Genetically modified foods are harmful to human health

Genetically modified foods are harmful to human health
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Genetically modified foods are harmful to human health
Genetic engineering in food production is a practice that has been in existence for long but has now been advanced by the growth in technology and the rising demand for food. It entails deliberate modification of the genetic material contained in plants and animals, especially DNA, and transformation of certain genes to create new variations of life (Uzogara, 2000). The newly created products are later consumed by either human beings or other animals which are later consumed by human beings. It was mainly adopted due to rising desire to fasten plant growth, fight crop diseases and also improve the quality of farm produce. However, in the recent past, the practice has received criticism from environmentalists, food activists, ethicists and religious rights groups. Among other key issues raised in this regard include the negative impact that GM foods have on the human health. Despite the benefits of GM foods, critics argue they are equally dangerous to human health as they can alter become disease- causing agents through alteration of the foods’ nutritional value, potential allergenicity and toxicity among other negative effects.
Genetic engineering mainly focuses on enhancing fast growth and quality improvement in the end product be it animals or crops that are consumed by human beings. However, for this to be achieved, scientists have to decrease levels of some food nutrients while increasing others that are mostly focused on growth and quality improvement (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2016). In the end, food nutrients may be altered in favor of a specific gene. This alteration in nutriAents can easily lead to foods that do not have a nutritional value to the body and may end up exposing the human body to diseases. A study carried out by Swanson et. al. in 2014, indicated there was a correlation in the rise of diseases and decrease in life expectancy among Americans which was closely associated with the genetically modified foods. In particular, the researchers pointed out that since the early 1990s, the cost of diabetes and diabetes-related ailments had increased. This was observed in diseases such as obesity and other cardiovascular diseases that were believed to have originated from the consumption of glyphosate in GM foods. According to the researchers, although they did not singly point out the health-risk agents in the foods, some of the GM foods when consumed for a long-time have the effect of acting like modifying agents in the human body. Just like the agents modify the genes in the plants and animals, they equally modify the human body in an extended manner. They associated it with increase in body size and other such GM induced characteristics. Other diseases that have also been pointed out as having been contributed by the consumption of such foods include but not limited to cancer.
Genetically modified foods have been associated with increase in allergenicity in food. Critics argue that the introduction of new genes into plant crops may l...