Are genetically engineered foods good for health?

1. 93

   rajan jollyposted 13 years ago

   Are genetically engineered foods good for health?

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2. 69

   davenmidtownposted 13 years ago

   I can not see they could possibly be good for health... they are still too new to see the long-term results on health.  I avoid them at all cost.

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3. 61

   m0rd0rposted 13 years ago

   I don't think it will matter for the body, Vitamins and Minerals in the plant will be the same. They cannot be genetically modified.
   
   And some strongly modified foods (e.g. humanized and homogenized cow milk) are present in our diet for ages.
   
   Proteins, carbs and soluble fats after digestion are turned into glucose, so you don't have any genetic material left, that will be transferred to the blood stream.
   
   The only real threat can be in the stomach or liver, If any GM food irritates it or does some other damage. This can be checked by feeding GM food to mices and pigs.
   
   Once processed to glucose, there is nothing GM inside.
   
   But I am a bit radical... we will either start adapting to GM food or reach the point of no-return in overpopulating the Earth and consuming all resources and die of famine and civil wars.

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4. 91

   Faceless39posted 13 years ago

   No...............................................................

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5. 58

   sprobinposted 13 years ago

   Genetically engineered foods are  not good for health.

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6. 38

   loveorlostposted 13 years ago

   no.................no................no........................and no

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7. 61

   Ealairposted 13 years ago

   Let's take a look at what genetically modified means really.
   
   We have a lab that is altering the natural DNA of food (plant/animal it doesn't really matter) and then presenting it to a non-altered aubject (us).
   
   While this does potentially solve world hunger there are a lot of factors we really need to take a look at.
   
   First, it didn't work with Killer bees. We wanted a more aggressive species, we got one. There is also another lab-created bee, I forget the precise species, but it's essentially a "clone" bee, they only have queens and they invade other hives and kill them off. While the idea was to get rid of "bad" bees, we have destroyed nature's balance of "good" bees too. Not wise.
   
   Second, we are indeed a starving world. We need some sort of solution to poor crops, so this may be a rest step, thought process wise, but how are we going to stop every farmer from depending on GM crops and having natural crops go extinct? We're messing around with natural selection worse than we ever have before, in the name of our survival. While necessary, perhaps we should start with birth control?
   
   My final point is nutritional in nature. While these "super-foods" are allegedly more nutrient dense than their natural counterparts, some vitamins (espeically fat soluble vitamins and soy) are dangerous in high quantities. Too much soy leads to hyperthyroidism, which is just as dangerous as hypothyroidism and too much vitamin A can lead to blindness. If we create foods that force us to intake far more of these fat soluble vitamins than we need (or soy, which I would like to point out is NOT a vitamin and did not intend to make it sound like one) we are potentially putting ourselves in danger by assuming that all humans eat a similar diet, which can easily be disproven if you look at someone who is health conscious and someone who is not.
   
   Proceed with caution...

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8. 68

   Dexter Yarbroughposted 13 years ago

   When it comes to food, if it is not natural, it cannot possible be good for health. When man tinkers around with the wisdom of nature, while using his infant-like intelligence in contrast to it, negative things happen.

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9. 0

   rorshak sobchakposted 13 years ago

   This sounds scary. I only eat fresh food.

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10. 60

    rob_allenposted 13 years ago

    that's weird. i don't think so...............................................................

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11. 72

    SidKempposted 13 years ago

    Almost certainly not. Let's look at the big picture on two points.
    
    First, almost all carcinogens fall on this scale: The more recently human beings encountered them, the more carcinogenic they are. Mild carcinogens, like smoked and salted meat, have been around for a few thousand years. The petroleum-based chemical additives of the 1800s are much worse. Radiation and manufactured chemicals like PCBs, more recent, and worse yet. So the chemicals that arise in genetically engineered food are probably very bad news - and we can't get rid of them once they start growing out in the world!
    
    Second, most of the engineering is being used to include pesticides in the plant themselves, and then we eat more pesticides. These pesticides may be from other plants, but we cannot be sure of their effect on our bodies, on the ecosystem. We do know that they are killing helpful insects and increasing pesticide resistance in harmful insects. It is likely that soon we will end up in a situation regarding our food that we already have in our hospitals - they are sites for dangerous pests! Also, some modifications add chemicals to the plant to allow more pesticides to be used on the plant. We don't know if these chemicals are safe. Also, we already know that pesticides (DDT) caused the Silent Springs of the 1950s and the current bee hive collapses. They've caused lots of difficult cancers, as well.
    
    So, best we can tell, GMO is not the way to go.

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12. 61

    smzclarkposted 13 years ago

    Are you serious?! Of course not! The nutrients are sedated. One of the most cancerous foods are non-organic apples due to genetic engineering and pesticides...it's very scary and very true!

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13. 0

    Dr Rabieposted 13 years ago

    I don't think that genetically engineered foods are good for health. This opinion isn't evidence-based. I think every thing which is natural is good for health and any thing that is processed has bad side effects on our health. Although, there is no evidence that Genetically engineered foods are bad for health, there is no evidence that they are healthy. Who knows!

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