Economic cost adopting GM crops

Many reports of organizations or in support or criticism of genetically modified foods have been published, and the number of applications has increased or decreased the profitability of agricultural practices, including GMOs can be found in world literature.

A review of the National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy concluded that biotechnology has and will continue to have a significant impact on improved efficiency, reduced costs and reduce pesticide use producer. GM Bt cotton appears to have significant benefits for small farmers in many parts of the world. On the other hand, some report lower yields, continued dependency on chemical sprays, the loss of exports and profits for farmers critical reduced following the use of biotechnology.

A U.S. Department of Agriculture report on the economic impact of GM crops summarized a positive impact of the adoption of Bt cotton on the farm system, but a negative impact in the case of an improvement in the performance of Bt corn also been observed with the herbicide tolerant maize, while significant was observed with soybeans resistant to herbicides.

A detailed study by the European Commission on the economic impact of GM crops on agriculture has concluded that the rapid adoption by farmers in the United States was the result of expectations of strong profitability. However, there is no conclusive evidence on profitability at farm level of GM crops.

The advantage of the land the most immediate and tangible benefits to farmers of GM crops seems to be a combination of performance and convenience of genetically modified crops - in particular the varieties resistant to herbicides. These crops allow for more flexibility in cropping practices and in some cases, due to reduced work or flexible. For insect-resistant crops like Bt corn, production losses are reduced compared to conventional maize. However, cost-effectiveness of Bt corn depends on a number of factors, in particular growing conditions.

The profitability of GM crops should be tested over a long period of time. First, there are significant fluctuations in annual yield and price and it is difficult to isolate the possible effects of biotechnology. Second, changes in supply and demand of the food chain must be considered together. A recent study analyzed the international spread of the result of the use of GMOs shows the need to differentiate between cultures and regions. In China, a region with a base generally high pesticide and pesticide poisoning among farmers, a report showed that use of Bt cotton significantly reduced pesticide use without reducing the output per hectare and the quality cotton. This led to significant health and economic benefits for small farmers.

There seems to be evidence of the profitability of GM crops in specific situations, especially growing conditions are strongly dependent on regional agro-ecological factors, particularly the reference pressure of pests and pesticides. On the other hand, it seems that there are situations where these factors do not allow the profitability of GM crops, or when other practices for the installation may be more value for various reasons or market Regional.

Assessment of the impact of GM foods on human health

Introduction of GM crops for human consumption has been fraught with controversy and conflict of interests of various parties such as governments, companies and research institutions and farmers and consumers. To balance the stakes of all stakeholders and to carry out an appropriate procedure for risk assessment, it is essential that the first and most important assessment of their impact on human health is given due consideration by policy makers around the world . It is not that the world governing bodies are not aware of the problem. In July 2003, the Codex Commission adopted the following principles, which although not binding on national governments, but are considered in the performance assessment:

• Principles for the risk analysis of foods derived from modern biotechnology;

• Guidelines for the conduct of food safety assessment of foods derived from recombinant-DNA plants;

• Guidelines for the conduct of food safety assessment of foods produced using recombinant DNA microorganisms.

These principles and guidelines presuppose make a preliminary assessment of the market, made on a case by case basis, including an assessment of both direct effects (from the inserted gene) and side effects (which may be incurred as a result of adding the new gene). These principles and guidelines in order to assess the quality and impact of GM foods require investigation of:

(A) direct health effects (toxicity);

(B) the tendency to cause allergic reactions (allergenicity);

(C) specific components thought to have nutritional or toxic properties;

(D) the stability of the inserted gene;

(E) nutritional effects associated with genetic modification, and

(F) any adverse effects that may result from the insertion of the gene.

Potential direct effects on human health

The potential direct health effects of GM foods are generally comparable to the known risks associated with conventional food, and include, for example, the potential to cause allergies and toxicity and its impact on the nutritional quality and microbiological safety of food. While many of these issues have not traditionally been evaluated for conventional food products, the safety assessment of GM food, followed by a gradual process aided by a structured series of questions. The factors taken into account in the safety assessment include:

• Identity of the gene of interest, including sequence analysis.
• Source of the gene of interest.
• Composition of GMOs.
• The protein product expression of the novel DNA.
• the potential toxicity.
• Potential cause allergy.

Its important to be taken into account by all the decision makers of these areas in order to instill a sense of trust between those who are skeptical about the use of genetically modified crops for human consumption. This will have a positive impact on growth and food security among nations.