GM food
...ions by adding different genes. Lessick, Keithley, Swanson and Lemon (2002) stat “Recombinant DNA technology offers a powerful new tool to assist plant breeders to produce crops with improved characteristics, such as insect resistance, disease resistance, herbicide tolerance, and climatic tolerance, as well as with enhanced consumer benefits, such as improved flavor and texture, longer shelf life, and added nutritional value.” For an example, genetically modified crop is able to insect and virus resistance and herbicide tolerance. These technologies are already used in peoples’ daily foods. Hopkin mentions 60% of groceries sold in USA contain a GM ingredient (cited in Lessick, Keithley, Swanson and Lemon, 2002). Nevertheless, nothing is consummate, everything has two sides; GM foods have no exception, either. People mostly consider about the unknown risk, which mainly can be divided in to two distinct categories, those, which is environmental risk, those, which is health risk. Either of them will bring disasters for human. According to “How safe is GM food”(2002), the risk may include damage biodiversity, reduce the diversification of food. Moreover, grangers will rely on some particular companies; grangers also have to buy sterile seed or chemical products every year. Furthermore, once herbicide-resistant genes go into weeds, it can cause superweeds. Some insects, which people do not want to kill, may be damaged by pesticide added inside of plants. If hexapods and weeds also get the ability to resist pesticides and herbicides, it will be a disaster for agriculture. Moreover, people worry about the negative influence on other biology (Lessick, Keithley, Swanson and Lemon, 2002). Like environmental risk, GM food may cause health risk as well, such as allergenicity, genes transfer between GM food and cells or bacilli in the alimentary canal, and heterosexual touch, or displace GM plants genes into traditional crops, and arise oblique effects to food (“How safe is GM food”, 2002). In addition, “How safe is GM food”(2002) also mentions GM foods are not just a science debate, it has other impact on human society, such as internationally uneven distribution between donate and receive GM foods, receivers worry about they receive GM foods which are developed nations do not want, world community boggles use food aid or money aid. Genetic modification is still a new technology. It has been a topic of professional interest for some time. Because of the uncertainty, many countries ban GM food, even when their countries are suffering from disaster or starvation. In Zambia, 2 million people suffered from hunger, however, the government did not use GM food aid (Ashraf, 2003). Another time in Zambia, 14 million people suffered from starvation. In order to ease the starvation, USA endow GM food, likewise, the government still did not accept GM food which president Levy Mwanawasa called “poison”. Some hungry people plunder food so that they could survive (“How safe is GM food”, 2002). So the safety of GM foods becomes quite crucial. In order to prove GM foods is safe; in mid-2003 the international food code created by the Codex Alimentarius Commission evaluated single GM foods. After a strict scientific analysis, if there are no effects on human health, society and ethic, that could prove the safety of GM foods. That proof should cover all the respects (“How safe is GM food”, 2002). In some countries, GM foods become quite important. In USA 2001, more than 65% of the soy and excess 25% of the maize were genetically modified (Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology cited in Lessick, Keithley, Swanson and Lemon, 2002). Every country has different policy and attitude for GM food. Some are agree, others are against. It hard to say which one is right or wrong. It is still an ongoing development of technology. However, in case, plan ahead is a good choice. Labeling GM products is the way to caution customers, and info...