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genetically modified organisms. GMOs: good or bad? Genetically modified foods and organisms. The legislative framework. Why were GMO foods created?

GMOs are the three terrible letters that are so often used to scare us in the media. We have heard that genetically modified organisms can almost turn us into mutants, but we still know very little about GMOs themselves.

1. GMOs are everywhere

GMO is a genetically modified organism. Despite the fact that today these three letters are one of the main horror stories, almost all vegetables and fruits that we eat today are, to a greater or lesser extent, GMOs.

So, wheat is the result of multiple interspecific crossing of different wild cereals with each other and with already cultivated species.

Banana is a hybrid of two inedible species, many varieties of cultivated plants are tetra- and more-ploid hybrids. Corn was even bred from the teosinte cereal, which today is very far from corn and belongs not even to another genus, but to another species. Without any genetic engineering, our ancestors changed the genetics of plants beyond recognition.

2. Gene gun

The process of gene transplantation takes place with the help of the so-called gene gun - a device that delivers heavy metal particles coated with DNA plasmids into the cell of the plant that they want to transform. This process is also called bioballistics and biolistics.

The first gene gun was made from an automatic nailer.

A drop of tungsten powder with genetic material was applied to a bullet and fired into a Petri dish, in front of which was placed a plate with a cutout to stop the bullet. The bullet was stopped by a metal plate, and the particles of tungsten with genetic material fell on the Petri dish. The cells in the center were completely destroyed by metal particles, but along the periphery they remained intact and a transformation took place in them.

Today, biolistics uses particles of gold and silver, since gold is not toxic to cells, in comparison with tungsten.

3. GMO fiction

With the help of GMO technology, many varieties have already been bred, which previously could only be presented in science fiction films. So, in the United States, a strawberry variety with the gene of a fish that lives in the polar seas was bred. Thus, scientists have achieved its resistance to frost.

GMOs have been successfully used to protect species from pests and diseases. By introducing the snowdrop genome into the potato, it was made resistant to pests; in Brazil, beans are grown that are resistant to mosaic viruses; in China, rice grows in heat and drought. And this list goes on.

4. Scary tale

The vast majority of the scientific community does not see GMOs in the danger that the media loves to talk about. Opponents of GMOs claim that they are fighting for human health and the preservation of the biosphere, but in fact the fight against GMOs is a covert lobbying for the interests of pesticide producers and farmers who receive money for reducing the productivity of their fields. In general, the fight against GMOs is part of the political and informational struggle.

5. Checks

GMO products are rigorously tested before being released to the market. Last year, the journal Critical reviews in biotechnology published a review of nearly 1,800 scientific papers examining the safety of GMOs over the past ten years.

Only three studies raised suspicions about the negative impact of three specific GM varieties, but these suspicions were not justified, in two more cases the potential allergenicity of GM varieties was established.

The only confirmed case involved the Brazil nut gene being inserted into a GM soybean variety. The developers refused to promote the variety on the market.

6 GMOs and rats

In 2012, the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology published an article by the French researcher Séralini, who claimed that GM corn causes cancer and increased mortality in rats.

This work caused a lively discussion in the scientific community due to the fact that the studies were carried out extremely carelessly and contained gross mistakes visible at a glance.

However, photographs of rats with large tumors made a huge impression on the public. Even after the article has been withdrawn from the journal, it continues to be cited by anti-GMOs.

7. Non-GMO

The “non-GMO” labels that are common today, found on most products from water to meat, have nothing to do with genetic engineering. This is just a marketing ploy and a substitution of concepts.

8. Will GMOs turn us into mutants?

Opponents of GMOs like to argue that transgenes are able to integrate into human and animal chromosomes. In fact, each of us during our lifetime eats several tens of kilograms of foreign DNA from ordinary products, but this does not make us furry, does not turn green and does not begin to photosynthesize.

9. Do GMOs Affect Gut Bacteria?

Another horror story about GMOs is that GMOs can insert themselves into the DNA of gut bacteria and make them resistant to antibiotics. In fact, even under laboratory conditions, it is extremely difficult to ensure that genes from plant chromosomes are integrated into the DNA of microorganisms. Under natural conditions, no one has observed this.

But the genes for making GMOs are just genes from one organism transferred to another. Although transgenic inserts usually contain marker genes for resistance to obsolete antibiotics, there is nothing wrong with that. Microbes are constantly developing mechanisms of resistance to antibiotics, and in this sense, one tablet of tetracycline replaces tons of transgenic tomatoes.

10. GMOs as a business

Of course, the interests of GMO producers are also lobbied. Today there is a real struggle between GMOs and manufacturers of so-called organic products. They are more expensive to produce than GMOs and they cannot compete with GM varieties by market methods, so GMOs are demonized in the media.

It has long been common for a person to be interested in the world around him and to find explanations for the surrounding things and events. Actually, without this, a person would not become a person. On the basis of beliefs and myths, religion first developed, and then modern science, which already very successfully explains the world around us from very small to impressive scales. But there have always been people who resisted progress and spread established myths, assuring that they answer all questions and there is no need to move on. Thunder rumbles - this is Perun the Thunderer is angry; someone got sick - it's God punishing him, here's an explanation for you, leave me alone, don't ask questions, but rather pray.
Modern myths are deeper and usually associated with science. The reasons are clear - science has developed (especially recently) to such an extent that often a colossal amount of knowledge is needed to simply understand what is at stake. Many people do not have this volume or are irretrievably lost, which reduces their resistance to various kinds of myths of our time. The myth of harm food additives exxx; the myth about the usefulness of natural and the harmfulness of "chemistry"; the myth of killer doctors poisoning people with vaccines; the myth about such a terrible GMO that stickers with the inscription “non-GMO” must be glued even on napkins and packs of salt.

What is GMO? What are they needed for? How great is the danger and benefit from their use? Is there evidence for the safety of these organisms?

Disclaimer: the author of the article has nothing to do with biology - he is neither a biologist, nor a biochemist, nor a geneticist, and does not have at least some related profession. This article is just an attempt to deal with a heap of information and reality about one of the threats of the modern world. So if you are closer to biology and genetics, I warn you in advance, you may suffer while reading the article, for example, burst with laughter. In fact, this article is a compilation of articles on the topic of GMOs (links are given in the text).

What is a gene and genotype

From the very beginning, we will decide what will be discussed. First, what is a gene? As you know, the carrier of hereditary information (genome) is DNA - a long molecule that looks like a double helix, which is contained in every cell of the body and stores complete information about the body. In rare cases (in viruses), the carrier of hereditary information is RNA.

In the picture - DNA processed by DNA ligase (picture from Wikipedia)
DNA is a colossal molecule, if you simply unroll its helix, this line will be several centimeters long. DNA contains a sequence of genes (genome), which, together with environmental conditions (growth conditions), determines the phenotype - the appearance of the organism (and internal too), its features, features of internal processes. Each gene encodes the production of some kind of protein or functional RNA, which subsequently participate in the biochemical processes of the body.

There are a huge variety of proteins with different purposes, for example, in human body there is a protein hemoglobin, which is used by the body to provide internal organs oxygen, there is insulin, which regulates blood glucose levels, and many others.

Insulin. One of the genes on the 11th chromosome is responsible for its production in the body.
Obviously, different people have different DNA, because people are not alike (and not people either - in fact, every organism, with the exception of perhaps the simplest ones, has its own unique DNA). DNA is constantly changing - under the influence external factors(radiation, ultraviolet, etc.) mutations occur in DNA - changes in genes, “turning off / on” genes and other transformations. According to the theory of evolution, the most successful mutations are fixed, individuals with unsuccessful mutations are eliminated. DNA mutations happen more often than you might think. The human body is pierced every second by hundreds of high-energy cosmic particles, naturally, many of these particles enter the DNA and cause changes in it. Many of these changes are corrected by the body itself (see the picture above with DNA ligase, which is just involved in DNA repair), but some are persistent and lead to various mutations. Mutations can be harmful (for example, the mechanism of internal control of reproduction “breaks” in a cell and a cancer cell is obtained), they can be neutral and beneficial - useful ones are fixed in the process of evolution. Note that according to the theory of evolution, positive mutations are fixed, that is, those that allow the species to survive in the current conditions. Man, on the other hand, fixes that change in plants (and animals) that is beneficial to him, and not environment- more juicy and larger apples, more milking cows and so on. For this there is selection and genetic modification.

Traditional selection

Since GMOs are often compared precisely with traditional breeding (by the way, it often seems that the opponents of GMOs do not know anything about its methods at all), it is necessary to mention the methods of traditional breeding.
In fact, traditional breeding aims at the same thing - changing the genotype of a certain species (mostly plants) in order to achieve necessary to a person results. Selection on plants is also simple in that plants are very prone to changing the genotype depending on external conditions - for them this is one of the methods of protection against animals and other pests that has been developed in the process of evolution. Let's mention some selection methods:

Selection. The oldest and simplest selection method. We sow vegetables / fruits, collect, leave only those that we need (for example, with the largest fruits), sow again, grow again and select, and so on. So derived, for example, Antonovka. It is also obviously the slowest selection method.
Polyploidy. Duplication of chromosomes in a plant, which leads to an increase in the size of the cells and the entire plant. Quote from here:
Currently, methods of artificial production of polyploids are used, affecting plants with various mutagens (mainly colchicine), which destroy the spindle of cell division. Thus, tetraploid (4n) forms can be obtained from diploid (2n) forms.
Colchicine is a toxic substance. It was planned to fight cancer due to its high toxicity to cancer cells, but was banned when it was found that it was also toxic to normal cells.
Mutagenesis. Spontaneous or induced production of mutants (change in the gene code). Again, let's give way to quotes:
http://sbio.info/page.php?id=40 :
X-ray induced mutants have been isolated from many cereals (barley, wheat, rye, etc.). They are distinguished not only by increased productivity, but also by a shortened shoot. Such plants are resistant to lodging and have noticeable advantages in machine harvesting.

http://vodospad.kiev.ua/books/book18/dubinin_16.html
At present, on the basis of the tremendous development of nuclear physics, which has given new available sources of radiation in the form of gamma rays from Co60, neutrons in nuclear reactors etc., the powerful influence of radiation is used for practical purposes in plant and microorganism breeding. made it possible to reveal the physical and chemical nature of the effect of radiation on hereditary structures in the cell.
…
When the original penicillium strain (strain 1951B25) was introduced into industrial use, its activity was only about 50 units. The selling price of penicillin at that time was enormous. For ten years of work by methods of radiation selection, by 1960, strains with an activity of up to 5000 units were obtained. At the same time, strains were obtained that did not emit a golden yellow pigment, which greatly facilitated the chemical purification of penicillin. As a result, penicillin became cheap, widely available remedy. The same thing happened with streptomycin. The activity of the original strains was about 200 units, now the radiation strains release 2000 or more units.

Perhaps such methods of selection are no longer used? Please - modern selection method TILLING . Wheat germ is treated with the highly mutagenic and carcinogenic substance Ethyl methanesulfonate, which mutates about half of the plant's genes. After that, a plant is determined by scanning, in which the specific gene we need is changed, and by gradually crossing with a normal species, a more or less sane plant with the desired modified gene is obtained. And, most likely, with a bunch of other modified genes that did not show themselves in any way on the control.

Thus, traditional breeding widely uses methods such as X-ray exposure, radiation exposure, the use of toxic substances. Obviously, this changes a substantial part of the genetic code, and no one controls what exactly has changed in the code and what consequences these changes can cause.

In general, in fact, the only difference between traditional selection and genetic modification is that in genetic modification we know what we are changing, we know what we want to get and purposefully. In the traditional we don't know, just look, the right one turned out or not.

Arguments for

Arguments in favor are easy to find from manufacturers of genetically modified organisms, and can also be viewed in the Genetic Modifications Database. These are increased yields, and the presence of certain substances (for example, “golden rice” - rice with a high content of vitamin A, more details a little further), resistance to herbicides that allow you to change the mechanisms for spraying crops with herbicides, the production of certain toxins against pests (for example, potatoes with resistance to the Colorado potato beetle), which reduces the use of the same pesticides, and so on.
Fears against GMOs are usually associated with GMOs used in food. But their scope is not limited to this. With the help of genetic modification, for example, bred: cats that glow in the dark, cats that do not cause allergies, bacteria that produce certain drugs, and many others.

Arguments against

Let's analyze the arguments "against" that opponents of GMOs use. Arguments are given in descending order of delusion. Below are comments about.

They add flounder genes to tomatoes, and a person will eat it and his gills will grow

For the average layman, it may not be necessary to know that a gene and a genotype are different things. And that there is no tomato gene or a flounder gene. And that during modification, it is not the genotype that changes, but individual genes, and not artificial, but quite ordinary genes (they can be from plants or animals, or they can simply be “switched on” genes of the plant itself). But that's why the same genes, eaten separately in the form of an ordinary flounder and an ordinary tomato, do not lead to the growth of gills, but combined into one organism, they do - a mystery to me personally.
By the way, the joke about the tomato with the flounder gene is very old and is just a joke. The most famous genetically modified tomato is the Flavr Savr variety, by modifying which they tried to get rid of the “tastelessness” of store-bought tomatoes - they simply “turned off” the gene responsible for the “breakdown” of cell walls when the tomato ripened (that is, no new genes were added, just made inactive one of the existing ones, responsible for the production of pectin). Initially, the line was quite popular, but due to the history of the Pusztai experiments (see below) and the general hysteria about GMOs that began, the branch was closed, and GMO tomatoes never entered the market again.

And how do you know what they changed there?

Many people are not aware that all GMOs are subject to mandatory registration, and there is an open database of all currently existing GMO organisms: http://www.isaaa.org/gmapprovaldatabase/default.asp. At a minimum, a description of the change is indicated. In addition, again, it is worth comparing with traditional selection, where it is already unknown exactly which parts have changed in the genome.

The problem is that the poor "keeping quality" of a tomato is a consequence of its taste - the main components of the taste of a tomato (glutamate, etc.) at a high content (in tasty ripe tomatoes) lead to a "breakdown" of cell walls due to the high content of pectin, and the tomato itself becomes very vulnerable - an ordinary garden tomato is very difficult to bring to the store shelves, it is soft, crumpled and deteriorates. Therefore, a tomato was bred by selection, in which such a breakdown does not occur, the tomato itself is stronger, but the taste suffered as a result, because with the breakdown of pectin production during traditional selection, the production of glutamate and other sweets also broke.

It is necessary to eat only natural, proven food for centuries

Two very common myths come together here:

An irrational belief in "natural" and that it is necessarily better than "artificial". It is based on an absurd belief that nature has created apples, bananas, corn, soybeans and so on exclusively for human consumption and they contain a perfectly balanced set of vitamins, proteins, fats and everything else for a person.
The conviction that all non-GMO products sold in the markets and in stores are varieties that have not changed over the centuries, which people have been eating and growing for a very long time.

It is useful to know that almost 100% of the varieties of products that are the main fodder for humans and animals (potatoes, corn, soybeans, and so on) have a maximum of several decades of history - most were bred by breeding in the 20th century and have no analogues in wildlife ( and in wild nature, by the way, do not survive). Wild apples look like greatly reduced copies of their counterparts on store shelves, and you will not meet wild corn in nature anymore.
This argument is also surprising to hear from people who have potatoes as one of their staple foods. But even some 200 years ago, an attempt to force peasants to grow potatoes caused rejection up to the “potato riots”. Quote place:

Under Catherine II, the “ground pear”, “tartufel” began to take root in Russia as a means of combating hunger. On February 8, 1765, by decree of the Empress, all governors were obliged to personally take care of the cultivation of the product. But the village authorities took the matter formally and quietly sabotaged. Petersburg, it was reported: “There were no such apples,” “By God’s will, not a single apple was harvested,” “that apple didn’t seem to the laity,” “not only the offspring, but also what was planted in the ground was not ".

or from here:

The order to sow potatoes, which did not have a coercive nature, was made back in 1837-1838 and did not cause any rumors among the people. Subsequently, when the excitement had already broken out, the people seized on him, looking for evidence in him of his conviction that the peasants were selling to some master. The rewards promised for potato crops were incomprehensible to the peasants, and they tried to find some special, secret meaning in the actions of the authorities. Being provided with bread, they saw in the potato the same vegetable that they did not need, like any other. These awards could have been important in non-grain-producing provinces, in which potatoes could replace the lack of bread.

That is, potatoes, "tested by time", as a whole, do not even have a couple of centuries of use, and modern varieties - even several decades (for example, the popular variety "Nevsky" was entered into the register of Ukraine only in 1984).
And this is a potato, one of the staple foods. In the topic, we can mention the very beloved by many tangerines, oranges and other exotic fruits, which could not be massively eaten here just a hundred years ago.

Lovers of "natural" can be asked simple questions - why did nature create a bunch of poisonous berries, plants and animals that a person should not eat? The “time-tested” argument also does not work - there is an example of a time-tested and long-used plant that causes cancer (I emphasize that it does not serve as a stimulating factor, not a concomitant symptom, but it directly causes urinary tract cancer).

GMOs are under-researched and there are no studies proving their complete safety

Readers who are familiar with the formal logic and methods of conducting discussions should instantly see through the ridiculous device in the phrase "complete security has not been proven." For those who do not understand - google "Russell's teapot". Briefly, formally impossible prove the complete safety of something, for the simple reason that it is fundamentally impossible to prove absence anything.
Does the danger of GMOs exist and is it proven? Of course, there is - for example, with the help of GMOs, it is quite possible to bring out, for example, tomatoes with cyanide and they will be deadly. And here the reader is provided with another exercise in logic - does this mean that all GMOs are a priori dangerous and their production and research should be banned?
Moreover, absolutely safe products do not exist. Even the banal dihydrogen monoxide is deadly poisonous with a single use in volumes of 10 liters or more. Therefore, the question should be put like this - are commercial GMO products more dangerous than traditional non-GMO products. Experimental results show that no, no more dangerous. And even if we assume a theoretical danger, then real The benefits of GMOs far outweigh hypothetical harm from it.
And again it is worth recalling that the products of traditional selection are tested on a voluntary basis. That is, as a rule, they are not checked by anyone.

Scientific studies confirm the harmfulness of GMOs

Often mentioned in controversy. That GMOs cause cancer; that GMOs cause infertility in the third generation; that GMOs cause stomach problems. These studies have one thing in common - the irreproducibility of the results. Let's look at some research:

GMO has more than 20 years of research. And there is not a single scientific study built according to the rules that would show the danger of such organisms precisely due to the use of genetic modification.

Greenpeace against GMOs

Yes, the popular "public" organization Greenpeace is an ardent opponent of GMOs and strongly protests against its use and research. It comes to the point that the most ardent activists destroy experimental crops of GM wheat - the results of five years of work by scientists.
Who are Greenpeace? Theoretically - fighters for the environment, with the dominance of corporations that poison the planet and so on. In practice, this is a long time ago an organization that made a name for itself on the mythical "protection of nature" and earns money with environmental racketeering. I recently came across an emotional but interesting Greenpeace article that speaks for itself.
But maybe Greenpeace makes a reasonable argument against GMOs? We honor. We see the same populist slogans about "unexplored", as well as the repetition of the old joke about tomatoes with the flounder gene. (An organization that fights against GMOs and at the same time does not distinguish gene from genome - this is very significant, I think. I emphasize that this is the official site). But even they confirm that GMOs have been researched for more than 20 years.

GMO plant can cross with wild and go into the wild

GMO seeds are deliberately made infertile so farmers have to buy them every year.

Both myths are brought together to show what goes on in the minds of individuals. Yes, many opponents of GMOs use both of these arguments at the same time.
First came the first argument - that GMO plants can interfertilize with wild ones and go into the wild. In the most "advanced" version - that GMO plants will grow their own legs and leave on their own. We will not seriously consider the latter, but in order to consider the very possibility of “going into the wild”, several conditions must be met: the presence of closely related plants near the fields that are capable of mutual pollination with GM plants, the very fact of such pollination, and most importantly, that the resulting hybrid will actually survive in the wild (that is, it will have properties that allow it to actively fight weeds and other plants that already occupy uncultivated lands). Since neither the goal of selection nor the goal of GM modification is almost ever to obtain a plant that can survive in the wild, this danger should be recognized as seriously exaggerated.
However, some seeds are made sterile by manufacturers (mostly because of the accusations of the previous point). This gave rise to speculations like "GMO manufacturers will get farmers hooked on their product and force them to buy it every year." Why farmers will lose their memory and forget how to grow non-GMO plants and why farmers in this case will be prohibited from buying conventional breeding (non-GMO) material is usually not specified.
So, farmers usually already buy seed every year. The fact is that the cultivation of seed material and the cultivation of the actual product, which then goes on sale (in bread, for livestock feed, ...) is different activities and it is more convenient for farmers to buy ready-made seed material than to allocate land for growing seed material, carefully control its growth, ensure the storage of seed material, and so on.
In addition, the purchase of seed material by farmers is also carried out regularly due to the fact that the hybrid (mutant) versions of the plants they grow, when crossed with the usual ones (cross-pollination), lose their hybrid properties already in the second or third generation (degenerate) - see . splitting law according to Mendel. In order not to lose the properties of hybrids, they must be crossed exclusively with each other, that is, special fields should be allocated for this, monitor the sterility of these fields from non-hybrid options - in general, all these farmers, as a rule, do not really want to deal with, for this there are separate special seed producers.

The government wouldn't ban GMOs if they were harmless

This argument is based on the strange belief that the government's primary goal is to benefit from its service to society. In most cases (especially in our countries, in this context I mean Russia and Ukraine), the main goal of the government is to keep its place, if necessary - at any cost. If the majority of the population does not like, for example, airplanes, be sure that the government will also ban them.
Yes, the degree of hysteria has reached such heights that the government, for example, of Ukraine, has issued a decree requiring the buyer to be notified whether certain products contain or do not contain GMOs, which, by the letter of the law, leads to such paradoxes as the need to label "non-GMO" even on salt , water and napkins.

Common sense nevertheless prevailed in both Ukraine and Russia, such labeling is canceled, and instead mandatory labeling is introduced if the product contains more than 0.9% GMOs.

Farmer suicide spree in India over GMOs

The myth claims that due to the large prevalence of GMOs in India, there is a string of suicides of the farmers who grew them. In fact, no direct link has been found between GMOs and the suicides of Indian farmers. Details.

Monopolist Monsanto poisons people

GMO technologies are just a tool in the monopolization of world agriculture. manufactured by the American chemical concern Monsanto. The point of introducing these biotechnologies is only to increase profits at any cost, Monsanto does not care about the safety of consumers and nature. They basically release seeds of plants genetically modified to resist their own pesticides to the world market in order to sell their carcinogenic poison in tenfold doses. From here.

And in general, Monsanto is a major monopolist who planned to destroy all life and a capitalist organization that will stop at nothing.
Monsanto (a very large producer of GM plant seeds and also the largest producer of the popular herbicide Roundup - the commercial name for glyphosate) is regularly accused of its monopoly position in the field of GMOs. Let's take a look at monopoly. Thanks again to the general hysteria about GMOs, the procedure for admitting GMO products to the markets has become such that it is commercially profitable to do this only for large producers. A small biological laboratory simply cannot afford such expenses. However, Monsanto is not the only producer of GM seeds, which is easy to see if you look at the aforementioned database.
The source of the myth comes from actual ignorance of the fertilizer application procedure. For some reason, it is argued that it is necessary to water plants resistant to herbicide 10 times more. It is also claimed that glyphosate can provoke cancer. The last - though certain relationships were found, which, in principle, is not particularly surprising for a herbicide - a substance designed to destroy living organisms (glyphosate is able to destroy plants, bacteria, but has practically no effect on humans and animals, since they lack those enzymes that block this substance).
Now the facts:

Glyphosate is the most popular herbicide because it kills a very wide range of weeds. Other herbicides are more selective and usually need to be applied in combination.
Glyphosate completely destroys many types of plants, getting to them through foliage and stems. It does not affect seeds in the soil, it breaks up in the soil. Gradually, it also breaks down in plants if it is ingested.
Monsanto's patent for glyphosate ended in 2000. Now it is produced by a bunch of manufacturers, including Russian ones. Although Monsanto remains its largest producer, it is by no means a monopoly.
Glyphosate no need pour in tenfold doses to increase efficiency. Moreover, in most civilized countries, in order to exceed the tolerances for irrigation with pesticides, farmers need to apply for a special permit and seriously argue it.
Glyphosate-tolerant GMO plants can be watered more heavily with glyphosate, but once and do so a few weeks before harvest, giving the glyphosate time to break down. Conventional, less resistant plants need to be watered several times, and the chance of glyphosate getting into mature fruits is higher for non-GM varieties.
"Glyphosate resistance" also means that glyphosate misses inside the plant.
And about why resistance is to glyphosate. So far, glyphosate is the only herbicide to which resistance is encoded by a single gene. The search for similar substances is underway, but so far without success.

I suggest you draw your own conclusions.

GM soybeans with peanut genes can cause allergies in humans

The most reasonable argument ever. Indeed, if modified soy will produce the protein found in peanuts, then negative effects are possible in people with peanut allergies.
But for GM, it is usually known exactly what exactly has changed and what kind of new protein will be produced, that is, cases of allergenicity can be checked already at the stage of preliminary studies. And in this case, we need not the label “contains GMOs”, but the labeling of which proteins this GMO contains (have you seen the inscription “may contain peanuts” on chocolate? Here is something in this style), against which, in fact, no one objects. And if a person voluntarily eats foods that say that this person this particular product can cause allergies - then GMOs are not to blame.

The already mentioned insulin for diabetics is produced by genetically modified bacteria. The modification made it possible to create bacteria that produce insulin that is completely similar to human insulin, which is easier to digest, unlike porcine insulin (different from human by one amino acid) and insulin from cattle (different from human by three amino acids).

And what?

Captain's word Obvious: a complete ban on GMOs will lead to a serious drop in the quality of insulin for diabetics.

Almost all papayas currently grown in the world are GM varieties. The "natural" papaya has been destroyed by a pest to which the GM papaya is resistant. So if you don't want to eat GM organisms - never buy papaya.

Thanks to Greenpeace and other ecologists, “golden rice” with a high content of vitamin A has just arrived on the fields of China. It took an additional 12 years of research for these ecologists to calm down. It is estimated that during this time in China, about 8 million children died or became seriously ill from a lack of vitamin A.

Instead of a conclusion

Personally, after evaluating all the pros and cons, I consider GMOs to be a progressive scientific technology that allows humanity to solve some urgent problems, and I consider horror stories about them to be either very much exaggerated or completely invented. The vast majority of prejudice against GMOs is broken down by the simple fact that the stores are full of products obtained as a result of radiation, X-ray and chemical mutagenesis, and for some reason this does not bother anyone. Some of the arguments "for" and "against" GMOs are discussed in the article and, I hope, will serve as a reason for additional reasoning. More detailed information on the topic can be collected from the links provided.

Elena Kleschenko. GMOs: urban myths. "Chemistry and Life" No. 7, 2012 http://elementy.ru/lib/431731
Leonid Kaganov. RAZGOVOR.ORG: I want to eat genetically modified foods.http://lleo.me/dnevnik/2008/02/26.html

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GMO - what is it and why are products with it dangerous? And if not dangerous, then what benefit can they bring to a person? Do all foods contain GMOs?

We will talk about the myths and real facts of products with GMOs in this article.

What is GMO

GMO is a genetically modified organism. Genetic engineering is engaged in the development of GMOs and, using special artificial methods, makes changes to the genotype of an organism.

Such changes are most often made in the field of science, and the term "GMO" can be applied to plants, animals and microorganisms.

To date, the leaders in the cultivation of GMO crops are the United States and Argentina: about 70% of genetically modified products grow in the United States of America and about 25% in Argentina.

Research by scientists has shown that about 75% of imported products on the Russian market are genetically modified.

Benefit and harm

Despite the results of constant research by scientists and specialists, with the subsequent conclusion that there is a low probability of the presence of hazardous substances in products with GMOs, there is a lot of evidence, both in their favor, and in favor of the rejection of the use of genetically modified products.

Benefits of GMOs include:

The use of GMOs in the agricultural industry increases the percentage of plants resistant to pests, insects and diseases, which affects the final amount of products obtained;
Plants with GMOs are resistant to high and low temperatures, which makes it possible to adapt previously unsuitable lands for growing many crops;
The use of GMOs allows you to improve the composition of plants, add useful properties to them;
Ready-to-human foods with GMOs have more flavor characteristics than non-GMO foods;
GMO products stay fresh for a long time;
The use of GMOs allows solving problems with the delivery and direct distribution of food to regions where it is not enough;
Genetically modified food has an improved chemical composition, thanks to which many products can be used as medicines. For example, there is a special type of rice - golden, in which, thanks to British scientists, the composition of vitamin A is almost 20 times higher, which makes it possible to fight hypovitaminosis A, which is so common in developing countries.

There are many who refuse to use genetically modified organisms in favor of ordinary ones, citing the following arguments:

The unpredictable effect of the use of GMO products. An example is the cultivation of potatoes with the snowdrop genotype introduced for pest resistance. Thanks to the modification, the potato crop comes out rich, but at the same time, all products are saturated with plant lectins, which in turn have an adverse effect on the immune system, kidneys, liver, and intestines;
emergence ecological disaster through the penetration of GMO plants into the natural environment;
The occurrence of allergic reactions in humans to products that have not previously caused it. For example, in chemical composition Tomato contains the fish gene, but at the same time it is so small that the body of a person with an allergy to fish simply does not feel it. In the case of an increase in the presence of the fish gene in the same tomato, the allergy sufferer will have to cross out one more product from his diet;
The constant use of GMO products leads to the development of a stable reaction to the action of antibiotics, which means that in a crisis situation when antibiotics are needed, they may simply not work and stabilize the human condition.

Also, our legislation does not regulate the issue of informing the public about the sale of GMO products, which means that stores not only can, they sell them without special designations, and a person who opposes their use will be able to understand the presence of GMOs in the purchased product only through their own daily observations. .

How Genetically Modified Foods Are Made

Like any process, the creation of genetically modified products has several stages:

Isolation of an isolated gene using special equipment;
The introduction of an isolated gene into a nucleic acid molecule (in most cases, DNA) for the subsequent transfer of genetic material to the cells of another organism. To insert a gene into a nucleic acid molecule, 2 enzymes are used - restriction enzymes and ligases. With the help of the former, it becomes possible to divide the nucleic acid molecule into parts, and with the help of ligases, on the contrary, it is possible to combine its parts into one whole, while the parts can be combined in different sequences, creating a large number of new gene;
Transfer to an organism that needs to be modified. In the case when unicellular organisms or multicellular organisms of plants are subject to modification, this stage can be called the moment of cloning: all organisms that have already been modified are screened out and leave a “pure” composition. If the goal is to obtain a multicellular organism, then cells with a modified genotype are used for vegetative propagation of plants;
Transformation of the cells of the modified organism;
Screening out GMOs that did not show positive results after modification.

It should be said that only plants undergo modifications, because genetic transformations make it possible to grow a whole plant from 1 individual cell, i.e. clone. At the same time, animal cloning is impossible in the modern world.

Therefore, if an attractive inscription “Does not contain GMOs” flaunts in a pork or beef store, then doubts should arise in the head of a reasonable person about the competence of the management and sellers of this organization, which means it is worth taking a closer look at other products with tempting appeals.

What foods contain GMOs

On the territory of Russia there are a number of laws that regulate the import, production and scientific research of genetically modified products. In particular, there is a list of products that are approved for use in our country:

Soy. It is part of a huge number of products, including sunflower oil and margarine, mayonnaise products and salad dressings, sausages and pasta. Some manufacturers include soy in baby food instead of milk powder;
Potato. This can include absolutely all its varieties: chips, dry mashed potatoes, crackers, etc.;
Corn. The most common 100% modified item is popcorn;
Vegetables and fruits. These include tomatoes, peppers, strawberries and many others that were brought to us from other countries;
Rice and its varieties(flour, flakes, etc.);
Semi-finished products;
Carbonated drinks("Pepsi", "Coca-Cola". "Fanta", " [email protected] and others);
Sugar beet.

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Purely outwardly, it is sometimes quite difficult to determine whether a product contains GMOs or not. But it is possible.

When choosing, you should not give preference to “ideal” products: on the counter you can often see, for example, tomatoes of the same shade and the same size, resembling clones of each other, about which you can say “one to one”. This product definitely contains GMOs.

It is also worth paying attention to the country of the exporter: Russia imports almost all vegetables and fruits, which means that we can say with confidence about their earlier genetic modification.

Many opponents refuse to buy in stores, preferring to make them with grandmothers in the market. But here, too, you need to be careful: products with GMOs are not ready-made, but already initially created.

And all the beautiful and real grandmother's potatoes can be grown with the help of seeds of transgenic varieties.

Blacklist of manufacturers of such products

Heinz;
Coca Cola
PepsiCo;
Cola
Mars;
Cadbury;
Unilever;
Limited Liability Company "Daria - semi-finished products";
Limited Liability Company "Klinskiy Meat Processing Plant";
Meat processing plant "Tagansky";
Meat processing plant "KampoMos";
Closed joint-stock company "Viciunai";
Limited Liability Company "MLM-RA";
Limited Liability Company "Talosto-products";
Limited Liability Company Sausage Plant Bogatyr;
Limited Liability Company "ROS Marie Ltf".

Myths and facts

GMO foods cause cancer.

This myth was born and spread at lightning speed thanks to an experiment by French scientists.

They conducted scientific studies on rats, where some of them were fed grain with GMOs, the second part - herbicide-treated GM corn, and the third - regular grain.

The result of the study showed that the first two groups of rats died within 2 years from the occurrence of tumors in the liver and kidneys. For the sake of truth, it is worth saying that those rats that ate ordinary grain also died from tumors formed in other organs.

Nevertheless, the opponents of GMO products picked up the first part of the information quickly enough and spread it all over the world.

Genetically modified foods are dangerous to humans.

Or possibly dangerous, or not dangerous at all. In order to determine the degree of danger of such products, it is necessary to conduct a study lasting 40-50 years.

The study should take place under ideal conditions, i.e. the subject is to be fed only one type of GMO food, such as only genetically modified tomatoes. And that test subject must be human.

Is it necessary to say that today there is not a single person who agreed to such an experiment and, accordingly, a study that would be carried out in this way?

Large stores are trying to cash in on customers by selling GMO products.

In this way, not only large networks are profiting, but also small entrepreneurs.

In the food market, competitiveness is now more important than ever, and therefore not only large, but also small entrepreneurs are fighting for a “place in the sun”, using the same methods of growing products.

The exchange of genes harms plants.

To tell the truth, the exchange of genes occurs in nature all the time, without the knowledge of man, and the name of this process is "evolution".

All civilized countries have banned the use of GMO products.

Conclusion

To date, it is impossible to say with certainty whether GMO products are harmful or beneficial.

There has been no research or scientific evidence on this subject.

Therefore, only the person himself can decide whether to eat foods with GMOs or not.

genetically modified organism

genetically modified organism (GMO) - an organism whose genotype has been artificially modified using genetic engineering methods. This definition can be applied to plants, animals and microorganisms. Genetic changes are usually made for scientific or economic purposes. Genetic modification is distinguished by a purposeful change in the genotype of an organism, in contrast to the random, characteristic of a natural and artificial mutation process.

The main type of genetic modification at present is the use of transgenes to create transgenic organisms.

IN agriculture and the food industry, GMO refers only to organisms modified by the introduction of one or more transgenes into their genome.

Currently, experts have obtained scientific data on the absence of increased danger of products from genetically modified organisms compared to traditional products.

Goals of creating GMOs

The use of both individual genes of various species and their combinations in the creation of new transgenic varieties and lines is part of the FAO strategy for the characterization, conservation and use of genetic resources in agriculture and the food industry.

In many cases, the use of transgenic plants greatly increases yields. 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. Opponents of this opinion believe that with the current level of agricultural technology and the mechanization of agricultural production, plant varieties and animal breeds that already exist, obtained in the classical way, are able to fully provide the population of the planet with high-quality food.

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. Such an apparatus synthesizes DNA segments up to 100-120 nitrogenous bases in length (oligonucleotides).

If unicellular organisms or cultures of multicellular cells are modified, 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 set to obtain multicellular organisms, cells with an altered genotype are used for vegetative propagation 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 among themselves.

Application

In research

Currently, genetically modified organisms are widely used in fundamental and applied scientific research. With the help of GMOs, the patterns of development of certain diseases (Alzheimer's disease, cancer), the processes of aging and regeneration are studied, the functioning of the nervous system is studied, a number of other topical problems of biology and modern medicine are solved.

In medicine

Genetically modified organisms have been used in applied medicine since 1982. This year, genetically engineered human insulin, obtained using genetically modified bacteria, is registered as a drug.

Work is underway to create genetically modified plants that produce components of vaccines and drugs against dangerous infections (plague, HIV). Proinsulin, derived from genetically modified safflower, is in clinical trials. A drug against thrombosis based on protein from the milk of transgenic goats has been successfully tested and approved for use.

In agriculture

Genetic engineering is used to create new varieties of plants that are resistant to adverse environmental conditions and pests, with better growth and taste qualities. New breeds of animals created are distinguished, in particular, by accelerated growth and productivity. Varieties and breeds have been created, the products of which have a high nutritional value and contain increased amounts of essential amino acids and vitamins.

Genetically modified varieties of forest species with a significant content of cellulose in wood and rapid growth are being tested.

However, there are restrictions on the use of genetically modified seeds. Either Terminator Technology or legal restrictions are used for this.

Other destinations

Genetically modified bacteria capable of producing clean fuel are being developed.

In 2003, the GloFish was launched on the market, the first genetically modified organism created for aesthetic purposes, and the first pet of its kind. Thanks to genetic engineering, the popular aquarium fish Danio rerio has received several bright fluorescent colors.

In 2009, the GM rose variety "Applause" with flowers goes on sale. of blue color. Thus, the centuries-old dream of breeders who unsuccessfully tried to breed "blue roses" came true (for more details, see en: Blue rose).

Safety

The technology of recombinant DNA (en: Recombinant DNA), which appeared in the early 1970s, opened up the possibility of obtaining organisms containing foreign genes (genetically modified organisms). This caused public concern and initiated a discussion about the safety of such manipulations.

Currently, experts have received scientific data on the absence of increased danger of products from genetically modified organisms in comparison with products obtained from organisms derived by traditional methods (see the discussion in the journal Nature Biotechnology) . As noted in the report of the European Commission's Directorate General for Science and Information:

The main conclusion drawn from the efforts of more than 130 research projects, spanning 25 years of research and carried out with the participation of more than 500 independent research groups, is that biotechnologies and, in particular, GMOs as such are no more dangerous than, for example, , traditional plant breeding technologies

Regulation

In some countries, the creation, production, use of products using GMOs is subject to state regulation. Including in Russia, where several types of transgenic products have been studied and approved for use.

List of GMOs approved in Russia for human consumption (as of 2008):

GMOs and religion

According to the Jewish Orthodox Union, genetic modifications do not affect the kosherness of a product.

Literature

Chirkov Yu. G. Living chimeras. Publishing house "Children's Literature". M.: 1991, 239 p. (children's popular science book about the creation of GMOs and the prospects of genetic engineering)

Notes

genetically modified organism // Glossary of biotechnology for food and agriculture: a revised and augmented edition of the glossary of biotechnology and genetic engineering. Rome, 2001, FAO, ISSN 1020-0541
What is agricultural biotechnology? // The state of food and agriculture 2003-2004: The state of food and agriculture 2003-2004. Agricultural Biotechnology. FAO Agriculture Series No. 35. (2004)
Leshchinskaya I.B. Genetic Engineering (Russian) (1996). archived
Jeffrey Green,Thomas Ried. Genetically Engineered Mice for Cancer Research: Design, Analysis, Pathways, Validation and Pre-clinical Testing. Springer, 2011
Patrick R. Hof, Charles V. Mobbs. Handbook of the neuroscience of aging. p537-542
Cisd2 deficiency drives premature aging and causes mitochondria-mediated defects in mice//Genes & Dev. 2009.23:1183-1194
Soluble insulin [human genetically engineered (Insulin soluble): instruction, application and formula]
History of the development of biotechnology (Russian). (unavailable link - story) Retrieved September 4, 2009.
Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala UCF professor develops vaccine to protect against black plague bioterror attack (30 July 2008). Archived from the original on January 21, 2012. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
Obtaining an anti-HIV drug from plants (Russian) (April 1, 2009, 12:35). Archived from the original on January 21, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2009.
Plant-derived insulin undergoes human trials (Russian) . MEMBRANA (January 12, 2009). (unavailable link - story) Retrieved September 4, 2009.
Irina Vlasova Goat will be made for American patients (Russian) (February 11, 2009, 4:22 pm). (unavailable link - story) Retrieved September 4, 2009.
Matt Ridley. Genome: The Autobiography of a Species In 23 Chapters. HarperCollins, 2000, 352 pages
The Mission Impossible of Genetic Redesign For Longevity
Elements - science news: Transgenic cotton helped Chinese farmers defeat a dangerous pest
And Russia has overgrown with transgenic birches... | Science and technology | Science and technology in Russia
Monsanto Seed Saving and Legal Activities
Super-biofuel cooked up by bacterial brewers - tech - 08 December 2008 - New Scientist
MEMBRANE | World news | Real blue roses to be sold in Japan
B. Glick, J. Pasternak. Molecular Biotechnology = Molecular Biotechnology. - M .: Mir, 2002. - S. 517. - 589 p. - ISBN 5-03-003328-9
Berg P et. al. Science, 185, 1974 , 303 .
Breg et al., Science, 188, 1975 , 991-994 .
B. Glick, J. Pasternak. Control of the application of biotechnological methods // Molecular Biotechnology = Molecular Biotechnology. - M .: Mir, 2002. - S. 517-532. - 589 p. - ISBN 5-03-003328-9

Irina Kamshilina

Cooking for someone is much more pleasant than for yourself))

Content

In an effort to find a life-saving remedy for hunger, mankind has invented genetically modified foods. The increasing population of the planet is no longer a threat thanks to a unique discovery. Man for the first time took control of the most important function of nature - the process of evolution with the help of GMOs, providing an increasing need for food. But the phenomenon, which at times increases the volume of products produced, has a downside. The creators of the technology prefer to keep silent about it, and the producers of such food calculate fabulous profits.

What are genetically modified foods and how are they obtained?

Foods with genetically modified ingredients are spreading rapidly around the world. Growing analogues costs three to four times cheaper than natural products, while there is no risk of complete or partial loss of the crop. From the US and Canada to China, this is the geographic distribution of transgenic crops that are sown on an area equal to 170 million acres. What lies at the basis of the fantastic development of genetic engineering?

Genetically modified foods are the result of technology that helps change the genetic traits in animals or plants. The resulting new species contains altered DNA, combining the biological memory code of several organisms. Nature has no such mechanisms, and humanity has found a way to add DNA fragments from one organism to another.

The benefits of genetically modified foods

The discovery of a unique technology (GMO) carried incredible prospects. The bright hopes of man to overcome hunger came true, and few thought about the risk. GMO-labeled products were not a concern at first because the unique technology helped to significantly increase yields. New properties grafted onto animal organisms and plant cultures provided genetically modified products with resistance to diseases, low temperatures, and insecticides.

New products with GMOs divided the scientific community into two camps, and then the whole world. The debate about the benefits or harms of transgenes does not stop, studies are being carried out one after another. But no one is able to prove with complete certainty what impact and what consequences the cultivation and use of genetically modified products brings with it. Caution in the amount of consumed GMO-labeled goods is what remains for the average consumer who monitors the quality of food and strives for health.

List of foods containing GM ingredients

The research path in search of the truth about the dangers or benefits of genetically modified food is still limited in time. Only two decades have passed since the emergence of the unique technology, and this is not enough to formulate conclusions with accuracy. The emergence of the development of genetic engineering (GMO) is able to resolve global problem humanity, covering the needs for food, but at the same time raising doubts about safety for health.

Among the most common concerns are the risk of cancer, food allergies, reduced immunity, and mutations from eating foods. Therefore, while there are no official studies confirming or refuting these statements, you should carefully consider the choice of products marked GMO. There are not so few of them on store shelves, since many contain soy, and half of it is a genetically modified crop.

More often than others, the following products appear in the list of food industry products containing GM ingredients:

peas,
potato,
corn,
meat,
dairy products,
tomatoes,
rape,
vegetable oil,
chicory.

Kit-Kat chocolates, Mars, Milky Way, Twix, Snickers, M&Ms, Corn Flakes, Nesquik, Beseda and Lipton teas, Leis and Pringles chips, 7-up soda, Coca-Cola are all common commercial products with genetically modified ingredients, which must be labeled with the abbreviation GMO. An extensive list includes Calve and Delmi mayonnaise, Heintz ketchup, Knorr, Maggi seasonings, Delmi margarines, Pyshka - products oversaturated with harmful GMOs.

It is not easy for an ordinary consumer to recognize the origin of products on store shelves. By appearance genetically modified food (GMO products) is almost no different from natural food, but there is a secret: if vegetables or cereals look perfect, without a single flaw, then with a high degree of probability you have the same GMO products. It is not necessary that manufacturers or sellers mark them with the appropriate label, but odorless vegetables and fruits are a reason to be wary.

Dyes, sweeteners, structurants (soybean, corn) are found in the composition of various food groups, including confectionery products with GMOs. Therefore, delicacies - cakes, cookies, rolls - should be prepared at home, reduce the purchase or completely abandon semi-finished products. Try not to buy cheap products, as they may contain genetically modified ingredients, limit the number of visits to fast food restaurants.

Video: why are GMOs dangerous for human health?

While some scientists claim that GMO products do not pose a danger to human health, others are conducting research in an attempt to prove the opposite. There is an opinion that mankind will learn about the first results of eating transgenic products in two generations. The terms are considerable, as is the level of fear, because the technology, which is a unique development of genetic engineering, threatens humanity with complete extinction. You will learn about the dangers of GMO products and how they affect human health in the video below:

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