The Disadvantages in Food Biotechnology

The Disadvantages in Food Biotechnology

    I believe there are more disadvantages than advantages in food biotechnology. First of all, biotechnology is very unstable. The DNA chain in our food might collapse after a few generations because each time a new gene is inserted, 5% of the original DNA is damaged. Eventually, the nutrients in our food might change dramatically. In addition, people insert signal beacon to make sure the RNA makes the protein we desire, but it may also lead to undesirable consequences. For example, deadly proteins may be produced because of the insertion. Secondly, biotechnology may also bring new diseases. To identify the cells with inserted genes, scientists add ARMs into the cells, which can’t be dissolved in our body and will linger in our blood, intestine, liver, and spleen. If the ARMs are horizontally transferred to the bacteria, the bacteria may develop resistance to our antibiotics. Then, it won’t be long until all our medicine become useless. Thirdly, there are more pollution in biotech health products. For example, a virus, Strain V, is used to make L-tryptophan. This type of virus is very efficient, but it also brings more health problems to humans. Since L-tryptophan is poison for Strain V, these viruses produce other enzymes to protect themselves. The problem is, these enzymes cause serious health problems, such as the loss of neural control, headache, heart diseases, etc. Some people may even die if the condition is too serious. Some scientists consider ourselves very lucky that those problems are significant. If those problems do not appear until 30 years later, it’ll be difficult for us to find the cause is. In summary, I think there are a lot of downside in food biotechnology, so we need to think twice before making the decision that may change the future of our planet.