Pros And Cons Of Transgenic Organisms

No antibacterial compounds are available resistant to this disease but genetic engineering has developed the first trees to resist this devastating disease and increased the consumption level. Specific foods have been developed to correct malnutrition problems. To this end, plants have been modified to provide increased and more stable quantities of essential amino acids, vitamins, or desirable fatty acids. For example, golden rice has been genetically modified to increase beta-carotene content which may help to overcome the severe vitamin A deficiencies that cause blindness and iron. Plants can also be genetically modified to grow well in areas of low production potential. For example, two researchers in Mexico inserted a gene from a bacterium into papaya and tobacco to produce acid-tolerant crops. The crops thus secrete citric acid from their roots by combining with toxic metals which in turn making the soils accessible to protect the tropical forests which contain most of the world’s species of plants and animals. Genetic engineering also helps to decrease or eliminate the allergenic proteins that occur naturally. For example, it has been already used to reduce the levels of major allergen in rice and peanuts. Genetic engineering brings closer the prospect of commercial production in plants of edible vaccines and therapeutics for preventing and treating human diseases like cancer and diabetes. The genetically derived vaccines are potentially

In the same article edited by Diaz it states that the use of a genetically modified (GM) type of cotton resulted in farmers saving “$25-$65 (USD) per acre owing to decreased pesticide application”. Not only are GMO’s saving famers money and time, but they are also reducing the amount of pesticides that are being put into the soil. It goes without saying that this decrease in pesticides would help to keep water safe and create less run of from farms. In an article by Josh Schonwald entitled “Engineering the Future of Food”, it states that “...250,000 children worldwide, mostly in the developing world, have diets lacking in vitamin A.” Because of this, “Between 250,000 and 500,000 of these children go blind every year.” For these children who are not able to get their hands on foods that are rich in vitamin A, GMOs may be one of the only solutions that they have. A plant called “golden rice” has now been cleared by every health organization in the world and had been deemed safe for consumption is now available. Like Schonwald and Diaz said, these are plants and organisms that are being produced in

“Vitamin A is necessary for eyesight and every year about 500,000 people, mainly children in India and Africa, go blind due to vitamin A deficiency. The golden rice has the potential to eliminate this human tragedy when it is introduced in a few years.” (Moore). And yet Greenpeace is fighting against it. And lastly, Dr. Moore recaps Professor Philip Stott of the University of London regarding genetic modification advantages for human health such as less hearth and cancer health problems, less saturated fats and cholesterol.

A GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) is a laboratory process where genes from the DNA of one species is extracted, then artificially forced into the genes of an unrelated plant or animal. The foreign genes may come from bacteria, viruses, insects, animals or even humans. Example: The transgenic potato plants that have

“Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) is any organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. This can be referred to as “modern biotechnology” (Genetically Modified Organisms Production, Regulation, and Marketing 66). It allows scientists to take specific genes from one organism, and place them into another organism. For example, scientists could take a gene from a plant that is more drought resistant, and place it into another plant that is more susceptible to droughts. This method is used to make GM foods or genetically modified foods. There are numerous benefits to genetically modified foods.

Xenotransplantation is the process of transplanting of animal organs, tissue or live cells from animals such as pigs, into humans, simply animal to human transplants. This has many social and ethical impacts, but also has many helpful aspects which could possibly change the lives of many people in the world. There are many different opinions related to xenotransplantation discussing the ethics, social impacts and the potential for an outbreak in humans of an animal disease, are just a few.

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are living organism that have went through a process of having their genetic material modified by inserting a foreign gene into them (GMO Facts). The plant having the modifications done then absorbs the gene and it goes into immediate effect and begins to perform as expected. This process was done to benefit us humans greatly and resolve world issues, but it has been discovered to have negative effects on us humans and the environment. With much research done throughout many years it led to the first trans generic plant being developed in 1983 (qtd. In Kelminsky, Peeling, and Gani). This plant was a tobacco plant that was resistant to anti-biotic (qtd. In Kelminsky,

GMOs refers to organisms that have their DNAs altered or modified in order to achieve certain results. The term transgenic has also been used to refer to organisms whose DNAs have been altered in order to achieve certain results. An organism becomes a GMO when their DNA become altered through genetic engineering. There are different examples of GMOs ranging from plants to animals. Some of the common examples of GMOs include Corn grown in United States, Soy, Alfalfa and Sugar Beets among others (Landrigan & Benbrook, 2015).

Many products aimed at bio-fortification are in the production process within the agricultural industry. Developing countries that struggle with malnutrition are the main concern for this area of study. The FAO stated, “ For example, genes responsible for producing the precursor of vitamin A have been inserted into rice plants, which have higher levels of vitamin A in their grain. This is called Golden Rice. As rice feeds more than 50 percent of the world's population, it could help reduce vitamin A deficiency, which is a serious problem in the developing world.” (FAO, 2003). This nutritional advancement is only possible with the utilization of genetically modified

“GMOs, or “genetically modified organisms,” are plants or animals created through the gene splicing techniques of biotechnology (also called genetic engineering, or GE). This experimental technology merges DNA from different species, creating unstable combinations of plant, animal, bacterial and viral genes that cannot occur in nature or in traditional crossbreeding.

A genetically modified organism is simply an organism that, like any other organism, produces tens of thousands of proteins. The only difference is that one or two of them are proteins specifically selected by humans, generally in order to provide an agricultural or economical advantage.

In many undeveloped countries that do not have varied sources of food, malnutrition is major issue for them. A solution would be modified foods scientist engineered to include more vitamins and/or minerals meaning that the country would be able to use the rice to combat malnutrition. An example of this would be rice that scientist modified to give vitamin A; deficiency in this particular vitamin can lead to poor eyesight and sometimes even blindness. Even so, with the way plants breed with one another has been very

Genetic engineering is the process whereby new DNA is added or existing DNA is altered in an organism 's genome. This may involve changing one base pair (A-T or C-G) or deleting entire sections of DNA or adding additional copies of a gene. This results in creating new traits that were not previously present in the organism’s genome. This is done to selectively breed desired traits or to create plants with increased resistance to pesticides and increased tolerance to herbicides. For example insulin is a protein that regulates sugar content in our blood and is produced normally in the pancreas. Genetic engineering is used to produce a form of insulin that is similar to yeast and bacterial cells. This genetically engineered insulin is called

Secondly, transgenic food has successfully lowered food prices and ensured food safety, which helps increase production and food supply while reducing the farm labor and pesticide applications, agricultural inputs and production costs (Weasel LH, 2009). In the future, GM crops have great potential in solving the food crisis. For instance, by applying transgenic technology to the human staple foods of rice and wheat, people can increase food production and improve nutritional quality, which will provide mankind with higher-quality food. Furthermore, GM foods have also proved effective in alleviating poverty and hunger. The world’s poorest 50% of the population are small and resource-poor farmers, while 20% living in rural areas without their own land actually depend on agriculture. Therefore, the increase in small-scale and resource-poor farmers’ income will directly assist 70% of the world’s poorest people (Curieux-Belfond O, 2009). So far, genetically modified cotton in

"Golden Rice" has been developed by scientists to combat vitamin A deficiency, which affects millions of children in the developing worlds. However, as a precautionary means, the crop was offered to the authorities for a safety evaluation which was interrupted when a group of around 400 protestors attacked the field trial in the Bicol region and uprooted all the GM plants. The project, initially started 20 years ago by German researchers with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, relied on modifying the rice through the addition of additional genes that produce beta-carotene, which is converted into vitamin A in the digestive process. Vitamin A deficiency is a significant problem in developing countries, which is why golden rice provides such an attractive solution to prevent unnecessary defects and death, especially among younger populations. Yet, farmers from the Philippines are avidly rejecting this crop option because of fears of damage it may cause, while also arguing that they have other solutions for the Vitamin A deficiency problem. However, the “Allow Golden Rice Now!” campaign is led by Dr. Patrick Moore, and aims to convince government officials and the Filipino people to accept Golden Rice as a nutritional and needed addition to their daily diet, with an emphasis on GM rice serving as a much needed golden bullet.