# Myths and Realities about Genetically Modified Food: A Risk-Benefit Analysis
## 3 Myths and Realities of GM Crops: Risk Assessment
### Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT)  
[PERSON] described the mechanism of transferring genetic material from heat-killed virulent _S. pneumoniae_ to an avirulent type of the bacterium, which he referred to as transformation. Conjugation, transduction, and other types of nonreproductive gene transfer between organisms were later identified and documented [65]. HGT refers to the movement of genetic material to a living cell or organism across boundaries between species with no reproduction or human intervention [8; 66]. HGT can occur between not only closely related but also distantly related organisms, such as viruses and animals or plants and bacteria. It is a process that occurs in two steps: the first consists of donor genetic material passing across the cell membrane(s) of the recipient cell, including other envelope \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Crop**} & **Isolation** & **Cross-Fertilization** & \multirow{2}{*}{**References**} \\  & **Distance** & **Level** & \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{Maize} & 50 m & \textless{}0.5\% & [57] \\  & 20 m & \textless{}1\% & [58] \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{Canola} & 30 m & \textless{}0.03\% & [59] \\  & 33–200 m & \textless{}0.015\% & [60] \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{Soybean} & 5 m & 0.9\% & \multirow{2}{*}{[61]} \\  & \textgreater{}10 m & 0.1\% & \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{Cotton} & 10 m & \textless{}0.9\% & [62] \\  & \textgreater{}9 m & \textless{}0.1\% & [63] \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{Alfalfa} & 50 m & 1.39\% & \multirow{2}{*}{[64]} \\  & 20 m & 0.08\% & \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: Isolation distances required for the four major GM crops [8]. structures such as a cell wall or nuclear membrane; the second involves the incorporation of donor genetic material into the genome of the recipient organism so that the new gene can be perpetuated through offspring. If the receiving organism is multicellular, the transfer should be to germ cells, which are less present and less accessible than somatic cells [66]. This phenomenon has helped with the emergence of greater virulence in bacteria, eukaryotes, and viruses and in the rapid spread of antibiotic resistance among pathogenic bacteria [67, 68, 66]. Some concerns have been voiced in recent years about consuming GM food as they can produce HGT and compromise consumer health [69]. However, it is noteworthy that HGT is not an adverse effect of GM food consumption but an event that may, or may not, lead to harm. Hence, the need to make risk assessments that include both the severity and likelihood of negative consequences is essential [66]. A sequence of chain events establishes the probability of HGT posing a consumer health risk: an encounter between the recipient organism and the genetic material from the donor organism; donor genetic material entering the cell or the nucleus; integration of donor DNA or RNA into the recipient organism's genome; the expression of a novel trait in the recipient organism; the persistence of this trait and its passage to offspring [70]. For all these reasons, even if the frequency of HGT is high, a near-zero probability of any of the other processes reduces the overall possibility of injury to a near-zero level. If genetic material from GM plants is transferred to animals, the most feasible route is for DNA to be incorporated via the gastrointestinal route [71]. DNA segments can survive intestinal juices, which means only a slight possibility of recombinant DNA being incorporated into the human or animal genome of digestive organs. However, most studies conclude that such an HGT risk is insignificant [72]. The possibility of recombinant DNA inheritance in the following generation is also insignificant because the probability of DNA reaching germ cells and joining the genome with a suitable promoter is even lower [66]. Many pathogenic and opportunistic bacteria form part of the intestinal microbiota. Gene transfer to bacteria is an event that more easily occurs.