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Rice fortified with vitamins and minerals, corn resistant to insects, cucumbers as big as a hamburger patty, cows impervious to mad cow disease.
Food of the future? No, many of these foods are available at the supermarket shelf near you now.
Genetic modification is the application of scientific technology to instill changes in the genetic make-up of plants, animals and other living organisms in order to produce better varieties. Otherwise known as “transgenic” or “genetically engineered”.
Genetic modification is a branch of biotechnology, which uses the components or enzymes in living organisms to make new products such as cheese, wine and yogurt. However, genetic modification is much more complex – it involves the combination of genes with specially-identified properties from different organisms in a process known as recombinant DNA technology.
Many genetically-modified products are currently available to consumers and many more are currently in production. These products include agricultural and livestock produce, food ingredients, fiber, vaccine and medicine. In 2006, over ten million farmers have planted the newest breed of corn, cotton and soybeans that are resistant to insects and herbicides. Many Asian countries have studied and successfully developed a type of rice enhanced with vitamins and minerals such as iron to combat their country’s widespread malnutrition. South Africa has developed root crops that are invincible against harmful viruses that used to destroy them. Though developed countries such as the United States and Canada still account for majority of genetically modified agricultural produce, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, China, India and South Africa are slowly following suit. Economists and genetic researchers believe that growth in this technology is expected to rapidly increase in developing countries as researchers gain access to resource and research and apply it to their own countries needs.
The biggest challenge in genetic modification is the difficulty in locating genes carrying the desired traits, such as the ability to resist pesticides or to carry a specific nutrient. However, with recent advancements in DNA mapping and genome sequences, these difficulties are slowly being hurdled with new up-and-coming technologies. Up next for genetically-modified food could be fruits that produce vaccines against infectious diseases, fruit-bearing trees that yield more times a year, fishes that grow bigger and mature more quickly, cattle resistant to viral diseases.
With genetic modification, food has developed better quality, enhanced taste and increased nutritional value. Production has increased as yields are better due to resistance to pests and faster maturation time. New techniques have also improved the quality and productivity of the agricultural industry. This translates into more food globally – especially in third world countries where food shortage is severe.
But along with the promise of a better life that genetic modification offers, it also poses dangers, both known and unknown. The global balance of economic power once again tilts in favor of developed countries due to their advancement in this technology, leaving the rest of the world dependent on them for food. The price and quantity of food has the potential to be dominated by a few large companies who have mastered genetic modification techniques, thus disrupting market competition. More importantly, safety is a primary concern as we have yet to fully know the health considerations of ingesting genetically modified foods, as they could contain allergens still unknown.
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