《英语流行话题阅读:语境识词4500》75 The Concerns about Genetically Modified Food

　　Unit 75

The Concerns about Genetically 3 Modified Food

Genetic 2 Modification 4 (GM) has the power to save lives through its use in medicine, such as the production of insulin for diabetics or the treatment of genetic disorders 5. The current outcry comes when it is used to produce food. Some of these public concerns reflect real problems, but others are fuelled by misinformation and over-dramatization.

There is nothing new about crop modification; plant breeders have been doing this since agriculture began. The wonderful range of apples or potatoes we now enjoy is the result of crossing different varieties. Cabbages, Brussels sprouts 6, cauliflower, kohlrabi and broccoli 7 all originated from one botanical species.

Modern molecule 8 biology has enabled us to go much further. We can now isolate 9 the gene 1 from a particular characteristic of an organism and transfer it to another species. It is this practice of transforming a plant with alien genes 10 -- perhaps from an animal or bacterium 11 --that is causing all the controversy 12.

There are four main concerns.

Scientists can now take a gene for resistance to particular herbicide and transplant it to a crop: when these plants are sprayed with weedkiller, the weeds were destroyed while the crop is unharmed. A prime concern is the harmful effect this could have on the biodiversity of farmland, where so many insects, birds and other animals depend on "weed" species.

Another fear is that alien genes from a GM plant could escape into a wild population of a related species. Since plants are fertilized 13 by pollen 14 carried through air, often for long distances, this is entirely 15 possible. A wild species modified in this way with pesticide 16 resistance could become a superweed, while a species that became unnaturally 17 resistant 18 to animals could disrupt the food chain.

The third worry concerns a proposal to produce seeds for cereals that cannot produce next year's seeds. This "terminator technology" would benefit seed companies, since farms would be forced to buy new seeds annually 19. But the same technology could be devastating 20 to some farmers in the developing countries who depend on saving seeds for next year's crop. Fortunately this technology is not yet in use and there has been strong pressure to abandon it.

It is unlikely that the current modifications 21 are harmful to health. However the introduction of animal genes into plants presents considerable ethical 22 difficulties to vegetarians 23 and members of religions that forbid the eating of certain animals. This is why people are demanding all GM food products be labeled. The public has a right to know what they are eating -- and a right to choose. In America GM is well regulated, but this cannot be said for some other nations. One problem is that this technology is commercially motivated. Because companies developing GM food want to introduce it as quickly as possible, it is being rushed without adequate research or precautions.

GM is here to stay, and there is no doubt it will save lives. But like so many other scientific discoveries -- such as splitting the atom -- it can be seriously misused 24. Instead of condemning 25 the techniques, we should ensure it is used wisely. We need to evaluate each application carefully, from environmental and ethical standpoints, and we must urge governments and companies to use GM for good rather than for greed.