Controversial issues of GM Foods (part 1)

Opposition to Genetic Engineering

1. Ethical and moral issues:
It is immoral to 'play God' by mixing genes from organisms unable to do so naturally. Religious and vegetarian groups object to genes from prohibited species occurring in their allowable foods.

2. Imperfect Technology:
The technlogy is young and imperfect- genes rarely function in just one way, their placement is imprecise ('shotgun'), and all of their potential effects are impossible to predict. Toxins are likely to be produced as the desired triat. Over 95% of DNA is called "junk"because scientists have not yet determined its function.

3. Evironmental concerns:
Environmental side effects are unknown. The power of a genetically modified organism to change the world's environments is unknown until such changes actually occur - then the 'genie is out of the bottle'. Once out, the genie cannot be put back in the bottle becasue insects, birds, and the wind distribute genetically altered seed and pollen to points unknown.

4. Genetic pollution:
Other kinds of pollution can often be cleaned up with money time, and effort. Once genes are spliced into living things, those genes forever bear the imprint of human tampering.

5. Crop Vulnerability:
Pests and disease can quickly adapt to overtake genetically idntical plants or animalsaround the world. Diversity is key to defense.

6. Loss of gene pool:
Loss of geneticdiversity threatens to deplete valuable gene banks from which scientists can develop new agricultural crops.

7. Profit motive:
Genetic engineering will profit industry more than the world's poor and hungry.

8. Unproven safety for people:
Human safety testing of genetically altered products is generally lacking. The pollulation is an unwitting experimental group in a nationwide laboratory study for the benefit of industry.

9. Increased allergens:
Allergens can unwittly be transfered into foods.

10. Decreased nutrients:
A fresh-loking tomato or other produce held for several weeks may have lost substanial nutrients.

11. No product tracking:
Without labelling, the food industry cannot track problems to the source.

12. Overuse of herbicides:
Farmers, knowing that their crops resists herbicide effects, will use them liberally.

13. Increased consumption of pesticides:
When a pesticide is produced by the flesh of produce, consumers cannot wash it off the skin of the produce with running water as they can with ordinary sprays.

14. Lack of oversight:
Government oversight is run by industry people for the benefit of industry- no one is watching out for the consumer.