English with Jo

Are there environmental, moral, or health issues associated with genetically modified food? 

CONTEXT

For the last year genetically modified (GM) food has been in the news almost every day! There are an enormous number of changes that can be made to organisms with genetic modification. These range from the introduction of fish genes into plants to lead to better frost resistance to modifications leading to rice plants producing more vitamin A. One of the most controversial additions is the 'terminator' gene, a stretch of DNA that renders the seeds produced by the plant infertile; this makes the plant unable to reproduce (and is used by seed companies to force farmers to buy new supplies of the seed each year). In the past varieties of crops and their seeds have not been owned by anyone. There is an increasing trend for biotechnology companies to patent GM crop varieties and thus own the exclusive right to produce and sell their seeds. This means that farmers in developing (and developed) countries will become dependent on these multinational seed-producing firms who will be able to charge high prices for patented varieties. read more