Food of the Future

You are what you eat –

but do you know what you are eating?

Next time you take a bite out of a juicy red tomato, stop and think. Did you grow it in your own garden? If so, you’re lucky. Or did you buy it at the supermarket? The chances are that soon, that tomato could be a genetically modified tomato. Many products on the shelves of our supermarkets already contain genetically engineered ingredients, and many more are ready to be introduced over the next few years.

What is genetic modification (GM)?

In an attempt to create nicer-looking, longer-lasting, more nutritional foods, scientists have played around with the genetic structure of foods such as fruit and vegetables, soya and corn. GM food is created by DNA from one organism and putting it into another. Many people feel that there has not been enough research done into this genetic change, and that our entire food chain could be in danger. A leading geneticist, DR Michael Antoniou said, “Once released into the environment, genetic mistakes cannot be cleaned up, but will be passed on to all future generations indefinitely.”

Read the label?

Between 60 and 70 per cent of the processed foods we eat contain soya, 16 per cent of soya from the US is genetically engineered. No one is sure how much of this is used in our food, but many thousands of different types of food will soon be in our supermarkets, and very few will have labels which tell you exactly what the food contains.

Do we want it?

A recent poll in Europe suggested that 70 per cent of consumers did not want GM food, and in Denmark 95 per cent of consumers wanted labelling of any GM food. Why? Because our natural crops are being crossed with bacteria, viruses and genes from fish and animals to make them bigger, stronger and better. Potatoes have been engineered with chicken genes to increase resistance to disease, and tomatoes have had fish genes added to make them less delicate in the cold temperatures of fridges.

What does the future hold?

No one really knows just what the long-term effects of these ‘experiments’ will be. A senior scientist with the Environment Defence Fund, Dr Rebecca Goldburg said, “Genetic engineers are producing foods that have never before been eaten by human beings. Consumers should not be guinea pigs for untested food substances.” GM food could help us achieve a better environment, improve our health and stop world hunger. However, it could also threaten farming, ecosystems, and our health. Scientists fear that if genetically modified organisms get into the natural food chain, our natural species will be in danger – imagine a GM fish that was 50 per cent bigger and ate 50 per cent more food.

Your choice

If you want to avoid GM food, eat organic foods and cut down on processed food.

FOOD for THOUGHT

Read the following idioms and their meanings. Think of their Ukrainian equivalents. Complete each sentence with the correct idiom.

eat crow: admit one is mistaken or defeated, take back a mistaken statement eat dirt: act humble, accept another’s insult or bad treatment eat humble pie: behave or be forced to behave humbly eat one’s words: take back something one has said, admit something is not true eat one’s heart out: suffer silently in a hopeless situation eat out of someone’s hand: be submissive

1.I'll never forget how he made me.....

2.Terry is infatuated with Lisa. He’ll do anything she wants. He.......

3.I was forced to..... and had to apologise for the mistake that I made about the restructuring of our company.

4.I told my boss that I would be leaving but later had to..... and tell him that I wanted to stay.

5.Mike thought Sue would eventually marry him. Now that she has married Tony, he......

6.Our boss was forced to..... after everyone realised that he had made the wrong budget estimate for next year.