Genetically Modified Crops Essay

Genetic modified organisms, or GMOs, are living organisms that, through the genetic engineering process, have been altered to withstand certain chemicals and increase the nutritional value of the product. In fact, the majority of the foods found at the grocery store are genetically altered. Genetic modification is becoming increasingly popular on farms throughout the United States and moving into other parts of the world due to their increasing yield capabilities and pest and weed control. However, this has been, and continues to be, an extremely controversial topic of discussion in the world of agriculture and biotechnology, as well as health food critics, because of potential environmental and health risks.

Genetic engineering is the deliberate modification of the characteristics of an organism by manipulating its genetic material, otherwise known as DNA. Since biochemists Stanley Cohen and Herbert Boyer pioneered genetic engineering in 1973, the process has grown to have numerous applications such as medicine production, for example insulin (Mckinley). However, a main topic of concern is the application of genetic engineering on foods that we eat everyday. By modifying the genetic "blueprint" of crops, it is possible to improve many aspects of agriculture. But with any sort of scientific discovery that allows humans to act as Mother Nature, genetically modifying organisms has been a very controversial topic. Yet our society continues to grow, and the need for the benefits of genetically modified foods continues to grow. Genetically modifying foods should be permitted in our society because it allows larger yields of crops to be produced, produces foods with higher nutritional values, and reduces our global ecological footprint.

The term GM food are most commonly used to refer to crop plants created for human or animal consumption using the latest molecular biology techniques. These plants have been modified in the laboratory to enhance desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content. Genetically modified plants have been widely publicised as the future in agriculture. Many believe that it may help improve crop harvests and farm productivity by developing genetically modified crops that can either resist pests or chemicals. But despite the promise that GM crops may offer, there are still doubts that linger among a number of people as well.

While genetic management of foods can be traced throughout history, the modern phenomena of GMOs and transgenic plants have come to light in just the last few decades. In today’s modern society, the science of biotechnology and the process of genetic modification are developing throughout the planet. As of 2004, 8.25 million farmers in 17 countries were using genetically modified crops. Today, approximately two- thirds of all food offered in supermarkets has been genetically modified. However, the subject of GMO’s is one of great controversy. Although this modern invention does have some positive results on the food industry it also has brought some negative consequences along with it.

The genetic engineering of foods has, in one sense, been in existence for hundreds of years. The first time Gregor Mendel bred different varieties of pea plants to observe the various traits present in their offspring, the concept was born. Today, genetic engineering has developed into one of the most complex and advanced fields of scientific thinking, all the while provoking many questions and acquiring many opponents along the way. While there are compelling arguments presented for each side of the issue, the simple fact is that genetically modified (GM) foods are a reality, especially in the United States, as they are already present in many products that are consumed on a daily

Over the past few years agriculture has revolutionized where you see growth in the biotechnology industry. Historically, there have been many different ways to grow and produce plant and animal crops. It has developed from organic farming to large-scale farming, and then to breeding and cloning plants and animals. However sometime in the late 1800’s scientists discovered DNA. Then later in the 1900’s they began to discover and identify specific genes for particular traits, and before long knew how to separate a gene from the rest of any organism’s DNA strand. These discoveries and methods led to the start of something new, where geneticists and researchers have discovered different genetic technologies that have led to altering genes of DNA in organisms, to create new plant and animal species. This is called genetic engineering. “Genetic engineering is the deliberate alteration of an organism’s genes in order to give it new abilities” Genetically modified (GM) foods, also known as genetically engineered foods, are the latest contribution of genetic engineering technology. These foods are made by inserting the genes of one species into the DNA of another species. Genetically modified foods were first introduced in the market place in the mid-1990s after years of research. Genetic engineering has many benefits but there are potential

The evolution of Genetic Modified Organism (GMO) goes back to a few years. Often we to see the products of these organisms in the fields of farming of agricultural ways , medicine and the environment. These genetically modified foods are an advancement in technology and agriculture. They involve

Genetically Modified Foods (GMO) have been packed on supermarket shelves since the first GMO product, Flavr Savr tomatoes, were produced in 1994. The GMO products today are created using molecular biology and genetics to reconstruct DNA to modify the organism. Genetic engineering has made feeding the growing population much easier, however people use it for good and bad. Genetically Modified Foods have, impacted the way our foods are produced throughout time, been heavily researched in today's growing world, and affected our body's positively and negatively.

The development of genetically engineered foods began in the 1900s, and has been in United State markets since 1995 (Bredahl 18). The most widespread genetically modified foods are oil, maize, cotton, and soybeans (Cunningham 11). Transgenic foods were products created to increase benefit and lower prices (Whitman 2). Genetically modified foods are essential to enrichments of crops (Tan 3). It helps reduce the use of herbicides and pesticides in plants, enhances taste and quality, lower maturation time,

This paper discusses genetically modified (GM) foods, the interesting history, and their development. It shows how GM foods have experienced rapid growth over the last ten years. Within the history of these foods, there has been a great deal of controversy and debate of the benefits and risks of GM foods and the production process. Analyzing the current situation around GM foods, this controversy will likely continue for many years to come.

Modern plant modification, or genetic modification, was first achieved in 1973 when Herbert Boyer and Stanly Cohen successfully recombined and replicated genetic material from two different spices (Barnett et al. 2). GM technology has since been commercialized and branched into many areas of use. By 2004, only 9 years after the commercialization of GM crops in the united states, GM crops were being grown on 81 million hectares in seventeen different countries with the support of 8 million farmers (Qaim, 1317). Since its creation in 1973 genetic modification has been used on a wide variety of species including plants, mammals, bacteria and insects. Genetically modifies plants have a wide verity of uses outside of food production including pharmaceuticals and environmental management (Diaz n.d.). The relative safety of genetically modified foods have been a controversial topic over the years and have lead to many policies and regulations levied on them all over the world.

Agriculture- Genetically modified agricultural crops were developed to improve both crop yields and resistance to plant pests such as insects, rodents, and to herbicides, serving to reduce the difficulties of crop management and increase yields. According to Med Crave the first commercially grown, genetically engineered crop was CGN-8964-2. This was a tomato seed that was developed in 1994 to express the trait of delayed softening of the tomato flesh as a practical means to minimize post-harvest crop losses [1]. “Flavr Savr” was the brand name given to the revolutionary tomato seed also known as CGN-8964-2. This specific tomato would fail in the marketplace due to, ironically, the common public perception that Flavr Savr tomatoes were lacking in taste, and not due to consumer apprehension about eating a genetically altered food. As of 2016, according to Med Crave, 88 percent of the U.S. corn crop, and 93% of soybeans crops have been genetically mutated and much of these crops find their way into unlabeled processed foods.

The term GMO or Genetically Modified Organism refers to an individual form of life in which the genome is changed or modified through genetic engineering. In other words, the DNA from an organism is modified in a laboratory and then inserted into another organism’s genome for the purpose of producing positive traits that would be useful, creating a new organism. This science of genetic manipulation has been utilized for many different purposes. One important area in which it is controversial is agriculture. Specific issues regarding this technology involve human and environmental safety as well as ethical and conservation concerns.

Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is a set of techniques for isolating, transforming, multiplying and recombining genes from different organisms. Simply put, it is the process of manually adding new DNA to an organism. Genetic engineering originated in the 1970s as a result of the discovery of several key techniques in molecular genetics. It is also referred to as recombinant (rDNA) technology. Genetic Engineering enables geneticists to transfer genes between species that belong to different kingdoms which have no probability of inter-breeding in nature. For instance, a fish gene can be transferred to a plant; human genes can be transferred to animals. A gene is a section of DNA on the chromosome, usually about a

Genetic modification (GM) of crops is not new. In fact, it has been around for over 10,000 years, dating back to prehistoric times when hunters and gatherers, and farmers and plant breeders created hybrid plants and seeds by selective breeding – selecting the best naturally related plants in the field to naturally crossbreed. Since the 1990’s there has been a more “modern” way of growing (GE) crops. Genetic engineering typically involves the transfer of related and sometimes unrelated organisms, gene editing, splicing together parts of existing genes or creating new ones. This process has been widely criticized due to the manipulations of genes/DNA that alter and disrupt the DNA of another organism with consequences that are unpredictable and uncontrollable. Today, 80% plus of corn, soybean, cotton, canola and sugar beets in the United States is from GE seeds. Currently, there are approximately twenty-six countries with partial or total bans of GMOs and the pesticide glyphosate