The subject matter of my paper revolves around the application of genetically modified organisms (GMO) in modern societies. A GMO is an organism whose genetic material has been modified by artificial means. This involves the addition, the loss or the mutation of a specific gene. The main value conflict surrounding the topic of genetic engineering is whether innovation is more important than the sanctity of life. As humans alter the genetic material of an organism, they ultimately violate the natural order of life that is said to be sacred and to remain untouched. For religious believers, it is to say that biotechnology tampers with the plan of the creator and as humans are mixing genes, they are doing something that is unnatural. In other words, …show more content…
Scientists hope to develop foods that will be immune to weather fluctuations and insects (Millstein). For instance, those in favor of GMOs argue that it will ultimately put an end to world hunger. As genetically modified foods produce higher crop yields, they will feed populations from third world countries (Millstein). Moreover, they are immune to insects and diseases. They also have effective levels of tolerance towards herbicides and strong weather fluctuations. Lastly, some foods are modified to have high contents of specific nutrients (Millstein). For example, golden rice is a variety of rice that has been engineered to have high levels of vitamin A (Charles). Also, they aim to create new medication that will protect humans from current diseases. The first ever genetically modified drug was insulin and it was created to cure diabetes. By the year 2000, there were over 100 GM drugs on the market such as Remicade, Epo, Avastin and Neulasta …show more content…
On one hand, genetically modified crops produce more with less; they produce higher crop yields and can help solve the problem of world hunger. By the year 2050, the global population is expected to reach more than 9 billion people and studies show that we will need more than 170 % of our current agricultural production if we want to feed everyone ("BENEFITS OF FOOD & AG BIOTECHNOLOGY"). Hence, our traditional methods are not even efficient enough to feed everyone nowadays so millions of people will die undoubtedly if we stick to these methods. A counter argument to this would be that GMOs can potentially harm the environment and therefore threaten the existence of humanity. However, this argument is not accurate as our current agricultural methods harm the environment in an equivalent manner. They release 90 million tons of carbon dioxide annually and they account for 37 % of the global annual methane emissions (Good). They also use 70 % of our fresh water supplies and lead to deforestation (Good). Following that, genetic engineering’s purpose is to create medication and carry out research on diseases. In August 2014, a biotechnology plant derived from tobacco plants saved the lives of two American aid workers who were infected with the Ebola virus (Langreth). Thus, genetic engineering ultimately aims to improve the quality of life of humans and presents a great
Do you know what you're really voting for? Iowan farmer Reg Clause suggests you may not in his column, “Say ‘no’ to GMO labeling.” Reminding readers that general election day has come, he attempts to convince us that a certain law should be voted against. The proposed legislation would mandate all foods that contain genetically modified organisms, also know as GMOs, to display a warning label on their packaging. He argues that this would be detrimental to the good name of these types of foods when they do not deserve to be shamed. I agree that the genetically engineered crops should not be labeled, but not because that would tarnish their name. However, the reasoning for my opinion comes from the perspective that it would not only be impractical
Pamela Ronald, a plant geneticist, presented a Ted Talk “The case for engineering our food”, Ronald points out that engineered genetics for our plants is not harmful, yet better for our environment and health. “Now, genetic modification is not new; virtually everything we eat has been genetically modified in some manner”(Ronald).
Have you ever asked yourself what is Genetic modified organism(GMO)? Will in this paper I am going to tell you about GMO. Gmo is any foods or animals that have been modified genetically. There is too much Gmo in our food. We could cut down on how much foods have GM. We could also make more job for farming. We Should make more food with no GMO so we can all be healthy.
Genetic engineering has been around for many years and is widely used all over the planet. Many people don’t realize that genetic engineering is part of their daily lives and diet. Today, almost 70 percent of processed foods from a grocery store were genetically engineered. Genetic engineering can be in plants, foods, animals, and even humans. Although debates about genetic engineering still exist, many people have accepted due to the health benefits of gene therapy. The lack of knowledge has always tricked people because they only focused on the negative perspective of genetic engineering and not the positive perspective. In this paper, I will be talking about how Genetic engineering is connected to Brave New World, how the history of genetic engineering impacts the world, how genetic engineering works, how people opinions are influenced, how the side effects can be devastating, how the genetic engineering can be beneficial for the society and also how the ethical issues affect people’s perspective.
According to an article titled “Genetically Modified Foods Eaten” regularly by Linda A. Johnson today, essentially 40% of the foods we eat are genetically modified, unless you eat organic foods and/or you grow your own. Most products containing corn, soil, canola oil, or cottonseed oil contain genetic modification. One of the biggest genetic modification company is Monsanto (Johnson). She goes on to say many Americans don’t even know they are consuming genetically engineered foods. In “Genetically Modified Foods Confuse Consumers” by Mary Clare Jalonick writing in the Washington Times, has talked about how this is because the FDA does not require them to be labeled. Jalonick has said, “Genetically modified foods are plants or animals that have
Genetically modified foods can have many positive effects on the world. We can use fewer pesticides by inserting a pest resistant gene into the gene of plants. Farmers use many pesticides over and over to keep the insects from eating their crops. This is usually a high costing process and time consuming. When the plants receive water the excess water runs into another source of water and when that happens it picks up the chemicals that the pesticide had left on the soil. By injecting a gene into a crop to make it resistant to the pesticide we can use fewer pesticides and clean up the contamination that they cause, we can save money, and we can also harvest more crops. Weed killers is also a problem but there reason and solution is the same thing as the pesticides. Another positive is that you can protect plants from diseases. Many fungi, viruses, bacteria can cause a plant to die. Genetically we can modify a plant so that if a plant became intertwined with a virus it could still survive, and when you can protect the plant you will increase your chances for a healthy harvest. Another way to increase your food supply is to take a gene that can help a plant survive cold weather, drought or salinity tolerance. When you have a frost many plants die from being in the cold, or when you have a drought. So again we have another reason to save money and crops from being wasted. For many places when you have a bad harvest the price of the fo...
In a world with a tremendously fast growing population, climate changes due to global warming, and economic faults, GMOs might be the best solution. Most people joining the fight against GMOs have no idea what they are and are unaware of the many benefits. A genetically modified organism is a plant or animal that has had a gene from another organism inserted into it, providing a desired trait. GMOs are created by genetic engineering techniques or transgenics (Bessin 1). The GMO Action Alliance “GMO Free USA” describes the process of genetic engineering as unnatural and experimental, resulting in foreign compounds in food....
The term GM foods or GMO (genetically-modified organisms) is most commonly used to refer to crop plants created for human or animal consumption using the latest molecular biology techniques (Whitman, 2000). These plants have been modified in the laboratory to offer desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content. Also, genetic engineering techniques have been applied to create plants with the exact desired trait very rapidly and accurately. For example, this is done by the geneticist isolating the gene responsible for drought tolerance and inserting it into another plant. The new genetically modified plant will now have gained drought tolerance as well.
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are a cause of continuous debate. What would be the purpose of producing genetically altered food? Many argue that GMOs could prove to be very beneficial, the use of GMOs could lead to advances in medicine, and agriculture, and they could also prevent famine in poor underdeveloped countries. Genetic modification offers many benefits: pest control, disease resistant crops, drought resistant crops, no use of insecticides, nutritional beneficial foods, and less contamination. This is only a short list of the many benefits offered by the used of GMOs. With so many benefits why are we opposed to such a miracle? (NERC 2005)
Genetically modified food’s, or GMOs, goal is to feed the world's malnourished and undernourished population. Exploring the positive side to GMOs paints a wondrous picture for our planet’s future, although careful steps must be taken to ensure that destruction of our ecosystems do not occur. When GMOs were first introduced into the consumer market they claimed that they would help eliminate the world’s food crisis by providing plants that produced more and were resistant to elemental impacts like droughts and bacterial contaminants, however, production isn’t the only cause for the world’s food crisis. Which is a cause for concern because the population on the earth is growing and our land and ways of agriculture will not be enough to feed everyone sufficiently. No simple solutions can be found or applied when there are so many lives involved. Those who are hungry and those who are over fed, alike, have to consider the consequences of Genetically Modified Organisms. Food should not be treated like a commodity it is a human necessity on the most basic of levels. When egos, hidden agendas, and personal gains are folded into people's food sources no one wins. As in many things of life, there is no true right way or wrong way to handle either of the arguments and so many factors are involved that a ‘simple’ solution is simply not an option.
According to scientists, genetically engineering crops contributes to their quality. Crops that have been genetically modified to have a particular trait can decrease the amount of herbicides needed for growing that crop. Additionally, genetically modified (GM) crops can help third world countries, where malnutrition is common. For example, to help diminish nutrient deficiencies in developing countries, “plans were underway to develop a golden rice that also has increased iron content”(Whitman 2). In addition, GM crops can be modified to be able to “withstand the environmental challenges of drought, disease, and insect infestation” (Swenson 1). Growing GM crops can also result in fruits and vegetables that stay fresh for a prolonged period of time and taste better.
Genetically Modified Foods: The Answer to World Hunger. Genetically modified (GM) foods have become omnipresent over the past decade. They are a technological breakthrough that allows humans to manipulate and add foreign genes to crops to enhance desired traits, but they have also evolved into a controversial issue, especially for Third World countries. Some people believe that GM foods not only provide larger yields to feed hungry citizens in Third World countries, but they can also be a source of great nutritional value.
The main ethical dilemma presented in the film is the use of genetic modification technology in humans. The scientists initially approach this dilemma by thinking like classic teleologians. “By incorporating human DNA into the hybrid template, we can begin to address any number of genetically influenced diseases…Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, even some forms of cancer”. (Splice, 2009) They are producing a greater good by choosing this ethical path. This is the core motive for the current use of GMOs. According to the Human Genome Project (U.S. Department of Energy Genome Programs, 2008), GMOs have a variety of applications; To increase the yield of crops and animal products, to make plants and animals more resistant to certain disease, and more efficiently processed are but a few. The end product of these applications is, in theory, to benefit humanity. If we are already genetically modifying plants and animals, is a...
Genetically modified organisms can be plants or animals that have been genetically altered to produce or express a desired characteristic or trait. By genetically altering organisms such as crops, we can eliminate the use of pesticides by making the crops resistant to insects. We can also produce crops that are resistant to floods and droughts. Furthermore, with the use of molecular genetics, we are able to produce foods that are rich in nutrients and supplements. People in developing countries may not be fortunate enough to have a full course meal that contains nutrients from all four basic food groups. However, GMOs can with a little modification provide all the amino acids, vitamins, and minerals included in a good diet by simply consuming a genetically modified staple crop such as rice. In addition, by producing crops that are resistant to harsh environmental conditions as well as pests, we would see a rapid increase in the production of food thereby reducing and or!
The current use of technology for GMOs is very useful. Less pesticide is needed to be used for insect pest resistant plants. Technology cuts down on the time it takes to grow a crop. Technology can produce more food for less work and less money. “GM crops are frequently perceived as a ‘technological fix’, proposed by those who fail to address the underlying causes of hunger and poverty, which really require economic, political and social change” (Nuffield Bioethics 29).