The diet of school canteens, apparently, cannot do without genetically modified products. Deputies of the State Duma came to this, albeit not official, conclusion at a round table held in the Health Protection Committee on the topic “Proper nutrition as a factor in strengthening the health of the nation.”
It turned out that the situation with both nutrition and health for the majority of Russians is very bad.

“Our citizens have practically not developed a culture of healthy, balanced nutrition,” says Deputy Director of the Institute of Age-Related Physiology of the Russian Academy of Education, Professor Valentin Sonkin. – As a result, Russians have a whole bunch of diseases – from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract to obesity.
The results of Professor Sonkin's research showed that the daily diet of most citizens is dominated by potatoes, pasta and cereals, while fruits and juices, the richest in vitamins, are “holiday” products that are regularly consumed by no more than 30% of citizens. The specialist is especially concerned about the daily diet of the younger generation. For example, according to the All-Russian medical examination of children, which took place in 2002, over ten years the proportion of healthy children in the country decreased from 45.5% to 33.89%. Moreover, 5% of adolescents have dystrophy, and exactly the same number of children suffer from excess body weight caused by overeating pasta and potatoes.

“In principle, about 80% of schoolchildren receive a fairly balanced diet,” says Valentin Sonkin. “But concern is caused by those children who are at risk, and this is every fifth child. They consume foods rich in animal protein and vitamins, such as meat, fish, eggs and fruit, once a week or even less often.

In short, according to experts, Russians who eat poorly have several ways out of this situation. Firstly, earn more money and afford fresh and natural products, which, of course, is unrealistic for many. Secondly, you can use dietary supplements, which also cost some money. Finally, the third and cheapest option is to use genetically modified (GM) foods.

– The hype around GM products is unscientific! – said Professor Viktor Tutelyan, director of the Research Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences. – The creation of GM products is several orders of magnitude better and safer than conventional selection, and it is insane to deny their necessity. We are now faced with a number of problems, including excessive consumption of animal fats and a deficiency of complete animal protein, minerals, microelements and dietary fiber...

However, not all experts still agree with the professor’s arguments.

– Why is it stated even at the NATO level that transgenes can be used as an object of bioterrorism? – deputy Mikhail Rokitsky asked those present rhetorically. – It is necessary to introduce a ban on the use of GM sources in baby food. Until their complete safety has been proven, they cannot be used or conducted experiments on people.

As a result, the issue of using transgenic products remained unresolved, although, as many participants in the meeting later admitted on the sidelines, sooner or later the canteens of Russian schools, due to lack of funds, will be forced to switch to their consumption. In the meantime, the deputies decided to extend the validity of the state program “Talk about proper nutrition.”

Fed up with conversation