MY HEALTHY RAINBOW FOOD GUIDE(:

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD.

Some examples of GM foods are Soy beans, corns, rape plants, sweet corn, golden rice, tomatoes, sugar cane, potatoes, strawberries, flax, and apples.

Examples of the purpose of modifying some of the foods are:
Soya beans - resistant to crop spray
Sweet corn - resistant to crop spray and produce insecticide
Rape plants - resistant to crop spray and does not produce pollen(thus it is not able to pollinate other plants)

There a both advantages and disadvantages of using GM food.
Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of GM food.

Advantages:
- Increased and better yield can solve malnutrition and solve many world hunger/ feed the world.
- Less pesticide and herbicides will be used
- Pest resistance and herbicides tolerance
- Disease resistance
- Increase tolerance of crops such as bad weather eg: drought, cold tolerance
- More Nutritional value
- Pharmaceuticals
- Phytoremedication
- More efficient use of land
- Better texture and flavour

Disadvantages:
- GM food may not be accepted by all people compared to natural crops.
-Human health risks: allergic and unknown effects. May cause cancer or other illness.
- Environmental hazards: GM crops that are planted beside natural crops may cause genes to cross over to natural crops.
- Economic concerns: costly and lengthy process
- May cause toxic to soil.
- Alter nutrients compositions
- May increase allergens and toxins in food

Genetic engineered food can be used to improve yield. Genetic engineering is the transfer of DNA from organisms of one species into organisms of a different species.

source taken from:

- Church of Scotlands. (2001).Genetically Modified Foods: Pro and Cons.Retrieved on 8 June 2008 from: http://www.srtp.org.uk/gmfood1.htm

- Proquest. (2008). Genetically Modified Foods: Harmful or Helpful? Retrieved on 3 June 2008 from: http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/gmfood/overview.php

Bacillus Thuringiensis
- We had chosen corn as the raw materials to produce flour and starch.

- DNA gene of the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis(Bt) is used to transfer into corn.

- Bt can make the crops produce a toxin in all its tissues

- crystal proteins are produced by it are toxin to some insects

- able to kill the insects that feed on corn.

- bacterium that could be found commonly in soil.

- gives a greater yield of 6 to 8 percent compared to the natural crops.

- Some disadvantage :

the present of the pollen produce form the genetic engineered corn will also harm other insects such as butterflies which is not the intended purposes and soil microorganism may also be damaged.

- GM plants with Bt have been genetically modified to contain one or more of the genes from Bt that produce these crystal proteins

- The modified plants produce one or more types of Bt crystal protein (in their leaves, stems, roots and other plant tissue), and susceptible insects that eat the plant are poisoned.

- Most of the crystal proteins produced by Bt are toxic to particular groups of insects (either butterflies and moths, beetles or flies). The proteins are not toxic to any other insects or living organisms, and are harmless to humans.

source taken from:
Nina E.Redman. Food Safety. (2007) ABC-CLIO Inc. Second edition.

10:01 PM