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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    What are bioengineered foods, and are they safe?

    Related Topic
    Nutrition
    • 2 answers
    • Nicole Senior
    • Dr Simon Easterbrook-Smith
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    Nicole Senior

    Dietitian, Nutritionist

    I'm an Accredited Practising Dietitian and Nutritionist, consultant, author, speaker and food and health enthusiast. I love talking and writing about food and health.(please note, … View Profile

    The term bioengineered foods refers to foods produced using Genetic Modification (or GM). We currently don't produce any GM foods in Australia, and any imported foods with GM sold here must be pre-approved before they are sold to ensure safety. Any GM foods must also be labelled so you can make an informed choice. Genetic Modification is a way of fast-tracking the creation of a desired characteristic in a crop. In the past it took a long time to create changes through selective breeding whereas now GM technology allows plant scientitists to change the DNA, or genetic blueprint, of a plant to creat the desired trait straight away. For example, common GM plants are resistant to particular pests or herbicides. GM also offers a means to nutritionally improve food crops as well, such as rice with increased levels of vitamin A. There is a lot of controversy about GM foods and most of the information out there is negative and not a good representation of the science (but rather driven by emotion, ethics, ideology, fear and misunderstanding). There are positives and negatives to GM foods, but lack of safety is not well supported by the science.
    You can read more about GM food in my book Food Myths (New Holland) or check out the Food Standards Australia and New Zealand fact sheet at http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumerinformation/gmfoods/ 

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    Dr Simon Easterbrook-Smith

    Health Professional

    My research interests include immunology and the mechanisms of amyloid formation. The latter has implications for people who are dealing with Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease … View Profile

    I agree with what Nicole has written.

    My take on it as a scientist, not a health professional, is that it is important to look at things on a case-by-case basis. Examples:

    (1) Most people with Type I diabetes get insulin which comes from a genetically modified organism (yeast which has been genetically modified to make human insulin) - a good thing.

    (2) As Nicole alludes to, many children in Third World countries go blind because their diets are deficient in Vitamin A. So-called “Golden Rice”, which has been genetically modified to make high levels of Vitamin A can help here - a good thing.

    (3) Some food plants have been genetically modified so they are resistant to herbicides like RoundUp - I doubt that this is a good thing.

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