Genetically modified food and crops

(Negative effect)





The introduction of genetically modified (GM) food and crops has been a disaster.
The science of taking genes from one species and inserting them into another was supposed to be a giant leap forward, but instead they pose a serious threat to biodiversity and our own health.

In addition, the real reason for their development has not been to end world hunger but to increase the stranglehold multinational biotech companies already have on food production.

(Positive effect)





Improving the taste, texture or appearance of food.
A large amount of food is currently lost by damage or degradation during transport and storage.

In Zeneca's tomato paste, a gene responsible for tomatoes becoming squashy was "switched off". This means that tomatoes can be left longer on the vine and picked when riper and thus tastier. Whether it actually has a better flavour is a matter of taste.

The main advantages are production convenience and a slightly cheaper price. The "need" for such products is, however, partly a function of our centralised supermarket production system, obtaining food from wherever it is cheapest, often at considerable distances.

It also reflects consumer expectations - largely created by the supermarket system - for having out-of-season fruits and vegetables from anywhere in the world, and for high grade appearance, instead of basing our food on what is available from locally grown produce.

Credits to http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/gm
& http://www.srtp.org.uk/gmfood2.shtml#Advantages


What are your views? Comment on the other post! ;)

Topic:

'Singaporeans support the use of GM food as a solution to food security.'

Food security refers to the availability of food and one's access to it.

Simply to put, people would consume Genetically Modified food to protect the countries' food supplies from decreasing.

Assignment:

(a) To research on existing literature (e.g. reports, interviews etc) on GM food.

(b) To collect primary data and information from online forum/blog by inviting the public to share their thoughts on GM food.

(c) To prepare a report based on analysis of data collected and literature reviewed.

Would you rather support the use of GM food as a solution to food security or not?
Please post your comments in the comments link below this post. Thank you!

- Pearlynn, Bernice, Janella, Eunice, Megan.