Genetically Modified Food

In a perfect world, what would everyone have? Well, they most likely would have good health, money, stability, and proper environment to live very productive lives. This is what people strive to have, but very few receive. Why? There are many reasons. One reason might be the lack of agricultural advancement in many countries. If these countries were to embrace genetically modified crops, the citizens would have much better lives. According to Osakabe, Yuriko, Kajita, and Osakabe, in their article “Genetic Engineering Of Woody Plants: Current And Future Targets In A Stressful Environment”, genetic engineering in plants is better than traditional breeding methods because “…they bypass the long generation for breeding…” (106).

What are genetically modified foods? They are plants and animals whose DNA has been altered or change to suit the needs of humans. There are three types of genetically modified food (GM) first generation, second generation, and third generation crops. Each type is focused in different types of yields and crops so they can have a system that allows to keep production and value up.

Genetically modified foods have contributed to better foods in terms of food quality and human health.

Enserink, Martin. "Tough Lessons from Golden Rice." Science. AAAS, 25 Apr. 2008. Web. 22 Sept. 2015. .

‘With genetically modified foods I believe we have reached the thin edge of the wedge, we are messing with the building blocks of life and its scary’ - Malcom Walker, Chairman and Chief Executive of Iceland Foods (Quotes from Scientists).

We all as Americans eat food every day to maintain our homeostasis balance of nutrition. We eat our veggies, meats, dairy, and so forth. We buy our produces from local markets and grocery stores all around the country, but do we really know what kind of products we are purchasing? Where our foods come from and how they are grown? There are many products around us and amongst these foods are some that have been genetically modified. Genetically modified foods (GMOS) are also known as bio-engineered. They are usually available to the public for consumption. Whether that organism is an animal, a plant, or a microorganism. Most of the time, GMOs are recognizable as being plants, which is the one of the biggest concern,

Genetically modified organisms have been a contentious topic for the last several years. Decried as being chemically dangerous to the human body, potentially ruinous of worldwide agriculture, and harmful to the environment, GMOs have a rather contemptible reputation. Despite these denunciations, it is undeniable that both willful ignorance and outright misinformation have played a part in the public’s conception of genetically modified food. GMOs have undoubtedly been the victim of character assassination and it is of utmost importance that they are given a factually sound assessment rather than one based around fear mongering. The truth is that genetically engineered organisms are as harmless for the body and environment as any average, traditionally produced food product.

“70 percent of our corn farmland and 93 percent of soy farmland are planted with crops genetically engineered to resist pests and herbicides and increase crop yields. 60% of all the processed foods in the United States are genetically modified; a shocking statistic has the concern of many Americans. However, most people are uninformed about the beneficial impact that genetically modified food has on their diet. GM is the use of molecular biology technology to modify the inherited structure of organisms. Genetically engineered crops increase nutrients, drought tolerance, provide more food for growing populations, and resists diseases and pesticides. Genetically engineered foods are crucial to the improvement of economy, agriculture, society, and health choices. The creation of GM foods was one of the most significant breakthroughs in food industry. Genetically modifying foods is a key component that is harmless for the enrichment of our foods.

Genetically Modified Organism’s were introduced back in the 1990’s; however, scientists first discovered that DNA could be transferred from one organism to another back in 1946 (Bawa and Anilakumar, 2013). It consists of organisms in which their genes have been altered. Whether it’s an animal or a plant, nothing is perfect; desired traits are scattered all around so scientists are now able to retrieve the DNA from one living organism, virus, or bacteria and transfer it to another. About 90% of crops in America have been genetically modified and about 65% of processed foods sitting on the shelves of our local grocery store have been genetically modified, as well. Farmers have been genetically modifying their crops to improve them by increasing their nutritional value, increasing their life span, and decreasing how prone they are to insects (Schneider, Schneider, & Richardson, 2014). Many US citizens consume genetically modified foods every day including: fruits, veggies, oils, sugars, cheeses, potatoes and many, many more. In 1994, the Flavr Savr tomato was the first commercial food product to be developed from gene splicing, and sold; they genetically modified it to keep the fruit from ripening (Schneider, Schneider, & Richardson, 2014). Genetically modified foods remain firm and fresh for much longer than natural, untouched crops and foods. Genetically modified foods don’t just contain genes from other foods, they contain genes from

Have you ever been sitting at home enjoying a huge cup of fruits or vegetables and think to yourself that you’re eating habits are healthy? You may be wrong, not knowing where your food comes can come with a big health hazard, yes even with fruits and vegetables. The reasoning for this is the upcoming biotechnology of Genetically Modified Foods. These modified foods are supposed to help with the up and coming population that should rise by 10 billion in 2050.Plus with all the technology coming in, it makes it easier for farmers to do their harvest a lot quicker, which means they have more time for family. Although many people believe the Genetically Modified Foods will be the future, Genetically Modified foods should be closely watched by the government and should be evaluated thoroughly before it is put on the market, Genetically Modified Foods have been tested individually and evidence shows health risks, the number of risk it brings to our environment and ecosystem is not worth with progressing, Genetically Modified foods don’t label their products which gives great superstitions to people on why Genetically Modified Food corporation are trying too hard to keep these labels off.

Your car pulls up at the grocery store, you walk inside and quickly make you way to the vegetable section. There are many choices, but you grab a can of corn. The corn seemed like a healthy food to feed your family, but think again. That can of corn most likely contains traces of genetically modified proteins or DNA. These genetically modified foods were made to improve food, but some wonder if they are solving more problems than they cause. Genetically modified foods, or seeds, should not be produced because they cause vulnerability and disadvantage to populations, cause allergenic problems, and contaminate organic crops.

This quote by Dr. Mae-Wan Ho delivers a strong message to the people, a man with his intelligence and background knowledge on the topic being addressed believes that Gene technology will eventually lead to an abomination for mankind. I strongly agree.

When I was a kid, science teacher taught me Genetically Modified Food is the research of the future and will lead to solving the famine issues of the future. I heard lots of scientists were researching the Genetically Modified Food and that they had already ended the experiment. So I thought no one would have to bear hunger. Nowadays, despite the progress on Genetically Modified Food, many people continue to suffer from famine. A lot of Genetically Modified Food comes to the market but they do not affect the market price enough to completely solve world hunger. Furthermore, there are various ethical issues concerning the use of Genetically Modified Food. In this essay, I would like to discuss these ethical issues by first discussing the current debate of Genetically Modified Food’s effects to human body, the current practices involving Genetically Modified Food, and why this controversy warrants labeling of Genetically Modified Food to help the consumers make informed decisions of what type of food they are buying.

Based on our studies, for years ancient farmers had been altering the genetic makeup of many crops. The old day approaches used to be simple and new varieties of produces were made through a mixture of trial and error, without knowing the exact function of the genes being moved around. The ancient farmers would pick an organism with a favorable trait or characteristic and would match them with some distantly related species through forced pollinations (Wilson, 2013). According to Wilson (2013), the speed and accuracy of these changes are the only difference between the traditional ways of genetically modifying crops and the modern methods of genetically engineering food. Nowadays, genetic modification is defined

Genetic engineering or biotechnology can be applied to different fields such as animal biology, agriculture, or in microorganism. [8] Ever since the first genetically modified food (GM food)- Flavr Savr tomato- was invented in 1994 [16], genetically modified food has been at the center of controversy in terms of its suitability for human consumption and its effect on the biodiversity of naturally evolved organisms. Monsanto is the largest GM seed producer in North America to the extend that “80 percent of U.S. corn and 93 percent of soy grown from Monsanto patented GMO seeds.” [17] Monsanto has a tremendous influence and control over the marketing and production of global seed industries. [17]