There is an opinion that today almost everything that gets to our table contains GMOs - genetically modified organisms. In part, these suspicions are justified. Despite the fact that only 3 GM plants are actively cultivated in the world, there are 27 GM crops on the market (336 varieties), traces of which are found in many products.
GMO
Genetically modified organisms are plants, animals and bacteria in which foreign genes are inserted into their DNA to improve any useful properties in the laboratory. Some objects are planted with alien genes to increase their resistance to viruses, pesticides (pest control drugs) and herbicides (weed control drugs), others - to increase yields and resistance to adverse environmental conditions. Unlike selection, where a new plant species appears from the crossing of organisms belonging to the same biological species, genetic engineering interferes with the genotype by introducing a gene of an alien genus into it.
GM plants
To increase the protein content in corn, a rat gene was inserted into its genetic structure. Likewise, cold-resistant tomatoes with the North Atlantic flounder or jellyfish gene, drought-resistant wheat with the scorpion gene, a parasite-protected apple with the moth gene, herbicide-resistant soybeans with the E. coli gene, pest-protected potatoes with the snowdrop gene and rice with the human gene were born liver. By the way, the rat gene was also used to increase the vitamin content of spinach, the material of which was inserted into the pig's DNA to breed a breed with lean meat.
Despite the fact that since 1999 the import of products containing GMOs has been allowed in Russia, there is a ban on the cultivation of genetically modified crops on its territory, although there is an increased interest in varieties with mutations in the world agriculture. The authorities of the USA, Argentina, Paraguay, India, Canada, Brazil, South Africa, China, Bangladesh do not see any danger in GM plants, allowing farmers to sow their fields with unique varieties of sugar beets, papaya, eggplant, sweet peppers and tomatoes.
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However, the sowing area of these crops is too modest for such a crop to be exported. Today in the world there are 4 agricultural GM crops that are cultivated on a really large scale. These are soybeans, corn, rapeseed and cotton that is not used for food purposes.
Soy
Currently, 95% of the soybeans grown on the planet are genetically modified. And although this representative of the legume family, a recognized storehouse of vegetable protein, rarely flaunts in its pure form on the plates of Russians, it is part of a huge amount of food that is eaten every day. Transgenic soybeans, which can be hidden on the product label under the names "lecithin", "vegetable fat", "vegetable protein", "soy flour", "vegetable whey", "E322", is used in the production of meat and dairy products.
All semi-finished meat products and dairy products contain in their composition a sufficient proportion of GM-soybeans, a part of which in cheap products can reach 70-90%. By the way, you should not make a choice in favor of buying unprocessed meat, since on the Russian market 40% of this product is of foreign origin, and in most countries specializing in the export of this product, fattening of livestock with GM soy is allowed. GM soybean oil is added to a variety of pastes and sauces, and the structuring, sweetening and coloring agents synthesized from it serve as ingredients in bakery and confectionery products, and are even used in baby food.
Corn
GM corn, widely cultivated in the Americas, South Africa and the Philippines, is very popular in the agricultural segment of the world market. According to biologist Alexander Viktorov, one part of the harvest of genetically modified varieties of maize is used in these countries for the production of ethyl alcohol and sugar syrups, and the other is utilized as feed for livestock.
GM corn is also used in canning, breakfast cereals (corn sticks, flakes, muesli mixes) and baked goods as a "flour enhancer", ascorbic acid, or "dough impregnator". Reading into the composition of this or that product, one should not lose sight of the names "polenta", "corn flour" and "corn oil", "starch", "high fructose syrup", "molasses", because they often hide the same GM -corn.
Rape
Herbicide-resistant, GM canola makes up 95% of Canada's rapeseed plantations. Containing several fatty acids at once, in the food industry it is used for the production of rapeseed oil, which is used both as an independent product and as an integral part in the manufacture of margarine. The most successful variant of GM-rapeseed is the Canola variety, from which the lion's share of oil with the same name is squeezed out.
Assorted GMO
In addition to the listed food products, which contain GMOs in one form or another, there is a whole list of food products that have their genetically modified analogue in the world. Among fruits and berries, similar varieties are watermelon, cherry, pineapple, banana, raspberry, melon, coconut, strawberry, grapes, kiwi, plum, mango. In the family of cereals, GM-twins are found in sunflower, sugarcane, barley, sorghum, and in the vegetable circle, cauliflower, broccoli, peas, carrots, onions, cucumber, zucchini and pumpkin are represented by transgenic modifications.
Even the inhabitants of the underwater world, in which tilapia, carp, salmon and about 15 other species of fish have relatives with altered genes, have come to the attention of genetic engineers. In addition, GMOs can be included in dietary supplements taken with food.
Ashkhen Avanesova
