Specific Ethical question

My field of interest is in Biotechnology and how we can develop new ways to find answers to medical questions, alternative energy situations, etc. A question that has come up in this field is whether or not we should be genetically modifying foods (GM foods).

Supporters of GM food say that the food can potentially produce higher crop yields, which could help by feeding more people in developing countries. Better financial gain in the long run, improved food quality. These foods can be designed to stay fresher longer and with stand diseases better than normal foods which would extend the shelf life of the food. They can be engineered to withstand extreme weather conditions which will again produce higher crop yields in those poor season with bad weather. For example if it was an extremely dry summer certain fruits would not be able to survive well and not produce a lot causing a shortage. With GM foods they would not need the weather to cooperate to produce enough to not cause that shortage. These foods could also be designed to have better nutrition content. They can be designed to give more of the vitamins and nutrients we take from them. Which would help in our attempts to stay healthy.

People against GM foods also have reason to support not modifying our foods. One reason is that the GM foods has the ability of a food to trigger an allergy in humans. Some of the genes used in GM technology might be taken from a food that causes allergies in some people. Inserting that gene into another organism could cause the host organism to express that allergen as a trait. Alternately, a new allergen could be produced when genes are mixed across different species.Another reason is the food could cause organisms in the ecosystem could be harmed, which would lead to a lower level of biodiversity. By removing one pest that harms the crop, you could be removing a food source for an animal and so on. Also, GM crops could prove toxic to an organism in the environment the food is grown and potentially lowering the count of the organism and possible leading to extinction of that organism. There is also fear that GM foods will cause the formation of new diseases since some  are modified using bacteria and viruses.

I personally don't see why we aren't doing this to a lot more foods. I feel that the pros far outweigh the cons. Yes there is a potential to create a new allergy, but doesn't that already happen with the formation of new drugs? But if the possibility to stop hunger is real then I think that would be better than trying to prevent things that may or may not happen. If It was a sure thing that these foods caused new allergies and caused new disease formation then I am sure I feelings would change, but there is still uncertainty to whether or not these issues will occur.

http://www.geneticallymodifiedfoods.co.uk/fact-sheet-pros-vs-cons.html
http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/gmfood.shtml