Dear Editor,
Genetically modified (GM) animals have been examined and challenged by different institutions these years. Should we eat GM animals? In our interrelations with animals, where should we draw lines and why? My view as a student is GM animals open a new door to tackling world hunger and food shortage. Also, GM animals are one type of GM food and pose a low risk to human health.
All GM food is assessed for safety, including its toxicological, nutritional and allergenic potential, on a case-by-case basis before it can be approved for marketing. In fact, we have been eating GM crops indirectly for years. GM ingredients in animal feed such as maize that is used to feed chickens are later eaten by mankind. There is no proof that eating GM crops causes any health problems to the animals. So, why do GM animals have a risk for human beings to eat? Human beings have always eaten the GM DNA without suffering any health problems. Given that DNA is still DNA, eating it should not pose any greater risk than eating non-GM DNA. Frankly speaking, no one has ever been reported as suffering from illness because the food they have eaten have been genetically modified.
Some may argue that GM animals will change the DNA of non-GM animals and spoil the natural habitat by interbreeding. But there is little risk of the GM animals escaping to the wild because they are designed to be grown in the science farms. Even if they do escape, the GM animals will not interbreed with wild animals as GM eggs can be designed to develop into sterile females, like the case of GM salmon.
GM animals can benefit human beings in the end. Meat, cheese and wool can be produced at a lower cost. Eating GM animals helps meet the demand of the fast-growing population. It can be legitimately argued that because more people in countries like China are eating meat as they become more affluent, such improvements in production efficiency would be needed to meet demand.
GM animals are a great leap forward in easing the world hunger problem, too. They can be designed to cater for the change of climate, and this opens a new door for the sustainability of development in human future.
Many people are unwittingly consuming GM-related products: meat from cattle-fed GM soya and some caterers illegally using GM vegetable oil without telling diners. We have been eating GM food for nearly two decades and it seems that GM food is not a real health problem to humans and the environment.
Yours faithfully
Chris Wong