Does the scientific community have any harm to genetically modified products? A conclusion or a debate?

The Ministry of Agriculture approved the issuance of three biosafety certificates for genetically modified soybeans. The safety of transgenic technology has once again become the focus of debate. Especially for the problem of genetically modified food, there is a wide debate in society. At present, there are two diametrically opposed camps on the issue of genetically modified food in China. One is that genetically modified foods are safe, and there is no difference between non-genetically modified foods in terms of safety. Promoting the planting of genetically modified crops can reduce the use of pesticides, pesticides and fertilizers, reduce environmental pollution and solve many environmental problems brought about by industrial production. In sharp contrast, people who oppose genetically modified foods think that genetically modified foods may cause food safety problems. They are worried that genetically modified foods will cause human health problems and may also cause environmental problems. Some extreme opponents almost demonize genetically modified foods and think that genetically modified foods are "genocide".

Using DNA recombination technology, people can transfer foreign genes into the recipient biological genes according to the expected purpose, thus improving the awakening of the recipient biological. The organisms obtained in this way are genetically modified organisms, and the food produced by genetically modified organisms is genetically modified food. The biggest difference between genetically modified food and traditional food is that it is obtained by genetic engineering technology and contains exogenous genes that can theoretically come from any organism, which completely breaks the genetic boundary caused by reproductive isolation of different species.

At present, there are two kinds of commercial transgenic crops planted in large areas around the world: herbicide-resistant crops and insect-resistant crops.

Herbicide-resistant crops are the most commonly used commercial transgenic technology. Through transgenic means, crops can become insensitive to toxic chemicals. Generally speaking, herbicides can inhibit the enzymes needed for plant growth, making plants unable to produce critical protein, which eventually leads to plant death. Take glyphosate, the world's largest herbicide, as an example. It can inhibit EPSP synthase (an enzyme that can catalyze shikimic acid 3- phosphate to produce EPSP, which is a key step for plants to synthesize some essential amino acids such as tryptophan), so that plants can not produce the required protein, which eventually leads to withering and death. If crops can resist herbicides such as glyphosate, they will not worry about hurting crops when using herbicides. In the1980s, Monsanto discovered a glyphosate-resistant bacterium through research, and then through the continuous efforts of scientists, the related gene was finally implanted into corn. In this way, crops using glyphosate are produced without affecting the work of EPSP synthase in plants.

Insect pests cause large-scale crop yield reduction every year. For example, if control measures are not taken, global cotton production will lose 35% every year. Traditional pest control is a big business, and the sales of pesticides will bring billions of dollars to related manufacturers every year. Unfortunately, over time, pests will become resistant to pesticides, so farmers have to use larger doses. In this way, farmers not only increase the cost, but also increase the safety risk of agricultural products, so that a large number of toxic chemicals flow into the environment. Then, if plants can produce pesticides by themselves, won't all kinds of problems caused by using pesticides in large quantities be solved? This requires the use of transgenic technology. Scientists have studied many methods, and now it is a Bt crop which is implanted with the gene of Bacillus thuringiensis, so it can produce Bacillus thuringiensis pesticides. Bacillus thuringiensis has been used for pest control since the 1920s. It is a microbial insecticide. When pests chew crops and ingest Bacillus thuringiensis, the insecticidal bacteria produce spores and form a kind of protein toxin in the process of growth and development, which can destroy the digestive tract of pests, make them lose appetite, move slowly, vomit and diarrhea, and finally kill pests. So don't spray pesticides. Now, many crops including tobacco, tomatoes, potatoes, cotton and corn can use this technology.

The crops transformed by the above two commercial transgenic technologies are called the first generation transgenic crops. In recent years, varieties known as the second generation of genetically modified crops have been developed, such as "golden rice" which appeared on the cover of Time magazine and caused widespread controversy in China. The second generation of transgenic technology has transformed crops more complex and adopted a completely different research and development model, but it has not been commercialized on a large scale. Increasing output and reducing labor input is the inevitable direction of agricultural development. Transgene is one of the most practical methods at present. In the long run, the application of transgenic technology in food production will be the general trend. FAO estimates that by 2050, the world needs to increase food production by at least 40%. In the next 25 years, the continuous decrease of cultivated land, global climate change and deterioration of ecological environment will have a great impact on the food supply industry. The main producers of the world's three major food crops, rice, wheat and corn, are the countries most vulnerable to climate change, and there are more and more incidents of production reduction due to extreme weather, with increasing losses. It has been nearly twenty years since transgenic crops were first commercialized. Transgenic crops have greatly increased the yield of crops (about 98 billion US dollars) and reduced the use of pesticides (about 473 million kilograms).

From the application of transgenic technology, there are more and more transgenic crops. The world's largest producer of genetically modified crops is the United States, followed by Brazil, Argentina, Canada, India and China. By 20 12, 28 countries have planted transgenic crops, with a total area of1070,000 hectares. The transgenic crops planted in China are mainly transgenic cotton. From the perspective of food raw materials, genetically modified soybeans are the most consumed in China, and they are basically imported. Soybean oil and some blended oils sold in the market basically use genetically modified soybeans, mainly Arowana under Yihai Kerry (about 40% market share) and Fulinmen under COFCO (about 30% market share). In addition to soybeans, rapeseed, corn and related products are imported, and cottonseed oil and papaya are produced in China.