Category: Genetic Modification

In order for the human population to reach what it has today, 7 billion people, agriculture has had to make advancements in order to keep up. Food is essential for the living. Inventions like the tractor, irrigation, and the combine harvester has allowed for everyone to have food on the table. It allows for the mass production of cheaper products to feed the country. But perhaps one of the greatest advancements in the agricultural world is the Green Revolution. The Green Revolution was based on making more food for the larger population to promote industrialized agriculture in the third world. It was sparked to address the issue of malnutrition the developing world (Sebby, 2010). In 1963, a scientist by the name of Borlaug went to India and Pakistan which were both on the brink of famine and introduced a new hybrid of wheat grain. This is genetically altered wheat grain helped save the areas from famine (‘Green Revolution’, 2003). The Green Revolution used genetically modified foods, GMOs, to help produce higher yields of food to provide and support large populations. The Green Revolution also involved the development of chemical fertilizer and heavy irrigation. Many argued that the chemical fertilizer was unhealthy for the environment, but others said that it was better because with the fertilizer came higher yields thus less land was needed for more crops (‘Green Revolution’, 2003).

However, this management of ecosystems for the benefit of everybody, has led to some trouble. For example, when GMOs are created, biotech companies would patent the seeds and leave out the small farmer. Biotech companies even patented seeds that weren’t GMOs. In 2004, Iraq had five million acres of wheat showcasing an abundance of biodiversity. Yet when the U.S. enacted Order 81, farmers suddenly couldn’t use the seeds that they have been developing or saving. The biotech companies that had patented non-GMO seeds were using them to create GMO seeds. Biotech companies stole their rights to grow traditional crops. Although I think GMOs are good for food, they should not be owned by a singular organization. If the GMO seeds have not been patented, it could have introduced a whole new spectrum of biodiversity to those Iraqi farmers. But still the corrupt biotech companies terrorized the land. And to make matters worse they began handing out their GMO seeds. Only their GMO seeds. They made it so that Iraqi Farmers could not grow anything else (Ray, 2012). As more and more farmers grew these GMO varieties the culture and diversity of wheat grain grew smaller and smaller. Indefinitely extinct.

In the same manner, during the 1980s and 90s, corporations would buy up seed companies to gain profits from genetic engineering. They would stop selling the products of seed companies, and replace the previous seeds with the genetically modified ones they made. Corporate giants dominate genetic engineering with patents and kill off the biodiversity the small farms produce (Ray, 2012).

The idea of the Green Revolution is wholesome and pure. It’s supposed to bring food to the tables of families who need it, but with biotech companies running the show the Green Revolution has strayed from its original intent. I think GMOs are good thing but they should not be kept behind closed curtains. Nor should previous crops be eliminated from the game of natural selection. Consumers need variety and everyone should have the option of what they should grow or eat. Instead of keeping GMO seeds to themselves, biotechnology should be open for everyone to experiment with. It could lead to some amazing discoveries, smaller farmers could still be supported, and it would maintain biodiversity as nature intended.

The Green Revolution was a significant agricultural advancement that has allowed the world to progress to what it is today. Without it, so much more land would be used for farming therefore destroying more of the environment, more third world countries would be without food, and we wouldn’t be able to mass produce the amount of food needed to support the growing global population. As our population shows no signs of plateauing, we should continue to develop new varieties of seeds and new methods to better the quality and amount of food production. Everyone should be able to eat in this world.

I am here today on behalf of the city in the desert to talk about and explain the subject of genetically modified organisms, I will also be giving the advantages and disadvantages of GMOs and addressing the implications of GMOs in relation to society and the environment.

The term GMO stands for Genetically modified organisms, it is when any organism whose genetic material has been altered to deviate from its natural form or order according to kb.wisc.edu. This may be done to any animal, plant, or microorganism, and GMOs are used to produce foods for humans or animals and are used by scientists for research and manufacturing. (The Science Behind GMOs).

Genetically modified rice is a fairly old project as it was researched in the year 1990, the idea is to allow rice to grow in the desert which would then increase the production of the item. to be grown in the desert, rice has to be genetically modified in a way that would allow it to survive the extreme heat during the day by being altered to resist heat waves, and the abnormal coldness during the night, it would have to be salt tolerant and the rice would also be modified allowing it to adapt and grow on sandy soil. the final major modification that would be needed to be altered in the rice’s DNA is to be able to survive with minimal if not close to nothing in terms of water, in fact, In the UAE the average amount of rain per month in the deserts is 14.5 mm according to travelonline.com.

Normal rice cannot grow in water containing more than 0.3 percent salt. By comparison, Yuan’s best-performing strain of saltwater rice can grow in water with double that salinity and has yielded 9.3 tons per hectare. This is fantastic news for rice farmers, who typically require a yield of 4.5 tonnes per hectare to break even. It is also a tantalizing prospect for China. If just a tenth of the country’s saline-alkali soil were planted with saltwater rice, it could boost national rice production by almost 20 percent.

inositol, a substance similar to vitamins found in all plants and animals including human beings, acts as a stress ameliorator and as a switch for a number of pathways important for imparting salt tolerance/resistance. There are plants called halophytes, which are rich sources of salt stress tolerance genes. Porteresia coarctata is one of them. One of the genes isolated earlier by Majumder’s group from this plant, PcINO1, codes for a salt-tolerant enzyme that synthesizes inositol even in the presence of salt while the second gene isolated by the group, PcIMT1 from the same organism converts inositol to another compound called pinitol. The scientists over-expressed these two genes into IR64 indica rice. They generated three types of transgenic lines: one with introgression of PcINO1 only, the second with PcIMT1 only, and the third with combinations of both. The rice lines created with the PcINO1 gene exhibited significantly higher tolerance, with a salt concentration of up to 200 micromoles per 1 liter or higher in pots, with little compromise in growth or other physiological parameters. The two other transgenic lines, one with the PcIMT1 gene alone and the second with both PcINO1 and PcIMT1 genes were less efficient. The scientists then compared the amounts of inositol/pinitol in the three sets of transgenic lines. They found that under saline conditions inositol production remained uninterrupted only in the transgenic plant created with PcINO1.To understand how rice will be modified to adapt and grow in the desert, you must understand the main concept of GMOs and the science that lies behind them. the explanation of how GMO plants are made is as follows. The scientist will first look for a preferred or desired trait in any organism (plants, animals, and bacteria), they then copy part of the DNA from the chosen organism which contains the desired trait, and they insert the section of DNA into the DNA of another organism, leading the organism to be genetically modified to the preferred needs.

Now for you to understand what biotechnology is. Biotechnology is a technology that utilizes biological systems, living organisms, or parts of these to develop or create different products. With the development of genetic engineering in the 1970s, research in biotechnology and other related sections such as medicine, biology, etc. developed rapidly because of the new possibility to make changes in the organisms’ genetic material (DNA) according to ntnu.edu. Today, biotechnology covers many different areas such as genetics, biochemistry, molecular biology, etc. New technologies and products are being developed every year within the areas of e.g., medicine (development of new medicines and therapies), agriculture (development of genetically modified plants, biofuels, biological treatment), or industrial biotechnology (production of chemicals, paper, and food).

Perhaps the most direct way to use biotechnology to improve crop agriculture is to genetically engineer plants. that is by altering their basic genetic structure, so they have new characteristics that improve the efficiency of crop production. The traditional goal of crop production remains unchanged: to produce more and higher quality crops at a lower cost. However, the tools of biotechnology can speed up the process by helping researchers and scientist screen generations of plants for a specific trait or work more quickly and precisely to transfer a trait. These tools give breeders and genetic engineers access to a wider universe of traits from which to select.

Although powerful, the process is not close to simple. Typically, researchers must be able to isolate the gene desired, insert it into a plant cell, induce the transformed cell to grow into an entire plant, and then make sure the gene is appropriately expressed. If scientists were introducing a gene coding for a plant storage protein containing a better balance of essential amino acids for human or animal nutrition, for example, it would need to be expressed in the seeds of corn, soybeans, in the tubers of potatoes, and in the leaves and stems of alfalfa. In other words, the expression of such a gene would need to be directed to different organs in different crops according to ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

There are multiple advantages when it comes to GMOs, but with the advantages comes disadvantage as will be shown. The first advantage of genetically modifying crops is the Increased supply of food with reduced cost and longer shelf life. The supply of crops will be increased massively due to them being modified to have traits that will allow them to grow faster and for each plant to produce more seeds meaning more crops can be grown, the crops will also be altered to be able to withstand extreme heat and drought, and the lengthen the time before expiration. These traits will then lead to the costs of the crops decreasing.

GMO foods may offer several advantages to the grower and consumer. E.g many GMO crops have been genetically modified to express a gene that protects them against pests and insects. For example, the Bt gene is commonly genetically engineered into crops like corn, cotton, and soybeans. It comes from a naturally occurring bacteria known as Bacillus thuringiensis. This gene produces a protein that is toxic to several pests and insects, which gives the GMO plants a natural resistance. As such, GMO crops do not need to be exposed to harmful pesticides as often. In fact, an analysis of 147 studies from 2014 found that GMO technology has reduced chemical pesticide use by 37% and increased crop yields by 22%. Other GMO crops have been modified with genes that help them survive stressful conditions, such as droughts, and resist diseases like blights, resulting in a higher yield for farmers Together, these factors help lower the costs for the farmers and consumers because it allows a greater crop yield and growth through harsher conditions. Additionally, genetic modification can increase the nutritional value of foods. For example, rice high in beta carotene, also called golden rice, was developed to help prevent blindness in regions where local diets are chronically deficient in vitamin A. Moreover, genetic modification may be used simply to enhance the flavor and appearance of foods, such as the non-browning apple. In addition, current research suggests that GMO foods are safe for consumption.

Another advantage is that Manufacturers use genetic modification to give foods desirable traits. For example, they have designed two new varieties of apples that turn less brown when cut or bruised. The reasoning usually involves making crops more resistant to diseases as they grow. Manufacturers also engineer produce to be more nutritious or tolerant of herbicides. Crop protection is the main rationale behind this type of genetic modification. Plants that are more resistant to diseases spread by insects or viruses result in higher yields for farmers and a more attractive product. Genetically modification can also increase the nutritional value or enhance flavor. All of these factors contribute to lower costs for the consumer. They can also ensure that more people have access to quality food.

Although current research suggests that GMO foods are safe, there is some concern about their long-term safety. Here are some of the key concerns around GMO consumption. There is some concern that GMO foods may trigger an allergic reaction. This is because GMO foods contain foreign genes, so some people worry that they harbor genes from foods that may prompt an. A study from the mid-1990s found that adding a protein from Brazil nuts to GMO soybeans could trigger an allergic reaction in people sensitive to Brazil nuts. However, after scientists discovered this, they quickly abandoned this GMO food. Although allergy concerns are valid, there have been no reports of allergic reactions to GMO foods currently on the market. According to the FDA, researchers who develop GMO foods run tests to ensure that allergens aren’t transferred from one food to another. In addition, research has shown that GMO foods are no likelier to trigger allergies than their non-GMO counterparts. Yet, if you have a soy allergy, both GMO and non-GMO soy products will prompt an allergic reaction.

Similarly, there’s a common concern that GMO foods may aid the progression of cancers. Because cancers are caused by DNA mutations, some people fear that eating foods with added genes may affect your DNA. This worry may stem partly from an early mice study, which linked GMO intake to a higher risk of tumors and early death. However, this study was later retracted because it was poorly designed. Currently, no human research ties GMO intake to cancers. The American Cancer Society (ACS) has stated that there’s no evidence to link GMO food intake to an increased or decreased risk of cancer. All the same, no long-term human studies exist. Thus, more long-term human research is needed.

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are still new technology we don’t know if it will be helpful or harmful to humanity. GMOs are a pretty controversial topic and people often have very strong opinions about them. Many people believe that GMOs will solve all the world’s food problems and others think that they will be the thing that kills us, ok maybe that’s a bit extreme. This paper is going to focus on the cons of GMO use. GMOs have had a spotlight shining on them for the past few years. This spotlight has brought up many questions the first of which is are GMOs harmful to humans.

In some studies from the past few years, Scientists have found that GMOs may have an anti-antibiotic effect. The effect comes from the transfer of genes from a genetically modified plant to the soil or an animal or human gut. The transfer has been marked as unlikely to happen but it doesn’t mean that it can or won’t. GMOs also have a few strings that lead back to them causing possible food allergies. Jeffrey Smith, executive director of the Institute for Responsible Technology, wrote about a GMO study where rats were fed GM tomatoes, and after bleeding in their stomach and some died. The effects were experienced fivefold in the offspring of the rats, some of the new effects including lower birth weight and higher mortality rate. Studies show that GMOs have possible links to 22 different diseases. Some seem to have a stronger correlation than others but all have links back to GMOs.

A few of the diseases/disability found include Cancer, Alzheimer’s, and Autism. Kidney/liver damage also seems to be an effect of GMOs. These links should definingly be taken seriously and not just brushed off by the average consumer. So it is clear that GMOs do hold some threat to humans in terms of health, now I’ll move on to my second point which is the effects of GMOs on the environment. A major concern of most is that GMOs can attribute to the loss of biodiversity in plants. Losing biodiversity could spell doom for some ecosystems and species of plants.

Losing these certain plants and animals also will affect us substantially, or at least it will harm future generations. Some people have also worried that GMOs will have a toxic effect on the environment, for example, they may harm insects that pollinate the plants like bees and butterflies. If GMOs do affect these animals they could theoretically be wiped out of existence. This would have very far-reaching effects since we basically rely almost solely on these animals to pollinate our plants. Even if GMOs don’t wipe out bees and butterflies the chemicals used might drive the insects away from the plant therefore it doesn’t get pollinated and the plant most likely dies. GMOs also are passively toxic, by that I mean the plant is made to withstand different pesticides/herbicides that would normally be lethal to the plant. So making them able to withstand these chemicals, is basically inviting farmers to dump all of these chemicals onto the land which makes the land a sort of mini desert. This also renders that land unusable for much else and kills off a lot of the microscopic organisms that are good for the environment. Another concern that people have is that could GMOs harm the plants around them.

The main way that GM crops will affect other Crops is through cross-pollination. If a GM crop is growing in a field right next to a field with Non-GM crops it is likely that the pollen from the GM crop has gotten mixed with the Non-GM crop. This can be bad for a number of reasons. One reason is if it has been cross-pollinated then it isn’t truly a Non-GM crop, which leads back to then having a lack of biodiversity. Aside from the effects on health and on the environment GMOs also can harm our economy. Now to preface this GMOs affect smaller family farms compared to much larger corporate farms. GM seeds can be up two 150 dollars more expensive than regular seeds. This makes it harder for smaller farms to get seed compared to the corporate farms that can buy more, and the fact that you need new seed yearly leads me to my next point. GM seeds aren’t renewable, in other words, you have to buy a new bag every year. This leads to it being more expensive in the long run. Also, you have to rely on the companies to keep making and selling the seeds every year.

Having the seeds not be renewable and having them require you to buy new seeds poses another problem and that is that if it does get too expensive to buy and use GM seeds we will be losing a lot of the yield that GM plants give. GM plants although have problems do produce more yield than non-GMO seeds. The last point I would like to make is about the history of GMOs. During the first Bush campaign, GMO products were being pushed heavily. The reason for this is that the U.S. said it would increase US exports and US domination of agriculture. Despite this in the end the exact opposite happened. The US lost billions over trying to sell the products to places that didn’t want the crops like the EU who closed their doors to GM produce like corn and soy. All in all GMO products aren’t the worst thing ever but they definingly have their downside; whether they are the negative effects on health, the damage that they can do to our environment, or the way they affect our economy, the producer, and the consumer. In the future GMOs might become completely safe and have no downside but for the moment you should still be cautious of them.

Lack of food and the destruction of our environment are two of the most prominent world problems. We as a species often worry about the future of ourselves and our surroundings, but we do not always have the technology to solve these issues. These problems arise and only worsen over time without any real option for success. However, GMOs are a solution to several of our problems and we have used it since we discovered agriculture thousands of years ago via selective breeding. Although GMOs are said to cause health problems in humans and ecological issues, they are beneficial to humanity and are necessary for the development of inventions and the growth of the human population.

GMOs stands for Genetically Modified Organisms, which means the genes of that organism are altered in order to favor a certain outcome. It does not only affect plants but also other organisms, such as animals, bacteria, and even fungi! In most scenarios, GMOs are heavily experimented with and take a lot of time and effort in order to get the desired result. Precautions have increased over time and the security of the people is heavily considered when working with GMOs. According to Dr. Ken Foster, a professor of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University, during the 1990s, when GMOs were first introduced, there were nearly no regulations on what ingredients were used that were genetically modified in some way.

Several health concerns arise when GMOs are mentioned. They are assumed to cause health problems in people because the genes themselves are changed immediately, instead of the thousands, millions of years it usually takes with evolution. GMOs are seen as unnatural by some people, and although the concerns surrounding them are mostly theoretical, fear still strikes the heart of many. These fears are irrational, as stated by The New York Times:

It is not possible to prove a food is safe, only to say that no hazard has been shown to exist. The fears of G.M.O.s are still theoretical, like the possibility that the insertion of one or a few genes could have a negative impact on other desirable genes naturally present in the crop.

The introduction of GMOs and selective breeding allowed the human population to successfully grow and prosper in ecosystems where foods may be scarce. Without the progression of agriculture, we would be unable to maintain our population and it would likely decline rapidly without the aid of improved crops. GMOs are a vital part of the growth of our population, the lack of food in certain areas of the world due to the inability to farm in parts of the globe overrun with droughts, floods, and barren lands is something GMOs can solve with enough experimentation. According to Pamela Ronald’s 2015 TED Talk The Case for engineering our food, “500,000 children go blind every year because of a lack of Vitamin A. More than half will die.” She later goes on to state that the help of GMOs will save the lives of thousands of these unfortunate children. GMOs are not something we are meant to fear, and instead, something we are obligated to improve upon to help ease the rate at which we humans suffer to the point where we can eliminate death by starvation entirely. This is evidence that supports the usefulness of GMOs in the real world.

Our crops are altered in a way that will benefit us in multiple ways, including higher yields, more resistance to pests, more nutrients, and even better-tasting food. A lot of thought is put into the traits that would be helpful to us and how they will affect the human body. Scientists pick out the desirable traits while making sure the unwanted traits are not present in future generations of the crop. This process of targeting the beneficial traits in our food has been present since the beginning of agriculture and has simply gotten quicker and more precise. According to the FDA:

Crop improvement happens all the time, and genetic engineering is just one form of it. We use the term “genetic engineering” to refer to genetic modification practices that utilize modern biotechnology. In THD changes to a plant’s genetic makeup to give the plant a new desirable trait.

Resistance to pests in areas of the world where insects are rampant, such as in Bangladesh or Asia. Farmers finally have the opportunity to save money by not having to spray their crops with pesticides as often, which also preserves their physical health. Pesticides have been shown to be harmful to us humans and GMOs are an easy way to protect us from the over usage of them. GMOs and pesticides have both been important for the success of crops. There are 3 types of pesticides according to Jennifer Hsaio from Harvard University:

There are three main categories of biopesticides: 1) microbial pesticides, which are microorganisms (e.g. bacteria, fungi, viruses, or protozoa) that have relatively specific pest targets; 2) biochemical pesticides, which are naturally occurring substances that control pests using nontoxic mechanisms (e.g. mimics of insect sex hormones that interfere with their mating); and 3) plant-incorporated-pesticides (PIPs), which are pesticides that the plants themselves produce after genetic material has been added to them.

Crop yields are no longer a major issue because of GMOs, farmers will always have an idea of how much food will be produced during each harvest. Over time, crop yields will keep increasing to the point where food from a single farmer will be enough to sufficiently feed a large group of people. The main issue of agriculture is that not enough food is produced for everyone in the world, there is always a small amount of people that do not get fed. GMOs slowly but surely fix this problem by increasing the amount of food produced for the same amount of time, effort, and land. According to the Genetic Literacy Project, GMO crops produce 5.6 to 24.5% more than non-GMO crops. The extra amounts of crops will steadily increase as time progresses and will lead to the end of world hunger.

Developed crops and farming techniques assist in keeping the land’s fertile and full of nutrients for future harvests. Since both food production and population are increasing rapidly the land, we produce food on will be worn down and be limited to certain amounts of land. Healthy soil is key to feeding 9 billion by 2050, the USDA says, which is true because without any land full of nutrients to put our agriculture on we would not be able to survive. The land will not be required to be tilled as often because of GMOs’ increased resistance and ability to grow quicker and more efficiently. Without these developments in our agriculture, we would stand no chance in our rapidly changing world.

GMOs help grow crops efficiently in struggling areas around the world. Imagine a world where our crops are unable to grow because of a lack of water, where cacti never evolved to survive in the desert’s hot and dry climates and a world where rice never evolved to create abundant amounts of food in water-oriented environments. GMOs help provide a stable form of crop production in unstable environments.

GMOs are extremely beneficial to us. For example, disease, strong against agrochemicals, high content of specific ingredients, dry and salt. It is resistant to harm and has an environmental purification action. By using GMOs the breed improvement is compared with the breeding method by conventional crossing and artificial selection. It was also possible to efficiently introduce the gene of interest from other organisms. Therefore, the time required for breed improvement can be greatly shortened. By adding the function of reducing the amount of agricultural chemicals used, improvement of food productivity, food demand response, desertification control, and environmental measures. Benefits such as the possibility of new possibilities, cost reduction, improvement of product value, development of new industrial fields, etc. are greatly improved upon, increasing the chances of beneficial development.

Although the initial cost of working with GMOs is somewhat high, the outcome of GMOs far outweighs it. GMOs have put us in a position of economic and agricultural improvement.

Citations

1. Brody, Jane E. “Are G.M.O. Foods Safe?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 23 Apr. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/04/23/well/eat/are-gmo-foods-safe.html.
2. “Can GMOs Be Used in Organic Products?” Butter Grades and Standards | Agricultural Marketing Service, 13AD, www.ams.usda.gov/publications/content/can-gmos-be-used-organic-products.
3. “Food from Genetically Engineered Plants – Consumer Info About Food from Genetically Engineered Plants.” U S Food and Drug Administration Home Page, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, www.fda.gov/food/ingredientspackaginglabeling/geplants/ucm461805.htm.
4. Goldsbrough, Peter. “Do GMOs Harm Health?” What Are GMOs? ag.purdue.edu/GMOs/Pages/GMOsandHealth.aspx.
5. Hsaio, Jennifer. “GMOs and Pesticides: Helpful or Harmful?” Science in the News, Harvard University, 26 Jan. 2019, sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2015/gmos-and-pesticides/.
6. Ronald, Pamela. “The Case for Engineering Our Food.” Ted, Ted, Mar. 2015, www.ted.com/talks/pamela_ronald_the_case_for_engineering_our_food?language=en.
7. Thompson, Stuart. “How GMO Crops Can Help Feed World’s Growing Population in Time of Climate Change.” Genetic Literacy Project, Genetic Literacy Project, 12 Jan. 2018, geneticliteracyproject.org/2017/01/25/gmo-crops-can-help-feed-worlds-growing-population-time-climate-change/.

Genetic modification is the action of changing the genetic material (DNA) of an organism using engineering techniques. For thousands of years people have been modifying the genes of plants and animals by introducing new pieces of DNA into other organisms’ sequences of DNA. This can be done by taking DNA from the same species, a different species or synthetically making DNA in a lab. The technology is frequently called modern biotechnology or gene technology.

Genetic modification plants were developed to help farmers improve insect damage, crop yield and increased nutritional value of crops. With genetically modified animals offering solutions to enhancing food production, animal health, public health, the animal’s health and reducing environmental impact. The Flavr Savr tomato was genetically modified to have a longer shelf life by deactivating the gene that causes tomatoes to become squishy after being picked. The tomato was also said to have an enhanced flavor according to the University of California.

Gene modification is aimed at companies as most GM methods are being used by companies and farm corporations. Gene modification is here to benefit farmers all over the world who are now enjoying higher profits because of lower production costs, less pesticides used, fewer pest problems and better yields than ever before. David Ervin, an environmental manager of Portland University says GM crops are also reducing environmental impacts on and off the farm. When gene modifying technology first came out, it seemed to be a way of Australia to get ahead in the agriculture industry, with it promising significant improvements.

The gene technology precisely cuts and relocates a piece of DNA from one organism to another. It identifies the trait of interest, isolates it and then places it in the desired organism. However, genomes can also be specially grown and then placed into an organism without ever being transferred from another organism beforehand. With the Flavr Savr tomato the gene that produces a fruit softening enzyme was reversed, allowing the fruit to develop more flavor and an extended shelf life.

When genetically modified organisms (GMO) are established in a new environment, they can have unintended environmental impacts and may have long term impacts on biological communities. Altering the state of an organism causes unknown consequences like the change the nutritional quality of foods, potential toxicity, new viruses, threat to crop diversity and religious, cultural and ethical concerns. GM foods have the possibility to bring about unknown allergic reactions among people and since the introduction of herbicide resistant gene transfer to plants or crops, humans are put at risk as well as plants which tend to grow uncontrollably, thus spreading diseases quickly among other animals and plants. It is said that after the Flavr Savr tomato was altered it lost its nutritional value that it one contained. But the gene technology did allow the tomato to have a much longer shelf life and an enhanced flavor. Gene modifying technology presents numerous benefits which include the improvement of fruit and vegetable shelf life, food quality, improved quantity of meat, milk and livestock. Gene technology has also helped to improve crop yield, agriculture, food prices as well as reducing carbon emissions, pesticide use and water wastage.

Gene modifying technology has had a major impact on society and the scientific community. The technology has helped to alleviate poverty for 16.5 million small farmers and their families. Small growers have been able to increase their yields because of the new biotechnology. The technology has contributed to global sustainability as gene modified crops have helped reduce CO2 emissions by 26.7 billion kg. Genetically modified organisms have provided economic benefits to millions of consumers and have reduced soil erosion due to more effective weed control at a lower cost. GMO have helped conserve water and decrease the use of many agricultural chemicals. As prior mentioned, GM foods may cause unknown allergic reactions and have a negative impact on human health. This is why the European parliament for example have set up regulations to protect human health and the well-being of individuals. A professor, Hamish Scott, says that “sequencing technology is changing the way we understand … health and disease”.

GMO were engineered to resist pests, diseases, improve crop yields and enhance food quality. Scientists have concluded that the technology in fact has made all this happen. GM crops have allowed an increase in crop yield by 22% and have increased famers’ profits by 68%. When the crops were brought about, they were planted in 26 countries by 18 million farmers, making GM the fastest adopted crop technology in the world. The impressive adoption rate tells us that in terms of resilience, sustainability, extra income and yield benefits have revolutionized the farming industry.

The efforts that produced the Flavr Savr tomato was a scientific success. The expectation was to help the tomato stay firm for longer helping distribution. Even though the demand for the tomato was high and very much in demand the Flavr Savr tomato eventually failed. It is much cheaper to pick the tomatoes off the vine unripe and put them in stores while the artfully ripened there. There was no increase in tomato sales which caused the Flavr Savr tomato to be deemed unsuccessful. The high distribution and transportation costs outweigh the fact that they were accepted worldwide.

The impressive savings related to GM crops makes them desirable to most farmers and plant growers. The fact that gene technology has also enabled a better-quality product and more of it has helped agricultural producers both economically and business wise. An analysis from the National Institute of health shows major economic benefits amounting to $18.8 billion in 2012.

However, for many farmers the consequences related with gene modification has been severe. Many plants are pollinated by insects, winds or birds, meaning pollen from other GM plants could move to neighboring fields. This contamination has caused economic losses for many faces who face rejection of their organic certification of which they earn for their organic crops. New pests have also come about. This means farmers affected by them have to revert to older and much more toxic pesticides which overshadow the benefits promised by gene modification technology.

Is it ethically justifiable to genetically modify crops and food? The answer is yes, if scientists and individuals proceed responsibly and with caution. It is the rights of the people to choose whether they adopt GM technology or not. Genetic modification is used in place of selective breeding something that caused major controversy and is considered ethically wrong. The genetic modification of animals is done under strict regulations made by animal cruelty organizations and is always scrutinized by expert teams before wider use.

GMO has helped to produce large quantities and better-quality foods all over the world. This has helped to alleviate world hunger which connects to the ethical principle of beneficence which focuses on the effort to eliminate hunger and disease. Some gene technology is used to improve animal’s resistance to disease and injury, a utilitarian consideration (something designed to be useful rather than attractive).

In my 20 years of living, I always thought of why God made possible that humans and animals able to communicate with one another and what is the hidden purpose of God? Why humans, plants and animals are comparable in other ways and what is the purpose of existence of one another? The answer was revealed and it was a genetic modification organism. A genetic modification organism (GMO) is an organism or microorganism whose genetic material has been altered by means of genetic engineering. It is organism whose genetics has been contrived in the laboratory in order to produce the desired physiological traits or the desired biological products and appearances. On my understanding, GMO are produced using scientific methods that includes recombinant (cloning) of DNA, RNA or chromosomes or in simple word, it is the duplicating of genes and chromosome of one species and another to produce better products or existing species. Over the decades and livestock production, the use of GMO was seen in crop farming and pet breeding. With the creation of GMO, various efforts have been made to modify the characteristics of farm animals to increase their production and population. Among these are the useful benefit of GMO in most studied including: increase in fertility, resistance to diseases and insects, growth rate, fast production and the reduction of the impact of activity to the environment. For me, GMO has a good contribution in our society with its helpful and beneficial practices. One thing I like about this idea is that human minds have able to assess scientific formulation and open for opportunity for advancement in our technology and livelihood. Also, I’m very happy that human kinds have able to use in proper way of benefiting the welfare and the future generation as well. But not all are essential and good.

GMOs product was made through genetic technologies have become a vital part of everyday life, from living in a society through agriculture, med, research, and environmental aggregation. As mentioned above, the advantages of GMO are that it can solve the problems in terms of: weather and climate change, pollution cause by insects and hunger. While GMO aided the human life, disadvantages also exist. One of them is that it can cause toxins and diseases to human body like allergies and cancers, antibiotic resistance and even environmental risk. It is also unsafe to eat most important, it can damage the environment and wildlife.

My stand in this issue is that I’m totally against the GMO in our country for the reason that:

1) Is it necessary to sacrifice one organism for another? My position is that even if it threatens the species, everyone has no right to harm them. That’s totally nonsense.

2) Just imagine the cause of this behavior to environment and to wildlife. No one has the right to destruct the environment and disrupt the biodiversity just for the sake of theory and experiments.

3) Finally, yes, it can reduce the hunger but lonely in the short term. It didn’t feed the whole world of a year or more. Let’s all generalize the reality that if the world was surrounded by genetic technologies and all the things around us is made by science, we can’t survive.

Just imagine that there is no news, publish articles and scientific explanation about GMOs product. The reason why is because scientists are not certain and the experiment is still unresolved.

Genetically modified food might be everywhere in our supermarkets and restaurants. Most of us probably have no idea how much of it we’re eating — or how much it’s affecting our health. In the past two decades, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have completely infiltrated farm fields, grocery stores and kitchens — so much so that most people can’t say with any certainty how many GMOs they actually consume daily. If you eat corn chips, cook with canola oil, drink soymilk, or indulge in the occasional muffin made with baking powder, for instance, chances are you’re eating GMOs. Twenty-five years ago, plant genetics was an obscure science and far from the center of the food chain. But today, more than 54 percent of crops in America, for example, contain GMOs and roughly 70 percent of processed foods harbor at least one genetically modified ingredient, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit education and advocacy organization. Not surprisingly, a lot of money is at stake. Monsanto, team-GMO’s biggest player, reported $13.5 billion in sales last year, up 14 percent from the year before. The sales figures are easy to track and enumerate.

Far less certain is the impact that GMOs are having on our health. The fear, among many health experts, is that GMOs are fueling an increase in food allergies and other gut-based ills. British researchers found a 50 percent jump in soy allergies after the introduction of GMO soy into the country’s food chain. Consequently, the European Union banned genetically modified foods in 1999. The moratorium was lifted in 2004, when strict labeling requirements went into effect. In the United States, GMO proliferation has corresponded with upticks in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Crohn’s disease, leaky gut, and, especially in children, allergies. Coincidence? Perhaps, but Don Huber, PhD, professor emeritus of plant pathology at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., doesn’t think so. “The introduction of GMOs into the food supply”, – says Huber, “has been not only a massive human experiment, but a large-scale ‘betrayal of the public trust’” In fact, a genetically modified organism is one in which the genetic composition of that organism has been altered — meaning that specific elements of the DNA have been removed or added to achieve certain ostensibly desirable traits. Critics of GMOs point out that there are a number of flaws inherent in breeding analogy. For starters, they say, genetic modification allows the transfer of any gene across any species in ways that traditional farmers never imagined. Plants and organisms unable to physically reproduce can become unnaturally intertwined. Crops that are genetically modified will create seeds that are genetically modified. Cross-pollination is possible between GMO crops and non-GMO crops as well, even when specified farming practices are followed. A novel gene may be cobbled together from a plant virus, a soil bacterium and a petunia plant, for example — creating a kind of botanical Frankenstein.

Opponents of GMOs have been unceasing in their campaign to vilify genetically modified foods by describing them as ‘Frankenfoods’ thus implying they are not natural and are potentially harmful. “The practice of introducing new DNA and chemicals to seeds or animals (Aqua Advantage has developed a GMO fish) is similar to how Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein created his monster—through piecing together lots of different organisms”, – wrote the Organic Authority on its website. “We all know what happened when the monster turned on Frankenstein, and many critics of genetic engineering have likened the inevitable backlash of GMO technology to the destruction and murderous rampage of Frankenstein’s monster”. Therefore, the nickname ‘Frankenfoods’ given to GM foods could be justified. Many anti-GMO articles that warn of the dangers GM crops are often accompanied by an image of a fruit or vegetable with syringes sticking out of them. Very often it is a fruit or vegetable for which there is no current GM equivalent such as a tomato. This depiction is used to reinforce the notion that GM foods are created in laboratories and not by nature and therefore are dangerous to consume. One of the earliest concerns with GMOs was their potential to introduce new allergens to our food supply. In an episode of Bulletproof Radio with Jeffrey Smith, founding executive director of The Institute for Responsible Technology, he warned that altering DNA may cause unforeseen changes downstream in the genetic code, such as mutations that change the function or expression of genes. Studies have linked GMOs with a rise in food allergies, serious organ damage, nervous system disorders and even certain types of cancer. The pesticide resistance of GMO seeds has led to the excessive use of chemicals like Monsanto’s Roundup, which has increased in use more than 15 times since GMOs were deregulated. It is now found in ground and rain water and air samples and in 93 percent of pregnant women in a recent study. And, bugs and weeds resistant to glyphosate are requiring the use of even more potent pesticides, like 2,4-D, a chemical in Agent Orange, which bring additional environmental and health risks to virtually all ecosystems exposed.

There is also concern that genetic modification, which can boost a crop’s resistance to disease or make it more tolerant to herbicides, could affect the ability of people to defend against illness. Some GMO plants contain genes that make them resistant to certain antibiotics. This resistance could pass on to humans. There is growing concern globally that people are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics. There is a chance that GMO foods could be contributing to this crisis. For instance, antibiotic-resistance genes are used in some genetically modified plants as a marker of genetic transformation. Despite repeated assurances that the resistance genes cannot spread from the plant, many commentators believe this could happen. Of greater concern is the effect of the genetic modification itself on the food. For example, potatoes have been engineered with a gene from the snowdrop to produce an agglutinin which may reduce susceptibility to insects. In April 1998, a scientist, Arpad Pusztai, from the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen, UK, unwisely announced on television that experiments had shown intestinal changes in rats caused by eating genetically engineered potatoes. He said he would not eat such modified foods himself and that it was “very, very unfair to use our fellow citizens as guineapigs”. A storm of publicity overtook Pusztai. He was removed from his job, a sacrifice that did not quell public alarm in the UK or in Europe.

Personally, I have qualms about consuming GM foods. I think that genetically engineering foods is new practice and still little is known about the long-term effects or safety and more time, research and investigation needs to be undergone to decisively prove if GM foods are safe and healthy to eat. The most worrisome aspect of GMO production is all that is unknown. One of my arguments against GM foods is that insects may be able to resist toxic products from GM foods. This means that eventually, they may grow to difficult levels and we will be unable to handle their numbers and effects years down the line. Perhaps one of the most worrisome aspects of GM foods is the concern that they may harm human health. Worries of allergic reactions from mixing genes are a reality.

In conclusion, I think that GM foods should be banned for the greater good of mankind due to human health hazards, environmental risks, as well as exceedingly high costs for cultivation. GM foods have not been proven to be entirely safe for consumption, as proven by multiple cases of dangers wrought through its intake as well as utilization. Therefore, in an attempt to restrain the increasing popularity of GM foods, various parties must play their respective parts and take a stand in this issue. We, as humans capable of thought and logic, must progress with caution and prudence lest we bring destruction to ourselves and to the environment. Only by doing so can the future of mankind be guaranteed and the lives of our future generations spared from unnecessary dilemmas.

GMOs have changed the production of crop with all of the benefits they have added throughout the development. They have not only helped farmers produce more crops, but they have also helped the world over come major issues and still continue. Climate change will start to have major effects on crop production if there is not GMOs developed before changes arise. A stress resistant GMO will need to be developed that can adapt to major climate changes and a plan needs to be developed for these changes if we are going to be able to survive the changes in the near future.

In the next coming years, the world is going to be going through many changes and climate change will be one of the issues will have to overcome. The climate is predicted to have higher CO2 levels, changing rain patterns, more extreme weather events, and higher temperatures (‘Climate Change Connection’). All of these changes will lead to things like longer growing seasons, earlier planting seasons and increased drought to the soil which will all ultimately lead to the under production of crops if action is not taken. “Studies show that by having a stress tolerant crop it is possible that crop yields could help maintain or even accelerate yield growth” (Conrow). With the possibility to having major crop failures according to multiple studies the development could have a major effect on crop productions, or it could also keep the numbers stable. Having the development of stress tolerant could be a very useful in the near coming future to help keep yields from falling through the upcoming detriment changes.

The development of the GMO that can survive through all possible situations will need to be done soon in order to be effective when the climate changes do start to happen. More adaptive GMO crops will need to be developed to help keep the production of crop at the same rates or even higher. To get this plan running I think that the department of agriculture needs to develop a plan and execute it. They need to find Plant scientist for companies such as Monsanto to take charge with the developing of this crop and it needs to be tested and ran through climates similar to what we will be going through to make sure it will be affective. The effects this crop will have major effects on the agriculture industry when the climate changes do start to become issue for crop production. If this plan is to work as it is all set out the affects it will have throughout the upcoming years is going to be a major success to the survival of our world.

With the changes that are to come GMOs will also play a major role in cost productions (Sterns). Being that crops are not the only that we are worried about it will be a relief to know that the price of our food is not going to sky rocket when things start to go south. People will have to focus less on spending money on foods and will be relieved when something else is to happen like disease outbreaks or unexpected illness from the changing temperatures. All in all, drought is not the only thing to worry about when there are bigger issues going on like rising temperature and increased CO2 levels due to climate changes. GMOs will continue to be a back bone to our agricultural industry and the feeding of the world as these worry some problems are starting to occur.

As we will be needing these crops to be able to feed the world with its ever-growing population there will be some people that will not agree with the situation. In today’s day and age people have put a stigma around GMOs being used in the production of their food (Kiger). They have no idea what a GMO is, what the benefits are, and just overall how big of an impact they have on not only their lives but the whole world. The best way to go about those who don’t know is just to educate them and let them know what a major effect they will have in the upcoming year. Another thing to educate people about is what changes and problems will be coming in the upcoming years and why will actually need GMOs to survive. As being an advocate, we need to let opposing people know that GMOs don’t harm they help by fighting pest/diseases, help crop yields, and are more adaptable to change as they will have to be throughout the upcoming climate changes. Informing people about all that GMOs have to offer and how they will be a major factor in the upcoming years is going to be key on getting everyone on our side.

Climate change and GMOs will have to go hand in hand to be able to keep the ever-growing population fed in the next coming years. The developing of an adaptable crop will help fight against the warmer temperatures, higher CO2 levels, changing rain patterns, and the extreme weather patterns in the near future. Keeping crop production up is going to have to take everyone’s time and support if we are going to make it through this rough period. By making a plan, getting the GMO developed, and getting people educated on what the benefits of GMOs carry, we will make it through this hard time.

References

1. “Climate Change Connection”. Crop Production Impacts | Climate Change Connection, 27 Apr. 2016, http://climatechangeconnection.org/impacts/agriculture-impacts/agriculture-crops/.
2. Conrow, Joan. “Study: GMO Crops Could Help Offset Climate Change Impacts”. Alliance for Science, 30 Nov. 2018, http://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/blog/2018/11/study-gmo-crops-help-offset-climate-change-impacts/.
3. GANZEL, BILL. “The Gmo Age Begins”. The GMO Age Begins, THE GANZEL GROUP, 2009, http://livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe70s/crops_10.html.
4. Kiger, Patrick J. “10 Misconceptions About GMOs”. HowStuffWorks Science, HowStuffWorks, 8 Mar. 2018, http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/genetic/10-misconceptions-gmos2.htm.
5. Stearns, Stacey. “The Future of GMO Crops”. Science of GMOs, 3 Oct. 2017, http://gmo.uconn.edu/topics/the-future-of-gmo-crops/#.
6. “What Are The Benefits of GMOs?” Food Dialogues http://www.fooddialogues.com/article/what-are-the-benefits-of-gmos/