Is genetic modification in food necessary?

Biotechnology are centuries-long processes that are reduced to months or even weeks to produce what seemed impossible. Transgenic foods are being produced for various purposes: economic, scientific and perhaps social, says Gustavo Copelmayer. One of the definitions of transgenic or genetically modified organisms (GMO) refers to those organisms to which genes from another organism have been introduced. We could then say that, for example, a transgenic plant is one to which a gene from a bacterium has been introduced; or a transgenic animal is one to which a gene from another animal has been introduced.

For its part, a gene is the unit of information within DNA that allows the production of a protein to develop a specific function within the living being. In short, it is a manipulation of natural life. GMO’s are based on a special acquired ability or property. For example, a highly questioned case is that of transgenic corn that resists pests, thanks to the gene of a bacterium – Bacillus thurgensis – that allows it to produce a poisonous toxin for the insects that eat it.

The genetic application in the food industry has analyzed its causes, effects and devastating consequences for the land where the transgenic seeds are sown. Likewise, the possibility of raising animals for human consumption that grow faster and are three times larger, such as the US salmon, considered fit for consumption; or to be able to grow plants resistant to herbicides or water scarcity, as in the previous case of corn, capable of synthesizing a toxin against insects but harmless against humans. It could be analyzed as a scientific advancement for humanity. However, many studies have obtained disappointing results due to the harm caused by the processes, both to nature itself and to humans, the final consumer of these foods.