What’s in your food?

Ay, mates! Hope everything is well since the last time. So, I was at the store the other day shopping around for some ingredients to put in pavlova which is highly appreciated by my loyal customers. For those of you who don’t know what pavlova is, look it up! No, I’m just kidding, pavlova is a meringue and cream dessert, really good on the stomach when you’ve had a little too much to drink if you know what I mean. As I was saying, I was in the store in the fruit section and I came across “organic apples.” Not knowing what such type of apples were, I asked the store clerk and she explained that organic apples or any organic food for that matter is food growth without the use of pesticides and other harmful agents. Then I asked her what was the other type of food called and she replied, “inorganic”. What exactly is inorganic you ask? According to the clerk, inorganic food is food that is grown with the use of pesticides and other traditional methods. The clerk also told me that she tried her best to eat organic food whenever possible because it was not only healthier, but she had several food allergies and didn’t want to risk an allergenic reaction by eating inorganic food. After our conversation, I grabbed one of those “organic apples” and checked out.

Having a few food allergies myself, I promptly started researching food allergies as soon as I got home. After about a half hour, and quite a few clicks of the mouse, I came across an article titled, “Risks of allergic reactions to biotech proteins in foods: perception and reality.” The article immediately caught my attention. Not that I’m slow or anything, in all honesty it did take me quite a few reads to understand the gist of the article. With that said, I have taken the liberty of summarizing the article for you. I’ve also included my two cents here and there as well just to make things a little more interesting. As always please don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts. I enjoy reading the opinions of others, so if you have an opinion, express it by posting a comment. Until next time, enjoy!

Firstly, let me just say that science is like a great white shark, a beast! And with cutting edge technology developing each day, the possibilities are limitless! Here’s a quick fact I betcha didn’t know, based on current population growth rates the whole world is projected to be starving by the year 2025. Scary isn’t? I don’t know about you, but I plan to be around, and by no means do I want to be a cannibal. But no need to worry yourself, a solution has already been found, and in fact in full blown effect. However, as with all things, it did not come about without much debate, especially from those with food allergies such as myself.

For the past decade or so there has been much debate about genetically modified foods and the unknown adverse effects. Fact of the matter is, that genetically modified foods is what is saving us from that projected starvation period. Genetically modified foods are very unique in the sense that they yield more at a better quality than those that are grown naturally, without any help. Furthermore, it is more environmentally effective to grow genetically modified food as well as beneficial because it could potentially eliminate deficiency diseases. (Lehrer and Bannon, 560)

So what does all of this have to do with people who have food allergies? Good question. Genetically modified foods are produced by using one of two methods. The method that seems to be the most efficient and safest way in my opinion is breeding and selection. Breeding selection is done by moving a large portion of genomic DNA between different plant varieties in order to obtain the desired trait. (Lehrer and Bannon, 560) This method seems more natural than genetic engineering, in which one specific gene is transferred from one species to the other.

Only a mere 2-8% of the world’s population actually even have food allergies. How unlucky am I. Of such allergies, peanuts, shrimp, soy and tree nuts seem to be the most popular. I am actually allergic to all types of nuts; you really don’t want to see what I look like when I accidentally eat one. What’s more is that one particular food may contain several thousands of proteins and perhaps only 10-20 may be allergenic. Furthermore, in order for someone to have a food allergy, they would have to have been exposed at least two or more times and it has a lot to do with their immune system. With that said, it can be concluded that the chances of incurring an allergenic reaction is not only relatively low but that many people who claim to have food allergies, may not have any at all because they choose not to eat certain foods out of fear of having an allergic reaction.

Consumer’s risk of an allergenic reaction is divided into three groups. The groups are ranked highest, intermediated, and low. The highest risk in genetically modified food is purposely injecting a known allergen protein into another food. An example would be injecting a peanut protein into apples. If the aforementioned was done, people with food allergies wouldn’t know what they would be getting, an apple or peanapple, get it? The second of the group is intermediate in which proteins are injected into foods without the intention of causing a reaction but has the potential to do so. The third category is low in which proteins are injected into foods that have minimal risk of causing an allergenic reaction. An experiment was actually conducted in order to back up what was stated. According to the results, it was concluded that genetically modified foods have absolutely minimal risks in causing an allergenic reaction unless known allergens are injected into foods.

So, there you have it mates! After thorough research, I have concluded that there is no harm in eating genetically modified foods. That’s coming from someone with food allergies themselves. After all, mates I’d much rather eat genetically modified food than feast on my neighbor, wouldn’t you?

S.B. Lehrer, G.A. Bannon. “Risks of allergic reactions to biotech proteins in foods: perception and reality.” Allergy Vol.60. Issue 5 (May 2005): p. 559-564. EBSCO Host Research Databases. UNC- Chapel Hill. 30 January 2007.