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GM food: hope or danger? In recent years, there has been great progress in the study of genetics. With this progress, doors have been opened up to technologies that never existed before. While many people are excited about these new technologies, these same technologies frighten others. Nowhere is this truer than with genetically modified(GM) food. There are two ways in which a plant or an animal can be genelicalty modified. First, new material can be inserted into its DNA to give the plant or animal qualities which it would never have in nature. Second, material can be taken from the DNA of a plant or an animal in order to remove qualities which are not desired. One aim of GM research is to produce food which will make us healthier. So far, this technology has been used to produce plants which are better able to defend themselves against pests and disease. Supporters of GM food argue that GM plants are healthier and have larger harvests. While there has been research in GM animals such as pigs, no GM meat is being sold at present. Many questions have been raised about GM food. No one really knows whether it is safe for animals or humans to eat. Scientists admit that more tests should be done on GM food. Research has been limited to increasing production profits, rather than making sure that GM foods are safe. GM food could therefore be dangerous to eat. There is also a question as to whether GM plants are safe for the environment. Since GM crops are planted outside, they are part of the food chain--insects and other animals eat them or use their products, and these insects and animals will be eaten by yet other animals. No one knows what effects the GM material might have on the food chain. Since no one really knows whether GM food is safe, many countries have hesitated to give permission for the production of GM foods, as they would rather be cautious with this new technology. 转基因食物：希望还是危险？ 近年来，对于基因的研究有了长足的进展。 凭借这些进展，一些以前从未出现过的技术被创造了出来。 一些人为这些新技术兴奋，同时也有人为同样的技术而担忧。 转基因食物就是一个再真实不过的例子。 转变动植物的基因有两种方式。 一种是新的物质被注射到动植物的DNA中，以赋予其本身没有的性质。 第二种是从动植物的DNA中提取物质，为了消除其不期望的性质。 转基因研究的一个目标就是生产出让我们更加健康的食物。 到目前为止，这项技术已被应用到种植植物，这些植物可以保护自己不受害虫和疾病的侵害。 转基因食品的拥护者争辩说，转基因植物更加健康，产量更高。 与此同时，也有转基因动物的研究，如猪，目前市场上还没有转基因肉出售。 关于转基因食品，人们提出很多质疑的问题。没有知道它是否适合动物和人类安全食用。 科学家承认，关于转基因食品，还需要做很多实验。 目前的研究只局限于增加生产利润，而不是确保转基因食品的安全。 因此，转基因食品食用有危险。同样的问题，转基因植物对环境是否安全。 由于转基因植物是种在户外的，它们也是食物链的一部分--昆虫和其他动物会吃它们或者利用它们的产物，这些昆虫和动物还会被其他动物吃掉。 没有知道转基因物质会对食物链产生什么影响。 既然没有人确切知道转基因食品是否安全，对于生产转基因食品，很多国家都犹豫不决，因为对于这项新技术，他们宁愿小心谨慎。 |
