What is gmo in food. How is the production and sale of GMOs regulated in the world? Is the beast so scary
Kemerovo State Medical Academy
Department of General Hygiene
Abstract on the topic:
"Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)"
Completed:
Leshcheva E.S., 403 gr.,
Kostrova A.V., 403 gr.
Kemerovo, 2012
Introduction
What is GMO (history, goals and methods of creation)
Types of GMOs and their uses
Russian policy towards GMOs
Pros of GMOs
The danger of GMOs
Consequences of using GMOs
Conclusion
Bibliography
Introduction
The number of inhabitants of the Earth is steadily growing, thus, there is a huge problem in increasing food production, improving medicines and medicine in general. And in the world, in connection with this, social stagnation is observed, which is becoming more urgent. It is believed that with the current size of the world's population, only GMOs can save the world from the threat of hunger, since with the help of genetic modification it is possible to increase the yield and quality of food.
The creation of genetically modified products is now the most important and most controversial task.
What is gmo?
A genetically modified organism (GMO) is an organism whose genotype has been purposefully artificially altered using genetic engineering methods. This definition can be applied to plants, animals and microorganisms. Genetic changes are usually made for scientific or economic purposes.
The history of the creation of GMOs
The first transgenic products were developed in the US by the former military chemical company Monsanto back in the 80s.
Monsanto Company (Monsanto) is a transnational company, the world leader in plant biotechnology. The main products are genetically modified seeds of corn, soybeans, cotton, as well as the most common herbicide in the world, Roundup. Founded by John Francis Queenie in 1901 as a purely chemical company, Monsanto has since evolved into a high technology agricultural concern. The key moment in this transformation came in 1996, when Monsanto simultaneously launched the first genetically modified crops on the market: transgenic soybeans with the new Roundup Ready trait and insect-resistant cotton "Ballguard". The huge success of these and subsequent similar products in the US agricultural market stimulated the company to shift from traditional chemistry and pharmacochemistry to the production of new varieties of seeds. In March 2005, Monsanto acquired the largest seed company Seminis, which specializes in the production of vegetable and fruit seeds.
The largest number of these areas are sown in the USA, Canada, Brazil, Argentina and China. At the same time, 96% of all GMO crops belong to the USA. In total, more than 140 lines of genetically modified plants are approved for production in the world.
Goals of creating GMOs
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations considers the use of genetic engineering methods to create transgenic varieties of plants or other organisms as an integral part of agricultural biotechnology. The direct transfer of genes responsible for useful traits is a natural development of animal and plant breeding, which has expanded the ability of breeders to control the process of creating new varieties and expand its capabilities, in particular, the transfer of useful traits between non-crossing species.
Methods for creating GMOs
The main stages of the creation of GMOs:
1. Obtaining an isolated gene.
2. Introduction of a gene into a vector for transfer to an organism.
3. Transfer of a vector with a gene into a modified organism.
4. Transformation of body cells.
5. Selection of genetically modified organisms and elimination of those that have not been successfully modified.
The process of gene synthesis is currently very well developed and even largely automated. There are special devices equipped with computers, in the memory of which programs for the synthesis of various nucleotide sequences are stored.
Restriction enzymes and ligases are used to insert a gene into a vector. With the help of restriction enzymes, the gene and the vector can be cut into pieces. With the help of ligases, such pieces can be “glued together”, connected in a different combination, constructing a new gene or enclosing it in a vector.
If unicellular organisms or cultures of multicellular cells undergo modification, then cloning begins at this stage, that is, the selection of those organisms and their descendants (clones) that have undergone modification. When the task is to obtain multicellular organisms, then cells with a changed genotype are used for vegetative reproduction of plants or injected into the blastocysts of a surrogate mother when it comes to animals. As a result, cubs are born with a changed or unchanged genotype, among which only those that show the expected changes are selected and crossed with each other.
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are organisms that have been given new properties by introducing foreign genes into the gene code.
GMOs are divided into the following types:
- genetically modified microorganisms (GMM);
- genetically modified animals (GMF);
- genetically modified plants (GMP).
Every animal and plant has thousands of different characteristics. For each trait, a specific gene is responsible, which represents a small segment of the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecule. If you remove the gene responsible for the appearance of some trait, then the trait itself will disappear, and if you introduce a new gene, then a new quality will appear in an animal or plant.
Genetically modified organisms are created by the methods of genetic engineering - a science that allows you to introduce a DNA fragment from any other organism into the genome of a microorganism, animal or plant in order to give it certain properties. For example, to breed pigs with lean meat, they inserted the spinach gene; to breed a frost-resistant tomato, the arctic flounder gene was inserted into its genes; to breed pest-resistant rice, a human liver gene was added to its genes, and to breed drought-resistant wheat varieties, scorpion genes were inserted into it.
An important difference between genetically modified organisms and natural ones is that they are absolutely sterile. That is, the seeds of such plants do not germinate, and animals do not give offspring. The introduction of alien genes of some species or classes into others leads to a genetic failure, blocking the reproduction processes. This is a protective mechanism for the conservation of species, a protest of nature against interference with its laws.
Currently, about 7 billion people live on Earth. According to scientists' forecasts, by 2050 the population may increase to 9-11 billion. One of the main problems that mankind has already faced is the lack of food. In this regard, the most productive biotechnologies are being introduced into agriculture. One of them is genetic engineering, with the help of which genetically modified products are created.
HISTORY OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS
Based on the development of biological weapons in 1983, the world's first genetically modified plant was grown in the United States. And ten years later, without proper testing for human safety, the first genetically modified foods appeared on the world food market. A global uncontrolled experiment on humanity has begun.
In China, in 1992, they began to grow tobacco, which was "not afraid" of harmful insects. In 1994, tomatoes appeared that did not deteriorate during transportation, and could also lie unripe for months at a temperature of 12 degrees. But as soon as they are placed in heat, they become ripe in a few hours. Further, genetically modified products began to appear one after another. Genetically modified soybeans have replaced common soybeans, and genetically modified corn has appeared. A type of potato resistant to the Colorado potato beetle has been developed.
By the end of 2013, 2,833 permits had been issued for the use of genetically modified products in 36 countries that regulate the use of GM crops, of which 1,321 were for food and 918 for livestock feed. In total, 27 genetically modified crops (336 varieties) were allowed on the market, the main ones being: soybeans, corn, cotton, and potatoes.
METHODS FOR OBTAINING GENETICALLY MODIFIED PRODUCTS
The task that must be solved when creating a transgenic plant is to obtain an organism with such genes that it is not supposed to by nature. To do this, it is necessary to isolate the desired gene from someone else's DNA and integrate it into the DNA molecule of this plant. There are several fairly widespread methods for introducing foreign DNA into the plant genome.
Method for obtaining genetically modified products No. 1
The bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens has the ability to insert sections of its DNA into plants, after which its affected cells begin to divide very quickly, forming a tumor. First, a strain of this bacterium is obtained that does not cause tumors, but is not deprived of the ability to introduce its DNA into the cell. Next, the desired gene was cloned into Agrobacterium tumefaciens and then the plant was infected with this bacterium. After that, the infected plant cells acquired the desired properties, and now it is not a problem to grow a whole plant from one of its cells.
Method for obtaining genetically modified products No. 2
According to this method, plant cells are bombarded with special very small tungsten bullets containing DNA. Such a bullet, with some probability, can correctly transfer the genetic material to the cell, as a result of which the plant acquires new properties. And the bullet itself, due to its microscopic size, does not interfere with the normal development of the cell.
Method for obtaining genetically modified products No. 3
Cells pre-treated with special reagents that destroy the thick cell wall are placed in a solution containing DNA and substances that facilitate its penetration into the cell. After that, a whole plant was grown from one cell.
All new technologies are the object of close attention of scientists around the world. This is due to the fact that the opinions of scientists about the safety of genetically modified foods differ.
PROPERTIES OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED PLANTS
Genetically modified plants currently have the following properties:
- higher productivity;
- give several harvests per year (for example, in Russia there are remontant varieties of strawberries that give two harvests per summer);
- resistance to insects (for example, developments are underway in Russia aimed at obtaining varieties of potatoes, the leaves of which are acutely toxic to the Colorado potato beetle and its larvae);
- resistant to adverse climatic conditions (drought-resistant transgenic plants with the scorpion gene in their genome have been obtained);
- are capable of synthesizing some proteins of animal origin (for example, a variety of tobacco was obtained in China that synthesizes human lactoferrin);
- resistance to herbicides;
- resistance to viruses;
- resistance to fungi.
- resistance to salts and aluminum (methods of genetic modification managed to obtain rapeseed that carries the ion transporter gene from Arabidopsis, which makes it resistant to salinity by sodium chloride.
Thus, the creation of genetically modified plants allows solving a whole range of problems, both agrotechnical and food, technological, pharmacological, etc. In addition, pesticides and other types of pesticides that disrupted the natural balance in local ecosystems and caused irreparable damage to the environment are disappearing into oblivion.
The benefits of genetically modified foods
There is not a single confirmed scientific study indicating the risk of using permitted genetically modified products today. There are benefits to genetically modified foods. For example, they contain fewer chemicals than their natural counterparts. Some genetically modified plants destroy herbicides themselves - due to the content of a special enzyme. And all products obtained from genetically modified plants are subject to mandatory tests for biological and food safety.
Genetically modified foods are more resistant to all kinds of viruses and bacteria. They keep longer.
The goals of genetic technology applied to animals are usually to accelerate their growth and increase their mass. Cows with increased fat content in milk and salmon have been obtained, which grow very quickly and do not need to migrate from sea water to fresh water.
Differences of genetically modified products:
Tomatoes - external glossy flawless look and endless shelf life.
Potato - resistance to pests and increased yield.
Bananas - medicinal properties (produce a vaccine against polio).
Bread with the addition of genetically modified enzymes does not go stale for a long time.
Tobacco becomes resistant to pesticides.
Proponents of genetically modified foods argue that genetic engineering will save the growing population of the Earth from starvation.
Harm of genetically modified foods
In many countries, there are percentage bans on the use of genetically modified products, for example: in Europe, the norm of GMO content in a product is no more than 0.9%, in Japan - no more than 5%, and in the USA - 10%. In almost all countries of the world, product labeling for the content of GMOs is mandatory. In Russia, there is also a law that requires the product to be labeled with a GMO sign if their content exceeds 0.9%.
In the USA, 70% of the population suffers from allergies, in Russia 30%, and many scientists believe that this is precisely because of genetically modified foods.
Genetically modified foods greatly lower the immune system and cause metabolic disorders. They also cause disruption of the gastric mucosa.
Genetically modified foods can cause cancer, this happens if the cells in the intestine begin to mutate.
Genetically modified products contribute to the emergence of resistance of pathogenic human microflora to antibiotics. When obtaining GMOs, marker genes of resistance to antibiotics are still used, which can pass into the intestinal microflora, which has been shown in relevant experiments, and this, in turn, can lead to medical problems - the inability to cure many diseases.
Genetically modified foods are the cause of health problems associated with the accumulation of herbicides in the body. Most of the known genetically modified plants are not killed by the massive use of agricultural chemicals and can accumulate them.
Genetically modified foods cause a new disease - morgelon. Morgelon is a disease characterized by the appearance under the skin of a person of multi-colored threads a few millimeters long, which are formations from agrobacteria. A patient with morgelon experiences unbearable itching and becomes covered with non-healing wounds.
In the organisms of people who consume genetically modified foods, irreversible changes occur, leading to complete sterility. Genetic engineering is a crude intervention in the most complex genetic mechanisms. It gave rise to disturbances in the harmony of the DNA of plants, animals and people, from which nature has an automatic remedy - infertility.
Cancer, infertility, allergies and other diseases have become tragically widespread throughout the world in recent years, and many experts attribute this to genetically modified foods. Many scientists directly say that these are weapons of mass destruction.
GMOs in food
According to consumer organizations, there are now 52 products on the Russian market that contain more than 5 percent of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), but are not labeled. In total, more than 120 names (brands) of genetically modified products are registered in Russia, according to voluntary registration data and a special register of products imported from abroad.
Of the genetically modified foods, soybeans are the most widespread in Russia. It is often added to sausages, sausages, sour cream, milk, other dairy products, sweets, confectionery, infant formula, and even bread. Any soy contains phytoestrogen (female sex hormone of plant origin), which negatively affects the reproductive function and the human brain. Even ordinary soy is not recommended for an adult to eat more than 30 grams per day, and children are not recommended to use it at all.
In cheap meat processing products, the content of genetically modified soybeans can reach 70 - 90%. It is also likely to be found in chicken and unprocessed meats, especially frozen ones, because. before freezing, solutions containing gm-soy are often added to them using syringes, which increase the weight of the product. 40% of all meat in Russia is supplied from abroad, and this, as a rule, is the meat of livestock that is fed with GM soy, which means that it also contains GMOs.
Other GM foods on the market include tomatoes, strawberries, peppers, carrots and eggplants. As a rule, they are distinguished by an ideal presentation, the ability to be stored for a long time and a strange taste; for example, um- strawberries are not as sweet as natural ones. GM potatoes, on the contrary, are not able to be stored for a long time and rot after 3-4 months of storage. Therefore, it is used in the production of chips and starch, which is added to many products.
There are also such genetically modified foods as zucchini and squash caviar. Comes across gm-sugar beet and sugar made from it. There are also imported GM onions (onions, shallots, leeks) and imported GM rice.
Many varieties of dried fruit, including raisins and dates, can be coated with soybean oil. Give preference to dried fruits, which do not contain vegetable oil.
Recommendations on how to reduce the consumption of genetically modified foods
Due to the weak state control over the quality of products and the lack of labeling "contains GMOs", it is very difficult to exclude genetically modified foods from the diet today, but you can minimize them if you follow the following tips.
Avoid meat products: sausages, sausages, sausages, etc. It is better to eat whole herbivore meat, preferring domestically produced beef or lamb - it is easily distinguished by the brighter color of the meat and finer fibers.
Domestic eggs and chickens are more useful (the difference between domestic chicken is tough meat, hard bone that can only be broken with a hammer).
Often, sour cream manufacturers replace animal protein with soy protein in it. To determine a fake, you need to dissolve a teaspoon of sour cream in a glass of boiling water: the fake will precipitate, and the real one will completely dissolve.
It is necessary to eat seasonal plant products and better domestic. It is better to buy these seasonal products not in supermarkets (where they can be imported), but in the markets and from the villagers. And it is even better to grow on a personal plot or summer cottage.
Don't buy food out of season. If you buy, for example, strawberries or tomatoes in the winter, the likelihood that they will be genetically modified is very high.
The fewer stages of industrial processing a product has gone through, the more likely it is that it does not contain GMOs. Choose whole, unprocessed foods.
Don't eat cooked breakfasts. GMOs can be contained in them in the form of corn flakes, as well as in the form of supplements and vitamins obtained with their use.
Do not eat fast food, almost always there can be products with GMOs and other harmful substances.
Genetically modified foods tend to have a longer shelf life.
Read food labels and avoid soy-based ingredients such as soy flour, tofu, soybean oil. Buy products that say "100% organic".
The numbers glued on fruits and vegetables indicate:
- 4-digit number indicates a regular product, not genetically modified;
- if a 5-digit number starts with the number 8, then you have a genetically modified product;
- if it is a 5-digit number that starts with the number 9, it is an organic product.
To improve health, it is advisable to use Bio Resurse mushroom extracts. These extracts are a brilliant invention of the outstanding Russian scientist Nikolai Viktorovich Levashov. Thanks to the generator he developed, which is constantly turned on when growing mushrooms, Bio Resurse extracts have a strong ability to cleanse the body of various harmful substances, both chemically active (slags, toxins, dead cells, toxic substances, etc.) and biologically active ( pathogenic bacteria, viruses and bacteriophages, foreign genes and plasmids, etc.). These extracts also help to strengthen the immune system and help get rid of various health problems.
To date, in many countries (including Russia), the concept of GMOs has been turned into practically equivalent to the concepts of "products that cause mutations and tumors." GMOs are being slandered from all sides and for a variety of reasons: unsafe, tasteless, threatening the country's food independence. Are these same GMOs so terrible, and what is it really, let's try to figure it out.
GMO - deciphering the concept
Genetically modified organisms are living organisms modified by genetic engineering. In a narrow sense, the concept applies to plants. Previously, breeders like Michurin had to achieve certain useful (from a human point of view) properties in plants using various tricks: grafting cuttings of some trees onto others or selecting plants with certain qualities for sowing seeds, and then long and hard to wait for results that persisted only after a couple of generations of plants. Today you can move the right gene to the right place and get what you want.
Thus, GMOs are the acceleration of evolution and its direction in the right direction.
How are GMOs created?
Several techniques can be used to create a GMO plant. Today, the most popular method is transgenes. To do this, the desired gene (for example, drought resistance) is isolated from the DNA chain in its pure form, and then it is introduced into the DNA of the modified plant.
Genes can be taken from related species, and then the process is called cisgenesis. When a gene is taken from species that are far from the given organism, one speaks of transgenesis.
It is about transgenesis that there are terrible stories. Having learned that there is now wheat with the scorpion gene, many begin to fantasize about whether those who eat it will now grow a tail and claws and whether poison will appear in saliva. Numerous illiterate publications on websites and forums, where the topic of GMOs is actively discussed, add fuel to the fire.
This is not the only thing that scares potential consumers of GMO products by “specialists” who are little familiar with biology and biochemistry.
Products containing GMOs
GMO products today have agreed to call everything that is genetically modified organisms or all products that contain components of such organisms. That is, not only genetically modified corn or potatoes will be GMO food, but also sausages, in which, in addition to sodium nitrate, toilet paper and liver, GMO soy will be added. But the meat of a cow fed with GMO wheat will not be a GMO product. And that's why.
Do GMOs fit into our cells?
Journalists who did not read any normal physiology and biochemistry, understanding the relevance and relevance of the GMO topic, but too lazy to seriously study the issue, launched a “duck” to the masses that the cells of GMO products, getting into our stomach and intestines, are absorbed into the bloodstream and spread throughout organs and tissues, where they cause mutations and cancerous tumors.
It is with great regret that this fantasy plot is untenable. Any food in the stomach and intestines breaks down into its constituent parts under the action of gastric juice, pancreatic secretion and intestinal enzymes. And these constituent parts are by no means genes and not even proteins, but:
Then, in different parts of the gastrointestinal tract, all this beauty is absorbed into the bloodstream and consumed either for:
- getting energy (sugar)
- either for its reserves (fats)
- or as a building material of human own proteins (amino acids)
And if, for example, we take a certain genetically modified organism (say, an ugly apple that looks more like a cucumber), then it will be calmly chewed, swallowed and decomposed into its component parts just like any other that has not undergone genetic modification. Let's give another somewhat strange / creepy example, but which will explain in a more popular way that genes are not integrated anywhere when digested in the gastrointestinal tract: if a crocodile (or cannibal) eats a child with Down syndrome and eats a healthy child, both of them will be digested equally and by no one way will not affect the crocodile or cannibal.
Other GMO horror stories
The second, no less chilling, tale concerns the fact that transgenes are integrated into the human genome and lead to, God knows what, terrible consequences, such as the same cancers and infertility.
Risk of cancer: The French first wrote about cancer in mice fed with genetically modified grain in 2012. In fact, the head of the experiment, Gilles-Eric Séralini (Institute of Biology, University of Caen, France), made a sample of 200 Sprague-Dawley rats, a third of which were fed genetically modified corn grain, a third - genetically modified herbicide-treated corn, and a third - conventional corn grains. As a result, those female rats that ate GMO within two years in 80% gave the growth of tumors. Males, on such a diet, developed liver and kidney pathologies. Characteristically, one third of the rats on a normal diet also died from tumors of various organs, and in general this line of rats is prone to the spontaneous appearance of tumors, regardless of the nature of the diet. So the purity of the experiment is doubtful, and it was declared unscientific and untenable.
Previously, similar surveys were carried out in 2005 by the biologist Ermakova (Russia). At a conference in Germany, she made a report on the high mortality of mice receiving genetically modified soybeans. After that, this statement, as confirmed in a scientific experiment, went for a walk around the cities and villages, bringing young mothers to hysteria, forced to feed their children with artificial mixtures, in which this GMO soybeans are simply heaps. Subsequently, five Nature Biotechnology experts agreed on the ambiguity of the Russian experiment and did not recognize its reliability.
In conclusion of this section, I would like to write that even if some piece of foreign DNA (as some sources write about) gets into the human bloodstream, then this genetic information will not be integrated anywhere and will not lead to anything. Yes, in nature there are cases of embedding pieces of the genome into a foreign one. For example, some bacteria spoil the genetics of flies in this way. But in higher animals such phenomena are not described. In addition, there is more than enough different genetic information in all other products without any GMOs. And if until now they are not built into our genetic material, then you can continue to safely eat everything that the body can digest and assimilate.
GMOs: harm or benefit
The American company Monsanto introduced genetically modified cotton and soybeans to the market already in 1982. They also own the authorship of the herbicide Roundup, which kills all vegetation, except GMO-modified.
In 1996, when Monssanto's GMO products were thrown onto the market, competing corporations, saving their income, launched a large-scale campaign to limit the circulation of products containing GMOs. The first in the persecution of GMOs was the British scientist Arpad Pusztai, who fed rats with GMO potatoes. True, later experts smashed all the calculations of the scientist to smithereens.
Potential harm from GMO products for Russians
- No one hides the fact that on the lands sown with GMO grains, nothing will ever grow again, except for themselves. This is due to the fact that herbicide-resistant varieties of soybean or cotton are not washed with herbicide, which can be sprayed in any quantity, achieving the total extinction of other vegetation.
- The most commonly used herbicide is glyphosate.. In fact, it is sprayed even before the ripeness of what gets into food, quickly decomposes in plants and does not persist in the soil. But resistant GMO plants allow you to spray it very, very much, which increases the risks of its accumulation in GMO vegetation. Glyphosate is also known to cause obesity and bone growth. And in the US and Latin America, there are too many overweight people.
- Many GMO seeds are designed for only one sowing. That is, what grows out of them will no longer give offspring. This is more of a commercial ploy, as it increases the sales of GMO seeds. There are excellent GMO plants that produce excellent next generations.
- Allergization. Since some artificial genetic mutations (for example, in potatoes or soybeans) can increase its allergenic properties, they say that all GMOs are powerful allergens. But some varieties of peanuts, devoid of their usual proteins, do not cause allergies even in those who previously suffered from it on this particular product.
- GMO plants can outcompete other varieties of their own species. Due to the characteristics of pollination, they can reduce the number of other varieties of their species. That is, if two plots are planted side by side with GMO wheat and ordinary wheat, there is a risk that the GMO will displace the usual one, pollinating it. Who would let her grow up next to her.
- Dependence on firms-holders of the seed fund. Having abandoned its own seed funds and switched only to GMO seeds, especially disposable ones, the state will sooner or later become food dependent on the holders of the seed fund of GMO plants.
The answer to the aspirations of the people
After repeated replication in all the media of tales and horror stories about GMO products, the vector of wide public outcry turned against the intrigues of imperialism, completely denying the possibility of expensive Russians eating harmful and unsafe products containing GMOs or their traces.
Rospotrebnadzor, meeting the wishes of compatriots, participated in numerous conferences on this issue. In March 2014, at a conference in Italy, a Rospotrebnadzor delegation took part in technical consultations on the low content of GMOs in food products and the low content of GMO products themselves in Russia's trade turnover. Thus, today a course has been adopted to almost completely exclude GMO products from the Russian food market and the use of GMO plants in agriculture has been delayed, although in 2013 it was planned to start using GMO seeds (Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of September 23, 2013).
The Ministry of Education and Science went even further and, taking into account popular aspirations, proposed instead of the “non-GMO” mark to use a barcode that would contain all the information about the genetic modification of this product or its absence. The beginning is good, but it will be impossible to read the barcode without a special device.
CONCLUSION: the problem of GMOs is clearly overblown, the real consequences of the long-term consumption of GMO foods are unknown, authoritative scientific experiments on this issue have not been carried out to date.
For those who are still afraid of eating GMO foods, here is a partial list of foods containing GMOs.
Products |
Manufacturers using GMOs in their technologies |
|
|
List of GMO food manufacturers
Unilever:
Kellog's manufacturing company:
Mars manufacturing company:
|
Nestle manufacturer:
Hershey's manufacturing company:
Heinz manufacturing company:
Coca-Cola manufacturing company:
PepsiCo manufacturing company:
Frito manufacturing company - Lay / PepsiCo:
Manufacturing company Cadbury / Schweppes:
Pringles Procter & Gamble:
|
The same product manufacturing company can produce three categories of the same product:
- the first - for domestic consumption (in industrialized countries)
- the second - for export to other developed countries
- the third - for export to developing countries
The third category includes about 80% of food, beverages, tobacco products exported from the US and Western Europe. According to the UN Food Commission, some Western firms are expanding the export of goods not only environmentally hazardous, but also prohibited in developed countries.
Meanwhile, more than two hundred types of food additives are not allowed for use in Russia due to the incompleteness of the testing complex. Listing them would take too much space.
Let's name only preservatives and emulsifiers that are completely prohibited and definitely harmful to humans:
And in conclusion, I would like to name some dangerous preservatives and emulsifiers that can negatively affect your health. As a rule, labeling with their name is given on product packaging.
- E121 - citrus red dye
- E123 - red amaranth
- E240 - formaldehyde preservative
- suspicious: E-104, E-122, E-141, E-150, E-171, E-173, E-180, E-241, E-477
- prohibited: E-103, E-105, E-111, E-125, E-126, E-130, E-152
- dangerous: E-102, E-110, E-120, E-124, E-127
- contribute to the development of oncology: E-131, E-142, E-210, E-211, E-212, E-213, E-215, E-216, G: 217, E-240, E-330
- harmful to the skin: E-230, E-231, E-232, E-238
- contribute to the occurrence of a rash: E-311, E-312 and E-313
- cause intestinal disorders: E-221, E-222, E-223, E-224 and E-226
- indigestion: E-322, E-338, E-339, E-340, E-311, E-407, E-450, E-461, E-462, E-463, E-465, E-466
- increase pressure: E-250 and E-251
- increase cholesterol: E-320 and E-321
When choosing products in the supermarket, we habitually pay attention to the composition. On many of them you can see the mark "GMO-free", indicating that genetically modified engineering did not have a hand in growing this product, and therefore it can be considered clean and safe. But if you think about it, what do we know about genetic engineering and should we be afraid to include GMO foods in our diet? Let's figure it out.
What is GMO
First of all, let's deal with the concept of GMOs. A genetically modified organism is an organism whose gene has been changed by crossing with the gene of another organism. For modern scientists, such crossing does not present any problems; they easily connect the gene of a plant, with the gene of a bacterium or even an animal.
Why is this necessary you ask? In fact, geneticists have made a revolutionary discovery, having learned to overcome interspecies barriers and connect the genes of different organisms. Thanks to this, it is possible to improve the properties and characteristics of a particular organism. It looks like this. A GMO potato is a potato that has been implanted with a gene for a poisonous insect, as a result of which pests bypass this product. As a result, we get beautiful tubers without damage and wormholes. Or GMO tomatoes are tomatoes from which the northern flounder gene is implanted. As a result of such crossing, tomatoes are not afraid of cold weather and do not turn black after heavy fogs. Vitamins that were not previously contained in wheat are now being implanted into wheat, and the human albumin gene is being implanted into rice. This is done to increase the benefits and improve the nutritional properties of cereals.
Among other things, it turned out that genetic engineering had a significant impact on crop yields, because with the implantation of foreign genes, products became more hardy and resistant to temperatures. All this significantly reduced the cost of the process of obtaining a crop and increased the profits of farms. Is it any wonder that farmers are happy to grow genetically modified foods? And it is much more pleasant for consumers to buy juicy bulk apples, peppers or tomatoes that look great, have an unsurpassed taste, and at the same time have absolutely no damage. There is only one fact that cannot be ignored.
Why are GMO foods dangerous?
Mankind is wary of genetically modified foods, primarily because such foods contain a foreign gene. There is an objective fear that modified foods are harmful to humans, just so far their harm is not so obvious, but in the future, perhaps even after several generations, GMO foods will deal their crushing blow to our descendants. In addition, there are suspicions that genetically modified foods can cause allergies, cause the growth of malignant tumors, disrupt metabolic processes in the body and resistance to antibiotics.
Adding fuel to the fire are statistics that in the United States, where the vast majority of products contain GMOs, more than 75% of the population suffer from allergies. At the same time, in Sweden, where a ban on the use of these products has been introduced, the number of allergy sufferers does not exceed 5%. It is quite possible that the presence of an allergy has nothing to do with genetic engineering, but such data is very alarming and makes one look at all products of this kind with caution.
At the same time, genetic scientists assure us that there is no threat from eating foods with GMOs, since in the process of digestion their gene cannot cross with the human gene. True, the evidence cited by scientists does not at all exclude the risk of gastrointestinal diseases, allergic pathologies or cancerous tumors caused by the activity of transgenes in the human body.
The opinion that GMO foods are no more dangerous than foods with preservatives and flavors may have the right to life, but this does not mean that such harm should be turned a blind eye. Be that as it may, modern science has no evidence of the safety of genetically modified products, and therefore the term "potentially dangerous product" is used in relation to them.
Why were GMO foods created?
Many people have a question, why were products created, the effect on the body of which cannot be controlled? Here it is necessary to look into history. It turns out that the first transgenic products were born in the United States in the mid-80s of the last century, and they were created with a good goal - to finally save humanity from hunger and feed the third world countries. But in reality it turned out the opposite. Almost all African countries have abandoned the use of GMO products, in European countries they have imposed restrictions, but in the USA these products are produced everywhere and are very popular. And what do we have in Russia?
GMO products in Russia
The number of genetically modified foods in countries is monitored by the well-known organization Greenpeace. According to them, more than 35% of products in our country contain the modified gene. And every year the number of such products is increasing. Why is this happening?
Let's say right away that the import of transgenic products into the Russian Federation is not prohibited, and therefore, on the shelves of our stores, natural products coexist with products that have been touched by the hand of genetic engineers. Moreover, if in European countries genetically modified products are easy to distinguish from natural ones due to their lower price, in Russia, natural vegetables and vegetables with a gene mutation cost about the same.
Many are unlikely to be pleased with the fact that since July 2014, the cultivation of cultivated plants using the GMO method has been allowed in the Russian Federation. Moreover, permission was given to grow 14 types of plants, including: corn - 8 varieties, potatoes - 4 varieties, sugar beet - 1 variety and rice - 1 variety.
Our scientists have already reacted to this permission, stating that the cultivation of modified cultivated plants will lead, no less, to the complete destruction of agriculture in the country! According to experts, the cultivation of GMOs in our country will lead to the emergence of super pests that are already appearing in other countries. But what is even more dangerous, the crops of farmers who grow environmentally friendly products will be polluted, as soil contamination occurs under the influence of transgenes. And there is no need to look for evidence. Just look at the soils of those countries where modified vegetables and fruits have been grown for a long time. For example, all rapeseed in Canada today has become genetically modified, and all due to the fact that the pollen of cereals with a modified gene was carried to the surrounding fields.
Many are reassured by the fact that in the US, GMO products are sold without restrictions and are not considered potentially dangerous. However, those of us on a healthy diet should be aware of foods that may contain the mutated gene.
Foods that may contain GMOs
1. All products containing soy, corn and rapeseed
According to unofficial sources, all these products found on the shelves of supermarkets contain GMOs. When you see the words “vegetable protein” on a product label, you can be sure that this is 100% transgenic soy. By the way, this protein is found in most meat and sausage products, in mayonnaise and ketchup, chips and canned food, as well as in soy dairy products.
2. Margarine and vegetable oil
According to statistics, 90% of all vegetable oils in our stores contain GMOs. Moreover, some manufacturers dilute olive oil with soy at all, and do not even report it on the labels.
3. Candy, chocolate and ice cream
Almost all chocolate products contain genetically modified ingredients. You can notice this by the composition in which soy lecithin is present. Similar soy components are found in ice cream, as, indeed, in all other dairy products.
4. Baby food
The vast majority of foreign and domestic manufacturers use dairy products and cereals with GMOs for the production of baby food.
5. Confectionery and bakery products
Flour, as well as bakery and confectionery products, can also contain altered genes. According to statistics in our country, more than 25% of all flour products contain these potentially hazardous substances.
6. Vegetables
Some vegetables also undergo genetic modification. Most often, GMOs are found in potatoes and tomatoes, beets and zucchini, melon and papaya.
How to distinguish transgenic products
We have already mentioned that the cost of modified and natural products is equal in our country, which means that it will definitely not work to identify potentially dangerous products by cost. Appearance will also say little to the average layman, although when acquiring large juicy peppers, cucumbers or tomatoes in early spring, one can hardly expect that they are grown exclusively in a natural way.
You will be surprised, but you should not count on the inscription “non-GMO” on the labels of some products either. It turns out that according to our legislation, the “Non-GMO” badge is placed on products containing less than 0.9% of substances with a modified gene, but even this restriction is bypassed by many manufacturers.
Another thing is the composition of the product. If you notice soy lecithin or E322 in the composition of soft drinks, cereals or baby food, you can be sure that this product is with a crossed gene. The same can be said in the presence of maltodextrin, aspartame, dextrose, glucose, vegetable fat and soybean oil. And be sure to look at the country of origin. Remember, almost 70% of all GMO products come from the USA, followed by Canada and France.
What remains to be done by ordinary buyers? Organic products exist, you just have to look for them.
Scheme 1
Natural products coming to us from Europe are labeled Organic or BIO, with this icon (Scheme 1).
Scheme 2
You can, for example, find such flour or oatmeal (Scheme 2).
In addition, natural products from Europe can be labeled with other badges (Scheme 3).
Scheme 4
By purchasing products with such a label, you can be 99% sure that all the way from agricultural land to processing plants and packaging, this product has done in strict accordance with environmental standards and has not undergone a gene change. In our country, the highest quality products have the Rostet badge (Scheme 4).
By purchasing products with such a designation, you, of course, will not protect yourself from GMOs, but you will be sure that they have undergone strict quality control. In addition, try to purchase products from those farms, the quality and naturalness of which you are sure. As a last resort, buy appropriate vegetables and fruits in season while you can, as crops sold in winter and early spring tend to be cross-bred.
The trends of recent years indicate that the number of genetically modified foods in the world will only increase. However, this does not mean at all that we should be led by manufacturers and use products that we are not sure are safe. Look for natural vegetables and fruits or grow them yourself, they are the ones that bring us health and benefits!
Take care of yourself!
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)- these are organisms in which genetic material was artificially added from other animal organisms to obtain improved characteristics of the original organism (calorie content, resistance to pests, diseases, weather, accelerated maturation, longer storage, greater fertility), which reduces the cost of products.
Drought tolerant wheat with the scorpion gene. A potato with the gene of an earthen bacterium that even kills Colorado beetles. Tomatoes with the genome of the sea flounder. Soy and strawberries with bacterial genes. This is probably a great salvation, in the face of an ever-growing population and other economic problems.
At the moment, there are studies proving that the frequent use of GMOs can lead to serious problems. According to some studies transgenes can linger in the body and integrate into the genetic apparatus of human intestinal microorganisms.
In addition, it has been observed that the cultivation of transgenic soybeans leads to genetic mutations companion plants that become immune to the effects of herbicides. It is also assumed that living organisms that feed on genetically modified plants can mutate.
GMO products.
Grocery list, which may contain GMO:
- Soy and its products (beans, sprouts, concentrate, flour, milk, etc.).
- Corn and its products (popcorn, flour, chips, cereals, butter, starch, syrups, and so on).
- Potato and its products (chips, semi-finished products, crackers, dry mashed potatoes, flour, and so on).
- Tomatoes and its products (tomato paste, puree, sauce, ketchup, and so on).
- Zucchini and products from them.
- Sugar beet, table beet, sugar from sugar beet.
- Wheat and wheat products, including bread and bakery products.
- Sunflower oil.
- Rice and products containing it (flakes, flour, granules, chips).
- Carrots and products with it.
- Onions, shallots, leeks and other bulbous vegetables.
And, of course, there is a chance to find GMOs in products that are made using these plants.
The most frequently genetically modified are soybeans, rapeseed, corn, sunflowers, potatoes, strawberries, tomatoes, zucchini, paprika, and lettuce. GM soy is included in bread, biscuits, baby food, margarine, soup, pizza, fast food, meat products, flour, candy, ice cream, chips, chocolate, sauces, soy milk and so on. Genetically modified corn (maize) is most commonly found in instant foods, soups, sauces, condiments, chips, chewing gum, and cake mixes. Genetically modified starch is added to a very wide range of products, including yoghurts. You should also know that 70% of well-known baby food companies contain GMOs. Approximately 30% of tea and coffee is genetically modified. Most products from America or other foreign countries, which include soy, corn, rapeseed or potatoes, have GM components. If the product contains vegetable protein, then you can be almost sure that there is also genetically modified soy.
In addition, insulin, vitamins, antiviral vaccines may also contain genetically modified organisms.
Below is a list of some of the organizations that supply genetically modified raw materials to Russia or are themselves producers of:
- Central Soya Protein Group, Denmark;
- OOO "BIOSTAR TRADE", St. Petersburg;
- CJSC "Universal", Nizhny Novgorod;
- "Monsanto Co", USA;
- "Protein Technologies International Moscow", Moscow;
- LLC "Agenda", Moscow
- CJSC "ADM-Food Products", Moscow
- JSC "GALA", Moscow;
- CJSC "Belok", Moscow;
- Dera Food Technology N.V., Moscow;
- "Herbalife International of America", USA;
- "OY FINNSOYPRO LTD", Finland;
- LLC "Salon Sport-Service", Moscow;
- "Intersoy", Moscow.
Below is a list of organizations that apply GMOs in production:
- Kelloggs (Kelloggs) - breakfast cereals, corn flakes,
- Nestle (Nestle) - chocolate, coffee, coffee drinks, baby food,
- Heinz Foods (Heyents Fuds) - ketchups, sauces,
- Hersheys (Hershis) - chocolate, soft drinks,
- Coca-Cola (Coca-Cola) - Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, Kinley tonic,
- McDonalds (McDonald's),
- Danon (Danone) - yogurts, kefir, cottage cheese, baby food,
- Similac (Similak) - baby food,
- Cadbury (Cadbury) - chocolate, cocoa,
- Mars (Mars) - chocolate Mars, Snickers, Twix,
- PepsiCo (Pepsi-Cola) - Pepsi, Mirinda, 7-Up,
- Daria - meat products,
- Campamos - meat products,
- Korona - meat products,
- Mikoyanovsky - meat products,
- Tsaritsyno - meat products,
- Lianozovsky - meat and dairy products,
- Volzhsky PK - meat products.
GMOs are often masked indices E. But this does not mean that all additives E contain GMOs. You just need to understand which E supplements can contain GMOs.
Such additives are primarily called soy lecithin or E 322 lecithin: they are used as a fat element in milk mixtures, cookies, chocolate; riboflavin (B2) or E 101 and E 101A. It is added to cereals, soft drinks, baby food and weight loss products. Caramel (E 150) and xanthan (E 415) can also be made from GM grains. Often, the names of additives are written in words on packages.
- E101 and E101A (B2, riboflavin)
- E150 (caramel);
- E153 (carbonate);
- E160a (beta-carotene, provitamin A, retinol);
- E160b (annatto);
- E160d (lycopene);
- E234 (lowlands);
- E235 (natamycin);
- E270 (lactic acid);
- E300 (vitamin C - ascorbic acid);
- E301 - E304 (ascorbates);
- E306 - E309 (tocopherol / vitamin E);
- E320 (VNA);
- E321 (VNT);
- E322 (lecithin);
- E325 - E327 (lactates);
- E330 (citric acid);
- E415 (xanthine);
- E459 (beta-cyclodextrin);
- E460 -E469 (cellulose);
- E470 and E570 (salts and fatty acids);
- fatty acid esters (E471, E472a&b, E473, E475, E476, E479b);
- E481 (sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate);
- E620 - E633 (glutamic acid and glutomates);
- E626 - E629 (guanilic acid and guanilates);
- E630 - E633 (inosinic acid and inosinates);
- E951 (aspartame);
- E953 (isomaltite);
- E957 (thaumatin);
- E965 (maltinol).
Taste and smell genetically modified products does not differ from natural. But, products that are not spoiled, not damaged by insects, too beautiful products can arouse suspicion.
Since seeds are also modified, it is impossible to be sure of the naturalness of products on the markets.
Loading...
