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Genetical Engineering is Wrong Essay

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At one time, golden rice was just a wild idea that Ingo Potrykus thought up. Optimally, golden rice would improve the lives of millions of the poorest people in the world. The rice would contain beta-carotene which is the building block for vitamin A. However, imagining golden rice was one thing and bringing it into existence was another. He struggled for years with his colleagues to deal with the finicky growing habits of the rice they transplanted to a greenhouse near the foot hills of the Swiss Alps. Potrykus and his colleagues became successful in the spring of 1999. By creating golden rice, Potrykus wanted to be sure it would reach malnourished children of the developing world; those for whom it was intended. He knew that would …show more content…

There are a few concerns with product such as golden rice. All foods created through genetic engineering, are potential sources of allergens. The genes that are transferred contain instructions for making proteins, in which all proteins are not created equal- some proteins cause allergic reactions. "Genetic pollution" is another major concern. Pollen grains from wind-pollinated plants as corn and canola, for example, are carried far and wide. Transgenic canola, for instance, grown in one field can very easily pollinate nontransgenic plans grown in the next, obviously causing problems. Ecological concerns also exist. Entomoligist John Losey performed an experiment by dusting Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn pollen on plants populated by the monarch butterfly caterpillars. Many of the caterpillars died. Bt has different strains of which produce toxins that target specific insects. Bt is claimed to be a safe and effective natural insecticide that is popular with organic farmers. Like anything, genetically engineered rice will have it's pros and cons. Bina Robinson stated "the Food and Drug Administration seems to have left safety considerations up to biotech companies, who see nothing wrong with snipping genes out of one species and inserting them into a completely unrelated one, thus blurring distinctions between plants and animals. This constitutes a nightmare for people with food allergies or religious or ethical concerns about eating animals. We need to

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