetic testing methods for GMOs and previously studied the molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis at the US National Institutes of Health and in academia; Michael Antoniou, with 30 years of experience in the use of genetic engineering technologies in research, who has several discoveries about gene control mechanisms used for safe gene therapy for hereditary and acquired genetic disorders; researcher Claire Robinson - founded Earth Open Source (London). One of its goals is safe, healthy food make it accessible to everyone. These scientists have been working on the topic of genetically modified (GM) crops and foods since the early 1990s.

In 2012, they produced the first comprehensive report, GMO Myths and Truths. In 2014 it was updated, and in 2016 a third, expanded version was released, which was published in book form (sold on Amazon). These studies provide evidence to refute claims about the safety of GMO foods.

Dr. Fagan wrote: “When someone tells you there is no evidence that GMOs pose health and environmental risks, give them this book. It presents substantial evidence of harm concisely and clearly, and for each point it provides links to scientific publications or other reports or documents that the reader can verify.”

The very first online publication caused a sensation in many countries and was a big blow to transgene producers. It was translated into many languages ​​(unfortunately, not into Russian), and publishing houses asked permission to publish this report. The second version of “Myths and Truths about GMOs,” 2014, is freely available on the Earth Open Source website (earthopensource.org). The volume of the report is 331 pages.

But there is no benefit!

Why are we following the EU's lead regarding GMOs?

Michael Antoniou said in an interview: “DNA-edited crops are being developed with ambitious goals to make food safe, environmentally friendly, increase yields, reduce the use of pesticides and feed the world's population. I felt that this was necessary, so I researched the application of this technology from a scientific point of view.”

Does genetic engineering increase crop yields or reduce the use of chemicals in fields? As it turned out, productivity does not increase, and sometimes even reduces this potential. The authors of “Myths and Truths about GMOs” note that high yield is a complex genetic trait for which many genes are responsible, working together. How this happens is still not fully understood. These qualities cannot be simulated by genetic engineers using existing rather crude methods or any other methods that are in the process of development. Good methods farming, such as maintaining soil fertility, has not been canceled to increase productivity.

According to 2017 information, in the United States, 88% of corn, 93% of soybeans, 94% of cotton, 54% of sugar beets, 75% of papaya are genetically modified. Comparing yield data for the US, where GM crops are common, with corn, wheat and canola in Western Europe(where the cultivation of GM crops is largely prohibited) over the past 50 years has shown that in the United States there has been a decline in crop yields and an increase in pesticide loads.

The main reason for the increase in herbicide use on GM crops is the proliferation of glyphosate-resistant super-weeds. Because GM crops are resistant to herbicides, weed control has seen increased use of the most popular herbicide, Roundup, and other glyphosate-based chemicals. This has led to the emergence of more resistant weeds. To combat them, farmers are forced to use other chemicals.

In 2003, Brazil allowed the cultivation of GM crops. Studies conducted in 2000-2012. showed that during this time the use of pesticides in general increased by 1.6 times, and directly on soybean crops - three times, which leads to negative impacts on humans and the environment.

What are the consequences of the tandem of GMOs and pesticides?

Researchers from the School of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego in 1993-96. and 2014-16 monitored glyphosate levels in the urine samples of 100 Southern Californians and concluded that levels of the toxic substance increased by approximately 1,000% over that period. Since 1994, when glyphosate-resistant GM crops were introduced, the use of this herbicide has increased approximately 15-fold.

Study leader Dr. Paul Mills of the UC San Diego School of Medicine, professor of family medicine and public health, and director of the Center of Excellence in Integrated Health Research and Training (as quoted by gmoobzor.com) said: “We found that Before the introduction of genetically modified foods, very few people tested positive for glyphosate. As of 2016, 70% of people tested had traces of glyphosate.” Dr. Mills cited other studies in which rats were fed diets containing ultra-low (legal) dosages of glyphosate (in Roundup), which resulted in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

In 2017, the California Office of Environmental Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) listed glyphosate chemical substances states that cause cancer.

According to gmoobzor.com, Moms Across America, a coalition of American moms, was concerned about the growing number of studies showing the presence of glyphosate in human food, water and urine, and organized a study. breast milk in ten breast milk samples from women living in different regions of the United States. Three of them contained glyphosate, the concentration of which was higher than the maximum permissible level(0.1 µg/l) set by the EU for glyphosate in drinking water.

In this regard, the position of the World Health Organization (WHO), which took up the issue of glyphosate, is interesting. In 2016, the WHO concluded: “Glyphosate is unlikely to pose a carcinogenic risk to humans through food.” In general, the planet’s population has officially been “blessed”: eat GM grains with glyphosate until the cancer is gone. And in most countries, health authorities are not worried about this either.

Interesting results were obtained in Mexico, where the cultivation of genetically modified corn in open fields is not permitted. The National Autonomous University of Mexico studied products containing corn, which is the main crop in that country. The presence of GMOs was detected in 82% of these products. And in 27.7% of transgenic samples there is glyphosate accompanying GM corn.

In 2015, in Argentina, children who live in areas where GM soy is grown and pesticides are used for this were found to have genetic damage, in addition to allergic reactions. IN National University Rio Cuarto concluded that these children exhibited 44% more reversible genetic damage than their peers living in areas without soybean fields. Damage to chromosomes in childhood can lead to cancer in adulthood.

What is called safe is not safe

What risks do GMOs pose?

Until now, meal (animal feed used) obtained from GM soybeans was imported to Moldova on the basis of permits issued by the National Biosafety Commission. The document called “Risk Assessment”, which the economic agent attaches to the application, indicates the percentage of GMOs (0.9% is allowed by law, but the commission allows up to 5%, since this is not seed material). It also says that in the territory where this meal was consumed, no changes in human health were detected. But how such “research” is done is not known. And given that they are paid for by transgene manufacturers, it is unlikely that the risk assessment conclusion will be negative.

What is known, however, is that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded in 2009 that Monsanto's NK603 (GMO) maize is compositionally equivalent to conventional maize, except for a purported change - the presence of additional proteins that make the maize resistant to glyphosate herbicides such as Roundup.

However, a team of scientists led by Michael Antoniou discovered that the genetic modification process led to an unintended effect on the composition of NK603 corn. As reported by gmoobzor.com, 117 proteins and 91 small molecules (metabolites) were found that were significantly altered during GM transformation in NK603 9 corn (the most popular type).

To compare GMOs and regular corn grown in the same place, under the same conditions. The analysis showed that there was a significant increase in the GM corn in polyamines, including putrescine and cadaverine, which were present in the carcasses, indicating decomposition. Dr. Antoniou said putrescine and cadaverine can lead to various toxic effects. For example, they increase the effect of histamine, thereby increasing allergic reactions, and both have been implicated in the formation of carcinogenic substances called nitrosamines in meat products.

That is, contrary to claims that GM crops contain genes that affect only specific proteins, in reality everything is much more complicated. Research conducted in 2007 at the National Human Genome Research Institute (USA) showed that genes are interconnected with each other, and changes in one gene or its replacement lead to a domino effect in other genes and proteins over time. . And no one can predict what changes will happen.

GM genes can enter the bloodstream from food

Angelina Taran

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