GMO foods, also known as genetically modified foods, are foods that contain DNA fragments from other living organisms mixed with their own DNA. For example, some plants contain DNA from bacteria or fungi that produce natural herbicides, which automatically protects them from crop pests.
Genetic modification of certain foods is done to improve their resistance, quality and quantity produced, but may present health risks, such as increased allergies and use of pesticides. Therefore, it is ideal to opt for organic food as much as possible.
Genetically modified foods usually go through this process, with the aim of:
To produce this type of food, producers have to buy seeds from companies that work with genetic engineering to produce GMO products, which ultimately increases the price of the product.
The main transgenic foods sold in Brazil are soybeans, maize and cotton, which produce products such as cooking oils, soy extract, textured soy protein, soy milk, sausages, margarine, pasta, crackers and cereals. . Any food containing ingredients such as corn starch, corn syrup and soybeans in its composition will likely have GMOs in its composition.
According to Brazilian law, the food label containing at least 1% of GMO components must contain the transgenic identification symbol, represented by a yellow triangle with the letter T in black in the middle.
Rice is an example of a food that has been genetically modified for therapeutic purposes, such as HIV control or vitamin A supplementation.
In the case of rice to fight HIV, the seeds produce 3 proteins, the monoclonal antibody 2G12 and the lectin and cyanovirin-N lectin, which bind to the virus and neutralize its ability to infect the body’s cells. These seeds can be grown at very low cost, which makes treatment of the disease much cheaper. In addition, these seeds can be ground and used in creams and ointments to apply to the skin, combating the virus that is normally present in the secretions of the sex organs.
Another type of GMO rice for therapeutic purposes is so-called golden rice, which has been modified to be richer in beta-carotene, a type of vitamin A. This rice was created specifically to combat the lack of this vitamin in places of extreme poverty. , as in parts of Asia.
Eating GMO foods can cause the following health risks
To avoid these risks, the best solution is to consume organic foods, which also encourages an increase in the supply of this range of products and supports small producers who do not use GMOs and pesticides in plantations.
The production of GMO foods increases its resistance, allowing greater use of pesticides and pesticides in plantations, increasing the risk of soil and water contamination by these chemicals, which will eventually be consumed in greater proportion by the population and leave the soil poorer.
In addition, the overuse of pesticides and pesticides can stimulate the development of herbs and pests more resistant to these substances, making it increasingly difficult to control the quality of the plantation.
Finally, smallholder farmers are also at a disadvantage because, if they buy genetically modified food seeds, they will pay a fee to the large companies that produce these seeds, and will still be forced to buy new seeds each year, according to established contracts.