#精品长文创作季#
"It's so unreliable, isn't it? How can you blatantly sell genetically modified soybean oil here, and want to eat dead people?"
In a supermarket at the corner of the street, an aunt was reasoning with a merchant. It is believed that businesses should not sell genetically modified food, and eating genetically modified food will seriously endanger health. The noise grew louder and louder, and other customers and surrounding businesses gathered curiously to find out what was going on.
It turned out that this aunt came to the supermarket last week to buy a barrel of soybean oil. Because the price of this barrel of oil is not very high, plus it is vegetable oil, which is good for the elderly, so I bought it. When I got home, I found that it was labeled GMO. I chuckled in my heart, and immediately found the supermarket to ask for an explanation.
Now there are a lot of rumors about genetically modified foods on the Internet, and my aunt is convinced of these rumors. It has always been believed that genetically modified foods are not safe foods and that eating them will affect health. Now the supermarket sells her genetically modified soybean oil, obviously bullying her for being uneducated. I couldn't get angry when I thought about it, so I ran over and asked.
So, is genetically modified food really unsafe, and what are the rumors about genetically modified food?
1. What is genetically modified food?
Genetically modified food is one of the products of the development of genetically modified technology, which can transfer genes from one organism to another, so as to obtain new food or new raw materials for making food.
According to the different raw materials, genetically modified foods are currently divided into three main types. One is plant-derived genetically modified food, one is animal-derived genetically modified food, and the last is microbial-derived genetically modified food. At the beginning, the soybean oil purchased by the aunt was made from genetically modified soybeans, which is a plant-derived genetically modified food.
With the increasing number of genetically modified foods, there has been more controversy about its safety. For ordinary people, they don't know what the specific source of GMOs is. Perhaps because of this, there is all kinds of negative news, which also deepens people's fear of genetically modified foods.
In fact, GMO technology is a very advanced technology that is used in several fields. Especially medical-related, such as some very common antibacterial drugs, are made by genetically modified technology. Its safety is relatively high, and it does not affect the genetic system as rumored on the Internet.
The mainland is a large agricultural country, and the production of agricultural products is relatively high in the world. After so many years of development, the planting technology of agricultural products has also been improved to a corresponding extent.
In order to be able to grow higher-quality and higher-yielding crops faster, scientists have used genetically modified technology. Through this technology, the genetic information of organisms is changed, and the excellent genes of other crops are transferred to traditional crops, thereby improving the yield and nutritional value. Of course, it also has other advantages, such as resistance to pests and diseases, herbicides, etc.
A typical example is genetically modified rice, which has been cultivated through genetically modified technology. It combines a variety of excellent genes in one, which further reduces the cost of farming and improves the quality and yield of products.
According to relevant statistics, at present, 29 countries or regions in the world are planting genetically modified crops, and 42 countries or regions are allowed to import.
2. Rumors about genetically modified foods
Although experts have been popularizing the information of genetically modified food, they have also emphasized its safety, and it has been proved by a large number of animals. However, people are deeply affected by their inherent thinking, and there are still many people who have doubts about this, especially middle-aged and elderly people.
What we want to tell you here is that the rumors of genetically modified foods are bluffing and do not stand up to scrutiny. With a little care, you can find evidence to dispel these rumors.
1. Europeans and Americans do not eat genetically modified foods
Now one of the rumors about genetically modified foods on the Internet is that Europeans and Americans do not eat them, and there are even many conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theories say that European and American countries produce genetically modified foods, but they don't eat them. Rather, it is exported to China, wanting to poison the Chinese in this way. This argument is clearly untenable.
The Department of Agriculture has long released news that the United States is the first country in the world to make food through genetically modified technology and commercialize it. Relevant statistics show that there are now 22 kinds of genetically modified crops approved for planting in the United States, accounting for as much as 40% of the arable land. And they not only develop their own genetically modified technology, but also eat the genetically modified food they have developed.
Genetically modified crops in the United States, such as soybeans and corn, are very popular in the country, at least 50% of which are consumed in the country, and the amount of exports is not as large as expected. The genetically modified crops that the mainland now allows to import are very popular all over the world, which means that in addition to the mainland, some other countries will also import, such as Japan and South Korea.
The above evidence has fully proved that the statement that Europeans and Americans do not eat genetically modified foods is simply a rumor. Genetically modified foods are not only not banned by European and American countries, but are also very popular, even more than other countries.
2. Genetically modified foods cause male infertility
There have always been such rumors on the Internet that men cannot eat genetically modified food. Otherwise, it will affect fertility and lead to infertility. The reason why such rumors came out was because of a report about a male college student who had lost sperm motility after eating genetically modified corn for many years.
Many people who read this report feel that it makes sense. As a result, the claim that genetically modified foods can cause male infertility is convinced.
Obviously, this statement is also one-sided. If you look closely at the report, you will find that the reason why the male college student's sperm has problems is related to environmental pollution and long-standing unhealthy living habits, and there is no mention of genetically modified organisms at all.
3. Genetically modified foods affect offspring
Everyone wants to have healthy offspring, but now there are more and more rumors that genetically modified foods will affect future generations. As a result, some people are always worried about eating genetically modified foods during the preparation for pregnancy. In fact, there is no scientific basis for this claim.
Whether it's ordinary food or genetically modified food, it contains countless genes. After eating, these genes are only digested and absorbed by the body, and do not directly change the genetic material in the body. Therefore, it is alarmist to say that genetically modified foods will affect future generations.
4. Cherry tomatoes, purple potatoes, bell peppers, etc. are all genetically modified foods
As we all know, foods such as cherry tomatoes, purple potatoes, and bell peppers are now common in the market. Because of its good taste and high nutritional value, it is well received by consumers. But I don't know when, but there were rumors that they were genetically modified foods.
Many of the plant-derived foods we eat today are cultivated and domesticated from wild plants, and over time, there are more and more types of crops. The cherry tomatoes, purple potatoes and bell peppers sold in the mainland market are all varieties produced in the process of natural evolution and have not been genetically modified like other common crops.
3. Advantages and disadvantages of genetically modified foods
Genetically modified foods are becoming more and more common in life, and it is the same as ordinary food. Not only do it have many advantages, but it also has certain disadvantages.
First of all, let's talk about the advantages of genetically modified foods.
It has been said before that genetically modified foods are genetically modified technologies that transfer good genes to ordinary crops. This means that the production of genetically modified foods is relatively high, which helps to solve the current global food shortage.
Secondly, the use of transgenic technology can effectively improve the genes of food, thereby increasing some nutrients. Better maintenance of human health, but also can change the taste of food. Make the food taste better and more popular.
For fruit and vegetable products, the biggest headache is the shelf life. The storage time of many ordinary fruits and vegetables is too short, sometimes they can only be stored for 1~2 days, and they go bad before they have time to eat.
Later, shelf-stable fruits and vegetables were developed through genetically modified technology, and the shelf life was significantly extended. For example, if you add the frost-resistant gene of marine fish to the tomato, the tomato can be stored for a long time in winter.
Let's take a look at the disadvantages of genetically modified foods.
In general, genetically modified foods are relatively safe foods. However, there are some drawbacks that we cannot ignore, such as the potential risk of toxicity. Some crops contain natural toxins that can enter new crops if they are implanted with foreign genes. And it grows and multiplies, and even genetic changes may occur.
Although it has not been found that people have been poisoned by eating genetically modified food, it has indeed been found in animal experiments. This means that there is a potential risk of toxicity in genetically modified foods and cannot be completely ruled out.
In addition to this, genetically modified foods carry a risk of allergies. As we all know, many people's allergies are related to the protein in food.
Genetically modified foods may produce some new proteins due to the change of the original genes. If you are allergic and have a poor tolerance to these new proteins, you cannot rule out an allergic reaction.
summary
Seeing this, many people began to question, should we eat genetically modified food? In fact, the article has made it very clear that genetically modified food is safe. Those rumors about it on the Internet have long been self-defeating.
However, it is important to note that when buying genetically modified foods, you must choose a formal route. For example, when you go to a relatively large local shopping mall, don't buy some genetically modified foods from unknown sources. In order to avoid safety risks and affect physical health.