A transgenic food is one whose natural properties were modified by incorporating exogenous genes.
The concept of genetically modified food is often used today. To understand precisely what it refers to, it is important to analyze the terms that make up the expression.
A food is a substance that nourishes: it is what a living being ingests to survive since, due to its characteristics, it allows it to maintain or improve health . The adjective transgenic , meanwhile, refers to the organism whose properties were altered by the addition of exogenous genes.
Transgenic foods , in short, are produced through genetic engineering . This science makes it possible for genes that belong to another organism to be introduced into a certain organism to obtain certain qualities.
Characteristics of a transgenic food
A transgenic food is what is called a genetically modified organism , whose acronym is GMO . They are plants that, in their composition, have genes different from those they have naturally.
Biotechnology makes it possible to extract genes from a living being, modify them and subsequently reintroduce them into the same or another organism. This is carried out so that the plant in question develops a special property that it did not have before (such as greater resistance to herbicides, pests or climatic factors, for example).
Although genetically modified foods are increasingly common and their presence is expanding worldwide, there are scientists and activists who warn about the possible risks of their creation and consumption. There is, in fact, an intense debate about it.
Genetic engineering and biotechnology make the production of genetically modified foods possible.
Arguments for and against
The advantages that genetically modified foods offer, a priori, are numerous. The technology serves to obtain larger foods, with greater durability and resistance, with additional proteins and capable of growing in arid or sterile regions. Thus, they can help increase the food supply globally.
However, many experts maintain that, despite the lack of evidence suggesting possible harm to consumers' health, its long-term effects are unknown. Beyond the consequence of the intake itself, these products generate other types of disorders .
On the one hand, it is argued that genetically modified foods contribute to a reduction in biodiversity . On the other hand, by not giving seeds that can be used to generate more specimens, they give great power to those multinational companies that are dedicated to large-scale production.
Transgenic foods and the law
The treatment of genetically modified foods varies according to each legislation . It can be noted, in a broad sense, that its production is usually authorized since it is understood that it is linked to safe and controlled procedures.
In any case, in the absence of regulations that order producers to detail which genetic changes were introduced and in which products , criticism from detractors is frequent. Sometimes, however, an informative label is required to be included.
On the other hand, a distinction must be made between transgenic foods themselves and foods derived from transgenic organisms . If a product is manufactured with a transgenic crop, this product is not a transgenic food in itself, but rather a derivative of a transgenic plant.