Benefícios e riscos do consumo de alimentos transgênicos: revisão crítica da literatura

Abstract

Transgenic foods are organisms whose genetic material has been altered through genetic engineering in order to introduce or eliminate characteristics. And it is through the advances of biotechnology that the production of genetically modified food has led to a growth in agricultural productivity, providing a quantitative and qualitative increase of transgenic foods. The benefits of these genetically modified organisms are already well established, such as the production of pesticide resistant plants and climatic variations, insect and pest attacks, plants that require less pesticides, foods with better nutritional content. However, there is still a wide discussion in the scientific, commercial and political world about its risks, not yet sufficiently clarified. The release of GMOs has generated great uncertainty related to these foods in the face of food safety. From the concern with the risks of these products, the labeling of transgenics is justified and acquires importance as a medium capable of providing true information about what is being consumed. The objective of this work was to elaborate a critical review of the literature on the risks and benefits of the consumption of transgenic foods. The methodology used was through the critical review of the literature in different databases of scientific articles. Sixteen studies were selected that cover the risks and benefits to human health of the consumption of transgenic foods. However, there are more studies that show the benefits than risks. From the results obtained, it can be concluded that there is still a great need for studies to know and clarify the real effects of the consumption of transgenic foods, thus ensuring the safety of the consumer.