Rishav Guha
The Golden Grain
The World Health Organization states that an estimated 250 million children are Vitamin – A deficient ("WHO"). Every year 250,000 to 500,000 of these children go blind, half of them dying within 12 months. Vitamin A deficiency is the leading cause of preventable childhood blindness and is one of the most prominent causes of death in children. Golden Rice is a genetically engineered product designed to combat this widespread deficiency in areas where they 're most prominent, in an affordable manner. Golden Rice has faced immense controversy and opposition, and although that is important in any endeavor that deals with human health, the issue needs to be made more aware, because it maybe an inexpensive solution to
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In rice-based societies, the absence of β-carotene in rice grains manifests itself in a marked incidence of blindness and susceptibility to disease, leading to an increased incidence of premature death of small children, the weakest link in the chain.” ("The Golden Rice Project").
Surprisingly, rice plants do produce provitamin A, but only in the non-edible part of the grain. Golden Rice overcomes this problem by genetically modifying the grain, thus enabling the actual edible grain to accumulate provitamin A ("The Golden Rice Project").
Genetically modifying organisms is far from a recent undertaking. Guiding and reshaping animals and plants to make them more desirable, has been a facet of humanity for more than 14,000 years (Kingsbury). The very act that changed human race forever, our transition from hunter-gatherers to farmers and herders, was a form of gene manipulation. Domestication of plants and animals is the simplest form of controlled reshaping of an organism’s genes, through artificial selection. That means that individuals that had similar traits were bred together to propagate and emphasize desired characteristics. However, genetic engineering as in the direct manipulation of an organism using biotechnology, was first attained by Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen in 1973 (Arnold). All they did was insert a gene into a bacterium, to make it resistant to a particular antibiotic. Little did they know that their microscopic act would instigate the whole controversy-engulfed issue of GMOs or genetically modified organisms (Genome News
Many students who are enrolled in FFA are already heading in the right direction to a bright future. FFA has many career benefits within the program. Any of the career development events (CDE’s) have something that will tie to a career in agriculture or to a career of other sorts. According to the National FFA Organization, “FFA members embrace concepts taught in agricultural science classrooms nationwide, build valuable skills through hands-on experiential learning and each year demonstrate their proficiency in competitions based on real-world agricultural skills”(“Statistics”). There are so many careers that tie into FFA, and many of them have to do with agriculture. Not every career that has to do with agriculture is about farming. There are so many different aspects of the agriculture industry that many people never think twice about. Most people are not interested in agriculture because they think it is just about farming or
Before the claymation group, California Raisins, became popular people shunned raisins because of their appearance. After all, what could a dry, wrinkly fruit have to offer that we couldn’t get from more appealing fruit? But the more this shriveled grape quartet belted out tunes like “I’ve Heard it through the Grapevine,” the more intrigued we became. Soon, everyone was touting raisins’ benefits.
The want for money drastically affected the Younger’s and changed their lives for the worst. In Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, A family in 1950s Chicago want for money was putting a negative strain on the family.
Shortly after the groundbreaking discovery of the structure of DNA in 1953, the scientific world was essentially given the ability to alter the genetic sequence of any living organism using a process known as 'genetic engineering'. By definition, genetic engineering is 'the deliberate modification of the characteristics of an organism by manipulating its genetic material', it is quite simply an unnatural process which defies the ordinary course of nature. As of yet, no devastating or permanent damage has been done. However, the unpredictable nature and unknown consequences genetic engineering holds is more than enough reason to be cautious, as one mistake could have irreversible and catastrophic effects.
Tan includes a direct quote from her mother in paragraph six of the reading, and she does not shorten it for an important reason. Tan decides to keep the entire quote instead of paraphrasing to add an effect that a reader can only understand with the full quote. It shows that even though some people speak the language of English it is hard for others to understand based on the person’s full understanding and comprehension of the language. In Tan’s case she is used to the way her mother speaks and uses the language, but to others it is almost impossible to understand. If it were not for Tan summarizing what the quote meant before putting it in the text, few readers would have understood what the mother was trying to convey with her use of the language. Tan’s strategy in including this direct quotation is to show that language differs from person to person even if they all speak the same language. She is implying that the whole world could speak English; however, it would not be the same type of English because of how everyone learns and how others around
Science and technology are rapidly advancing everyday; in some ways for the better, and in some, for worse. One extremely controversial advance is genetic engineering. As this technology has high potential to do great things, I believe the power genetic engineering is growing out of control. Although society wants to see this concept used to fight disease and illness, enhance people 's lives, and make agriculture more sustainable, there needs to be a point where a line is drawn.
GMO food can create healthy, nutritious food in greater quantities for the less fortunate. For example, Hadiya is a toddler, born to poor African farmers. Her eyes are a milky white. Blinded from birth because of a cataract caused by vitamin A deficiency in her diet, she will never see her parents, and it is likely that she won’t survive past five years old. This is sadly the case for thousands of African and South-East Asian children, just because they have a vitamin deficiency in their diet. Vitamin A is supplied by
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.
The term “organic” is almost everywhere in modern society, whether it’s used to promote a product or it’s debated on whether it really benefits the human diet. Organic food is heavily debated on as it appears more and more in local grocery stores and farmers markets begin to populate, it raises questions such as “Is organic food better than food grown with pesticides and biologically engineered genes?” and “Are there benefits to eating organically over foods grown in any other way?” In terms of what data and results show in research may help lead to answers to most of the heavily debated issues throughout discussions on organic food.
For example, researchers have developed a strain of golden rice containing high amounts of vitamin A and numerous other vitamins and minerals. Additionally, GM crops are laced with herbicides and pesticides, and therefore reduce the need for chemical consumption. Opponents of GM foods claim that they pose a threat to the health of consumers and that these crops could eventually cross-pollinate in an unregulated fashion or lead to the growth of superweeds and superbugs resistant to the herbicides and pesticides woven into the genetic fiber of the crops. Developed nations should promote research and monitoring from an ethical point of view and financial assistance through philanthropic ventures in order to limit environmental and health risks. They should also make sure that limited cultural displacement will result from the introduction of GM crops and that instead, a better livelihood and well-being through collaboration will emerge.
Golden rice: Was created by Inro Protrykys. He wanted to eliminate the deficiency of vitamin A in rural areas and under developed countries and areas. The idea was to create a production of beta-carotene., which is mainly found in gold rice plants. Beta-carotene is one of the main sources of vitamin A. By adding only two genes, a plant phytoene synthase and a bacterial phytoene desaturase, the pathway is turned back on and β-carotene consequently accumulates in the grain. This allows for more vitamin A to be present in the rice and thus bettering the amount of nutrients one will get from Golden Rice. (The Science of Golden Rice, Golden Rice Project, 23 April 2014, http://www.goldenrice.org/Content2-How/how1_sci.php)
Processed foods are in everybody’s lives, but are they safe? Processed foods are foods that are in boxes, cans, or bags usually containing artificial colors, flavors, and other chemical ingredients that most people can’t pronounce or recognize (SFGate). Processed Foods may taste good but can have terrible side effects. Most people don’t see the harmful effects of processed foods. Processed foods should not be eaten.
We live in a world that is constantly changing and advancing thanks to technological advancements, especially in the field of molecular genetics. Today, we are discovering and implementing new ways to overcome the ill-fated symptoms developed as a result from poor health or accidents. We are also making advancements in the field of agriculture thanks to molecular genetics. As we all know, food is an essential entity in our lives and is abundant as well as relatively easy to obtain here in the United States. However, as good as it may sound, this is not necessarily true for developing countries. Many people in developing countries receive very little food, if any, due to its scarcity. It is estimated that in Asia alone, close to 800 million people go to bed hungry every night due to food shortage. This problem can be alleviated by turning to the production of genetically modified organisms (a.k.a. GMOs).
Genetic engineering is a way in which specific genes for an animal or plant can be extracted, and reproduced to form a new animal or plant. These new organisms will express the required trait for that gene. This practice is a very controversial topic within the scientific world. It is being implemented in various areas such as agriculture, even though there are many alternatives that can be found for genetic engineered crops, such as organic materials and reducing leeching of the soil. The controversy regarding this practice occurs as it is believed to contribute both negative and positive implications and dangers, not only to oneself but the environment as a whole.