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Danielle Gonser
Miss Noffsinger
Biotech
01 February 2016
Genetically Engineered Foods/Organisms

Do genetically engineered foods pose a health risk to human health? Does protein
synthesis play a big part in genetic engineering? What is one method of genetic engineering? All
of these questions are very important to the process, and safety of genetically engineered foods.
Genetically engineered foods do pose a health risk, and they are harmful to the environment.
Fresh foods have valuable proteins, and the process of genetically engineered foods can interfere
with protein synthesis, and these proteins.
Many people dont really understand the process of genetically engineered foods, and
how they are made. There are many different techniques to create these genetically engineered
foods. However, there is one specific method that most GMO foods use. This method includes
how genetically engineered foods typically are injected with DNA from another organism that
has a gene that is wanted amongst another organism. For example, if you have an organic stalk
of corn growing, but bugs keep eating it, you take DNA from a different stalk of corn that has a
gene for keeping away bugs. Then you would inject the organic corn stalk, with the DNA from
the healthier stalk, to help keep the bugs away from eating the organic stalk. Thats one common
method of genetically modified food (Moss, page 1).

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Many things can be harmful to the environment such as carbon, and other fumes and
gases. One of the many things that are becoming much more popular recently, is GMO's. These
GMO's are harmful to the environment, by killing bugs, and other important organisms. For
example, some corn and cotton crops have pesticides, and poisons in them to kill bugs that try to
eat the crops. While these bugs may be eating the crops, the bugs can help us later by spreading
pollen, and seeds to help grow more crops (Smith, page 1).
Even with all of the harmful chemicals, there is a major problem with affecting the
proteins within the organism. Due to protein synthesis, there is a very complicated process
involved with the proteins, and how they are made. If one thing goes wrong during the
modification, the whole plant could die or be mutated. Protein synthesis is basically the
transformation of proteins and DNA, being replicated, transformed, and transferred into different
areas within the cell (From Gene to Protein). It all starts with two DNA strands that are paired
together. Then, the strands are unzipped and read to make sure that there arent any problems
with the DNA. Next, one strand of the unzipped DNA is coded and is called the, template
strand. This strand will be the basis of all of the complementary DNA strands, as well as the
mRNA strand. The mRNA strand is single stranded, and it also has to be coded for the amino
acid codons (Protein Synthesis). The amino acid codons are three letters each and they stand for
different proteins in the sequence. If even one letter or base is wrong or somehow messed up, the
whole organism can die or be mutated.
So, if you have a gene that kills bugs, and you are going to put it into a different
organism, chances are that you could be messing up the reading, and coding of the organism,
which could make it unhealthy to eat. Its sort of like an organ transplant on a human. If you have

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a liver failure, and you need a new one, they have to take someone elses liver. With this persons
liver they basically inject it into you. So, it is basically like the same thing as genetically
engineered foods, but on a person.
Along with all of these other problems, there is a huge risk of health issues, as well. Some
of these include: toxicity, allergic reactions, resistance to antibiotics, cancer, and many others
(GE Food & Your Health). Dr. Amy Dean, a Michigan internal medicine specialist says, I
strongly recommend patients eat strictly non-genetically modified foods. Also, children, babies,
and pregnant women have the worst risk of being intoxicated, and getting sick due to the
increase and danger of genetically modified foods (Smith, page 1).
Many people are for genetically engineered foods, because of how much easier and faster
it makes harvesting crops. These people also say that it helps the economy by employing more
people, and giving them jobs. They may also say that 80% of processed foods in the U.S. are
genetically modified (GMO Facts). And that GMOs are helpful, because they can eliminate
error, in the crops, and make them more efficient to consumers. In fact, they would say that
bananas were actually developed through genetic modification, to help eliminate diseases such as
cholera and hepatitis (Examples of Genetic Engineering).
However, even though these things may be true, they can still be harmful, and negatively
impact your health. Ohio allergist Dr. John Boyles says, I used to test for soy allergies all the
time, but now soy is genetically engineered, it is so dangerous that I tell people never to eat it
(Smith). Pro-GMO people think that it creates more jobs, and it will increase the employment
rate, but it actually doesnt, because farmers who grow fresh organic produce are having to
struggle selling their food to local markets. It is troublesome, because not all the time is their

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produce great; It may be most of the time, but not 100%. They are having trouble, because since
GMO foods are popular, and taste better these farmers are going to go out of business, and
become unemployed, so the employment rate would increase, yes, but it would also decrease,
due to the drop of farmer jobs. So, all in all the employment rate would stay about the same
(Survey: Organic Farmers Pay the Price for GMO Contamination, 2013).
All in all genetically modified foods, can pose a huge health risk to the environment,
people, and other organisms. Genetically engineered organisms are harmful, and they should be
stopped. Not only are they causing intoxication, and sickness, but they are also causing
unemployment amongst farmers, and other citizens that grow fresh, organic produce for a living.
While, some parts of them can be good, they are mostly harmful, and unhealthy. That is why
genetically engineered organisms should no longer be able to be created, and used to help create
organisms that can withstand different climates, and different surroundings.

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Works Cited

Examples of Genetic Engineering. (n.d.). Retrieved January 18, 2016, from Your Dictionary:
examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-genetic-engineering.html
From Gene to Protein. (n.d.). Retrieved January 18, 2016, from Gene Primer:
www.uvm.edu/~cgep/Education/Gene2Prot.html
GE Food & Your Health. (n.d.). Retrieved January 18, 2016, from Center For Food Safety:
www.centerforfoodsafety.org/issues/311/ge-foods/ge-food-and-your-health#
GMO Facts. (n.d.). Retrieved January 18, 2016, from NON GMO Project:
www.nongmoproject.org/learn-more/
Moss, B. (n.d.). Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs): Transgenic Crops and Recombinant
DNA Technology. Retrieved January 18, 2016, from Scitable:
www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/genetically-modified-organisms-gmos-transgeniccrops-and-732
Protein Synthesis . (n.d.). Retrieved January 18, 2016, from Virtual Chembook:
chemistry.elmhurst.edu/vchembook/584proteinsyn.html
Smith, J. M. (n.d.). Doctors Warn: Avoid Genetically Modified Food. Retrieved January 18,
2016, from IRT: responsibletechnology.org/doctors-warn/
Survey: Organic Farmers Pay the Price for GMO Contamination. (2013, March 3). Retrieved
January 18, 2016, from Food & Water Watch: www.foodandwaterwatch.org/news/surveyorganic-farmers-pay-price-gmo-contamination