But opponents for GMO continue to fight and protest the safety of any GMO’s and are we truly ready for them, currently agricultural plants are one of the most frequently used examples of genetically modified organisms, some benefits of genetic engineering in agriculture are increased crop yields, which advocates believe will reduced the costs of food and reduce the need for pesticides. They also believe that they enhance the nutrient composition of food quality and is resistance to pests and disease, many feel that using GMO’s can benefit the world 's growing
In a feeble attempt to cure world hunger scientists developed GMOs, or 'genetically-modified organisms', which are genetically enhanced crop plants created for human consumption, and although GMOs were initially designed to benefit the world, it appears as though they are doing as much harm as they are good. Originally, GMOs were designed to c...
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If you read the paper or watch the news, you’re undoubtedly aware of the debate raging over genetically modified food. Is it bad or is it good? Between the feuding sides, you might find yourself a little lost and wondering which side is right. Answers to seemingly simple questions have been blurred or exaggerated by both sides. On one side genetically modified food is more sustainable, safe, cheaper, easier to grow and has the potential of creating disease-fighting foods. Although this is positive and good intentioned, there may be unintended consequences that we have been quick to overlook. Those opposing genetically modified food clam that it is dangerous, harms the environment, increases health risks, and causes infertility and weight gain. Even things like the declining bee population may have closer ties to modified food than previously thought. We must look to science for answers. By studying genetically modified organisms (GMOs) we can guide our decision about whether we want to be consuming them.
Anderson, Jon C., Cheryl J. Wachenheim, and William C. Lesch. "AgBioForum 9(3): Perceptions of Genetically Modified AndOrganic Foods and Processes." AgBioForum. 2006. Web. 14 Sept. 2011. http://www.agbioforum.org/v9n3/v9n3a05-wachenheim.htm
Whitman, Deborah B. "Genetically Modified Foods: Harmful or Helpful?" Genetically Modified Foods: Harmful or Helpful? ProQuest, Apr. 2000. Web. 04 Feb. 2014. .
Imagine living on a farm. It is cold most of the year, but for a few months you are able to grow some corn to feed your family, and occasionally if you are lucky you can sell it in town to make some money. It is hard work for what seems like a little reward. You must often deal with insects eating many of the corn stalks, and your corn doesn’t do well in cold temperatures, so you must harvest it before the cold weather starts again. You have to plow much of your field to plant this corn, and it takes much effort to look after it. Then a man gives you some seeds. He calls it genetically modified corn. You plant it and the next year and the year after that there is no need to worry about pest, because the pesticides you used no longer harm your plants. Your growing season is longer and you have much more corn on the same area of land and you can now sell your corn in the market regularly. It seems like a good thing to have a GMO on your land.
Now, in the year of 2014, biotechnologists have the ability to do things akin to that of science fiction novels. The idea of genetically modifying plants to behave in any way we want, an idea once fantasized about many years ago, is now a reality. In our modern age, we can manipulate the actual DNA of an organism using enzymes to copy, cut and paste genes in any location or order we please. This technology is even used on the plants we consume as food, provoking a huge controversy on a global scale. This issue is most prevalent within the US though. In the year 2000, 68 percent of all the transgenic food within the world was produced in the US [Nottingham 7]. Furthermore, estimates suggest that as much as 80% of U.S. processed food may contain an ingredient from a GE crop [Lemaux 777]. With these significant statistics one would assume the American public is very opinionated on the matter, but shockingly, research by the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology has shown that in 2005 Americans’ knowledge of genetically modified foods and animals continued to remain low [Pew 2]. These shocking finding prove that, as a whole, Americans are uneducated about what they are eating and how it is produced. Genetically modified organisms, or GMO’s as they are called, will not be going anytime soon so it is absolutely necessary that every US citizen become educated on this possible life-...