Argumentative Essay On Genetically Modified Plants

Despite recent conversation and controversy on the topic, genetically modified (GM) plants and foods, the vast majority of the public still do not have a strong concept of what a GM organism. Though the abundance of recent media coverage makes it seem like GM organisms are only currently appearing, they have been around for thousands of years. (Key, Ma, and Drake 1) “Transgenic (GM) plants are those that have been genetically modified using recombinant DNA technology.”(Key, Ma, and Drake 1) According to Key, when GM plants were first created, they were made by breeding different plants together in order to create a plant that had the most desirable qualities out of the two. The main reason that plants are genetically modified is to introduce a new gene that is not naturally found within the plants original genetics. Genetically modifying plants can be beneficial in many ways, for example, it can

A study that was supported by the Genetically Modified Organisms Breeding Major Projects of P.R. China grant 2011ZX08011-005 and 2012ZX08011003, consisted of a 90 day observation of 84 rats and compared the differences in their GI health due their differences in diets; the control groups consuming non genetically modified rice while the other five groups consumed various concentrations of genetically modified rice. (Yuan et al.) Yanfang Yuan and his colleagues conducted this study at the China Agricultural University in the College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering. Consuming genetically altered foods may cause miniscule changes to the body, however, none of these changes are harmful and very few of them stray from the effects that non-genetically altered foods will cause. Therefore, consuming genetically altered foods has no abnormal effects on one’s overall well-being. (Yuan et al.