What is safe genetically modified food

What is a safe genetically modified food

Transgene is a breeding technology, it does not matter whether it is safe or harmful. Safe food can be transferred out, or unsafe food can be transferred out. The safety of a genetically modified food needs to be determined by a safety risk assessment. Only those species that are only safer than the corresponding traditional food can be approved for planting.

In recent months, the term “GM” has incited the public’s sensitive nerves from time to time – GM wheat crops that have been planted for many years have mysteriously appeared in a certain place in the United States; the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture approved the release of three types of genetically modified soybeans; three GM experts have won this year’s “World” Food Prize? However, when many people face these news, they always put a “safety question mark” on the various genetically modified foods in their hearts.

What are the things we must know about GM?

GM is a technology, products need to talk about security

People often ask “Are genetically safe and unsafe?” In fact, this is an unanswered question. Transgenic technology is a technology. Just like “brown” is a technology, we cannot answer whether “breast is delicious” and we cannot answer whether “transgene is safe”. Braised meat can make delicious meat, and it can also make unpalatable meat. To understand it, you should be able to understand: Transgenic can make safe crops, and can also make unsafe crops.

When we talk about whether or not pork meat is delicious, it can only be a specific dish of pork. Similarly, when we discuss whether "genetically modified foods are safe," they must also be targeted at a specific genetically modified product. This is the “case principle” in genetically modified safety audits – it must be a safety review of every specific product. Only plants that are approved for planting are safe products, and those that fail to pass inspections are prohibited from planting.

When we say “pork-flavored meat is delicious” or “not good-to-eat,” it is intentionally or unintentionally compared to a standard. If there is no comparison standard, then there is no way to talk about "good" or "bad." The same holds true for the discussion of the safety of a food product. If there is no safe benchmark, talk about "safety" in an empty way - or "absolutely safe" as many people expect it to be, it cannot be discussed. "Absolute security" cannot be logically proved.

We cannot prove that eating tens of thousands of years of food is "absolutely safe." For example, peanuts, wheat, broad beans, milk, cassava and other foods all have a long history of eating. Until modern times, people knew that they may cause allergies or poisoning to some people, which can lead to death. In general, we can accept that foods that have a long history of eating are "safe." Therefore, when assessing the safety of genetically modified crops, we compared the genetically modified crops with the corresponding non-reconstructed crops. If the former may not have a higher “safety risk” than the latter, it considers that the two are “risk equivalents. ". Since we believe that the latter is "safe," it should be accepted that the former is also safe. This is the "risk assessment" in the GM food safety audit - it is not to prove that the genetically modified product is "absolutely safe", but to assess whether it has increased safety risks compared with the corresponding non-genetically modified species.

GM product safety review

"Case review" and "risk assessment" are the two most basic principles in the safety review of genetically modified products. When a GM variety emerges, how does the "risk assessment" proceed?

If we come to a strange place and see a strange food, we often give the question "Can this stuff eat?" Man as an animal, this should be an instinct for self-protection, nothing wrong. At this time, if there are people we trust who describe in detail the raw materials and methods of production of these foods, and the possibilities of these “material problems” and production methods are predictable and controllable, then many people can probably Accept this kind of "new food".

The risk assessment of genetically modified foods is equivalent to assessing the risk that each raw material and each operation step may bring.

The Codex Alimentarius Commission has a detailed assessment guide. Here are only the most critical aspects:

First, the source of the transgene. Any transgene has a clear purpose, and this purpose is achieved by the transferred gene. As for people who are worried, "If you transfer the genes of pigs to food and how Hui people compatriots eat them," it is purely worrying. Not to mention whether there are genes in the pig that are helpful for grain growth. Even if it is changed, it will be clearly explained, and it will not lead to "ingestion." Just as hiring an employee investigates its background, it also examines its background before transferring a gene.

Genes that go into food crops must be “innocent”—species that provide this gene generally need “a long history of safe use,” no toxicity, no allergies, and so on. For example, the most common insect-resistant gene, Bt, comes from a bacterium that is widespread in nature. Since the 1920s, the expression product of the Bt gene in bacteria, the Bt insect-resistant protein, has been used as a "green pesticide" and can be used in organic cultivation. By the time the Bt gene was transferred to pests in crops, the Bt protein had had a history of "safe use" for decades.

Second, to determine the safety of gene expression products. For example, the expression product of the Bt gene is the Bt protein, and it needs to be confirmed that it will be digested by the human gastrointestinal tract, will not be active, and will not be activated and toxic as if eaten by insects. At the same time, make sure that it does not cause allergies. For example, golden rice, the gene expressed by the transferred gene is carotene. The safety audit needs to confirm that the carotene expressed in this way is the same as the carotene usually eaten by people, but it will not exceed the “safe intake” under the normal consumption of rice.

Third, we must also consider whether the gene transfer after the gene transfer will affect the gene expression of the crop itself and thus produce harmful components. Modern molecular biology techniques can more clearly identify the impact of other genes after gene transfer. If there is no effect, there will be no substantial difference between the chemical composition of the GM crop and the corresponding traditional crop. If there is an impact, it is necessary to further evaluate whether these impacts are good or bad. If it is good, it would be a pleasant surprise; if it is bad, then the GM crop will collapse.

In fact, other “traditional” breeding methods, such as hybrid breeding and mutation breeding, may also undergo a third change.

Environmental safety of transgenic species

In addition to food safety, the environmental safety of genetically modified crops is a high-profile aspect. For example, fear of herbicide-resistant genes drifting into the natural world to produce "super weeds", fear of insect-resistant transgenes leading to "super pests," or fearing that transgenic animals with superior growth ability will enter the natural world to destroy the ecological balance.

In theory, these "possibility" exist. Therefore, in addition to the use of safety assessments, GM crops should be listed for separate environmental safety assessments. The basic concept of assessment is similar to the use of safety, but also from the origin of the gene, to each step of genetic manipulation, to the planting of plants or the breeding of animals, and the subsequent processing and treatment, and step by step assessment of the possible impact on the environment. Only if these effects are predictable, controllable, and no larger than conventional crops, the GM variety can be approved.

The environmental assessment of genetically modified salmon is a good example. After evaluation, this GM variety that grows twice as fast as ordinary salmon has three lines of defense to prevent it from destroying the ecology: First, the breeding and breeding of fish fry are carried out in closed factories, with strict isolation measures to prevent escape; and second, fry Breeding and the surrounding environment of the farm area are not suitable for the growth of this fish, even if it escapes, it is difficult to survive. Third, the genetically modified salmon is all triploid female and does not have mating and reproduction ability. Even if they are in nature, only Can be single and old, and can not "open branches and leaves." Therefore, the FDA believes that it poses "extremely low probability" of environmental risks.

Due to the rigorous scientific expression, FDA will not say "does not affect the environment." But if we compare this kind of salmon with dumplings, we will find that its environmental safety is much higher than that of dumplings:

Zongzi is derived from the mating of species with relatively distant kinships: horses and donkeys. Their size, weight-bearing capacity, flexibility, and ability to run are all different. They can be considered as a new species; although they are generally not fertile, However, there are very few exceptions for females; the breeding of scorpions is open and they may go wild and wild horse mating.

This genetically modified salmon only transferred two genes: one Chinook salmon from the Pacific Ocean and one from the oceanic cod. The introduction of these two genes, in addition to making them grow faster, did not significantly alter the biomorphology and chemical composition. In terms of species classification, it still meets the characteristics of Atlantic (6.09, 0.03, 0.50%) salmon. It can be said that the difference between it and the corresponding "wild salmon" is far less than the difference between a scorpion and a horse or a donkey.

As for the emergence of super weeds or super pests, there are indeed such examples. However, it should be noted that pesticides and herbicides are used even without genetic modification. As long as they are used, resistant pests and weeds will appear. Whether or not the transgene exacerbated or delayed their occurrence must be assessed through in-depth evaluation. However, from the history of the large-scale planting of genetically modified crops in the United States for the past 20 years, it seems that after a rigorous assessment of the varieties, under the proper planting mode, the impact on the ecology is less than people's estimates.

All in all, genetic modification is a breeding technology that is not safe or harmful in itself. Safe food can be transferred, and unsafe food can also be transferred out. The safety of a genetically modified food needs to be determined by a safety risk assessment. Only those species that are only as safe as the corresponding traditional food can be approved for planting. And those products that are “suspicious” of safety cannot pass the examination, and they can only die in experiments.

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