Genetically Modified Foods

Genetically modified (GM) foods are foods derived from genetically modified organisms. The DNA of genetically modified organisms has been modified through genetic engineering, unlike similar food organisms developed through the conventional genetic modification of selective breeding (plant breeding and animal breeding) or mutation breeding. GM foods were first put on the market in the early 1990s. Typically, genetically modified foods are transgenic plant products: soybean, corn, canola, and cotton seed oil, but animal products have been developed. For example, in 2006 a pig engineered to produce omega-3 fatty acids through the expression of a roundworm gene was controversially produced. Researchers have also developed a genetically-modified breed of pigs that are able to absorb plant phosphorus more efficiently, and as a consequence the phosphorus content of their manure is reduced by as much as 60%.

Critics have objected to GM foods on several grounds, including perceived safety issues,ecological concerns, and economic concerns raised by the fact that these organisms are subject to intellectual property law.

Some scientists argue that there is more than enough food in the world and that the hunger crisis is caused by problems in food distribution and politics, not production, so people should not be offered food that may carry any degree of risk. This argument assumes that genetically modified foods present risks not present in traditional foodstuffs, which are demonstrably not free of risk. Recently some critics have changed their minds on the issue with respect to the need for additional food supplies.

In 1998 Rowett Research Institute scientist Árpád Pusztai reported that consumption of potatoes genetically modified to contain lectin had adverse intestinal effects on rats. Pusztai eventually published a paper, co-authored by Stanley Ewen, in the journal, The Lancet. The paper claimed to show that rats fed on potatoes genetically modified with the snowdrop lectin had unusual changes to their gut tissue when compared with rats fed on non modified potatoes. However, the experiment has been criticised on the grounds that the unmodified potatoes were not a fair control diet.

If India were to dedicate 20 million hectares of land to this system, WWF says, "The country could meet its food grain objectives of 220 million tons of grain by 2012 instead of 2050."