Genetically modified foods Essay Example for Free

Genetically modified foods Essay What are bioengineered foods? Bioengineered foods are plants created for human and animal consumption using the latest molecular biology techniques. Bioengineered foods have been enhanced in a laboratory to desire traits like, resistance to herbicides and improved nutrition. By bioengineering foods you can create plants with the desired trait very rapidly. The advantages of bioengineered foods is that they are pest resistances, disease resistance, able to with stand cold weather, drought tolerance, and nutrition. Farmers lose crops every year due to insects, farmers use pesticide to kill these bugs and to keep them from eating the crops. Bioengineered foods help to reduce or eliminate the use of pesticides. Scientist are working on a gene strain to inject into the crops to help them withstand diseases that can harm the crop and make it uneatable for the consumer. A gene from cold water fish has been injected into sensitive plants like potatoes and tobacco to withstand the cold weather. The drought tolerance gene will help farmers to grow crops in soil that crops would not be able to grow in. The nutrition gene is ejected into the plants or crops to enhance nutritional value. Some examples of bioengineered foods are tomatoes, potatoes, squash, corn, and soybens. All these foods have been genetically altered in some way. The reason for these foods to be genetically altered is to make them taste better, and to have more nutritional value. Scientists have created many bioengineered foods and are working on many more foods. The pros of bioengineered foods seem to back up the good in creating bioengineered foods. The first pro is eliminating the foods ability to cause an allergic reaction. Which allows people who would have an allergic reaction by eating these certain foods to not have one. Another pro in creating bioengineered foods is that the plants grow faster than growing them in a traditional way. Also bioengineered foods cost less to produce than non bioengineered foods, this is because people do not have to spray the plant with chemicals to protect it. The cons of bioengineered foods should make people think about ingesting them. The most dangerous issue of ingesting bioengineered foods is that the food can have a harmful effect on the human body. According to some experts people ingesting bioengineered foods have a high risk of developing cancer. There is not much known about the long term effects on people and health risks are unknown. Also pollen from the fields of bioengineered food can spread to fields that do not contain bioengineered foods and contaminate the non bioengineered foods. In conclusion bioengineered foods are beneficial in most ways for human consumption. Bioengineered foods are beneficial in ways like more nutrients, food grows faster and food taste better. Also you do not have to spray these crops with pesticides because they are pest resistance. bioengineered foods are bad for human consumption in ways like causing cancer, and not knowing the long term effects on the human body. All and all its is up to the consumer, whether or not to purchase and consume bioengineered foods.