GMOs: What You Don’t Know Won’t Hurt You, Right?
A GMO, or genetically modified organism, is a plant, animal, microorganism or other organism whose genetic makeup has been altered using recombinant DNA methods (also called gene splicing), gene modification or transgenic technology. You may have heard of food being called bioengineered and/or “Frankenfood”. Genetic modification affects many of the products we consume on a daily basis. The most common products are corn, soybeans, tomatoes, potatoes, salmon, tobacco and cotton. The knowledge and research of GMOs with importance of labeling genetically modified (GMO) foods is pure common sense, and consumers should be informed just like we have the calorie and nutritional information.
Research in the first form of genetic engineering began in the late nineteenth century with a pea plant, by a man named Mendel. But there have been many others after him that have found better methods. In 1968, a key discovery was made by a Swiss microbiologist named Werner Arber, when he found restriction enzymes (naturally occurring enzymes that cut DNA into fragments during replication). In 1973, the” true fathers of genetic engineering were American biochemists Stanley Cohen and Herbert Boyer, who were the first scientists to use restriction enzymes to produce a genetically modified organism.” (Chawla 1) After all of these discoveries, the research and progress of GMO’s grew larger and populated into the new age of biotechnology.
The research
“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 foods processed in the United States, and genetic modification of crops is extremely common on classic Minnesota farms. Crops such as corn and soybeans or even papaya and zucchini are viable for genetic modification. 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 genetic modification really is, or that the idea has been around for many years. GMOs are used to control pests and weeds. Therefore, through changing the genetic makeup of the plant, modifications allow for advancements of new technologies that account for the applicability of specific chemicals, as opposed to dated Non-GMO farming techniques.
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.
GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism. GMOs usually have been altered from another organism such as bacterium, plant, virus, or animals. They are also referred to as “transgenic organisms.” GM seeds are engineered in laboratories to have certain traits such as resistance to herbicides. 75-85% of foods contain GM ingredients. The majority of the country’s corn and soybean crop is now genetically modified. Corn and soybeans are also made into popular processed food ingredients like high fructose corn syrup. Not enough is known about the risks of GMOs. Consumers should have the right to know what’s in their foods and if it is genetically modified (“Genetically Modified”).
Now, some of you may be wondering, “What exactly are GMOs,” or “Why should I care about them?” GMOs stand for genetically modified, or engineered, organisms. Scientists GM foods by inserting genes from an unrelated species into another. The explanation given from scientists on why they do this is for the safety of our health. It is believed that genetically modifying foods are to 'strengthen,' or enhance the food product. However, rather than aid our health like it was
“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.
GMO’s or Genetically Modified Food is one of the most controversial topics that have been studied and debated for over 40 years. Scientists on both sides of the spectrum claim that these modified foods are safe for consumption, but also some argue that these foods are toxic and very harmful to human life. GMO’s are genetically modified organisms that are created and added in a lab experiment where DNA are extracted from one gene and added to another plant or animal. This allows the genes to mix with the DNA to create a desired product. For example, bigger apples, larger oranges, taller animals, and plants that can survive the changing climate. GMOs are different from organic food and products because chemicals and DNA modification is not needed for these natural stuff.
Many will argue that Genetically Modified Organisms(GMOs) are not safe for human consumption, however they are almost inevitable for our everyday food consumption. Some argue that the recent increase in gluten intolerance is caused by GMO foods (Argument against). Other state that the risk to humans by GMO’s is relatively small (The GMO”). The bottom line is what people put into their bodies is a personal choice and a person should be able to easily tell if a product has been genetically modified or not.
GMO is the acronym for Genetically Modified Organism, and are organisms whose genetic material has been artificially manipulated in a laboratory. These are measures taken in order to make food last longer. This method is reasonably questioned by some consumers who question how safe GMOS are. Those are the same consumers who demand their food to be labeled.
GMO stands for genetically modified organism. It is a organism that has had changes introduced into its DNA by using techniques of genetic engineering. Genetically modified (GM) foods are foods that are produced by this method. Genetically modified crops were first introduced to the marketplace in the 1990s. Various different companies started emerging and began to grow many different modified crops including tomatoes and corn. Livestock is fed GM feed, and recently a genetically modified salmon was approved for human consumption. Our society and other nations should limit the consumption of GM foods until their safety can be proven and their disadvantages are corrected.
Genetically Modified Foods or GMO's are foods that have been created in a lab.Scientist create an altered; unrelated species and mix it with the foods we consume. They consist of plant or animal matter or a source unknown to the consumer. Manufactures are not required to label what source that the GMO food has been altered with. They have been around for many years and have come under fire recently for the effects they have on humans, our genetics and the enviroment.
GMO’s stand for “genetically modified organism” (Google). They are foods that we encounter almost every day. “Although nine out of ten scientists from the American Association for the Advancement of Science say GMOs are "generally safe" to eat” (fact about GMO’s). That still doesn’t mean that they are good for us. Genetically modified foods were created with the intention to improve overall quality of life. However, they are associated with various environmental, health, and economic risks that render them to be more harmful than helpful.
As human civilization has evolved over the centuries, the way we produce our food has changed. There are many terms for describing this process such as food biotechnology or genetic engineering, but the most common one is genetically modified organisms or GMO. GMOs are used on plant life to enhance certain qualities before consumption or extraction. There have been many concerns about this subject, but despite this it should continue to be used in the future out of necessity.
GMOs (or “genetically modified organisms”) are living organisms whose genetic material has been artificially manipulated in a laboratory through genetic engineering, or GE. This relatively new science creates unstable combinations of plant, animal, bacteria and viral genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods.
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.
First of all, what is a GMO, or Genetically Modified Organism? Put simply, a GMO is an organism that has been genetically modified to improve its ability to grow in environments that it is not native to, resist pests without having to spray pesticides, tolerate extreme weather conditions, produce more food (such as milk in cows), or show other desired traits. GMOs are produced through a technique which is generally known as recombinant DNA technology. In this technique DNA molecules from varies sources are combined into one molecule to create a completely new set of genes. This DNA is then transferred into an organism, which gives it modified or novel genes. Transgenic organisms, on the