Are GMO foods safe? Genetically modified foods

The topic of eating genetically modified foods is very relevant. Some people consider genetic engineering to be violence against nature, while others are afraid for their own health and side effects. While there is debate all over the world about the benefits of and, many people buy and eat them without even knowing it.

What are genetically modified foods?

IN modern society There is a trend towards proper nutrition, and everything fresh and natural gets to the table. People try to avoid everything that is obtained from genetically modified organisms, whose constitution was radically changed using genetic engineering. You can reduce their consumption only if you have an idea of what GMOs are in food.

Today, supermarkets sell up to 40% of GMO products: vegetables, fruits, tea and coffee, chocolate, sauces, juices and sparkling water, even. It only takes one GM component for a food to be labeled GMO. On the list:

transgenic fruits, vegetables and possibly food animals;
products with GM ingredients (for example, transgenic corn);
processed transgenic raw materials (for example, chips from transgenic corn).

How to distinguish genetically modified products?

Genetically modified foods are produced when a gene from one organism, bred in a laboratory, is inserted into the cell of another. GMOs give a plant or a number of traits: resistance to pests, viruses, chemicals and external influences, but if genetically modified products regularly appear on the shelves, how to distinguish them from natural ones? You need to look at the composition and appearance:

Genetically modified products (GMP) are stored for a long time and do not spoil. Ideally even, smooth, non-aromatic vegetables and fruits - almost certainly GMO. The same applies to bakery products, which for a long time stay fresh.
Frozen semi-finished products - dumplings, cutlets, dumplings, pancakes, ice cream - are stuffed with transgenes.
Products from the USA and Asia containing potato starch, soy flour and corn in 90% of cases is GMO. If the product label contains vegetable protein is a modified soybean.
Cheap sausages usually contain soy concentrate, which is a GM ingredient.
The presence may be indicated by food additives E 322 ( soy lecithin), E 101 and E 102 A (riboflavin), E415 (xanthan), E 150 (caramel) and others.

Genetically modified products - pros and cons

There is a lot of controversy about such food. People are concerned about the environmental risks of growing them: genetically mutated forms could end up in the wild and lead to global changes in ecological systems. Consumers are concerned about food risks: possible allergic reactions, poisoning, illness. The question arises: are genetically modified products needed on the world market? It is not yet possible to completely abandon them. They do not worsen the taste of food, and the cost of transgenic options is much lower than natural ones. There are both opponents and supporters of the GMP.

Harm of GMOs

There is not a single 100% proven study that would indicate that modified foods are harmful to the body. However, opponents of GMOs cite many irrefutable facts:

Genetic engineering can have dangerous and unpredictable side effects.
Harmful to the environment due to increased use of herbicides.
They can get out of control and spread, contaminating the gene pool.
Some studies claim that GM foods are harmful as a cause of chronic diseases.

Benefits of GMOs

Genetically modified foods have their advantages. As for plants, transgenic plants accumulate fewer chemicals than their natural counterparts. Varieties with a modified constitution are resistant to various viruses, diseases and weather, they ripen much faster, are stored even longer, and independently fight pests. With the help of transgenic intervention, the time for selection is reduced significantly. These are the undoubted advantages of GMOs; moreover, defenders of genetic engineering claim that eating GMOs is the only way to save humanity from hunger.

Why are genetically modified foods dangerous?

Despite all attempts to find benefits from the introduction of modern science and genetic engineering, genetically modified food products are most often mentioned in a negative way. They pose three threats:

Environment (emergence of resistant weeds, bacteria, reduction in species or numbers of plants and animals, chemical pollution).
The human body (allergies and other diseases, metabolic disorders, changes in microflora, mutagenic effect).
Global risks (economic security, activation of viruses).

In an effort to find a cure for hunger, humanity has invented genetically modified foods. The planet's expanding population is no longer a threat thanks to a unique discovery. Man for the first time took control of the most important function of nature - the process of evolution with the help of GMOs, providing an increasing need for food. But the phenomenon, which significantly increases the production volumes of products, also has back side. The creators of the technology prefer to remain silent about it, while the producers of such food calculate fabulous profits.

What are genetically modified foods and how are they obtained?

Foods with genetically modified ingredients are spreading rapidly around the world. Growing analogues is three to four times cheaper than natural products, and there is no risk of complete or partial loss of the harvest. From the USA and Canada to China - this is the geography of the spread of transgenic crops, which are sown on an area equal to 170 million acres. What lies behind the fantastic development of genetic engineering?

Genetically modified foods are the result of technology that helps change hereditary traits in animals or plants. Receivable the new kind contains altered DNA, combining the code of biological memory of several organisms. Nature does not have such mechanisms, but humanity has found a way to add DNA fragments from one organism to another.

The benefits of genetically modified foods

The discovery of a unique technology (GMO) brought incredible prospects. Man's bright hopes of defeating hunger came true, and few people thought about the risk. Products labeled GMO were not a concern at first because the unique technology helped to significantly increase yields. New properties grafted onto animal organisms and plant crops have provided genetically modified products with resistance to diseases, low temperatures, insecticides.

New products with GMOs divided the scientific community into two camps, and then the whole world. The debate about the benefits or harm of transgenes does not stop; studies are being conducted one after another. But no one can yet prove with complete certainty what impact and what consequences the cultivation and consumption of genetically modified products entail. Caution in the amount of GMO-labeled goods consumed is what remains for the average consumer who monitors the quality of food and strives for health.

List of food products containing GM ingredients

The research path in search of the truth about the dangers or benefits of genetically modified food is still limited in time. Only two decades have passed since the advent of the unique technology, and this is not enough to accurately formulate conclusions. The emergence of genetic engineering (GMO) can solve a global problem for humanity, covering food needs, but at the same time raising doubts about health safety.

Among the most common concerns are the risk of cancer, food allergies, decreased immunity, and mutations from eating foods. Therefore, while there are no official studies confirming or refuting these statements, you should be careful when choosing products labeled GMO. There are quite a few of them on store shelves, since many contain soy, and half of it is a genetically modified crop.

Most often in the list of products Food Industry containing GM ingredients, the following products appear:

peas,
potato,
corn,
meat,
dairy products,
tomatoes,
rape,
vegetable oil,
chicory.

Kit-Kat, Mars, Milky Way, Twix, Snickers chocolates, M&M candies, Corn Flakes, Nesquik drink, Conversation and Lipton teas, Lace and Pringles chips, 7-up soda, Coca-Cola - all these are common products on sale with genetically modified ingredients, which must be labeled with the abbreviation GMO. The extensive list includes Calve and Delmi mayonnaise, Heintz ketchup, Knorr seasonings, Maggi, Delmi margarines, Pyshka - products oversaturated with harmful GMOs.

It is not easy for the average consumer to recognize the origin of products displayed on store shelves. By appearance genetically modified food (products with GMOs) is almost no different from natural food, but there is a secret: if vegetables or cereals look perfect, without a single flaw, then with a high degree of probability you are looking at those same products with GMOs. It is not necessary that manufacturers or sellers mark them with appropriate labels, but odorless vegetables and fruits are a reason to be wary.

Dyes, sweeteners, structuring substances (soybeans, corn) are found in the compositions of different food groups, including confectionery with GMOs. Therefore, delicacies - cakes, cookies, rolls - should be prepared at home, reduce purchases or completely abandon semi-finished products. Try not to buy cheap products, as they may contain genetically modified ingredients, limit the number of visits to restaurants fast food.

Video: Why are GMOs dangerous for human health?

While some scientists claim that GMO products do not pose a threat to human health, others conduct research in an attempt to prove the opposite. There is an opinion that humanity will learn about the first results of eating transgenic foods in two generations. The time frame is considerable, as is the level of concern, because the technology, which is a unique development of genetic engineering, threatens humanity with complete extinction. You will learn about the dangers of GMO products and how they affect human health from the video below:

Outwardly, such food products seem to be no different from normal ones, and this is precisely where they are especially dangerous. Bread looks like bread, meat looks like meat, vegetables and fruits look even better than normal. And there is no special difference in taste! But... on the other hand, there are very significant differences AT THE GENETIC LEVEL. The chromosomes of genetically modified organisms carry implanted regions of other plants and animals, and more! These “modestly” hushed up genetic changes in plants and animals produce irreversible changes in the bodies of people who consume genetically modified foods, LEADING TO COMPLETE STERILITY, the occurrence of dangerous allergies, food poisoning, mutations, the development of resistance to antibiotics, etc.

Blacklist of GMO food producers according to Greenpeace:

No. Food products Companies Product name

1. Hershey’s Cadbury Fruit&Nut chocolate products
2. Mars M&M
3. Snickers
4. Twix
5. Milky Way
6. Cadbury (Cadbury) chocolate, cocoa
7. Ferrero
8. Nestle chocolate"Nestlé", " "
9. Nestle Nesquik chocolate drink
10. Soft drink Sosa-Cola "Coca-Cola" Sosa-Cola
11. “Sprite”, “Fanta”, “Kinley” tonic, “Fruittime”
12. Pepci-Co Pepsi
13. "7-Up", "Fiesta", "Mountain Dew"
14. Kellogg's breakfast cereals
15. Campbell Soups
16. Uncle Bens Mars Rice
17. Knorr sauces
18. Lipton tea
19. Parmalat cookies
20. Seasonings, mayonnaise, Hellman’s sauces
21. Seasonings, mayonnaise, Heinz sauces
22. Nestle baby food
23. Hipp
24. Abbot Labs Similac
25. Yogurts, kefir, cheese, baby food Denon
26. McDonald's (McDonald's) chain of fast food "restaurants"
27. Chocolate, chips, coffee, baby food Kraft (Kraft)
28. Ketchups, sauces. Heinz Foods
29. Baby food, Delmi products Unilever (Unilever)

Products whose preparation technology uses GMOs:

JSC "Nizhny Novgorod Oil and Fat Plant" (mayonnaise "Ryaba", "Vprok", etc.).
Products "Bonduelle" (Hungary) - beans, corn, green peas.
CJSC "Baltimore-Neva" (St. Petersburg) - ketchups.
CJSC "Mikoyanovsky Meat Processing Plant" (city) - pates, minced meat.
JSC UROP FOODS GB (Nizhny Novgorod region) - Galina Blanca soups.
Concern "White Ocean" (Moscow) - chips "Russian Potatoes".
OJSC "Lianozovsky Dairy Plant" (Moscow) - yoghurts, "Miracle Milk", "Miracle Chocolate".
OJSC "Cherkizovsky MPZ" (Moscow) - frozen minced meat.
LLC "Campina" (Moscow region) - yoghurts, baby food.
LLC "MK Gurman" (Novosibirsk) - pates.
Frito LLC (Moscow region) - Layz chips.
LLC "Ermann" (Moscow region) - yoghurts.
LLC "Unilever CIS" (city) - mayonnaise "Calve".
Factory "Bolshevik" (Moscow) - cookies "Jubilee".
"Nestlé" (Switzerland, Finland) - dry milk mixture "Nestogen", puree "Vegetables with beef".

Blacklist of producers of GMO products according to Greenpeace / Greenpeace / for 2011:

LLC "Daria - semi-finished products", LLC "Klinsky Meat Processing Plant", MPZ "Tagansky", MPZ "KampoMos", CJSC "Vichyunai", LLC "MLM-RA", LLC "Talosto-Products", LLC "Bogatyr" Sausage Plant, LLC "ROS Marie Ltd."

Manufacturer company Unilever: Lipton (tea), Brooke Bond (tea), "Conversation" (teas), Calve (mayonnaise, ketchup), Rama (butter), "Pyshka" (margarine), "Delmi" (mayonnaise, yogurt, margarine ), "Algida" (ice cream), Knorr (seasonings); Nestle manufacturing company: Nescafe (coffee and milk), Maggi (soups, broths, mayonnaise, Nestle (chocolate), Nestea (tea), Neseiulk (cocoa);

Kellog's manufacturer: Corn Flakes (cereals), Frosted Flakes (cereals), Rice Krispies (cereals), Corn Pops (cereals), Smacks (cereals), Froot Loops (colored cereal rings), Apple Jacks (apple flavored cereal rings) ), Afl-bran Apple Cinnamon/ Blueberry (bran with apple, cinnamon, blueberry flavor), Chocolate Chip ( chocolate chips), Pop Tarts (filled cookies, all flavors), Nulri grain (filled toasts, all types), Crispix (cookies), All-Bran (cereals), Just Right Fruit & Nut (cereals), Honey Crunch Corn Flakes ( cereal), Raisin Bran Crunch (cereal), Cracklin'Oat Bran (cereal);

Hershey’s manufacturing company: Toblerone (chocolate, all types), Mini Kisses (candies), Kit-Kat ( chocolate bar), Kisses (candies), Semi-Sweet Baking Chips (cookies), Milk Chocolate Chips (cookies), Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups ( peanut butter), Special Dark ( dark chocolate), Milk Chocolate ( milk chocolate), Chocolate Syrup (chocolate syrup), Special Dark Chocolate Syrup (chocolate syrup), Strawberry Syrup (strawberry syrup);

Mars manufacturing company: M&M'S, Snickers, Milky Way, Twix, Nestle, Crunch (chocolate rice cereal), Milk Chocolate Nestle (chocolate), Nesquik ( chocolate drink), Cadbury (Cadbury/Hershey’s), Fruit & Nut;

Heinz manufacturing company: Ketchup (regular & no salt), Chili Sauce, Heinz 57 Steak Sauce;

Coca-Cola manufacturing company: Coca Cola, Sprite, Charry Cola, Minute Maid Orange, Minute Maid Grape;

Manufacturing company PepsiCo: Pepsi, Pepsi Cherry, Mountain Dew;

Frito Manufacturer - Lay / PepsiCo: (GM components may be contained in oil and other ingredients), Lays Potato Chips (all), Cheetos (all);

Manufacturing company Cadbury/Schweppes: 7-Up, Dr. Pepper;

Pringles manufacturing company Procter & Gamble: Pringles (chips with Original, LowFat, Pizzalicious, Sour Cream & Onion, Salt & Vinegar, Cheezeums flavors).

The same product manufacturing company can produce three categories of the same product:

The first one is for domestic consumption(in industrialized countries);
the second - for export to other developed countries;
the third is for export to developing countries.

The third category includes about 80% of food, beverages, and tobacco products exported from the United States and countries. According to the UN Food Commission, some Western firms are expanding the export of goods that are not only environmentally hazardous, but also prohibited in developed countries.

Meanwhile, more than two hundred types of food additives are not approved for use in Russia due to the incompleteness of the testing package. Listing them would take too much space. We will name only those that are completely prohibited and absolutely harmful to humans:

E121 - citrus red dye,
E123 - red amaranth,
E240 - formaldehyde preservative.

The scorpion gene was used to create a drought-tolerant wheat variety.

Many scientists fear that GMOs increase the risk of food allergies, poisoning, mutations, promote the formation of tumors, and also cause resistance to antibiotics. It is possible that foreign DNA can accumulate in human internal organs and also enter the nuclei of embryonic cells, which can lead to congenital deformities and even fetal death.

Children under 4 years of age are at risk; they are least protected from the effects of foreign genes.

Allergenicity and toxicity

More than half of the transgenic proteins that provide plant resistance to insects, fungal and bacterial diseases are toxic and allergenic.

For example, the use of albumin, a gene from Brazil nut DNA, to create a GM soybean variety with improved amino acid composition led to a significant number of people suffering from exacerbation of allergic diseases.

Insect control agents may block enzymes digestive tract not only in insects, but also in humans, and also affect the pancreas.

A number of transgenic varieties of corn and tomatoes that are resistant to insect pests produce lignin, a substance that prevents plant damage. It can decompose into toxic and mutagenic phenols and methanol. Therefore, an increase in lignin content in fruits and leaves of plants is dangerous for humans.

The most striking example of the toxicity of GMOs was the case of the Japanese Company Showa Denko K..K., which began to supply the market with the food additive GM tryptophan, believing that it was equivalent to an unmodified analogue. The GM amino acid caused the death of 37 people, and about one and a half thousand more were left disabled for life.

Carcinogenicity and mutagenicity

GMOs can become mutagenic and carcinogenic due to their ability to accumulate herbicides and their decomposition products. For example, the herbicide glyphosate, used in the cultivation of transgenic sugar beets and cotton, is a strong carcinogen and can cause lymphoma.

Some herbicides can have a negative effect on the survival and health of human embryos, as well as cause mutations.

As a result of intracellular processes, biologically active substances that can provoke the development of cancer accumulate in GM tobacco and rice varieties characterized by increased yield. Studies have shown that in rats fed with transgenic potatoes, the blood composition deteriorated, anomalies were detected in the size of internal organs, and almost all dead animals had small and large intestines.

Emergence of antibiotic resistance

Most GM crops, in addition to the genes that give them the desired properties, contain antibiotic resistance genes as markers. Common antibiotics such as ampicillin (respiratory tract infections, sinusitis and urinary tract infections) and kanamycin (tuberculosis, upper and lower respiratory tract infections) are used in food production. There is a danger that they can be transferred to pathogens, which can cause them to become resistant to antibiotics. In this case, traditional methods of treating inflammatory processes with antibiotics will be ineffective.

Resistance to a group of antibiotics that are used to treat lung infections, chlamydia and urinary tract infections in Spain and the Netherlands has reached 82%.

Proven: transgenic corn reduces reproduction

Austrian scientists conducted several long-term experiments that took about 20 weeks. One test showed that mice fed 33% of their diet with GM corn (variety NK 603 x MON 810) produced fewer babies in their third and fourth litters. The weight of the mice also became less. Animals fed regular corn had normal reproductive cycles.

According to study leader Professor Jürgen Zentek, a veterinary specialist at the University of Vienna, the statistical differences between the two groups of animals were significant, and this effect is most likely due to the diet of the mice.

The effects of this variety of GM corn on reproduction were a complete surprise. Previously, all commissions recognized it as absolutely safe, making a catastrophic mistake. Back in 2005, EFSA (European Standards Agency) food products) gave the green light to this GM crop. According to the agency's report, "the NK603 x MON810 variant does not have any harmful influence on human and animal health." In light of new data, it is clear how imperfect the system for assessing the safety of GM products adopted by EFSA is.

This type of corn is approved for cultivation and consumption in many countries, including Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. In Russia, as well as in Mexico and the European Union, these varietal lines of GM corn are allowed to be added to food products for both humans and animals. The results of the study once again confirm that no one can guarantee the safety of food products containing GMOs.

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 everything large quantity 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 it is currently impossible to fight hunger and poverty with the help of GMOs, improve nutrition, health and livelihoods in rural areas, protect the environment, help 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.

The topic of this article: “GMOs: benefit or harm?” Let's try to understand this issue with an open mind. After all, it is precisely the lack of objectivity that today plagues many materials devoted to this controversial topic. Today, in many countries of the world (including Russia), the concept of GMO has begun to be used when talking about “products that cause tumors and mutations.” GMOs are being vilified from all sides for various reasons: they are tasteless, unsafe, and threaten the food independence of our country. But are they really that scary and what is it really? Let's answer these questions.

Decoding the concept

GMOs are genetically modified organisms, that is, altered using genetic engineering methods. This concept in a narrow sense also applies to plants. In the past, various plant breeders, like Michurin, achieved beneficial properties in plants using various tricks. These included, in particular, grafting cuttings from some trees onto others or choosing to sow seeds only with certain qualities. After this, it was necessary to wait a long time for results, which only appeared steadily after a couple of generations. Today, the desired gene can be transferred to the right place and thus quickly get what you want. That is, GMOs are the direction of evolution in the right direction, its acceleration.

The original purpose of breeding GMOs

Several techniques can be used to create a GMO plant. The most popular today is the transgene method. The necessary gene (for example, the drought resistance gene) is isolated in pure form from a DNA strand. After this, it is added to the DNA of the plant that needs to be modified.

Genes can be taken from related species. In this case, the process is called cisgenesis. Transgenesis occurs when a gene is taken from a distant species.

It is about the latter that there are terrible stories. Many, having learned that wheat today exists with the scorpion gene, begin to fantasize about whether those who eat it will grow claws and a tail. Numerous illiterate publications on forums and websites Today, the topic of GMOs, the benefits or harms of which are very actively discussed, has not lost its relevance. However, this is not the only way that “specialists” who are poorly acquainted with biochemistry and biology scare potential consumers of products containing GMOs.

Today, we have agreed to call such products everything that is genetically modified organisms or any products that contain components of these organisms. That is, GMO food will be not only genetically modified potatoes or corn, but also sausages, which contain, in addition to liver and GMO soy. But products made from the meat of a cow that was fed wheat containing GMOs will not be considered such a product.

Effect of GMOs on the human body

Journalists who do not understand topics such as genetic engineering and biotechnology, but understand the relevance and urgency of the GMO problem, launched the canard that, once they enter our intestines and stomach, the cells of the products containing them are absorbed into the bloodstream and then distributed to tissues and organs , in which they cause cancerous tumors and mutations.

It must be noted that this fantastic story is far from reality. Any food, without GMOs or with them, in the intestines and stomach breaks down under the influence of intestinal enzymes, pancreatic secretion and gastric juice into its component parts, and they are not genes or even proteins at all. These are amino acids, triglycerides, simple sugars and fatty acids. All this in different parts of the gastrointestinal tract is then absorbed into the bloodstream, after which it is spent for various purposes: to obtain energy (sugar), as a building material (amino acids), for energy reserves (fats).

For example, if you take a genetically modified organism (let’s say an ugly apple that looks like a cucumber), then it will be calmly chewed and broken down into its component parts in the same way as any other non-GMO apple.

Benefit or harm?

"Monsanto" American company, already in 1982 brought genetically modified products to the market: soybeans and cotton. She is also the author of the Roundup herbicide that kills all vegetation, with the exception of genetically modified vegetation.

In 1996, when Monsanto's products were dumped on the market, competing corporations began a large-scale campaign to save profits by limiting the circulation of GMO products. The first to mark the persecution was Arpad Pusztai, a British scientist. He fed GMO potatoes to rats. True, experts subsequently tore all the calculations of this scientist to smithereens.

Potential harm for Russians from GMO products

No one hides the fact that on lands sown with GMO grains, nothing but themselves ever grows again. This is due to the fact that varieties of cotton or soybeans that are resistant to herbicides are not stained by them. Thus, they can be sprayed, causing the extinction of all other vegetation.

Glyphosphate is the most common herbicide. It is generally sprayed even before the plants ripen and quickly decomposes in them without persisting in the soil. However, resistant GMO plants allow it to be used in huge quantities, which increases the risk of glyphosphate accumulation in GMO vegetation. This herbicide is also known to cause bone overgrowth and obesity. And in Latin America and the USA there are too many people who are overweight.

Many GMO seeds are designed for only one sowing. That is, what grows out of them will not produce offspring. Most likely, this is a commercial ploy, since this increases sales of GMO seeds. Modified plants that produce subsequent generations exist perfectly well.

Since artificial gene mutations (for example, in soy or potatoes) can increase the allergenic properties of products, it is often said that GMOs are powerful allergens. But some varieties of peanuts, deprived of the usual proteins, do not cause allergies even in those who have previously suffered from allergies to this particular product.

Due to their characteristics, they may reduce the number of other varieties of their species. If regular wheat and GMO wheat are planted on two plots located nearby, there is a risk that the modified one will replace the regular one, pollinating it. However, it is unlikely that anyone would let them grow nearby.

By abandoning its own seed funds and using only GMO seeds, especially disposable ones, the state will ultimately find itself in food dependence on the companies that hold the seed fund.

Conferences with the participation of Rospotrebnadzor

After horror stories and tales about GMO products were repeatedly circulated in all media, Rospotrebnadzor took part in many conferences on this issue. At a conference in Italy in March 2014, his delegation participated in technical consultations on the low content of genetically modified organisms in Russian trade. Today, therefore, a policy has been adopted to almost completely prevent such products from entering the food market of our country. The use of GMO plants in agriculture was also delayed, although the use of GMO seeds was planned to begin in 2013 (government decree of September 23, 2013).

Barcode

The Ministry of Education and Science went even further. It proposed using a barcode to replace the “GMO-Free” label in Russia. It must contain all the information about the genetic modification contained in the product or its absence. A good start, but without a special device it will be impossible to read this barcode.

Genetically modified foods and the law

GMOs are regulated by law in some states. In Europe, for example, their content in products is not allowed to exceed 0.9%, in Japan - 9%, in the USA - 10%. In our country, products containing GMO content exceeding 0.9% are subject to mandatory labeling. For violating these laws, businesses face sanctions, including termination of operations.

Conclusion

The conclusion from all this can be drawn as follows: the problem of GMOs (the benefits or harm from the use of products containing them) today is clearly overblown. The real effects of long-term use of such products are unknown. Today, authoritative scientific experiments has not been carried out on this issue.

Are GMO foods safe? Genetically modified foods - pros and cons