What are GMOs?

"All organisms are composed of live sets of genes . The different compositions of these sets determine the characteristics of each agency. By altering the composition scientists can change the characteristics of a plant or an animal . The process involves transfer of a gene responsible for a certain characteristic in an organism to another organism which is to incorporate this feature. In this type of technology is possible to transfer genes from plants or bacteria , or virus , to other plants, and also combine plant genes with plants, animals, plants or animals to each other, completely surpassing the natural barriers that separate the species "

Transgenic organisms are harmless?

A sample of the controversy is that the governments of the European Union have decided to implement a "de facto moratorium" on the meeting of Environment Ministers in June, until it has been reviewed and amended the existing legislation on environmental release GMOs. Similarly, in the U.S. new concerns are emerging, not only by social, agricultural and environmental organizations, but also by exporting corn and soybeans , with the rejection by the European consumer. Its safety has not been proven. According to some studies they cause damage to health and the environment . Produce health allergies , and resistance to antibiotics such as penicillin . Cause environmental pollution irreversible genetic, eliminate endemic varieties or wild. Culturally, threaten ancient ways of farming. In the commercial, generate dependency of farmers in our countries to transnational corporations.

Main genetically modified (1999)

Soy Corn Cotton Rape Potato Pumpkin Papaya 21.6 million hectares (54% of total) 11.1 million hectares (28%) 3.7 million hectares (9%) 3.4 million hectares (9%) less than 100,000 hectares less than 100,000 hectares less than 100,000 hectares

Can trade freely?

There are countries like Japan , Austria , Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul), or some of the European Union that do not allow the import / crop / use / sale of products or GM crops. In most countries there is legislation to regulate the cultivation, use, and marketing of these organisms.

What are the possible problems that may result in the use of GMOs?
There is no consensus in the scientific study of the impact of GM applications in the environment and health. The GM could lead to the emergence of super pests .

 The GM may represent an increased health risk to consumers. The foods containing GM genes that confer resistance to antibiotics can cause this feature to transfer bacteria in the human body, causing a threat to public health . Allergies food may occur as a result of the introduction of foreign gene in the foods that have been transferred to new proteins , while toxic substances present in harmless amounts in foods, may enhance their effects. Other beneficial substances, including protecting against cancer can be reduced. The GM tend to cause loss of genetic diversity in agriculture . Multinational companies producing transgenic huge market need, on a global scale, to recover the investment in the production of each variety. This makes a few GM varieties tend to replace both improved varieties by conventional processes, such as the varieties selected by farmers, local or traditional. The GM may cause genetic pollution. It demonstrated the possibility of spontaneous transfer to wild plants of the same family, the genes introduced into a cultivated variety. The herbicide resistance genes, for example, can be transferred spontaneously to wild plants, with the risk of making them super difficult to control noxious weeds. The "transgenes" are also transferred to traditional or conventional varieties of the same species in neighboring fields. The impacts of GMOs in nature are irreversible. Some of the negative effects and risks cited, as occurred with conventional agriculture, but unlike the latter, it is not possible to restore the environmental balance in the case of GMOs. You can stop used an agro-toxic, for example, and restoring a balance between insects and pests and their predators after some time. In the case of GM, once released into the wild can not undo the impacts on ecosystems or control the processes of spontaneous transgenesis that can occur, it is impossible to remove from the nature of genes that were artificially introduced into a plant. Nobody wants to take responsibility for the risks of transgnicps. The multinationals claim that there are risks, but refuse to take responsibility for any adverse effects. Since American companies do not offer insurance coverage for catastrophic environmental damage liability in the medium and long term. It is true that ... 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. No genetic contamination may occur between species ... No health hazard ... Are the same as traditional foods ... Only affect the pests and beneficial insects do not ... Can not produce the unwanted release of unauthorized products ... Safer and more predictable than natural foods ...

Genetically engineered foods. Current Status

Some enzymes and additives used in food processing for years are obtained using techniques of DNA recombinant. Chymosin, for example, an enzyme used in the manufacture of cheese and obtained originally from the stomach of calves, is now produced using microorganisms in which we have introduced the gene in question. However, the era of so-called "transgenic food" for human consumption opened on May 18, 1994, when the Food and Drug Administration of the United States authorized the marketing of food with a first gen 'stranger', tomato "Flavr-Savr", obtained by the company Calgene. From this point, we have obtained nearly fifty plants with foreign genes inserted, which are in various stages of marketing, from which now represent a significant percentage of total production in some countries to those that are pending approval. There are different possibilities of plant breeding through the use of genetic engineering . In the case of plants with antisense genes, the inserted gene produces an mRNA that is complementary to the mRNA of

the enzyme whose synthesis is to inhibit. To hybridize both the enzyme does not produce mRNA synthesis. In the case of tomato "Flavr-Savr" in an enzyme whose synthesis is inhibited polygalacturonase is responsible for the softening and ripe fruit senescence. Not being active, this process is very slow, and can be picked ripe tomatoes and direct marketers. Normal pick tomatoes green and ripened artificially before sale to ethylene , so that its aroma and flavor are lower than those ripened naturally. In this case, the food does not contain any protein new. The same technique has been used to achieve a soybean oil high in oleic acid (80% or more, compared with 24% of normal soybeans), inhibiting the synthesis of the enzyme oleate desaturase. The inclusion of plant genes, animal or bacterial results in the synthesis of specific proteins. Soybeans resistant to the herbicide glyphosate, known as "Roundup Ready" and produced by Monsanto contains a bacterial gene encoding the enzyme 5-enolpyruvyl-shikimate-3-phosphate synthase. This enzyme is involved in the synthesis of amino acids , aromatic and the plant itself is inhibited by glyphosate, hence its herbicidal action. The bacteria is not inhibited. The corn resistant to insects contain a gene encoding a protein from Bacillus thuringiensis, which has insecticidal activity to be able to bind to specific receptors in the gut of certain insects, interfering with their feeding process and causing his death. The toxin has no effect on people or on other animals. The use of plants with genes for resistance to insects and herbicides to reduce pesticide use and achieve greater performance. It has also been obtained with rapeseed oil high in lauric acid , by inserting the gene coding for a thioesterase of certain species of laurel . The virus-resistant plants are obtained by synthesizing a viral protein that interferes with normal propagation infecioso agent. These vegetables contain viral protein, but containing less than normal when they are severely infected. The most important transgenic plants for the food industry are by far the herbicide glyphosate-resistant soybean and corn borer resistance, an insect. Although used in some cases the flour ], the fundamental use of corn in relation to the human diet is to obtain the starch , and from that of glucose and fructose . Soy is used to produce oil, lecithin and protein. Since corn flour, soy protein products made from them contain DNA and proteins that differ from other varieties of maize in the EU (not in the U.S.) there is an obligation to mention his presence in food labeling. Although we have not detected any case, it would be conceivable the existence of people with allergies to new proteins. However, in the case of the protein of B. thuringiensis, its widespread use as a pesticide in organic farming ensures a lack of allergenicity. GM soy oil and glucose and fructose derived from corn starch contain no genetically modified material containing distintinto to when obtained from conventional plants. In most cases, even PCR techniques, which is known to have an extreme sensitivity, can detect foreign genetic material, so that no differential labeling requirement. In the case of whole foods, or parts that include the foreign protein, as might be the soy protein or corn meal, consider the risk of the emergence of new protein allergies. This is the case of soybeans to which he had introduced the gene for a protein from brazil nuts to increase the sulfur amino acid content of their proteins and thus their nutritional value. The new protein was found to be allergenic, and that soy has not reached out to the market (47). However, this is absotutamente exceptional, and there is no evidence that proteins introduced by genetic engineering are more allergenic than the natural ones. In the case of using protein-free processed materials such as soybean oil or glucose from corn starch, there is no material that is not in the conventional product, and consequently there is no risk or even hypothetical, attributable to genetic manipulation. Even in cases where an allergy to oilseed protein (conventional or GM), an oil processing produces no response.

Are new genetically modified plants?

The man takes several thousand years by changing the plant used as food. For example, brussels sprouts , the cauliflower , the broccoli and kohlrabi are artificial varieties of the same plant (Believe it or not). The same is true of the dozens of varieties of apples , corn , potatoes , wheat , etc.. Wild background of

many of these plants when there are so little like that would not be recognized as such by anyone but an expert. As for the "mixed species", triticale, a hybrid of wheat and rye , has for decades thrive in areas of poor quality (useful for rye but not wheat), but with some good properties of wheat, making it much more valuable for human consumption. However, genetic engineering can now carry out, in a few years and in a controlled way, what once could cost decades or centuries, or get effects that were only in the dreams of the farmers, but which were impossible with the old techniques crossing and selection. Genetic engineering was used initially (because of its high cost) to produce pharmaceutical uses substances such as insulin , genetically modified microorganisms . With further development, were also obtained for industrial enzymes, such as recombinant chymosin, used, as obtained from the stomachs of young calves (original source, the "rennet") to make cheese. Subsequently plants were obtained (and animals) genetically modified to improve their properties.

For transgenic plants obtained?

There are currently marketed or in advanced development process, plants modified to: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. That have a longer shelf life. Withstand harsh environmental conditions, such as frost, drought and saline soils. Resist herbicides. Resist insect pests. Resist disease Have better nutritional qualities

The most interesting change would be to get animals include cows in milk protein milk human protective effect, such as lactoferrin .

How many GM foods are there?

It depends on what is called "GM foods". We consider the following groups: 1. Substances used in treatments to improve production animals. Scientifically speaking, there should be included here, even his detractors do. The best example is the growth hormone recombinant bovine used to increase milk production. It is used in the United States but not in the European Union. 2. Substances used in food industry, microorganisms obtained by recombinant DNA techniques. For example, chymosin (rennet) recombinant. Already used in the EU to make cheese. It bureaucratic problems (appellations of origin) but is not a source of ecological problems, nor has risks for the consumer. 3. Transgenic animals that secrete in their milk a human protein, or having a lower content of lactose , etc.. There are still no commercially.

It should be noted that in these three cases, no organisms are released into the environment. A cow is not a body that can "pollinate" out of control to anyone, and in other cases only sell pure substances obtained. It should not be considered with imported aspects of ecology , such as transfers of resistance genes, and so on. Only are important aspects of consumer safety, easy to examine further in these cases. At the moment only used a few genetically modified plants, which would be the real "GM foods".

The first food available for consumption was produced by genetically engineered tomato "Flavr Svr." This tomato had been modified to resist longer after maturity, preventing it from producing an enzyme essential in the process of senescence ("apochamiento"). 2. Another important product is GM soy. In this case, what has been done is to introduce a gene that makes it resistant to a herbicide, glyphosate, known by its trade name Roundup (Monsanto). 3. GM maize has been obtained to be resistant to an insect, the corn borer, and a herbicide, glufosinate. With respect to the herbicide, it has been said to soybeans. As the insect resistance is obtained by inserting the gene in maize insecticidal protein from a bacterium. This protein is perfectly safe insecticide, and its use is permitted even in the " farming ". The prospects of this technology are vast. there are several dozen plants ready to market, and the years their number will climb pximos hundreds. 4. Although not yet exist, are already developing plants with a foreign gene for direct food consumption. Will potatoes, fruit, etc., genes that confer resistance to insects, frost, salinity. These products require careful consideration in terms of safety (toxicity in the short and long term, allergies) before marketing. Can also develop bacteria, yeasts , etc., used in the manufacture of food ( bread , beer , yogurt, etc..) modifying the genome of the conventional, introducing the gene for an enzyme or other microorganism inducing the overexpression of a gene itself . It is a very promising field, which are beginning to produce results. It is also one of the fields in which there is a higher percentage of published research.

1.

Where do you get the genes introduced into transgenic plants?

In the case of wanting to get a longer shelf life, eg in tomato "Flavr Svr" not introducing a gene from another living being , but a gene "antisense" artificial, which prevents a protein responsible for synthesizing of senescence (say, the "apochamiento") of tomato. In other cases, we introduce genes encoding the synthesis of special proteins. The gene that makes soybeans resistant to glyphosate (an enzyme that is not affected by this herbicide) comes from a common soil bacteria. The coding for insect resistance is obtained from a pathogenic bacterium to insects but harmless to higher animals.

Can cause allergies GM products?

An allergy is the body's overreaction to a substance (usually a protein) misses him. Soy (or vegetable) has thousands of foreign protein for humans, so there are many people allergic to soy , the peanut , the strawberries , etc.. Transgenic soy protein has a more among the thousands, so the increased risk is miniscule. And naturally, the risk disappears completely when the soybeans are processed into oil, lecithin, etc..

Are transgenic products hazardous to the environment?

Effects on the environment. Potential Effects of herbicide resistance. Drawbacks. excessive use of herbicides by farmers, affecting the environment. potential:

Potential benefits: The herbicide glyphosate is a relatively non-toxic and biodegradable, but is not selective and therefore not be used with soybean crops "normal". Avoid aggressive use of herbicides to the environment, but more selective in soybean crops.
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Effects of insect resistance.

Potential drawbacks: Reducing the insect population, affecting insectivorous animals ( birds , bats ) to deprive them of their prey. It's a very minor effect, since only kills those insects that feed at the expense of intended harvest. Potential benefits: Reduces the use of insecticides. Affects only insects harmful to concrete floor.

When we consume GM foods?

The use of soy as a food, such as soybeans, is purely anecdotal. Soybeans are used as raw material for oil, which is then chemically processed by hydrogenation, and lecithin. Neither of these products contain the protein that has been introduced to induce resistance. Are therefore identical in all physical, chemical, biological, nutritional and toxicological come from soy "normal" or soy "transgenic". Much the same can be said of corn. Its main applications are the production of starch and glucose from the starch. Neither of these products contain DNA or proteins, or "normal" or "transgenic."

Why do manufacturers oppose the labeling of GM products?

In the case of products such as tomatoes, it is possible differential labeling. In fact, the Flavr Svr often labeled one by one. The U.S. company won the case against those who wanted to compel an individual labeling. But after that, decided to label them freely, as he considered (rightly) that his superior should be evident to consumers. In the case of soybeans, the labeling is almost impossible. Soy is handled in bulk in large quantities, and as many different varieties mixed farms only harvest. In silos and mixing vessels transport further. Moreover, in the case of soy that is eaten as such (almost, almost all) this has no importance, since, as mentioned above, the oil obtained contain no genetic material. In the case of transgenic maize if your flour is used directly in food manufacturing, labeling is mandatory, as it is in some way different from usual, containing the protein of Bt corn if used for starch, which then produces glucose or fructose, claiming the label of these final products is absurd, since they are absolutely identical and indistinguishable from any system containing maize of "non-GMO."

GM food can cause bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics?

To modify the plant genome using the gene to be inserted and other auxiliary genes. Some of these auxiliary genes confer resistance to certain antibiotics, to allow selection of modified cells. Thus, the genetically modified maize also has the gene for beta-lactamase, which confers resistance to the antibiotic ampicillin. For a pathogenic bacteria became resistant to this antibiotic would be necessary: That the antibiotic resistance gene remained intact. The processing of food destroys DNA. Consequently it would be necessary to eat raw corn. This eliminates the problem in the human case, and reduces it to the animals when using this corn as feed 2. That the gene could be transferred to bacteria. Although originally the antibiotic resistance gene derived from bacteria, their current situation within the plant genome makes this extremely unlikely. It would be far more likely to acquire the gene from another bacterium of the many present in the gastrointestinal tract. 3. That there was a selective pressure for bacteria that have acquired resistance gene, ie the animal was being treated at the time with the antibiotic. As an added precaution, do not generally use antibiotic resistance genes important in human clinical or against new antibiotics that could be so in the future. In any case, since the antibiotic resistance gene no longer plays any role in the transgenic plant, if considered a risk, could be eliminated. Since "better safe than sorry," the petition of this phase is quite reasonable. Soy: the "to fu", soy milk and other foods properly incurred and Oriental cuisine in our culture do contain soy protein. In this case, these foods do contain genetic material, and if they come from genetically modified soybeans will be a difference between them and those from non-GM soy. 1.