hapter 9: Eating for a Healthier YouPoints of View: Genetically Modified Foods:

Boon or Bane?Special note:After you click the Submit Answers for Grading button,
remember to email and/or print out your work. This website will not save your
answers.Genetically Modified Foods: Boon or Bane?If the population continues to
expand and if plant diseases continue unchecked, soils are depleted, and our
supply of traditional food sources is depleted by overconsumption and slow
renewal, we may face severe food shortages in coming decades. Some scientists
and food producers believe that genetically modified (GM) food crops could help
solve problems ofmatching food supply to demand, but many other researchers
and health advocates are opposed to the further development and widespread
use of genetically modified foods, which they feel carry health risks and could
have a negative impact on the ecosystem. Below are some of the main points for
and against the development of GM organisms for food.Arguments for the
Development of GM FoodsArguments Against the Development of GM
Foods*.People have been manipulating food crops-primarily through selective
breeding-since the beginning of agriculture. Genetic modification is
fundamentally thesame thing, just more precise.*.Genetically modified seeds and
products are tested for safety, and there has never been a substantiated claim
for a human illness resulting from consumptionof a GM food.*.By modifying the
DNA in foods that cause allergies, we may be able to prevent many foodborne
allergies.*.Genetically modified crops can have a positive impact on the
environment. Current agricultural practices are very environmentally damaging,
whereas insect- and weed-resistant GM crops will allow farmers to use far fewer
chemical insecticides and herbicides.*.Genetically modified crops have the
potential to reduce world hunger: They can be created to grow more quickly than
conventional crops, increasing productivity and allowing for faster cycling of
crops, which means more food yield. In addition, nutrient-enhanced crops can
address malnutrition, and crops engineered to resist spoiling or damage can allow
for transportation to areas affected by drought or natural disaster.*.Genetically
modified crops are under development to produce and deliver vaccines. This is
vitally importantto protecting the health of people in developing nations and
preventing epidemics.*.Genetic modification is fundamentally different from and
more problematic than selective breeding because it transfers genes between
species in ways that could never happen naturally.*.There havent been enough
independent studies of GM products to confirm that they are safe for
consumption. Also, there are potential health risks if GM products approved for
animal feed or other uses are mistakenly or inadvertently used in the
productionof food for human consumption.*.The use of GM crops cannot be
completely controlled,so they have the potential to damage the environment.
Inadvertent cross-pollination could lead to the creation of super weeds; insectresistant crops could harm insect species that are not pests; and insect- and
disease-resistant crops could prompt the evolution of even more virulent species,
which would then require more aggressive control measures, such as the
increased use of chemical sprays.*.There is the potential for genetic engineering
to introduce allergens into otherwise nonallergenic foods.*.Because corporations
create and patent GM seeds, they will control the market, meaning that poor
farmers in the developing world would become relianton these corporations. This

circumstance would be more likely to increase world hunger than to alleviate

it.*.Creating and patenting new life forms is unethical. The introduction of foreign
genes into a plant-particularly genes taken from an animal-is offensive to many
religious and cultural groups and upsets the balance of nature.