Think that tomato in your salad was grown by normal means? Think again. Chances are, it was grown as a genetically modified or genetically engineered tomato.
Although there have been positive advances in genetically modified food such as plant breeders in Hawaii producing a genetically engineered virus-resistant papaya, there is much public concern about the safety of scientifically altered food.
Genetically engineered food may seem like a weird science project, but according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it’s when food, mainly fruits and vegetables, are produced from crops whose genetic makeup has been altered through a process called gene splicing to give a plant a desirable trait.
Genetically modified foods can also refer to foods from plants altered through other breeding methods.
“Genetically engineered could mean a number of things, but genetically modified is when those genes are transferred into the next generations. Genetically engineered can sometimes mean they’ve used different technology to improve the plant that makes the food. We use those terms interchangeably a lot,” said Kathryn S. Orvis, associate professor Agriculture Education and Department of Horticulture & L.A., Purdue University.
The FDA states that the first genetically engineered product, a tomato, went on the market in1994 and since then more than 50 other genetically engineered foods have been determined as safe as “normally” grown fruits and vegetables.
Although it may seem like a waste of science to some, the main purpose of genetically altered food is to improve food for increased nutritional and production values. Perfect example, that pioneer tomato introduced to the U.S. was shipped vine ripened without rapid rotting.
Orvis further states at Purdue, researchers are looking into increasing the lycopene in tomatoes. If lycopene, the pigment that gives tomatoes their red hue and known for cancer fighting properties, is already known to be a health plus for tomato eaters, then why does the red fruit need to be healthier?
“Some of the researches that are working on the tomatoes are working with India, some of the rural poor villages in India that have issues with malnutrition. Any little bit that can help them improve their nutrition, even by giving them fruits or vegetables that have higher contents will improve their nutritional status,” said Orvis.
Food grown by scientific engineering may seem like a good idea to some, but controversy comes into play because genetically modified food is not labeled.
“The FDA has no information that the use of biotechnology creates a class of food that is different in quality, safety or any other attribute from food developed using conventional breeding techniques,” said James Maryanski, the FDA’s food biotechnology coordinator. “The disclosure of genetic engineering techniques is not required on the label just as identification of conventional breeding techniques is not required.”
In addition to the FDA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the United States Environmental Protection Agency regulates America’s food.
Some consumer advocate organizations urge the FDA to require labeling to identify genetically engineered crops but under the FD&C Act, generally there must be something tangibly different about the food product, not the process by which it’s made, for an item to be labeled. In short, as of now, you could be eating a genetically modified food item and not even know it.
Further controversy also stems from the fact that although organic food is a method of production, it is specifically labeled and there’s also the potential health risks involved with genetically altered food.
“You’ve altered a plant’s genetic nature so you don’t know how that’s going to continue to work in nature. Plus we have no clue what happens to them in our bodies and we don’t know how they’re processed through the digestive system or how they change,” said Orvis.
For more information, visit www.cfsan.fda.gov.
