Debate & Controversy

 

 

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Image Permission Granted – (Greenpeace)

 

 

1)    Creation of a Genetically Modified Organism

 

No matter how great of an argument you make for these medicinal foods, they are still genetically modified organisms.  Therefore, you enter the whole debate of whether genetically modified organisms are safe in our environment.  Organizations like Greenpeace or Friends of the Earth would argue that GMOs are too dangerous to use and therefore would be opposed to edible vaccines and the like. 

 

2)    Heating Medicinal Foods

 

Generally all these medicinal foods are creating food products that result in the expression of a certain protein.  So what happens when you heat a food with protein in it?  The protein becomes denatured by the heat and is therefore ineffective.  There has been no definitive test to determine whether or not heating these medicinal foods will in fact render them ineffective after heating, but conceptually the proteins should become denatured. 

 

3)    Inability to Enter Through Digestion

 

There is some debate as to whether or not medicinal foods when consumed will be able to deliver the medicinal cargo into the body via the digestive system.  Will the full dosage actually enter the bloodstream?  Will the digestive enzymes or acids in the stomach destroy the proteins prior to entering the bloodstream (Langridge 2000)?  Some experiments on animals and one small scale human clinical trial have shown that the medicinal cargo does find its way into the bloodstream (Langridge 2000).  There are still many questions about the dosage and administration of the medicinal foods.  Since we are unsure of dosage levels, there is a large concern for people who receive too much which could be toxic or too little which would result in non-immunized people walking around thinking they have immunity (Lazaroff 2000).

 

4)    Economics & Ethics

 

As with everything else, money is always involved.  Who would benefit other than third-world countries from the adoption of medicinal foods?  Companies like Monsanto who create these products would be raking in the dough if these products were used globally.  Sure, these food products are cheaper than conventional medication and vaccines, but are these products still going to be affordable for small subsistence farming?  Is Monsanto cashing in on the plight of impoverished people or are they actually trying to create a healthier world?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This webpage was created by David Shelburne ’04 & Paul Toran ’03 as an assignment for an

undergraduate course—Bio 361: Genetically Modified Organisms—at Davidson College.

 

© Copyright 2002 Department of Biology, Davidson College, Davidson, NC 28035

Send comments, questions, and suggestions to: dashelburne@davidson.edu and/or patoran@davidson.edu