Food Products and Biotechnology
INTRODUCTION
This paper is about Biotechnology and its use in creating new food products. In researching this paper, I found there is a lot of information on this subject and a lot of debate on the creation of genetically altered food, medicine, crops, and more. I decided to do my paper on the genetically altered food part of the subject. I will discuss what biotechnology is, who is for it and who is against it, and what some of the ethical concerns are when it comes to growing genetically modified (GM) crops.
THE FOOD BIOTECHNOLOGY DEBATE WHAT IS BIOTECHNOLOGY?
Biotechnology is a broad term that applies to all living organisms. It is used for everything from microorganisms used to ferment beer to the most sophisticated forms of gene therapy. There are two categories of activities in biotechnology: the traditional methods and new scientific methods. The traditional methods are the way that farmers have been breeding their crop for centuries, cross breeding plants until finally some generation down the line is exactly the way they want it. The new methods are taking genes from different organisms and inserting them into another organism in the lab. This eliminates the waiting period to get the results they want, instead they get the exact plant they want right away. The United States government defines it as being "any technique that uses living organisms or parts of living organisms to (1) make or modify products, (2) improve plants or animals, or (3) develop microorganisms for specific uses. The purpose of biotechnology in foods is to create better tasting and more nutritious foods, that have higher crop yields, and plants that are naturally protected from disease, insects, and drough...
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the full range of scientific finding as well as socioeconomic and ethical implications. They are concerned that there needs to be more testing due to growing evidence of hazards to biodiversity, food safety, human and animal health. They do not feel that neither the need nor the benefits of genetic engineering of agriculture have been proven. They say that new scientific evidence warrants an immediate moratorium. They say that cross pollination is already happening creating many species of superweeds and that the chances of transgenes spreading to other plant is 30 times more likely than a plant spreading its own genes. These 61 scientists have me convinced after reading their statement that the governments need to put a halt to this and have further testing and refining done before anymore are grown commercially.
Maghari, Behrokh Mohajer, and Ali M. Ardekani. "Genetically Modified Foods And Social Concerns." Avicenna Journal Of Medical Biotechnology 3.3 (2011): 109-117. Academic Search Complete. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.
Whitman, Deborah. "Genetically Modified Foods: Harmful or Helpful?". Cambridge Scientific Abstracts. Available online at http://www.csa.com/hottopics/gmfood/overview.html. Accessed November 9, 2003.
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.
Deal, Walter F., and Stephen L. Baird. “Genetically Modified Foods: A Growing Need.” Technology Teacher 62.7 (2003): 18. Academic Search Premier. Web. 2 Nov. 2011.
The question “Is this product genetically modified?” has gained increasing popularity among the health concerned and those who worry about where their food comes from over the past couple of years. A decade or two ago, this question had no meaning and has no significance in society. However, thanks to the development of technology and a larger understanding of the underlying properties of foods, down to the molecular scale, humans have created a new field of engineering to combat worries that have plagued the food industry to centuries upon centuries. And as always, the advent of a new a product or procedure that changes the way we think and create will always usher along with it self opinions from every strata of society. The genetic modification of food in the United States of America has become a pertinent topic of debate, just recently gaining its popularity in the past couple of years. To modify or not to modify? There are both pros and cons to whether or not change the DNA sequences of foods in order to better them in some way or another. However, like every other major, groundbreaking change in this country comes regulation in hopes to appease everyone in the country and give each participant a fair chance in the race, in particular, the race for the production and distribution of foods. Such regulation in the United States has been done in order to protect and support people that have not devoted their time and money to the biological nuance and also to give every consumer in the country products that are labeled, identifying what they are putting into their systems on a daily basis. As time and society progress, how we view tasks that have been usually kept hidden and now placed onto a pedestal for everyone to se...
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.
One of the most important subjects in science is biotechnology. The use of organisms, living systems, or parts of organisms is what biotechnology is all about. Biotechnology involves manipulating nature in order to make systems, products, or environments for human or other species. We can 't argue the fact that biotechnology has played a big role in scientific research, for it has modified plants, humans, organisms, etc. Biotechnology is all around us and in our everyday lives, from the clothes on our back , the chemicals we use to clean them with, the food we consume, the medicine we use to treat each other, even the fuel we use to get to our destination.
This paper will analyze the controversy related with genetically modified foods in our food supply. I will concentrate on the positive and negative effects of GMO's. The objective is to help the reader to learn
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.
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,
Biotechnology, a term coined in 1917 by Karl Ereky, is defined as the manipulation of living organisms for purposes other than their original intent. Biotechnological research is often propelled by the desire to increase the quality of life that humans experience here on earth and is used to find solutions to modern-day problems. General opposition of the many variations of this type of research is driven by concern about the unknown effects of altering the environment of the natural world and the ethics of doing so. While the term may sound futuristic, agricultural biotechnology is nearly as old as civilization itself. Agriculture, in its most basic sense, is biotechnology and it all started with food.
Biotechnology is the use of biological processes for genetic manipulation of micronisms for creating antibiotics, hormones, etc. It is usually used for industrial and other purposes.
Genetically Modified food is a type of DNA technology that is used to alter genes in plants therefore bringing out desirable characteristics that can be combined and selected. Genetically modified food technology can be used for various reasons such as increasing the nutrition and population rates of food all over the world. In underdeveloped countries there is a lack of money to buy food and a limited number of crops they can buy to sustain themselves. Genetic engineering allows scientist to alter gene characteristics to fight malnutrition. An example of this would be the Golden Rice Project. This project has infused beta-carotene into rice plants so that they could produce vitamin A. The vitamin A elevated the vitamin A deficiency and created
According to Campbell et al. (2008) biotechnology is the manipulation of organism or their components to make useful products. The word “Biotechnology” originates from the word “Biology” and “Technology”. By looking at the word, we can say that biotechnology is a technology based on biology. Human had practiced biotechnology since centuries ago mostly involving food. Biotechnology can be classify into two; traditional and modern biotechnology.
New opportunities and challenges of human health are presented by the application of biotechnology to food. Biotechnology helps improve the quality and nutrition of foods consumed by people,this helps their health. Foods produced through biotechnology has been around for more than 15 years but people are still debating about how safe the food is. Biotechnology still have to plays its role by increasing agricultural productivity,especially in light of climate change. I believe that biotechnology is still going to help better th nutritional value of food. It can also assist farmers to increase their productivity so that they can feed their families and many people across the globe. The whole world should be using the food biotechnology because it has the ability to change the world,it can be to end world hunger .