Genetic Engineering has sparked debates and interests. It has the power to modify the building blocks of life, while also increasing income, agricultural efficiency and potentially even reducing food waste. Technologies for genetically modifying foods offer dramatic responses for meeting some of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. 

According to Thomas Lanigan, Huira Kopera and Thomas Saunders, researchers for the National Library of Medicine, “Genetic engineering is the use of molecular biology technology to modify DNA sequences in gene pools, using a variety of approaches.” It can be done by adding, removing or modifying genes within the organism’s genetic code, to receive desired traits in the organism that wouldn’t have naturally occurred.

Papayas, a beloved summer fruit, was almost wiped out entirely; the only reason we are able to eat Hawaiian papayas today is due to genetic engineering.  Without biotechnology, “There is no papaya industry. Simple as that,” says Dennis Gonsalves, a scientist at Cornell University, and a co-developer of the GMO papaya. In the 1940s a ringspot virus hit Hawaai causing production to fall 50%, however Gonsalves developed a genetically modified papaya, also known as the rainbow papaya designed to be resistant to the virus. GMO papayas have made a large difference in production, the disease infected trees could only produce 5,000 pounds worth of papayas, while the GMO papaya trees produced 125,000 pounds worth. For farmers GMO papayas have made a huge difference, “The difference of going GM means one less worry about crop failure from the virus that remains ever-present to this day,” says Joni Kimaya, daughter of a papaya farmer.

According to Holly Eaton, a sustainability student at Indiana University, another benefit of genetic engineering is improved shelf life for fruits and vegetables. Longer shelf life for fruits and vegetables in stores could decrease the gross wastage associated with transportation and storage. When produce has a longer shelf life it can stay fresh for longer periods of time allowing retailers to sell more, and also reducing the amount of produce that would be thrown away. Also, if fruits and vegetables can stay fresh for longer, they can be transported to greater distances without the fear of them deteriorating, expanding the market for farmers and grocers. This would economically help our society.

With any powerful and useful tool, there comes debate. There are some people who believe that using genetic engineering isn’t safe for various reasons. For example, since GMO contains foreign genes, some people worry that they harbour genes from foods that may prompt an allergic reaction. However, researchers who develop GMO run tests to ensure that allergens aren’t transferred from one food to another. Another concern people have is that GMO could cause cancer. Since cancer is caused by DNA mutations, people are concerned that eating foods with added genes could affect your DNA. However, many scientists have stated that GM foods are just as safe to eat as regular foods. The American Cancer Society has also stated that there is no evidence to link GMO food intake to an increased risk of cancer, and GM foods are very carefully monitored around the world.

Due to genetically modified foods being safe, economically helpful for people such as farmers, and also food waste, I believe that more money should be donated to scientists and researchers so that more studies, like the tomato sweetening study, can be funded.