Discuss the potential benefits and risks associated with the use of genetically-engineered foods

Answer 1

Potential Benefits of GE Foods and Crops
• Increased nutritional value of staple foods: Genes are being inserted into rice to make it produce beta-carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A. This experimental transgenic "golden rice" has the potential to reduce vitamin A deficiency, a leading cause of blindness and a significant factor in many child deaths.
• Reduced environmental impact: Scientists are developing trees with modified cell lignin content. When used to make pulp and paper, the modified wood requires less processing with harsh chemicals.
• Increased fish yield: Researchers have modified the gene that governs growth hormones in tilapia, a farmed fish, offering the prospect of increased yield and greater availability of fish protein in local diets.
• Increased nutrient absorption by livestock: Animal feed under development will improve animals' absorption of phosphorus. This reduces the phosphorus in animal waste, which pollutes groundwater.
• Tolerance of poor environmental conditions: Scientists are working to produce drought-resistant or salt-tolerant transgenic crops, which can then be grown on marginal land.
Potential Risks of GE Foods and Crops
• Inadequate controls: Although safety regimes are being improved, control over GE crop releases is not completely effective. In 2000, for example, a maize variety cleared only for animal consumption was found in food products.
• Transfer of allergens: Allergens can be transferred inadvertently from an existing to a target organism, and new allergens can be created. For example, when a Brazil-nut gene was transferred to soybean, tests found that a known allergen had also been transferred. However, the danger was detected during testing, and the soybean was not released.
• Unpredictability: GE crops may have unforeseen effects on farming systems, for example, by taking more resources from the soil or using more water than normal crops use.
• Undesired gene movement: Genes brought into a species artificially may cross accidentally to an unintended species. For example, resistance to herbicide could spread from a GE crop into weeds, which could then become herbicide resistant themselves.
• Environmental hazards: GE fish might alter the composition of natural fish populations if they escape into the wild. For example, fish that have been genetically modified to eat more in order to grow faster might invade new territories and displace native fish populations.