This paper discusses genetically modified (GM) foods, the interesting history, and their development. It shows how GM foods have experienced rapid growth over the last ten years. Within the history of these foods, there has been a great deal of controversy and debate of the benefits and risks of GM foods and the production process. Analyzing the current situation around GM foods, this controversy will likely continue for many years to come.
Genetically Modified Foods
The Early Days and Development of GM Foods
In the beginning of genetically modified foods, tomatoes were the first crop to be genetically engineered and grown for commercial use; tobacco had been produced over a decade earlier. . “Food that is genetically modified means that the original DNA structure has been changed. DNA is the blueprint of each living thing. By altering the DNA, the qualities of the characteristics of the living thing, plants in this case, can be changed.” (Windley M.D., 2008)The GM tomato crops were created to be resistant to the usual rotting and decay of a typical, conventional tomato that was being grown by farmers
A company in the United States by the name of Calgene was permitted to commercially produce the GM tomatoes in the mid 1990s. They did this without specific labels to indicate their difference from regularly grown tomatoes. At that time, consumers would pay between two and five times more than the cost of conventional tomatoes. Calgene experienced problems with the production of the GM tomato and new competition was introduced. At the same time, a variation of their tomato was used in a tomato paste produced by another company (by the name of Monsanto), which ended up being sold in Europe a couple of years later. The prod...
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...llow you to contribute to a safer and more positive future of GM foods.
Works Cited
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Food today?. Wired, Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2007/09/monsanto-is-hap/
Schneider, K. (2010). Genetically Modified Food. Informally published
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University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida. Retrieved from http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/FS/FS08400.pdf
Windley M.D., S. (2008). Genetically modified foods. Pure Health MD,
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...ll have to face economic, social and crisis to adjust themselves to the new food industry. The world is facing a controversy, a battle between the benefits promoted by the GM food advocates and the tangible results. Consumers must know the consequences of GM Food consumption, nevertheless it is not clear if the governments are trying to hide the truth or the customers decided to ignore it.
GMOs are created by inserting DNA from bacteria, viruses or other plants and animals into a "target species" to create desirable traits. Most food today is modified to be resilient against pesticides and/or herbicides like Roundup. The first and only genetically modified food approved by the FDA for human consumption was the Flavr Savr tomato, which was slipped on grocery store shelves in 1994. Scientists at Calgene Inc. altered...
The industry leader in the field is undoubtedly Monsanto, who has developed many of the major GM seeds, such as the entire line of "Roundup Ready" products and "Bollgard" Cotton. In dealing with GM foods, Monsanto and companies like it must aspire for two things, a healthy bottom line (i.e. profits and a positive public image.... ... middle of paper ... ... Only time will tell.
coli bacteria, called Humulin. Once Humulin hit the U.S markets, by 1994, with The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval, GMO’s were sold in grocery stores with the introduction of the Flavr Savr Tomato, a delayed-ripening tomato that had a longer shelf life than conventional tomatoes.4 Big corporations have rallied behind the few solid arguments for untested transgenic crops, and have used these to tenaciously take down any challenge that these foods are not safe for human consumption.
“Actions speak louder than words” but in this case results speak louder than words. Just because the labels say it’s safe, is it? How can something that’s only recently been discovered be considered safe when we don’t know the long term outcome? Hearing that my food has been ‘Genetically Modified’ just sounds messed up from the start. Our countries people are trusting what they consume by words spoken by people they’ve never even met and people who are only out to make lots of money with whatever it takes. Do you really think that the business owners running the food system actually eats the average food that is in a grocery store? Doubtful. Largely between 1997 and 1999, genetically modified food ingredients suddenly appeared in 2/3rds of all US processed foods
Are genetically modified foods safe? Genetically modified foods are crop plants created for human or animal consumption using molecular biological techniques. These plants have been modified to enhance certain traits like increased resistance to herbicides or improve nutritional content. This process traditionally has been done through breeding, but is not very accurate. Scientists have been using biotechnology to implant the gene that makes the plants act the way they want them to. Genetically modified foods have advantages and disadvantages on the environment and advantages and disadvantages on society. We have to weigh the positives and negatives to see if genetically modified foods are healthy for us and if we really need them.
Food is an essential part of everyday life without it one could not survive. Every day we make choices on what we put in to our bodies. There are countless varieties of food to choose from to meet the diverse tastes of the increasing population. Almost all food requires a label explaining the ingredients and the nutritional value allowing consumers to make informed decisions on what they are consuming. However, many may not be considering where that food is coming from or how it has been produced. Unfortunately, there is more to food than meets the eye. Since 1992, “ the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ruled, based on woefully limited data, that genetically modified foods were ‘substantially equivalent’ to their non-GM counterparts” (Why to Support Labeling). GM food advocates have promised to create more nutritious food that will be able to grow in harsh climate conditions and eventually put an end to world hunger in anticipation of the growing population. There is very little evidence to support these claims and study after study has proven just the opposite. GM crops are not only unsafe to consume, but their growing practices are harmful to the environment, and multinational corporations are putting farmers out of business.
...ate, this was deemed by the European Union to be “dangerous to the environment.” It produces super weeds that require higher toxic chemicals, deplete soil quality, and affect wildlife along with non-pest population. Even though these studies were made of glyphosate, bio tech companies were still claiming that their product was “biodegradable”, “safe with low toxicity”, and stating that “it leave the soil clean after use.” These were clear and false claims that were immediately called out by the French Union. Another important environmental risk is the fact that since these GMO crops have foreign DNA in them, it is unknown exactly how they will react in the environment around them or how they will affect the current population of species. It is evident that these crops are uncontrollable and are a mutation that will have some sort of effect on the world around them.
Genetically modified organisms (GMO) are food products that are another increasing risk in the globalization of food movement. GMOs are changes to animal and plant through engineering changes at the genetic level to try and achieve some new productivity and other manufacturing advantage. Also, these changes can become intellectual property of the company that creates the GMO, and there by can create a market that becomes exclusive to certain food companies. (The Levin Institute,
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 inserts it into another plant. The new genetically-modified plant will now have gained drought tolerance as well.
In conclusion, the application of genetically modified food has a lot of pros and cons. There is so much disagreement about the benefits and risks of GM because there are so many different views surrounding it. This issue is very important today because it will change our future. How would the world be when every single living creature will be in some aspect genetically modified? Would we be more resistant to illness? Or would we be weaker and more vulnerable to diseases? Would this be the beginning of the mutant era? Regardless of the answers to these questions, we will need to consider the implications of genetically modified foods.
This report explains genetically modified food (GMOs) and discusses the benefits and risks associated with the consumptions of GMOs. Genetically modified foods (GMOs) are foods that have been genetically altered using engineering techniques. The most common technique used today is called recombinant DNA technology; this technology combines different molecules from different plant species to create a plant with a new set of genes, a hybrid plant. Another recombinant DNA technology being used is recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST) an artificial growth hormone; this hormone is being fed or injected into cows to improve milk production. (ThefreeDictionary)
Okigbo, R., Iwube, J., & Putheti, R. (2011). An extensive review on genetically modified (GM) foods
Today you can’t go to a supermarket without encountering genetic modified food on shelves and have become a general part of our kitchen. Genetic Modified Foods or simply known as GM Foods are crop plants or animals manipulated through latest technological molecular biology application performed in laboratories to improve shelf life and resistance from pest. Since the discovery in 1983, we have been using and improving genetic food technology in order to satisfy the worlds growing food consumption. Now a days crops which had been genetically modified are able to develop even in the least ideal environment. The topic of genetic modified foods is surrounded with controversy. Though GM Foods has its advantages and impact in the world,
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.