Is Genetically Modified Food Good For Us?

Q: On my table everyday, there are genetically modified rice, vegetables, and so on. Who knows if it is good or not for us?
-- King, Dong Guan, China

A: "Scientists have found no evidence that GM [genetically modified] food affects human health," says the BBC on Sep. 17, 2002.

The UK worries about GM food. The US doesn't worry so much, but our Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stands guard, nevertheless. The FDA reports: it's OK. As OK as eating the same food that hasn't been genetically modified.

When you think about it, we've been modifying food genes for a hundred years since Mendel discovered genes in peas. Gardeners and farmers have cross-bred plants to produce a prettier flower or hardier corn plants. The only difference is the tools we use now. Instead of slapping together all the genes of two plants and hoping for the best, we pick the exact gene we want: to give us a desired effect, such as, resistance to poisons spread on weeds. We insert that specific gene into the target plant's DNA. The gene then does what all genes do: make a protein. The new protein results in a new plant, one, for example, more resistant to herbicides. Last year, half of the soybeans that US farmers planted carried this gene.

Back to the question: Do the new genes, or the proteins they make, have any effect on people eating them? "No, it doesn't appear so," said FDA Commissioner Jane E. Henney. The proteins of GM food are "non-toxic, rapidly digestible, and do not have the characteristics of proteins known to cause allergies."

Rice, vegetables, and such food --GM or non-GM-- are good for you.

Further Surfing:

US Food and Drug Administration: Are bioengineered foods safe?