ADAMA HOSPITAL MEDICAL COLLEGE

Future holds: Genetically modified foods and health risks

Department of public health nutrition

Group members. ID NO

Submitted to:

Submission date:

Adama, Ethiopia

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Contents
Background.................................................................................................................................... 2

Statement of the problem............................................................................................................. 3

Significance of the study................................................................................................................5

Objective........................................................................................................................................6

Materials and Methods................................................................................................................. 6

Results........................................................................................................................................... 6

Effects of GM foods on health....................................................................................................... 6

Positive health effects Of GM foods:..........................................................................................7

Future holds.................................................................................................................................16

Discussion.................................................................................................................................... 17

Conclusion................................................................................................................................... 19

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Background
Food is one of the most important necessities for humans; we eat to live and at least most people
are blesses with a meal a day, while some others can afford three or more. Independent of our
culture and customs, dinning remains a vital aspect in different festivities across the world
between and within families and friends. Furthermore, we want a healthy and nutritious meal but
the question is “How safe is the food we are consuming?”

Genetically modified foods are organisms (i.e. plants or animals) in which the genetic material
(Deoxyribonucleic Acid) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating
and/or natural recombination. Combining genes from different organisms is known as
recombinant Deoxyribonucleic Acid technology and the resulting organism is said to be
‘Genetically Modified’, ‘Genetically Engineered’ or ‘Transgenic’. Crops grown commercially
and/or field-tested are resistant to a virus that could destroy most of the African harvest, other
crops with increased iron and vitamins that may alleviate chronic malnutrition and a variety of
plants that are able to survive weather extremes. There are fruits that produce human vaccines
against infectious diseases such as hepatitis B, fish that mature more quickly, fruit and nut trees
that yield years earlier and plants that produce new plastics with unique properties. . Although
GMO has many positive effect, it has many side effects. With this new technology there are
many effect: like environmental effect,socio economic effect, health effect. Specially on health
it has many side effect. Example: cell toxicity,carcinogenicity, neurotoxicity, endocrine
disruption, GI disruption,etc. Therefore, to decrease these risks there must be professionals
guidelines, regulation and safety rules to monitor and evaluate introduced GM crop. This
review addresses the major concerns about genetically modified foods, its effect on health,
environment and socioeconomics and also the future holds to decrease this risks.

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Statement of the problem
The improvement of plants and livestock for food production and the use of different
conservation techniques have been in practice as long as humankind stopped migrating relying
on agriculture for survival. With the quest to grow more and better food to meet the demand of
our fast growing world population, genetic engineering of crops has become a new platform in
addition to plant breeding [1].

Production of GMO crops

In 1946, scientists first discovered that DNA can be transferred between organisms. Genetic
modification is an extension of this. Combining genes from different organisms is known as
recombinant DNA technology and the resulting organism is said to be ‘Genetically Modified
(GM)’, ‘Genetically engineered’ or ‘transgenic’. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are
plants, animals or microorganisms that have had their genetic material altered in the lab to create
new varieties of plants, animals, and organisms with desired characteristics.

According to James (2015), genetically modified crops were planted on 191.7 hectares of land in
2018. The top five biotech crop producers in the world are the United States, Brazil, Argentina,
Canada and India. North America produces 44.4 per cent of the world’s biotech

Crops, with the United States leading the pack (James, 2018). Soybean (92.1 Mha) was the most
widely planted biotech crop in 2015, followed by maize (53.6 Mha), cotton (24 Mha) and oilseed
rape (canola) (8.5 Mha). This indicates that soybeans and cotton are the most widely cultivated
genetically modified crops in the world. South Africa, Burkina Faso and Sudan are the top three
GMO-producing countries in Africa, with GM cotton as the main crop(2).

In the last few decades, Ethiopia has made great strides in increasing the productivity of its main
staple crops such as maize, sorghum, tef, wheat, and barley through conventional breeding
efforts and use of modern inputs. However, compared to the global average, the yield of staple
food crops is still low due to minimal use of improved technologies and loss to abiotic and biotic
stresses.

In Ethiopia, there is great expansion of textile manufacturing industries all over the country
starting from the establishment of industrial parks. Furthermore, the expansion of agricultural

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industrial parks is anticipated to drive to increase the demand of cotton supply and production in
Ethiopia (3). Ethiopian cotton productivity is deficient to meet the increasing demand of the
textile industries and hence the country is importing cotton (including cotton) from various
international suppliers . Government led outreach, and comparatively low labor cost, low
electricity costs, undeserved governmental support, loan and appreciable tax exemption has
already attracted a number of Chinese, Turkish, Indian, Indonesian and other foreign companies
opening their firms in Ethiopia in recent years [4]. To meet the cotton demand, Ethiopia has
planned to begin commercialization of Bt cotton following the implementation of a decree that
granted research rights both in the laboratories and farm land. Hence, confined experimental
trials are underway and commercialization of Bt cotton is expected within the next couple of
years . National Agricultural Biotechnology Research Center is established and a total of 68
studies are undergoing in four centers [3].

A major and polarizing debates about Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) have been a
major issues starting from 1990s . These debates revolve about the possible effect on human
being and animal health’s, the environment, plant biodiversity and the world food chain. It is
belied that crop genetic engineering can aid in most conditions on food security as it improves
crop productivity and quality [2].

However, genetic modification of crop plants raises worries on potential hazards to living things
and environment where the probable challenges and opportunities need to be cautiously assessed
on a case-by-case base . The advance of a country-based controlling framework requests to
include consideration of current biosafety contexts and functionality and the implications as well
as responsibilities of the then Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) and Cartagena
procedure on biosafety [5].

Agrarian biotechnology the potential benefits as well as risks, is a widely discussed issue in most
countries, where views people vary significantly and sometimes are relatively different [6]. Risk
assessment of possible toxicity and allergenic effects on health of human or animals should be
studied [5]. Moreover, the influence on gene flow inside species and to wild families,
invasiveness as well as not possible vector for plant disease need to be conducted before the
introduction of genetically modified crop. It was suggested that the proved benefits of genetically
modified food products apparently far dominate the hazards and thus governing agencies and

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industries elaborated in GM food firms should enhance public consciousness in the technology to
improve universal acceptance of GM foods through openness, education, and research [7]. Africa
needs to embrace modern technology in Agriculture to ensure food security for its citizens [8].
However, it is globally agreed that genetically modified crops must be commercialized only after
their detailed safety investigation validation is confirmed safe [9]. This literature review thus
primarily assess the literatures which shows the positive or/and negative health effects of
genetically modified foods on human beings and their life and the future holds to decrease
health risks.

Significance of the study

This review is important to increase awareness of the readers about genetically modified foods.
And also it help the future researcher as a framework. It also, increase awareness between
community on Genetically modified foods,side effects and how to overcome the side effects of
GMO. It can be used as a frame work for biotechnologists about side effects of genetically
modified foods, to create idea about how to reduce the side effects of genetically modified foods.

Objective
General objective

 To review the concept of genetically modified foods and it's effect on health and to
determine what future holds to decrease health risks in Ethiopia.

Specific objective

 To review the concept of genetically modified foods

 To review health risks ( positive and negative effect )of genetically modified foods
 To determine what future holds to decrease health risks in ethiopia

Materials and Methods Published articles and books were searched from different literatures.
Then, the searched documents were compiled together and screened for duplication. Finally,
reference lists cited by each eligible study were assessed to identify additional articles. Before
starting data extraction, selection process of the relevant studies was explained under the
characteristics of included studies using texts and graphical presentation. After data extraction,

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the findings were grouped together into three thematic areas ‘Positive Effect , Negative Effects’
and future holds to decrease health risks. Finally, data were presented using texts.

Results
Like any new technology, the agricultural biotechnology poses benefits and risks. Various
economic, environmental, social, ethical, and political issues must be considered. Our finding is
divided into three parts.

Positive effect of GM foods

Negative effect of GM foods or health risks

Future holds to decrease the risks of GM foods

1. Positive health effects Of GM foods:

a) Improvement of Human Nutrition

Transgenic crops production can improve the quality of food by increasing the nutritional
content, promoting stable digestion by lowering glycemic index, improving flavor and taste or
reducing those substances in food which traditionally produce allergies [6]. The amount of pro-
vitamin A was increased in tomato fruit by adding bacterial gene encoding phytoene desaturase,
even though the total amount of carotenoid in the new transgenic tomatoes remained the same .
Scientists improved the production of an antioxidant, anthocyanin in tomatoes by using different
methods. It was made possible by adding a transcription factor from Arabidopsis thaliana and
also possible to increase the levels of isoflavone, which is known for its potential anticancer
properties, by introducing the soybean isoflavone synthase into tomatoes [58]. The GM tomato
had increased antioxidants and was promised to protect against cancer and diabetes [10].

In Africa, genetic engineering provides a complementary tool to banana breeders to introduce

transgenic bananas with increased pro-vitamin A fruit content in order to improve child nutrition

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and health [11]. The new GM banana fruit is not only full of vitamins but also rich in iron.
Uganda also had showed interest in GM banana [12]. A scientist has got bananas that have up to
a 25-fold increase in the level of Pro-vitamin A, which is above the target we need and that
technology has already been transferred to Uganda [13].

b) Means of medication/pharmaceuticals:

It is well known that medicines and vaccines often are costly enough to produce and sometimes
require certain specific storage conditions. Continuous work along these specific line of action is
on the way in view of developing certain edible vaccines in tomatoes and potatoes, probably will
be rather easier to ship, store and administer compared to those pertaining to customary
injectable vaccines [2].

c) To reduce pesticide use:

Pesticides are often sprayed on croplands to prevent certain pests from harming crops, which
would reduce the potential harvest. Many pesticides are based on a chemical composition that
can be harsh to the top soil. Many farms are forced to rotate their fields not because they are
growing the same crops each year, but because the pesticides add salts to the soil that need to be
removed over time [14].

d) To reduce herbicide use:

Weeds are a major problem for croplands as well. A weed competes for the same resources that
a food-producing crop requires to generate a harvest. The same issue which applies to pesticides
applies to the application of herbicides. Spraying them too much, using traditional growing
methods, can reduce soil nutrient levels over time. Genetic modifications which naturally prevent
weeds from interfering can reduce the number of chemicals introduced into the growing
environment. In return, consistent yields can be created [14].

e) To reduce consumer costs:

The average person in the United States will eat nearly 1 ton of corn over the course of a single
year. That includes about 42 pounds of corn syrup each year. Genetic modifications to a core
food product, such as corn, can reduce the cost of growing it. That reduces the cost of other food

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products that are made from the core food, which can save consumers money at the grocery
store. Even if the savings were just $0.50 per pound, that would result in a total per-person
savings of $750 per year [15].

2 . Negative health effects of gm foods

The debates over GM foods focus mostly on uncertainties concerning the potential adverse
effects of GM foods on human health and environmental safety. The anxiety among consumers
can be attributed to four sources: the difficulty of the scientific community in explaining
concisely to the lay public the biological techniques involved; concerns about the improper
dissemination of GM foods; and the ethical principles inherent in traditional food processing;
the misgivings with regards to the adequacy of evaluation of the GM foods [16]. In general
genetically modified foods have the following health risks or effect on human.

a) Human health hazards:

Three major health risks potentially associated with GM foods are: toxicity, allergen and genetic
hazards. These arise from three potential sources, the inserted gene and their expressed proteins ,
and effects of the products of gene expression, and the possible disruption of natural genes in the
manipulated organism [17].

b) Allergic reaction

GM foods have the potential to cause allergic reactions in general; this risk is comparable to the
risks associated with traditionally grown foods. However, the proteins produced by any newly
introduced genes have the potential to cause an additional allergic response. To prevent such
allergy, the transfer of genes from commonly allergenic foods is discouraged unless it can be
proven that the protein produced by the introduced gene will not be allergenic. Also, tests are
conducted to examine the heat and digestive stability of these proteins, and any similarity to
known allergenic proteins. It is important to note that the traits that are introduced into a
particular plant may be new to that plant but are often found naturally in other plants [14].

c) Increase antibiotic resistance:

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Development of resistance to antibiotics is a scourge well Known to medical science, and is
traceable to the over-use of therapeutic antibiotics in medicine and agriculture. In the processes
of genetic modification, antibiotics are also frequently employed, typically as selection markers,
to distinguish success- fully transformed bacteria from those in which the transfecting genes did
not take hold. Thus, the machinations to genetically modify an organism carries the risk of
transferring the genes of antibiotics resistance into the benign bacteria comprising the microflora
of human and animal gastrointestinal tracts, or, worse yet, to pathogenic bacteria harbored by the
consumer of GM a food, because bacteria, good and bad, are quite capable of shuttling useful
genes like those that protect them from nasty antibiotics around by horizontal transfer between
species [18].

The amount of resistance that is currently being seen in bacterium populations to certain
antibiotics is proof that nature knows how to adapt. Repetitive exposure to foods with medication
qualities may not only reduce the effectiveness of that medication in each individual, but it may
also speed up the resistance factor. Over time, that may cause problematic health consequences
that may have no feasible fix[9].

d) Gene transfer:

Another potential concern arising from GE foods is the transfer of genetic material from GE
foods to the cells of the human body or the bacteria in the intestinal tract. DNA from ingested
food is not completely degraded by digestion and small fragments of DNA from GM foods have
been found in different parts of the gastrointestinal tract. This could result in horizontal gene
transfer due to absorption of DNA fragments by gut microflora or somatic cells lining the
intestinal cells. Dona and Arvanitoyannis have cited various studies that detected fragments of
transgenic genes in the gastrointestinal tract, muscles, and white blood cells and milk of cows.
Other scientists have shown limitations in the detection of GM DNA by currently available tests.
Scientists have also postulated that uptake of GM DNA into the cells of the gastrointestinal tract
will not have any biological consequences because this DNA will be degraded in the cells.
However, it is not clear if people with gastrointestinal disease will be able to fully degrade this
GM DNA. A comprehensive scientific evaluation of this problem is a colossal task because only
about 1% of the naturally existing bacteria can be cultured and thus analyzed [2].

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e) Anti-nutrient effect:

Anti-nutrients are substances that interfere with the utilization of nutrients. The insertion of a
new gene may lead to an increase in the existing levels of anti-nutrients. For example, glyphosate
resistant Roundup Ready soybean has been shown to increase anti-nutrients. In sheep and cattle,
heat-stable anti-nutrients such as phytoestrogens, glucinins, and phytic acid have been found to
cause infertility, allergic reactions, and decreased availability of phosphorus and zinc,
respectively [3].

f) Effects on Growth

Body weight might be significantly altered as it has been shown with the consumption of
Mon863 corn (Seralini et al.,2007) and GM rice on rats (Li et al., 2004).

g) Effects on the Gastrointestinal Tract

Stomach erosion and necrosis were reported in rats fed with flavr-savrTM GM tomatoes, while
GM potatoes expressing Galanthus nivalis (GNA) lectin induced proliferative growth in their
stomach which is of particular importance if one takes into consideration that glomerular
stomach erosions can lead to life-threatening hemorrhage, especially in the elderly and patients
on none steroidal anti-inflammatory agents (Pusztai et al.,2003). Intestines may also be affected
by GM food consumption as it has already been shown with GM potatoes expressing

GM potatoes expressing gna which induced proliferative growth in the small-large intestines
(Ewen and Pusztai, 1999a) and GM soybean type Roundup ReadyR which caused moderate
inflammation in the distal intestine of salmons (Bakke-McKellep et al. 2007).

Recent work with gene transfer research has resulted in the production of the aquatic species
with enhanced abilities in areas such as growth, cold tolerance, disease resistance, and
metabolism of plant-based diets. Although transgenic research with invertebrates is far behind
that for vertebrates, there is much potential for generic improvements among commercial bivalve
species. Recent advances include development of successful, patented gene transfer methods,
and research into boosting disease resistance. Despite the potential for GMOs in aquaculture, a
number of environmental and human health concerns remain. Major concerns include
escapement of transgenic fish into the wild, where they could disrupt natural gene pools through

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breeding with wild species, and the possible detrimental effects of introducing transgenic into the
human and aquatic food chains (Rasmussen and Morrissey,2007).

The chronic inflammation and proliferative effect that may be caused by some GM plants on the
gastrointestinal tract may lead after years to cancer.

h) Pancreatic Effects

GM soybean has also an impact on pancreas, since changes occurred in pancreatic cells of mice
and a high synthetic rate of zymogen granules containing low amounts of α-amylase (Malatesta
et al., 2003).

i) effects on kidney

Another target organ of some GM crops is the kidney. Smaller kidneys were developed in
DuPont’s study in rats fed diets containing GM corn 1507 (MacKenzie et al., 2007), whereas
consumption of Mon863 corn in rats led to lower urine phosphorus and sodium excretion in male
rats. There were also small increases in focal inflammation and tubular degenerative changes
characteristic of a classic chronic progressive nephropathy (Seralini et al., 2007). Rats fed GNA
rice had elevated creatinine plasma concentration either due to some kind of renal effect or the
increased water consumption in order to excrete the excess iron in the GNA rice diet (Poulsen et
al., 2007). Salmons fed GM soybean had higher head kidney lysozyme and higher acid
phosphatase activities (Bakke-McKellep et al., 2007).

j) Alterations in Hematology

Response variables were observed in animals fed with GM crops. DuPont’s study in rats fed
diets containing GM corn 1507 showed a decrease in red blood cell count and hematocrit of
females (MacKenzie et al., 2007) while GM corn Mon863 affected the development of blood
with fewer immature red blood cells (reticulocytes) and changes in blood chemistry in rats
(Seralini et al., 2007). with VIP insecticidal protein gene caused a decrease in platelets,
monocytes ratio in female rats, and an increase in the granulocytes ratio in male rats (Peng et al.,
2007).

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As for the effects of GM crops on the immune system an increase in the production of Cry9C-
specific IgG and IgG1 in rats and mice fed with GM heat-treated corn CBH351 was observed
(Teshima et al., 2002) because the Cry gene possesses immunogenic properties as it was shown
by Vazquez-Padron et al. (1999). Serum IgG mediates the inhibition of serum-facilitated allergen
presentation. The presence of enhanced IgG Abs activates the IgG response (van Neerven et al.,
1999) thereby indicating the occurrence of an allergic reaction having occurred, although
Germolec et al. (2003) suggest that antigen specific IgG does not correlate to clinical allergy.
Moreover, GM corn Mon863 caused higher white blood cell levels in male rats (Seralini et al.,
2007). DuPont’s sub-chronic feeding study in rats fed diets containing GM corn 1507 showed
that eosinophil concentration in females was decreased (MacKenzie et al., 2007). Rats given a
diet based on GNA rice showed enlargement of the lymph nodes, and decreased weight of the
mesenteric and of the female adrenal lymph nodes which may be indicative of an immune toxic
response (Poulsen et al., 2007).

k) Effects on Biochemical Parameters

Sub-chronic feeding of GNA rice in rats resulted in decrease in glucose, while cholesterol,
triglyceride, and HDLD concentration were higher (Poulsen et al., 2007).

l) Mortality

An increased mortality was observed in rats fed with GM tomatoes since seven out of forty rats
died within two weeks without any explanation (Pusztai et al., 2003).

m) Reproductive and Developmental Toxicity

Food-ingested M13 DNA fed to pregnant mice, was detected in various organs of fetuses and
newborn animals, suggesting a possible transfer through the trans placental route (Doerfler and
Schubbert, 1998). Maternally ingested foreign DNA could be a potential mutagen for the
developing fetus.

A study of GM rice expressing Xa21 on the development of rat embryos showed that there was
an increase in the body weight gain of pregnant rats, the body weight, body length, and tail

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length of fetal rats (Li et al., 2004) whereas GM rice expressing cowpea trypsin inhibitor caused
an increase in the male rats’ body length and in the female rats’ red blood cell number,
hemoglobin, and monocyte number (Zhuo et al., 2004). The fact that no adverse effects have
been observed in a reproductive and developmental study of bar gene inserted into GM potato
may be due to the very low content of GM potato in food, so that the undesired effects are
masked (Rhee et al., 2005).

Finally, the consumption of products from insect resistant plants raised some controversy
regarding the possible long term effects on health. Although Betz et al. (2000) state that it has
been used for over 40 years without causing adverse effects, the difference with GM plants is
that is not degraded in the plant and as a result both animals and humans may be exposed to this
toxin (Aronson and Shai 2001).

n) Geno-toxicity

Safety assessment for GM sweet pepper and tomato conferring resistance to cucumber mosaic
virus showed no geno-toxicity in animals (Chen et al., 2003). The use of lyophilized instead of
raw GM food in this study may alter the toxicity results since there may be structural differences.
Pusztai’s discipline of using animals with an acceptable starting weight range should be adopted
in order to evaluate the toxic effects (Alliance for Bio integrity website 1998). The results of
most studies with GM foods indicate that they may cause hepatic, pancreatic, and renal effects
and may alter the hematological, biochemical, and immunologic parameters the significance of
which remains to be solved with chronic toxicity studies.

O) Environmental effects:

Beyond the potential direct effects on human health, GM plants also have environmental effects
on non-target organisms (organisms that are not pests), such as birds, insects, worms, bees, and
fish. Other potential environmental risk are the persistence of the gene after the GMO has been
harvested, and the potential for gene instability, biodiversity loss, or increased use of use of
chemicals in agriculture. APHIS and the EPA do review any environmental impacts of GE crops
prior to field testing and commercial release [10].

P) Economic effects:

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Although, Genetically Modified (GM) plants represent a potential benefit for environmentally
friendly agriculture and human health, poor knowledge is available on the potential hazards
posed by unintended modifications occurring during genetic manipulation. The major economic
fears are the risk of patent enforcement which may oblige farmers to depend on giant
engineering companies such as Monsanto for strains when their crops are cross pollinated.
Consumer advocates are equally worried that patenting these new plant varieties will raise the
price of seeds so high that small farmers and third world countries will not be able to afford
seeds for GM crops, thus widening the gap between the wealthy and the poor. It is hoped that in
a humanitarian gesture, more companies and non-profits will follow the lead of the Rockefeller
Foundation and offer their products at reduced costs to impoverished nations [1].

Future holds
Legal issues

Genetically modified foods have been one of the most controversial topics that have made news
in the last years. Many European environmental organizations, NGOs and public interest groups
have been actively protesting against GM foods for months. Beside, recent controversial studies
about the effects of genetically modified food have brought the issue of genetic engineering to
the forefront of the public consciousness [16,17].

Biosafety requires maintaining an equilibrium among assuring a high level of human health and
environmental, while at the same time providing a stable regulatory means in the food chain
[68]. In addition, some more general concerns include environmental pollution, unintentional
gene transfer to wild plants, possible creation of invasive weeds, risk to crop genetic diversity,
religious, cultural and ethical concerns, and fright of unknown effects [21].

Gene flow may happen from engineered crops to sexually compatible wild families and to
agricultural weeds, there exist gaps of potential effects of gene flow and the effect of specific
traits on the performance of the weed or wild families [69].

In Ethiopia, there must exist strong panel of discussions of professionals with clear guidelines,
regulation and safety rules to monitor and evaluate introduced GM crops by addressing the
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following questions: has the product been used as predicted/recommended? Are known effects
and side-effects as predicted? Does the product induce unexpected side effects [70]. This helps to
maintain GM inputs under the legal tolerance threshold of 0.9% [71]. The earlier version of the
Biosafety Proclamation of Ethiopia, which was stringent, has been revised to support the
adoption of the technology [17]. Due to safety fears many countries have refused introduction or
production of GM crops. For example, the Scottish Government announced to use the new EU
legislation, which prevents GM crops production [18].

As the battle to ensure food and nutritional security of millions of people continues, looking
biotechnology as an option is a choice to solve global hanger, but should it be at the expense of
nature? This is a growing debate about the potential value of modern biotechnology.

Discussion
As [3], the genesis of DNA modification technology can be traced back to 1944, when scientists
discovered that genetic material can be transferred between different species [4]. Also states, the
double helix structure of DNA, and the “central dogma” DNA transcribed to messenger RNA,
translated to protein was established. Developed DNA recombination technology, showing that
genetically engineered DNA molecules can be transferred among different species.
Undernourishment is very communal in third world countries where poor people trust in a single
crop such as rice for the main staple of their diet. However, rice does not contain adequate
amounts of all essential nutrients to avert malnutrition [6]. If rice could be genetically engineered
to contain additional vitamins and mineral (physiological and biochemical) significance, nutrient
shortages could be relieved [2,7,8]. The nutritional content of the GMFs can be altered as well,
and providing a denser nutritional profile than what previous generations was able to enjoy. This
means people in the future could gain the same nutrition from lower levels of food consumption.
The UN Food and Agricultural Organization notes that rice, genetically modified to produce high
levels of Vitamin A, have helped to reduce global vitamin deficiencies [14]. This not only helps
people get the nutrients they need, but also plays a significant role in fighting against
malnutrition in third-world countries.

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Through a process called “pharming,” it is possible to produce certain proteins and vaccines,
along with other pharmaceutical goods, thanks to the use of genetic modifications. The vaccines
that we need to protect ourselves from dangerous diseases, along with certain medications that
are useful for daily living, can be introduced into the very foods that we eat every day thanks to
modern GMO practices [6,7]. This would make it cheaper for people to have the medication
access they need and could change how a visit to the doctor is handled in the future.

Herbicides and pesticides create certain hazards on croplands that can eventually make the soil
unusable. Farmers growing genetically modified foods do not need to use these products as often
as farmers using traditional growing methods, allowing the soil to recover its nutrient base over
time. Because of the genetic resistance being in the plant itself, the farmer still achieves a
predictable yield at the same time [4, 10,26]. This means the amount of pesticide and herbicide
chemicals used on the plants are reduced, so their exposures to dangerous pesticides are also
reduced.

This improvement makes it possible to take excess food products from one community and
deliver it to another that may be experiencing a food shortage. GMO foods give us the
opportunity to limit food waste, especially in the developing world, so that hunger can be
reduced and potentially eliminated [6,7]. Due to higher yield and lower costs, food prices would
go down. As people in poorer countries spend over half of their income on food alone, this
means automatic reduction of poverty.

Genetically Modified Foods may have numerous unintended consequences. The amount of
resistance that is currently being seen in bacterium populations to certain antibiotics is proof that
nature knows how to adapt [18]. Repetitive exposure to foods with medication qualities may not
only reduce the effectiveness of that medication in each individual, but it may also speed up the
resistance factor. Over time, that may cause problematic health consequences that may have no
feasible fix [3]. This is may be due to the machinations to genetically modify an organism carries
the risk of transferring the genes of antibiotics resistance into the benign bacteria comprising the
micro flora of human and animal gastrointestinal tracts, or to pathogenic bacteria harbored by the
consumer of GM food.

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Genetic migrations are known to occur within species. This happens with plants and animals.
That’s how we have numerous corn species, different grains, and other food products. What
GMO foods do is combine unnatural combinations of DNA to create a new food product.
Combining scorpion DNA into cabbage DNA is just one example of this process [2,6]. These
combinations may create allergy triggers and unintended consequences, even if research shows
certain combinations are not harmful to humans. According to [9], it is apparent that no
standardized design to test the safety of GM foods yet exists. However, there is consensus that
the safety assessment should be carried out on a case-by-case basis before a GM product is
introduced to the market. Moreover, there is a need for standardization and harmonization of the
design and analysis of animal feeding trials, as well as a particular need for appropriate statistical
analysis of the data which is consistent with [12]. The current improvement of studies has
produced a tendency to use more sensitive indicators, such as transcriptomics, proteomics, and
metabolomics into the experimental risk assessment approach.

As a reaction to the growing public concern on GM food and products, many governments across
the world have taken different approaches to tackle this hot topic on GM foods. This has resulted
in the creation of GMO regulations which are most often country or region specific [1]. The
European parliament and council for example have set up regulations regarding GM foods to
protect human health and well-being of citizens, and European social and economic interests. As
Strauss, D. M. 2006 the EU regulations segregates between GM food and feed, it further gives
specific instructions on how GM products should be labeled in terms of the amount of
modifications involved [13].

Conclusion
Genetically-modified foods have the potential to solve many of the world’s hunger and
malnutrition problems, and to help protect and preserve the environment by increasing yield by
improving nutrition, reducing herbicide use, reducing pesticide use, and by reducing customer
costs.

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However, It should be emphasized that since these GM foods are going to be consumed by every
human being and should be tested even more thoroughly than drugs and more experiments are
required in order to study the possible toxicity and make any conclusions. Tests to determine
how a GM food affects mutagenesis and carcinogenesis should be conducted as well. Finally,
post marketing surveylance should be part of the overall safety strategy for allergies, especially
of high-risk groups such as infants and individuals in “atopic” families. Evaluation of protein
allergy in man should also include studies in individuals not only with a history of allergy but
with immunodeficiency as well. The use of recombinant GH in animals, such as cows or the
expression of GH in animals such as salmon should be re-examined since it may promote cancer.
The results of most of the rather few studies conducted with GM foods indicate that they may
cause hepatic, pancreatic, renal, and reproductive effects and may alter hematological,
biochemical, and immunologic parameters the significance of which remains unknown. The
above results indicate that many GM foods have some common toxic effects. Therefore, further
studies should be conducted in order to elucidate the mechanism dominating this action. Small
amounts of ingested DNA may not be broken down under digestive processes and there is a
possibility that this DNA may either enter the bloodstream or be excreted, especially in
individuals with abnormal digestion as a result of chronic gastrointestinal disease or with
immunodeficiency.

Currently a biosafety regulatory regime has been developed in many countries to regulate the
trans boundary movement of genetically modified organisms to avert their possible risks on
biodiversity, human health and the environment in general.

The foods crops genetically modified are: cotton, papaya, potato, soy, sugar beet, zucchini, and
yellow summer squash.

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