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Ever wish chocolate was healthy and could have the same nutrients and vitamins as fruit and vegetables? Food, one of three necessities of life, affects every living organism on Earth. Although some foods are disliked because of taste or health issues, recent discovery will open up new prosperities and growth in agriculture. Genetic engineering has the capability to make foods taste better, increase nutrient value, and even engineer plants to produce aids for deadly health issues. Every day the progress, understanding, and development of genetic engineering is digging deeper and with this knowledge virtually anything is possible.
Genetic engineering is a growing, prosperous industry and strikes interest in many people, some positive and others negative. Foods that have had foreign genes, genes from other plants or animals, inserted into their genetic codes would be a simple way of explaining genetic engineering. When it is broken down into a more scientific explanation, a plant’s genetic makeup has been altered through a process of recombinant DNA, or gene splicing, to give the plant desirable traits. Recombinant DNA uses bacterial plasmids and viruses to transport the new genes into the host cells. Plasmids are circular DNA found in bacteria that can effectively have the selected genes added to their genetic code, and then inserted into the host. Viruses, which would normally infect the host plant cells, are instead disabled and carrying the new genes, are implanted into the plant cells, without infection. Bioballistics brings forth another approach of genetic engineering where, “the use of tiny slivers of metal that are coated with the genetic material are shot into the host cells using a gene gun” (Bren 1). Once these sliver...
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...ran, Rakesh S. “Genetic Engineering- Part 2: Pros and cons of genetically engineering crops.” West Virginia Extension Service. West Virginia Farm Bureau News, February 2001. Web. 23 February 2011.
Franchino, Jen, Winnie Verruto, and Allison Zuckerbrow. “The Cons of Genetic Engineering of Plants, Crops, and Genetically Engineered Food.” University of Delaware, 8 May 2000. Web. 23 February 2011.
Heit, Jeffrey. “Genetically Engineered Foods.” U.S. National Library of Medicine. MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, 12 May 2010. Web. 23 February 2011.
McAfee, Kathleen. “Geographies of Risk and Difference in Crop Genetic Engineering.” Geographical Review 94.1 (January 2004): 80-106. JSTOR. Web. 23 February 2011.
“Genetically Modified Foods and Organisms.” Office of Biological and Environmental Research. The Human Genome Program, 05 November 2008. Web. 23 February 2011.
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).
Denson, Bryan. "Genetically engineered crops viewed as both benefit, threat". The Oregonian. February 10, 2000.
Genetically modified (GM) food is created from organisms that have had specific modifications introduced into their DNA using the methods of genetic engineering. In molecular biology, genetic engineering is specified as ‘the direct manipulation of genes for practical purposes’ (Campbell & Reece, 2005: 384).
Herrick, Clare B. “‘Cultures Of GM’: Discourses Of Risk And Labelling Of Gmos In The UK And EU.” Area 37.3 (2005): 286-294. Academic Search Premier. Web. 2 Nov. 2011.
Whitman, Debrah “Genetically Modified Foods.” Genetically Modified Foods: Harmful or Helpful? Web. 19 January 2014.
Uzogara, S. G. 2000. The impact of genetic modification of human foods in the 21st century: a review. Biotechnology Advances 18 (3) : 179-206.
Genetically Modified Organism was introduced to the public approximately fourteen years ago. Genetically Modified Organism was brought about through Plant Biotechnology, which has been researched for centuries. Farmers’ crops are everything to their business, and wanting to preserve their product is top significance. A solution to the numerous possibilities of hindrance genetically modified organism was spawned. Traditional breeding included different processes, such as sowing seeds from the resilient plants in order to produce a new generation. Farmers would grow plants with higher yield and resistance to pests, naturally alternating the genetic makeup of plants. Consequently, a vast majority of plants today bare resemblances of their lineage (Biotechnology Industry Organization 2010). Plant biotechnology allows breeders to sel...
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)
Since the beginning of the agricultural revolution, the human population on Earth has continued to increase at a rapid rate with no signs of it stopping anytime soon. In response to the growing population, agricultural advancements such as new methods for growing have been made in order to address this issue. However, one advancement continues to be at the heart of a debate that has been going on for several years: genetically modifying organisms.
Although farmers have used crossbreeding to improve crops and animals for thousands of years, the type of genetic engineering being used today is more complex than the interbreeding of the past, which occurred between two varieties of the same or similar species (8). One particularly salient issue seems to be the genetic engineering between two different species, specifically between animals and plants, which some perceive as breaking down "natural barriers...with...unpredictable results" (8). For example, genetic engineers have added genes from the flounder to tomatoes in an attempt to give tomatoes a longer shelf life(4). Such a transfer seems to be viewed by some as undesirable and unnatural, although it may have economical benefits. This kind of genetic engineering may cause the spread of diseases across species barriers(4), thereby creating problems that could never "naturally" exist.
Steinbrecher, Ricarda. “Genetically Engineered Crops May Harm The Environment.” Genetic Engineering. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. Farmington Hills MI: Greenhaven Press, 2004. 150-158. Print.
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,
There are several benefits of genetically modified foods. The world population has reached to seven billion people and it is predicted to become double in the next 50 years. Ensuring an adequate food supply for this booming population is going to be a major challenge in the years to come. Genetically modified foods can make it possible to meet this need in a number of ways such as strong plants, improved nutrition, high crop yields, reduced allergenicity, medical benefits, healthier farm animals, environmental benefits, food safety improvements, and economic benefits. Genetic engineering has been successful in producing plants with increased pest and disease resistance, while retaining high yields, taste, and processing attributes. Fo...
Lemaux, P.G. (2006). Introduction to genetic modification. Agricultural Biotechnology in California Series, 8178. Retrieved from http://ucanr.org/freepubs/docs/8178.pdf
Contrary to what the companies that produce these altered crops would like people to believe, genetically modified crops fail to help farmers. Rather, they affect farmers adversely when compared to natural crops. Organic farmers face especially high risks because these plants can and will breed with other nearby crops, whether they are genetically modified or not. If fact, one study “demonstrated that more than 50% of the wild strawberries growing within 50 meters of a strawberry field contained marker genes from the cultivated strawberries” (Hanson). Because these modified crops spread so frequently, it proves almost impossible to ensure that the organic crops are natural and are not the offspring of a modified plant. These crops also threaten conventional farmers. Many of these altered plants are resi...