Genetically Modified Organisms ( Gmos )

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.

“Agriculture is the most healthful, most useful, and most noble employment of man,” George Washington. Agriculture has been around for 12,000, this changed the lifestyle of people from hunting and gathering to permanent settlements with a steady food source (“Development of Agriculture”). From this, civilizations and cities grew, food could now be grown to meet the demands of the ever growing global populations. Since the development of agriculture advancement has been made to feed the population. One of the many modern advancements has been genetically modified organisms. Genetically Modified Organism, is the results of a laboratory process, where genes from the DNA of one of the species are extracted, and artificially forced into the genes of an unrelated plant or animal. Some of the unanswered questions about GMO’s have been what they are, companies that are involved,

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), have turned into an exceptionally questionable theme here in our reality today. GMOs are life forms that have been developed through a quality joining methodologies of biotechnology or genetics building. This is a moderately new type of science which permits DNA from an individual species to be injected into another species in a research center. This produces blends of plant, creature, microscopic organisms, and viral qualities that don 't show up in conventional crossbreeding systems or found in nature. GMO’s have been liked to several health-related issues, and should be banned by the FDA (Genetically Modified Organisms, N.D. ).

Genetically modified crops are an incredibly important issue that everyone should be aware of since it is something we are exposed to at a daily basis. Genetically modified crops also known as GM crops or Biotech crops has been one of the most heated debates of issues within our society. The debate about the safety, concerns and disadvantages of GM crops have raged since the mid 1990 's but this is due to the lack of knowledge of the general public. Many people are unaware of what the GM crops actually are and what they offer. Genetically modified crops are plants that are used in the agriculture and have been modified to initiate a new trait to plants that does not happen naturally in the species. These plants are modified using genetic engineering techniques to enhance desired traits. GM crops are made when genes of commercial interest are transferred from one organism to another.() There are many methods used for the production of GM crops but the two primary used for plant insertion are gene guns and agrobacterium tumefaciens. There are also three types of modifications which are transgenic, cisgenic, and subgenic plants. However, there are a number of issues that surround this controversial topic such as environmental, health, and economic concerns. Even though there are some worrying facts about GM crops people don 't realize the advantages or the ways it has helped humans as well as animals. There are many reasons why GM crops are proven

Over the past decades, agriculture technology and productivity has been changing drastically to fit the needs of the world population. The largest agricultural production country, the United States, has been experiencing these changes more rapidly just to meet these agricultural demands. This in turn has lead to serious controversies over the ethics and morals of some agricultural practices, namely Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). With the US population increasing every year, US farmers had to develop some way to meet the high demands of the people, therefore, GMOs were developed to help increase crop yields while also helping farmers financially by using less pesticides and herbicides.

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.

Back then, farmers relied solely on the plot of soil they owned to produce fruits and vegetables. Farmers often had to deal with the threat of damaged crops from weather changes and insect pests. However, imagine being able to not increase productivity and protecting crops being ruined or eaten. Now, with advancements in technology and genetics, scientists can genetically modify organisms by altering its DNA in a way that does not occur naturally by mating or natural recombination to introduce desired physiological traits (EFFL 235). In 2000, 68% of all genetically modified, GM, crops were grown by U.S. farmers, with soybeans and corn making up 82% of all GM crops harvested in 2000 (Whitman 5). According to the European Food & Feed Law Review, scientists may transfer simple genes from the DNA from one organism into another, and also between non- related species, such as animals, bacteria, and virus to enhance desired traits (4). The use of genetic engineering was first introduced to aid farmers in an alternative other than using pesticides. Soon after, enhanced traits that improve nutrition were inputted into plants to increase nutritional value. Although the genetic engineering of GM food may create superweeds, GM food should be encouraged since it decreases the need for pesticides, increases food supply, and improves the nutrition of food.

“Between 1996 and 2008, US farmers sprayed an extra 383 million pounds of herbicide on GMOs” (Smith). For more than 20 years GMOs have been produced and placed on store shelves; there are many recognized and uncertain hazards that may affect the health of humans and the environment (Ehrenberg). Genetically modified organisms (GMOs), although they provide many benefits to the economy and food supply, are associated with numerous environmental implications; there is a noticeable increase of food allergies, mental and physical illnesses, and disorders in recent years since the introduction of GMOs. Multiple solutions have been proposed by the public, health professionals and agencies, as well as nonprofit groups, suggesting the labeling of these genetically modified organisms, or increasing the government oversight on GMOs.

“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 organisms have been an huge issue for the world for a lot of people. Genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, are organisms like plants and animals that have their genes altered so they can be more nutritious and prevent diseases. Humans have selected plants for desirable characteristics since the dawn of agriculture. At first, the only way to improve crop plants was to collect seeds from the best performing individuals for planting the next year. Once plant reproduction was better understood, people selectively bred plants to create offspring that were hardier, larger, more flavorful, or more disease resistant than their predecessors. In the early twenty-first century, in the age of genetically modified organisms, the

Natural species are the library from which genetic engineers can work. Genetic engineers don 't make new genes, they rearrange existing ones” says George Mason University Professor of Environmental Sciences,Dr.Thomas Lovejoy(TodayInSci, 2014).Genetic Modifications (GM) have been a topical interest among the field of biotechnology, in which modern techniques directly manipulate genomes allowingthe transfer of specific trait genes from one organism to be inserted into another organism changing its genes. In doing so, an organism with the transferred gene may express the traits that it would not have naturally. These Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) or Transgenic Organisms are typically created for the benefits of humansserving in medical use where genetically modified bacteria such as Escherichia coli (E.Coli) can mass-producehuman insulin. According to Diabetes Australia,this is used for treatment in approximately 956,000 patients, or over 80% of affected diabetes patients in Australia alone(CSIRO, 2011). The topic has also sparked public concerns upon the matter, evokingethical considerations and public opinion on safety issues associated with it (Macer, 1994). This investigation aims to provide understanding towards the benefits and use of genetic modifications and its relation in medicine along with its controversial publicity in regards of ethics and safety surrounding it. The following investigation will address the curriculum statement M16.

Agriculture, a necessity for providing basic needs, has evolved tremendously since the first time it was practiced. When first started, agriculture was relatively simple: plant the seeds, water the seeds, and gather the end product. Now, agriculture has changed to include pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic fertilizers to produce and maintain higher yields. The Green Revolution in the 1940’s to 1970’s help modernize agriculture with high-yielding varieties, better irrigation systems, and synthetic fertilizers. Without the Green Revolution, world hunger would have been a lot higher than it was in the past (Easterbrook 1997). Conventional farming was established thanks to the revolution and helped greatly in keeping world food security. The world is still a limited resource and the amount of fertile land that allows production of agriculture can only decrease from now. Current production of agriculture may not be able to keep up with the steady population growth of the developing countries. The population is projected to increase from roughly 7 billion currently to 9.1 billion by 2050, meaning that there will be 2 billion more mouths to feed (UNPD). Agriculture needed something new to help provide higher yields of crops in order to keep world hunger levels at a minimum. Luckily in the mid 1990’s, genetically modified organism, or GMO, crops were implemented on a large scale in the United States.

Genetically modified organisms, on a basic level, have existed for many centuries. The domestication of animals and early farming techniques modified organisms by breeding the creatures or plants that exhibited positive traits (Goldbas 20; Mahgoub 30). For example, farmers would crossbreed crops in hopes to increase yields or create healthier produce (Mahgoub 30). As technology advanced, scientists realized that fields like molecular biology could potentially make this process more efficient (Mahgoub 30). The idea was simple: if they could select the superior traits on a genetic level, they could create a better crop while avoiding the dangers of traditional crossbreeding such as spreading an unwanted trait (Mahgoub 30). By 1973, “the process of directly transferring DNA from

In today’s society biotechnology and food science is constantly evolving and changing. A genetically modified organism (GMO) is an organism that has been modified through genetic engineering techniques. The process of genetic engineering involves taking desirable traits of plants and crops, and combining and crossing the crop to develop new verities. The process of genetic engineering is typically very long, and can take years to achieve (Key et al., 2008).

Genetic modification (GM) is the use of modern biotechnology techniques to change the genes of an organism, such as a plant or animal. GMO’s are developed by identifying the desired trait (such as disease resistance) in nature. The gene for the trait is then transferred into the plant seed, the plant is tested to ensure that it is safe for people, animals, and the environment and then after years of testing and approvals from governments the seed are made available to farmers. Genes can come from other plants, animals, bacteria and viruses.