What are GM foods (and what are their health risks)

Genetically modified foods are those that have parts of DNA from other living organisms mixed with their own DNA. For example, some plants contain DNA from bacteria or fungi that produce natural herbicides, making them automatically protected against crop pests.

Foods that are genetically modified usually go through this process so that they have one or more of the following advantages:

Better quality of the final product, with more nutrients, for example; Greater resistance to pests; Greater resistance to pesticides used; Greater production and longer storage time.

To produce this type of food, producers need to buy seeds from companies that work with genetic engineering to produce GMOs, which ends up increasing the price of the product.

What are GM foods?

The main transgenic foods sold in Brazil are soy, corn and cotton, which give rise to products such as cooking oils, soy extract, textured soy protein, soy milk, sausage, margarine, pasta, crackers and cereals. Any food that contains ingredients such as corn starch, corn syrup and soy in the composition, will likely have transgenics in its composition.

According to Brazilian legislation, the food label with at least 1% of transgenic components must contain the transgenic identification symbol, represented with a yellow triangle with the letter T in black in the middle.

Health risks

The consumption of transgenic foods can bring the following health risks:

Increased allergies due to new proteins that can be produced by transgenics; Increased resistance to antibiotics, which contributes to reducing the effectiveness of these drugs in the treatment of bacterial infections; Increased toxic substances, which can end up harming man, to insects and plants; Greater amount of pesticides in products, as transgenics are more resistant to pesticides, allowing producers to use greater amounts to protect the plantation from pests and weeds.

To avoid these risks, the best way out is to consume organic food, which also stimulates the increase in the offer of this product line and supports small producers who do not use transgenics and pesticides in plantations. Learn the advantages of organic foods.

Risks for the Environment

The production of transgenic foods allows a greater use of pesticides and pesticides in plantations, which increases the risk of contamination of the soil and water with these chemical substances, which will end up being consumed in greater proportions by the population and leaving the soil poorer.

In addition, the overuse of pesticides and pesticides can stimulate the appearance of herbs and pests that are more resistant to them, making it increasingly difficult to control the quality of the plantation.

Finally, small farmers are also at a disadvantage because, if they buy seeds from GM foods, they will be paying fees to the big companies that produce these seeds, and will always be obliged to buy new seeds annually, according to contracts that are established. See which foods contain the most pesticides.

Transgenic rice can fight HIV

Transgenic rice is a genetically modified type of food, that is, its DNA has been modified to have a specific characteristic, such as producing proteins that help fight HIV.

The seeds of transgenic rice produce 3 proteins, the monoclonal antibody 2G12 and the lectins griffithsin and cyanovirin-N, which bind to the virus and neutralize its ability to infect the body's cells.

These seeds can be grown at very low costs, which makes treating the disease much cheaper. In addition, these seeds can be ground and used in creams and ointments for use on the skin, fighting the virus that is normally present in the secretions of sexual organs.

Other types of transgenic rice

Another type of transgenic rice is called Golden Rice, which was modified to be richer in beta-carotene, a type of vitamin A. This rice was created especially to combat the lack of this vitamin in places of extreme poverty, such as in Asian regions. Vitamin A deficiency can lead to problems such as blindness, weak immune systems, diarrhea and respiratory infections. See which foods are the richest in vitamin A.

There is also the Liberty Link 62 rice, which is another type of transgenic rice produced by the Bayer brand. However, this rice has no health benefits, as it was developed only to resist ammonium glufosinate, a substance present in Bayer's pesticide. However, ANVISA claims that this pesticide substance poses health risks for pregnant and breastfeeding women.