Genetically Modified Technology And Their Growing Popularity Within Farmers Essay

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).

“Sixty to seventy percent of all processed foods available on store shelves contain genetically modified ingredients”, according to George Erdosh and Marcia Amidon Lusted in “To GMO or not to GMO? Genetically engineered food has strong advocates and harsh critics.” Genetically modified organisms can be found in most conventional food processed in the United States., and gGenetic modification of crops is extremely common on classic Minnesotan farm plants, such as, corn and soybeans. They can also be found in papaya and zucchini, even animals such as cows and pig. In fact, the definition of (GMO) as reported by Alex K. Rich and Tom Warhol, authors of “Genetically Modified Foods: An Overview,””, is, “food in which, at some point during the production process molecules and proteins are chemically altered to give the food more nutrients, a better appearance, and a longer shelf life.” As a matter of fact, a majority of all the foods found at the grocery store are genetically altered. However, many people do not know what a genetic modification really is, or that the idea has been around for many years. GMOs are used to control pests and weeds. As the opposite of Non-GMO farming, this is accomplished by changing the genetic makeup of the plant, by using new technologies and techniques that allow for the use of specific chemicals.

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

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.

What exactly is genetically modified organism? GMO is a living organism (bacteria, plant, animal) whose genetic composition has been altered by means of gene technology and the genetic modification usually involves insertion of a piece of DNA (bacteria or virus) and/or synthetic combination of several smaller DNA, into the genome of the organism to be modified (Khan, Muafia, Nasreen & Salariya, 2012). GMO have two specific transgenes that have been created; one, with a built in pesticide for insect resistance and the other, for herbicide tolerance. Genetic modification has been a progressive resource to reducing/eliminating challenging environmental conditions that crops face related to pests, disease and harsh climate conditions. Elevating nutritional quality and the deficiency of vitamin A

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are modified in labs, inserting a foreign gene into the DNA of another organism. It could also be considered as when you annex genes customarily to defend the crops from insects and herbicides. Foods are genetically modified to regulate the spread of modified genes into organisms. Scientist are genetically modifying foods to keep pests away.(document a) People are getting concerned about genetically modifying foods because they are an unnatural threat to our health, Environment and it plays an ambitious role in our economic problems The company that provides most of our genetically engineered crops is Monsanto. Many companies such Frito lay, kool-aid and V8 are supporting monsanto ideas. Problems with these genetically modified organisms they should not replace organic foods.

The fight today over GMOs has become more volatile than ever before. While there are a variety of organizations fighting for and against GMOs, two have become prominent faces for their respective arguments. Monsanto, a bioengineering company, has been experimenting with genetically modified seeds since 1987 when the US Department of Agriculture allowed them to field test genetically modified tomatoes (Monsanto, 2015). Monsanto

It is not uncommon for people to resist change, especially those that present new technologies. This is because people feel that the old ways worked fine and the new technologies will cause more harm than good. One of these technologies is Genetically Modified Organisms or GMOs. Genetically Modified Organisms are not new since humans have been selectively breeding plants and animals for hundreds of years creating the best product possible, but the GMOs today are newer technologies. The current GMOs involve the transfer of DNA from one plant to another to achieve desired traits. According to Nelson Gerald, a genetically modified crop is made by inserting one or more genes of interest from another species into a plant cell, along with promoter and marker genetic material. The promoter material influences the location in the plant where the desired trait is produced, and the levels they are produced. The genetic marker helps identify successful transformations. After the insertion of the genetic material, the transformed cell is induced to grow into a new plant that expresses the desired traits, (Fig. 1 helps demonstrate this process).The new plant is then crossbred with other plants of the same species to achieve desired traits in existing varieties (Gerald, p.5, 2001). Although it is not perfected, the modification of plants through genetic engineering can provide benefits to society in areas such as

“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.

However, consumers do not wish to consume foods that have been treated with pesticides because there are potential health hazards. Growing genetically modified foods eliminates the application of chemical pesticides and reduced the cost of bringing a crop to the market. 1 Another advantage is herbicide tolerance. For some crops it is not cost-effective to remove weeds by physical means, so farmers usually spray large amounts of different herbicides to destroy weeds. This is an expensive and a time-consuming procedure that requires additional care so that the herbicide does not harm the crop plant. On the other hand, crop plants that are genetically engineered to be resistant to one powerful herbicide could stop environmental destruction by reducing the quantity of herbicides needed. A third advantage of genetically modified foods is disease resistance. There are many bacteria, fungi, and viruses that are sources of plant diseases. Many plant biologists are working to create plants with genetically engineered resistances to diseases. Finally, a fourth advantage of genetically modified foods is cold tolerance. For instance, unexpected frost could ruin sensitive seedlings. In order to prevent this, an antifreeze gene from cold-water fish has been implanted into plants such as tobacco and potato. With this gene, the plants are able to tolerate cold temperatures that would normally destroy unmodified seedlings.

What does genetically modified mean exactly? GMO’s can be defined as organisms in which the genetic material has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally. That essentially means that seeds are artificially being made in a lab, which are later on sold to farmers at a higher cost than natural seeds. GM seeds are more expensive because they contain built-in pesticides, and also are made to resist herbicide. But after viewing Bitter Seeds: To Modify or Not to Modify by Stapley, I realized that the seeds failed to grow properly and did not contain pesticides to keep the crops from dying. This caused poor farmers to obtain a bad growing season with little profit, which caused the farmers to be unable to repay the banks for the money they

To a scientist or a farmer trying to sell his produce faster, genetically modified food, also known as GM food, may be viewed as a fine gem. It is an easy shortcut to take to make the shelf life of their product longer and more durable to storms and harmful weeds. While they see it as yet another helpful tool, it can wreck havoc in unintended places. Genetically modified food raises concerns about health, environmental hazards, and the right to choose to consume them.

Many of our crops today are what you would call genetically engineered. This means that certain plants are taken to a lab where specific genes are genetically enhanced with desired traits such as resistance to herbicides, insecticides, drought, and even improved nutritional content. While that may sound like a win for everyone such as the farmers as well as the consumers, there are many disadvantages that not only affect our health, but our environment as well as the economy. With several facts that have been shown, the good in GE crops should not outweigh the bad and in the end, we may be solving a problem now, but creating a much bigger one for our future.

The use of genetic engineering techniques in agriculture and food production is seen as an exciting and valuable development by many people who welcome the improvements in production efficiency that they offer to farmers and the enhanced nutritional value that is envisioned to benefit consumers. Others, however, are objecting strongly, raising environmental, food safety, and ethical concerns. A majority of people in Western Europe, Japan and Australia, for example, want at least to have labels on products that contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs), while the most extreme opponents want to see genetically modified (GM) crops completely excluded from production and consumption in their country.

According to the World Health Organization (2014. 1), "Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) can be defined as organisms (i.e. plants, animals or microorganisms) in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination. The technology is often called 'modern biotechnology ' or 'gene technology ', sometimes also 'recombinant DNA technology ' or 'genetic engineering '. Foods produced from or using GM organisms are often referred to as GM foods.” Many organic crops farming farmers are against cultivating of GM crops because of the threat to farm land and environment however, biotechnology companies and GM crops growing famer desire to have profit and consumer look for low price. Thus, the debate over the environmental impact of genetically modified GM crops is growing. Although GM crops negatively affects on some organism in environment, they reduce the use of pesticides and increase crop yield.