Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Negative effects of genetically modified organisms
Negative effects of genetically modified organisms
Negative effects of genetically modified organisms
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Negative effects of genetically modified organisms
Genetically Modified to “Die”
The world has changed in various ways as humans discover technological and biological advances through the concept of modification. Ever since the beginning of time, people have been modifying the original to better suit the human nature. More specifically, scientists have come up with a method to directly manipulate the DNA of an organism to yield a more favourable characteristic. According to the University of California, the outcome of this manipulation is known to be a genetically modified organism. In reference to Natural Revolution (2014), people often assume that the nature of genetically modified organisms, GMOs, are negative and harmful to the body however, many of the uses these days are rather productive
…show more content…
It is a literal creation of a tree through the techniques of biotechnology called gene splicing. This technique involves the use of genetically altered DNA in which it is inserted into the embryos of trees usually from a bacterium or virus. The genes will be extracted from a discrete organism, whose transfer could never happen naturally (David Suzuki, 2010). Taking this into consideration, geneticists have realized its potential risk when cross-pollination happens. In order to prevent this from happening, a terminator gene was developed. This gene serves a purpose to produce a toxin that prevents its seed from being viable (Mercola, 2013). However, like every other biotechnological advances, everything has a flaw. This terminator gene does not ensure 100 percent sterility. Even a small amount of slippage can spread sterility to other native forests, resulting in radical damages. A prime example of how detrimental an outbreak might be is portrayed in Mercola’s article (2013). “Once contaminated, 95 percent of the native forest trees may become sterile, meaning they would produce no nuts, no seeds, no fruit, and no flowers or pollen. This renders the forest uninhabitable to native wildlife and rapidly degrades the soil.” Although this is only a scenario, this phenomenon is seen in the many genetically altered trees in the southern part of
The American chestnut which was once almost eliminated from existence in the late 1950's has once again emerged thanks to conservation efforts. Chestnut blight, a deadly fungus, has the ability to kill chestnut trees. However, some chestnut species in Asia have resistance to blight. As a result, a method of conservation has been through hybridizing American species with Asian species. Another method of conservation has been through hypovirulence strains in the infection is reduced. Independently, this hypovirulence method may be a reason why some American chestnuts are surviving despite being infested with chestnut blight. This issue remains important to both the timber industry, although that isn't why chestnuts are being restored, and certain ecological organizations including the Nature Conservancy.
Thesis Statement: Research suggests that GMO's (genetically modified organisms/products) could be harmful for people and the environment because of their potential to produce new allergens, increase toxicity, decrease nutritional value, and increase bacterial antibiotic resistance. Bakshi, A. K. (2003). Potential adverse health effects of genetically modified crops. Journal Of Toxicology And Environmental Health,Part B, 6, 211-225. Retrieved from http://globalseminarhealth.wdfiles.com/local--files/nutrition/Bakshi.pdf This article is one of the pioneering research papers that addresses the potential negative impact of genetically modified crops.
GMO`s are starting to rapidly take over our food supply, but what exactly is a GMO? A GMO is a make up of DNA that is combined forcefully with a plant or animals DNA, and creates a new version of it. Seeing these products sold in stores for the first time people question what the change is from the natural, and organics, because when someone reads GMO they wonder if it is healthy and safe to consume.
Genetically modified food is a significant issue that America is currently dealing with; it has affected millions around the world. Genetically modified food is crops, plants, and animals whose DNA has been altered for agricultural and nutritional reasons. In the Alltime Conspiracies video, “How Dangerous Are GMO Food” he argues that GMOs can have budding effect on humans, and the more we consume the more damage that is being done to our DNA cells. The author Alltime Conspiracy begins building his credibility with personal facts plus highly regarded sources, citing credible facts and statistics,
You might have heard GMO thrown around by scientists or news stations before. It stands for genetically modified organism. This is a relatively new technology that has sparked a huge debate. Organisms are genetically modified by taking genes from one being and transferring them to another being in order to change the qualities of the resulting species. Now this seems like a very good thing, and in some ways it is, but it has some very serious consequences. When humans start to tamper with nature, trouble is never far away. The same is true for genetically modified foods and organisms.
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.
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.
Scientists have been changing genomes of plants and animals by integrating new genes from a different species through genetic engineering, creating a genetically modified organism (GMO). Consumers in America have been eating GMOs since 1996, when they went on the market. There are benefits to genetically modifying crop plants, as it improves the crop quality and increases yield, affecting the economy and developing countries. But there are also negative effects from GMOs. Consumption of GMOs has various health effects on both body systems of animals and humans. GMOs also affect the environment, ecosystems and other animal species. The cons outweigh the pros in the case of GMOs.
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) is an organism, such as a plant, animal, or any microorganism who’s had its DNA changed in different ways through genetic engineering that is not natural. It is an organism like every other organism, which produces thousands of proteins, but one or two of them are proteins that were chosen were specifically by humans. It creates unstable combinations of plants, animal, bacterial, and viral genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods. Majority of Americans in the US consume nearly 200 pounds of GMOs each year. 90% of US crops are genetically modified.
The most wonderful activity a human being can experience is new flavors and foods. For example, the first time a person tastes a delicious juicy piece of prime rib or a delightful hamburger with cheese and ham, his world is never the same. However, since the beginning of the twentieth century, the production of food has been supplemented by science. This has triggered an angry dispute between the people who support the advances of biotechnology and people who love nature. In order to understand the controversy, we have to know the meaning of genetically modified foods. With new technological advances, scientists can modify seeds from a conventional seed to a high tech seed with shorter maturation times and resistance to dryness, cold and heat. This is possible with the implementation of new genes into the DNA of the conventional seed. Once these "transgenes" are transferred, they can create plants with better characteristics (Harris 164-165). The farmers love it not only because it guarantees a good production, but the cost is also reduced. On the other hand, organizations such as Greenpeace and Friends of Earth have campaigned against GMO (“Riesgos”) because they think that they are negatively affecting the earth (Gerdes 26). Both the advocates and the opponents of genetically modified foods have excellent arguments.
Thirdly, biodiversity is the material basis of human survival, agricultural biodiversity provides not only basic food and industrial raw materials as human beings, but also to maintain the ecosystem also plays an important role. Genetically modified crops undermine the diversity of agricultural products. As the price of GM foods is cheap, traditional food have no price advantage, fewer and fewer farmers plant traditional agricultural products.
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
Biotechnology can be defined as a “collection of tools for modifying tree physiology and genetics to aid breeding, propagation and research” (Burdon and Libby 2006). These tools include the use of tissue culture, genetic engineering (genetic modification) and the use of genetic markers for marker assisted breeding (Harry and Strauss 2010).
Without pollination, the human race, as well as it’s terrestrial ecosystems would cease to exist. Over 80% of the world’s flowering plants require the aid of a pollinator in order to continue their existence (U.S. Forest Service). Pollination is the process of transporting pollen grains from the male anther of a plant to the female stigma (“What is Pollination”). Through this process, plants are able to create a seed, this seed contains genetic information for production of new plant.