Genetically Modified Organisms, Gmo, And Their Safety

Agronomists have been working on these problems for years, but the rapid population growth of humans makes overcoming these challenges increasingly urgent. If we can’t feed the world, it will eventually feed on us.” (Newsweek/United Nations) Scientists find a way to add “medicine” to plant genes, which help it withstands pest attacks and drought problems.“Some GMO corn crops can protect harvests in water-limited conditions better than conventionally produced crops. Other GMOs can also promote use of no-till farming, which keeps more moisture in the soil. No-till also enables farmers to make fewer passes through the field using machinery, which means less fuel used and greenhouse gases emitted.”(Monsanto) GMOs are useful for helping with planting crops in any area of the world.

There is less of a chemical output on the crops since the year GMO’s have decreased pesticide use by 8.8%. They will also improve water quality. GMO crops allows a “no-till” which decreases soil erosion. Less soil erosion means there is less of runoff.

When the United States regulators approved Monsanto’s Bt’s corn, which is genetically modified, they were aware that it would add deadly poisons to our food supply according to Jeffrey Smith. He claims that was what it was designed to do. The DNA of this corn was rigged with a gene derived from a soil bacteria called Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) which creates the Bt-toxin which is hazardous to humans and animals alike. This Bt is a pesticide, which literally makes the bugs stomachs bust open which kills them. Monsanto and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ensured its consumers that only insects would be hurt. The Bt-toxin would be entirely destroyed in human’s digestive systems and have completely no impact whatsoever on anyone who consumes it, but later studies show this information was false (Smith, 1). In fact the toxin appeared in a majority of the blood tests.

One of the great things about GMOs is they’re more economical. They can reduce the cost of certain foods, farmers use less pesticides, and farmers get more out of the land while still conserving it. Genetically modified crops are already resistant to

One of the major reasons for the use of GMOs was stated by Chris Black, a plant science major and owner of Richland Plant Food Company. When Mr. Black was asked the question, “Why do farmers now use GMOs when growing crops”, he said “It really helps the everyday farmer with economics and efficiency. Since the US population is always increasing, GMOs have made a cheaper food source to the American Market.” Mr. Black also stated that “It also helps farmers save thousands of dollars in insecticide and herbicide cost that can become overwhelming, because many of the GMO seeds now have this trait. Plus Genetically Engineered crops are more environmentally friendly than organic crops, because they require less water than organic

There are two types of GMO; herbicide tolerant and self-generating insecticide. “The herbicide tolerant variety are designed to survive high doses of toxic weed killers” (Must-Avoid Foods: Linking GMO to Toxicity and Disease, 2012). When the toxic weed killers get used on these crops, some of the toxins end up in the weed in the food. What is alarming is that the toxic weed killers are actually linked to birth defects, cancer, and hormone disruption (Must-Avoid Foods: Linking GMO to Toxicity and Disease, 2012). The self-generating insecticide such as corn, produces their own insecticide in each and every cell (Swanson, Genetically Modified Organisms and the deterioration of health in the United States, 2013). When insects eats the corn or any other food with the insecticide, Bacillus thuringiensis (BT) toxin, the insecticide breaks open the stomach of insects in order to kill them. Although this supposedly applies only to insects, studies have shown that the BT-toxin can also break the wall of

2. There is no economic value. GMO foods take just as long to mature and take just as much effort to grow, meaning that there is no real economic value to growing GMO foods when compared to non-GMO

GMOs, or biotechnology, is not limited to plants; it can be applied to animals as well. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, “Agricultural biotechnology is a range of tools, including traditional breeding techniques, that alter living organisms, or parts of organisms, to make or modify products; improve plants or animals; or develop microorganisms for specific agricultural uses. Modern biotechnology today includes the tools of genetic engineering” (Biotechnology FAQs). GMOs can provide farmers with a cheaper and more practicable production. Some biotechnology crops are being engineered to tolerate specific herbicides, which makes weed control easier and more efficient for the producers (Biotechnology FAQ). GMOs can also provide producers with crops that are resistant to certain diseases as wells as insects and pests. “Genetically engineered insect-resistant cotton has allowed for a significant reduction in the use of persistent, synthetic pesticides that may contaminate groundwater and the environment” (Biotechnology FAQs). GMOs can help reduce production cost, making them a cheaper option for third world countries to support their large population. They also could one day completely eliminate the need for pesticides altogether. There are endless possibilities when it comes to GMOs. GMOs could one day “provide consumers with foods that are nutritionally-enriched or longer-lasting, or that contain

The genetically modified seeds that Monsanto Company used had its greatest benefits for the farmers that chose to use the seed. Having a genetically modified seed helped farmers know what to forecast for the upcoming harvesting season. According to Ferrell, et. al (2017 pg. 384 para. 3), “Monsanto scientist, through their work in biotechnology, were able to implant seeds with genes that make the plants themselves kill bugs. They also created seeds containing the herbicide Roundup, it’s an herbicide that kills weeds but spares the crops.” Having a seed that contained an herbicide was beneficial to the farmer because that potentially saved them money on the need to buy weed killer to save the crop. Another benefit for using the GMO seeds is that farmers will use less space and have the ability to grow more crops and in turn will increase crop yield. The traditional seeds require more space, which decreases a farmer’s crop yield. According to Conway, Gordon (2000 para. 5) he says, “most of the new varieties that are grantees are developing are the result of tissue culture and marker-aided selection techniques and do not

A GMO expert at the University of Arizona, named Yves Carriere, explained in an article that, “Carriere argues that bug-killing crops are beneficial because they reduce the use of insecticides, which can harm people and the environment,” (Potenza 2). With genetically modified crops, farmers no longer have to use harmful chemicals, such as insecticides. He also pointed out that, “Developing crops that can survive dry climates, others say, could help us grow food as climate change makes the planet more prone to droughts,” (Potenza 2). For example, places like California could benefit a lot more if people could grow and sell GMO’s.

This lab was performed to explore and discover GMOs in food that were given to test. Our group used oats, a GMO positive food, and a test food. Our goal was to find out whether the test food was GMO positive or negative and to record data accordingly. I hypothesized that the test food will be GMO positive. To see if my hypothesis had been correct we performed the process of PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction), to find the presence of GMO positive or negative DNA in the foods. We first extracted the DNA from the foods, and then added primers to the DNA as well. I then inserted the DNA onto a gel using a micropipette. Using gel electrophoresis and a UV transilluminator we were able to view the staggering results.

GMO’s are living organisms whose genetic material has been artificially manipulated or changed in a laboratory. GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism, most GMO’s are common in foods today. The process of creating a genetically modified organism is fairly new, but it is now commonly used, and becoming more frequent in America's everyday meals. When scientist create a GMO, they are creating a hybrid or a modified version of an organism that would not naturally occur in nature. The reasoning behind this is to create a new organism that can withstand diseases, have drought tolerance, or bring more benefits to the consumer. One major question most people have is; “Are GMO’s safe?” The answer to that is NO. Most developed nations consider

GMO’s can increase food production because it takes effect very rapidly. “Genetic engineering- actually isolating and inserting genes with the desirable trait into plants- can create plants with the desired trait very rapidly and with great accuracy.” (Reyes CR110). The potato blight between the years of 1845 and 1852 was a famine in which GMO’s would have been very helpful. Geneticists could have prevented the famine by genetically modifying the potatoes to be resistant to the disease. In the 1990s the papaya business hit an all time low because of the virulent papaya ringspot virus. Geneticists were made aware of this low and in order to fix this

Researchers have done some experimenting on GMO’s; however, these experiments are flawed. The scientist and researchers have changed the results and rationales to make the outcome of the experiments appear favorable. Many GMOs contain insecticides. Scientists do not always get precise evidence because results from their experiments on the modified food are using outdated methodologies in the labs. In addition, one of the problems causing lack of results is

One of the biggest advantages of agricultural biotechnology lies in its economic efficiency. GM crops are financially beneficial to both the farmer and the consumer. Due to their resistance to pests, viruses, and adverse climates, genetically altered crops produce much larger yields than organic or conventional crops. For example, studies show that if no insecticide is used, a GM crop known as Bt maize has a 48% higher yield than non-modified maize varieties