Like what you've read?

On Line Opinion is the only Australian site where you get all sides of the story. We don't
charge, but we need your support. Here�s how you can help.

  • Advertise

    We have a monthly audience of 70,000 and advertising packages from $200 a month.

  • Volunteer

    We always need commissioning editors and sub-editors.

  • Contribute

    Got something to say? Submit an essay.


 The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
On Line Opinion logo ON LINE OPINION - Australia's e-journal of social and political debate

Subscribe!
Subscribe





On Line Opinion is a not-for-profit publication and relies on the generosity of its sponsors, editors and contributors. If you would like to help, contact us.
___________

Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

The case for GM food

By David Tribe - posted Tuesday, 22 November 2005


One example is new vegetable oils that contain omega 3 fatty acids, which will become available in cotton seed, soybean and canola vegetable oils in the near future. Omega 3 is the name given to certain essential fatty nutrients such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). There is a substantial body of scientific research that demonstrates these oils can improve health. Ocean microbes are the current important primary source of these oils, and these reach the human diet through fish and fish oils.

The next Australian GM food to reach the market place could well be a cottonseed oil with omega 3 DHA in it. The health-promoting characteristics of such an oil would be very attractive as it would promise less heart disease, less rheumatism, protection against Alzheimer’s disease, and augmented intelligence in children.

The availability of vegetable oils containing DHA could help to relieve threatened ocean fish stocks from the ecological pressure of intensive ocean fishing. In such a situation, hypothetical undefined long-term risks of the GM crop would seem less important to many consumers.

Advertisement

This article has attempted to illustrate the risks and benefits of GM foods with examples for which we have factual knowledge. This allows an evidence based discussion of the likely positive and negative consequences of the wider use or the food in question to be explored based on actual risks.

Most safety concerns about GM foods come from focusing on unintended damage to human health from eating the new food and avoids discussion of the unintended harm from preventing its use. New technologies can even have unanticipated beneficial consequences.

Alertness to these unexpected benefits of innovation opens up new avenues for improving human welfare. Bias against allowing actual human welfare benefits from novel technology because of excessive precaution has the opposite effect. Examples include unnecessary delays in the delivery of Golden Rice to farmers, and the recent rejection of US maize shipments of food aid during a 2002 food crisis in sub-Saharan Africa, based on arguments about the GM content in the food.

It is to avoid such situations that the health benefits of crop innovation, scientific research and biotechnology in general need to be repeatedly spelt out to the wider community.

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. Page 3
  5. All

Article edited by Angus Ibbott.
If you'd like to be a volunteer editor too, click here.

This article was first published as "The Case for Gene Techonology" in Issues, September 2005.



Discuss in our Forums

See what other readers are saying about this article!

Click here to read & post comments.

447 posts so far.

Share this:
reddit this reddit thisbookmark with del.icio.us Del.icio.usdigg thisseed newsvineSeed NewsvineStumbleUpon StumbleUponsubmit to propellerkwoff it

About the Author

David Tribe is a Senior Lecturer, at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne. Visit his webblog GMO Pundit here.

Other articles by this Author

All articles by David Tribe

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Photo of David Tribe
Article Tools
Comment 447 comments
Print Printable version
Subscribe Subscribe
Email Email a friend
Advertisement

About Us Search Discuss Feedback Legals Privacy