Genetically Modified Food

By Olasunkanmi Oyolola

According to the food and agricultural organization (2015) , the world population is expected to double to more than 10 billion people by the year 2050 possibly resulting in food being unavailable to feed the masses. However, modern Agricultural Biotechnology or Bioengineering techniques could be applied to cover the demands in a world of low agricultural production and rapidly increasing population. Hopefully, this technology will enable farmers to produce more crops from existing land. 

Genetic modification (GM) or Genetic Engineering is the direct manipulation of an organism’s genome using biotechnology to create the desired change. The altered DNA is called recombinant DNA.

Photo Credit: Biology Support Service

Genetic Modification of food improves the nutritional content of food, enhances the shelf life of perishable food, and increases year-round food availability among other numerous benefits. Early breakthroughs in the use of GM to enhance nutrient property can be seen in the development of Vitamin A enhanced rice and Sweet potatoes, known as Golden rice (Oryza sativa) and Orange fleshed sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas), respectively. These GMFs contained more beta carotene than the commonly consumed staple strains. 

Additionally, there has been an increase in the demand for food-grade yeast due to its use as an alternative source of protein, in this case, single-cell protein, in foods. Single-cell protein (SCP) is a kind of protein gotten from microorganisms. Modern Biotechnology techniques have been applied to develop new strains that increase the nutritional properties of food (such as bread /dough) chief amongst which is amino acid overproducing baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae).

Also, GM has been used to enhance the shelf life of perishable food, most notable of which is tomatoes (Lycopersicum esculentum). This has been achieved by altering (partially deactivating) the enzyme or hormone that triggers ripening in tomatoes, thereby causing the ripening and softening process to slow down. Of recent, certain biotech companies have developed tomatoes that delays ripening by preventing the production of ethylene, a hormone that triggers fruit ripening. 

Photo Credit: Asis Datta, Subhra Chakraborty, National Institute of Plant Genome Research 

Before now, glyphosate herbicide has been a source of concern to farmers (particularly soybeans farmers), when applied to kill weeds as it ends up killing the crops too, by inhibiting the production of aromatic amino acids in the plants. But with GM, Glyphosate tolerant Soybeans have been developed. Consequently, this has reduced the amount of chemical and energy inputs needed to grow this plant and as such increased the amount of crop a farmer can expect to produce. So it safe to say that Genetic modification has been used to kill two birds. 

Other benefits of GM of food include; acting as biofactories to produce organic foods (Cheese production) and improvement in the quantity and quality livestock production (Cattle rearing).

Photo Credit: Google Image

Now, like most technologies, there are potential risks and critics of genetic modification of foods have fears for both safety and the environment. The fear of the unknown is by far the greatest fear of GM food critics, others being potential allergenicity and antibiotic resistance. 

Nevertheless, do these consequences outweigh the benefits or vice versa? Is making a compromise worth it? Or maybe a kind compromise has already been made? These are the significant questions that cannot be left unanswered.

References:

Food and Agriculture Organization (2015). Evaluation of allergenicity of genetically modified foods (Report of an FAO expert consultation on foods derived from biotechnology). Rome, Italy: FAO.