Genetically Modified Foods Renee Voith, Katherine Cryan, Joseph Jessen King’s College, Wilkes-Barre PA Results Introduction Have you ever thought about the food you eat? What about the chemicals they contain? In our society, we ingest a great number of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) that in one way or another alter our bodies natural states of being. Even the plants we eat have been modified. Food processors make plants larger, tastier, and less likely to perish. They claim that GMOs benefit both the producers and the consumers, making the plants more protected from plant diseases caused by insects or viruses. This means farmers are more likely to have a good crop year, but it made us think; do these modifications pose any health risks for the consumers? of another. This allows for a desired characteristic to be transferred from one organism to another. It is a proven fact that there is little evidence to suggest whether GMOs are harmful or not. However, research has suggested possible health risks associated with the production of GMOs. With regards to health, it is possible that researchers and developers, and direct consumers of GM foods face various health risks. According to an article entitled Health Risks of Genetically Modified Foods, “animal toxicity studies with certain GM foods have shown that they may toxically affect several organs and systems.” Furthermore, researchers have also found a possible connection between GMOs and allergies. In support of this inference, GMOs were not introduced to society until 1997 and 1999, thus posing a connection as to why the older generation was less susceptible to allergies, and why the newer generation is more susceptible to allergies. Along with the risks, there are also several benefits of these genetic modification processes. Genetic modification allows for the development of crops with higher yield and more nutrients while simultaneously using less fertilizer and pesticides. Despite using fewer pesticides, genetic modification increases pest and disease resistance. Another benefit of genetic modification is that it allows for the control of the transfer of genes compared to traditional breeding, which has thousands of genes that transfer randomly from parent to offspring. The results of our research regarding Genetic Modifications in plant foods displayed various risks and benefits of this process. We found that genetic modification can produce allergens in the organisms, which can be potentially dangerous. The allergic reactions can cause significant harm to an individual and possibly even death. The harm being done to our bodies just by consuming these foods is significant and can’t continued to be ignored. Truly, the risks outweigh the benefits because our health is not something that should be compromised for the sake of others’ profits. Our research resulted in our opinion of being against genetic modification. This is because we do not believe the benefits outweigh the risks. Aim and Methods Conclusions Genetic modification, or genetic engineering, involves the manipulation of the genes in organisms. Desirable traits are transferred into these organisms that significantly modify its DNA. The organisms that receive this modification are known as GMO’s, or Genetically Modified Organisms. Today’s genetic modification processes have developed significantly over the years. Current techniques allow for a specified gene with a desirable trait to be added into an organism. Some techniques of this gene transfer include: Bacterial Carriers, Gene Silencing and Gene Splicing. The Bacterial Carrier method involves preparing a bacterium in a special solution to make it a suitable carrier for delivering DNA to a new organism. The bacterium infects target plants or crops and delivers the new gene. The Gene Silencing method is designed to eliminate any unwanted characteristics from an organism. Basically, the undesirable trait is identified and “switched off”. One approach to this method is to insert foreign DNA within a gene to deactivate it. Another method of silencing a particular gene is to attach a second copy of the gene the wrong way around. A third method of genetic modification is Gene Splicing. The idea of gene splicing involves cutting a gene from one organism and inserting it into the DNA We’ve come to the conclusion that organic foods, ones that haven’t been touched by Genetic Modification, are better and healthier for us to eat. The risks to one’s health are too great to go unnoticed, so it’d be better to just avoid GM foods if possible. Future Work For future studies, we’d like to continue to follow the research findings on how GMOs affect or create allergies. New developments in that would be interesting to keep up with. Acknowledgements References Artemis, Dona, and Ioannis S. Arvanitoyannis. "Health Risks of Genetically Modified Foods." Critical Reviews in Food Science an Nutrition 49.2 (2009): 164-75. Web. Verma, Charu, Surabhi Nanda, R.K. Singh, R.B. Singh, and Sanjay Mishra. "A Review on Impacts of Genetically Modified Food on Human Health." The Open Nutraceuticals Journal 2 (2011): 3-11. Web.