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Benefits of genetically modified crops
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GMOs or GI Joes
When I first began my research of GMOs, the name always reminded me of GI Joes. Well soon after learning what GMOs, were I quickly found out that the two have no relation. Now as I briefly enlighten you about GMOs, I would like for you to imaging a world where there is no longer starving people. Super powers and third world countries have the technology and the ability to feed its people. This may sound like a fairytale, but the technology is here at our fingertips for us to grasp onto and use.
For centuries, man has found ways to manipulate nature and to select crops for more desirable traits. If society were to stumble across a technology that would further advance these selections, it could quite possibly and significantly reduce the number of starving and malnourished people in the world while at the same time benefit the producers. “The UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimate that farmers will have to produce 70% more food by 2050 to meet the needs of the world's expected 9-billion-strong population. That amounts to one billion tons more wheat, rice and other cereals.” Less than one per cent of the American population is responsible for growing and harvesting all of the food for this country alone. The demand overseas for American produce varies depending upon the product, but overall exceeds the supply. On the forefront of this worldwide embittering battle to end world hunger and provide cost-effective medicine, society has stumbled across the answer known as biotechnology and genetically engineered organisms. In the end, we shall see that the benefits outweigh the negatives.
For a number of years now the United States has been the mainstay in the push for biotechnology research and testing...
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...advancement has been disproved or legitimately refuted. Of the remaining positions, there are sensible alternatives. In order to protect innocent victims of allergies from blindly consuming potentially toxic elements, producers could label genetically altered products with the added contents. As for the scientific arguments, these have been in place for centuries from the dawn of time. If society has not found an answer to them yet, then certainly they pose no immediate risk and are overshadowed by the potential benefits. In the end, Dennis Avery best describes how the public should react to biotechnology. “The big truth is that there is no inherent danger from biotechnology, in either food or medicine. We should take the modest risks of researching these powerful technologies because they have the potential to save millions of human lives and our habitats.”
Shelley in no way supports the idea that science is completely disadvantageous, but scientific advancements may be beneficial as long as repercussions are dealt with. Genetically modified organisms are created for a variety of reasons such as agricultural production and scientific research (Genetically). These unnatural modifications may negatively damage the health of entire ecosystems. Many years before modified organisms were popular, few people had common allergies like peanuts or bees. Many scientists infer genetically modified products elicit allergic reactions as a result of adjusted homeostasis. Furthermore, scientists theorize toxin levels in organisms may become dangerous for human consumption if modified further by genetics. A plant with adjusted genes may be proven to have a lesser value nutritionally since certain components may become indigestible through the process. Antibiotic resistance is another issue as well. Recently, scientists have taken note of the increasing resistance to certain scientific procedures. These occurrences are evident that genetic modifications are used too commonly. This kind of resistance may lead to irretrievable risks such as a potential lack of scientific understanding. Surely, scientific discoveries are far less advantageous in comparison to irreparable
The ubiquitous and incalculable benefits of biotechnology as a whole and the specific issues involved in Gattaca successfully mute the alarmist calls for moratoriums and bans on these technological breakthroughs. With utmost caution and consideration these studies will ultimately lead humanity to limitless heights.
How many of you hear the words “genetically modified food” and immediately think “BAD”? How many of you scorn the idea that genetically modified foods are useful? How many of you have been manipulated by the media to think that all biotechnology is evil? Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are organisms that have been genetically spliced to achieve a certain trait. As the demand for a larger food supply is increasing due to population growth, the benefits that GMO foods provide are being hailed as the only solution to the food crisis. However, many people are making inadequately informed decisions, and are pushing them to the back shelf. I will inform you on why genetically modified organisms may be the only way to a stable, safe future for the less fortunate.
Have you ever asked yourself what is a genetically modified organism (GMO)? In this paper I am going to tell you about GMOs. GMO is any food or animal that has been genetically modified. There is too much GMO in our food. We could cut down on how much food has GM.
Genetically modified food’s, or GMOs, goal is to feed the world's malnourished and undernourished population. Exploring the positive side to GMOs paints a wondrous picture for our planet’s future, although careful steps must be taken to ensure that destruction of our ecosystems do not occur. When GMOs were first introduced into the consumer market they claimed that they would help eliminate the world’s food crisis by providing plants that produced more and were resistant to elemental impacts like droughts and bacterial contaminants, however, production isn’t the only cause for the world’s food crisis. Which is a cause for concern because the population on the earth is growing and our land and ways of agriculture will not be enough to feed everyone sufficiently. No simple solutions can be found or applied when there are so many lives involved. Those who are hungry and those who are over fed, alike, have to consider the consequences of Genetically Modified Organisms. Food should not be treated like a commodity it is a human necessity on the most basic of levels. When egos, hidden agendas, and personal gains are folded into people's food sources no one wins. As in many things of life, there is no true right way or wrong way to handle either of the arguments and so many factors are involved that a ‘simple’ solution is simply not an option.
Over time, the human species has applauded themselves for their advances in things like science, technology, medicine, and engineering. However, with every step forward is a step back – many people have become resistant to the changes that the future brings, and many are afraid that these scientific advancements are giving us too much power and ultimately uprooting us from our relationship with nature. This love-hate relationship has most recently been cast upon GMO 's, as there 's been a lot of controversy about whether or not they 're something that we should ban entirely. Many people who are strongly opposed to GMO 's dislike them because they don 't have a full picture of the facts, or are simply misunderstanding the meaning of the term.
The term GM foods or GMO (genetically-modified organisms) is most commonly used to refer to crop plants created for human or animal consumption using the latest molecular biology techniques (Whitman, 2000). These plants have been modified in the laboratory to offer desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content. Also, genetic engineering techniques have been applied to create plants with the exact desired trait very rapidly and accurately. For example, this is done by the geneticist isolating the gene responsible for drought tolerance and inserts it into another plant. The new genetically-modified plant will now have gained drought tolerance as well.
GMOs have their pros and cons, but in terms of their effects on biodiversity, the technology is almost solely negative in how it affects the environment. Genetically modified food can damage agriculture as it allows for less restraint on chemical usage which leads to stronger weeds and weaker soil. The crops can easily spread their genetically modified genome through the wind. GMOs damage living organisms by making nasty insects stronger and vital insects weaker. GM foods are correlated with the decline in mammal and bird health and the introduction of GM animals like salmon poses a threat to the ecosystem of wild fish. GMOs can also bear consequences in terms of genetic pollution and alteration through contamination and mutation to adaptation to evolution to species extinction. Indeed, some claims are not well supported and may require testing, like genetic alteration through consumption or the validity of correlating animal health deficits with GM feeds. However, overall, GM foods clearly affect the world negatively in terms of biodiversity and ecosystem impacts.
GM crops also benefit the economy and assist in feeding more people. While we struggle with feeding our population, “The population will continue to grow” (Calandrelli 1) For instance, genetic engineering in agriculture can minimize the cost of producing food. Thus, GMO’s in crops can result ...
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).
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)
“Genetically modified foods are a "Pandora's box" of known and unknown risks to humans and the environment. They have been forced onto the American public by multinational biotech and agribusiness corporations without adequate oversight and regulation by the United States government (Driscoll, SallyMorley, David C).”Genetically Modified Food is food which has been chemically altered by scientists during the production process to give the food more nutrients, better appearance, and a longer shelf-life (Rich, Alex K.Warhol, Tom). The importance of this issue is that these GMO’s can actually have a negative effect in our society in general. It could mutate in a negative way and cause cancer or other diseases. Genetically modified food should be strictly controlled due to its various detrimental effects on the environment, human health, and potentially insect/animal effects.
Developed countries, like the United States, must face the consequences of presenting GM crops to Third World countries and must offer to solve any problems with honest and just solutions. Developed countries can then truly say that they are responsible leaders of the world. Works Cited Anderson, Clifton. The "Genetic Engineering" The Futurist. The.
The purpose of this document is to learn about the new and exciting developments in the biotech industry. Besides lives being effected, the companies and the markets in which they reside will be as well. It’s vitally important to learn about the new technologies since there is a very good chance that million’s of others, and mostly likely yours truly will ingest a new drug, or have a new procedure preformed.
Nicklin, D. S. 2001. Medical Issues: The Future Impact of Biotechnology on Human Factors. [e-book] United Kingdom: pp. 1-2. Available through: science and technology organisation collaboration support centre http://ftp.rta.nato.int/public/PubFullText/RTO/MP/RTO-MP-077/MP-077-19.pdf [Accessed: 11 Apr 2014].