The Insect World Involves Models And Mimics

However, this position falls short of completely meeting the concerns of consumers, since various scientific studies have reflected negative health effects of GM foods, contradicting WHO’s position. Despite the observation of harmful effects on a minority, GM foods cannot be ruled as completely safe for human consumption.

A new kind of foods called the genetically modified foods has been creating a quiet revolution in the American market for the past several years. Scientists are able to produce these new foods by transferring genes from one organism into another across species boundaries. This new technique has been developed to improve the shelf life, nutritional content, flavor, color, and texture of foods. Since 1994, about 45 genetically modified foods such as tomato, corn, soybeans, canola, and potatoes have been marketed in the United States. About two-thirds of foods that are processed in U.S. contain genetically modified ingredients. So, we the people are consuming these foods without realizing the fact that they are not produced naturally.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines genetically modified foods as: “foods [that are] derived from organisms whose genetic material (DNA) has been modified in a way that does not occur naturally, e.g. through the introduction of a gene from a different organism” (WHO, year). GM foods are constructed and distributed because there is some perceived advantage either to the producer or consumer. For a GM food to be of theoretical benefit to the consumer and society as a whole, it should: increase crop yields due to the introduced resistance to pests and disease, enhance the nutritional

However, considerable concern over GM foods has arisen, with the following issues regarding harmful health effects:

When you walk into your local grocery store, you can observe floor-to-ceiling shelves packed with foods boasting about nutritional benefits: whole grains in cereals, omega-3s in eggs, and lycopene (an antioxidant) in ketchup, but there are ingredients hiding in these products that many of us do not know are present. They are called Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s), and it has been estimated that over 75% of processed foods on supermarket shelves contain genetically engineered ingredients, which Americans have been eating since 1996. “Currently up to 85% of the United States’ corn is genetically engineered (GE), as are 91% of soybeans and 88% of cotton (cottonseed oil is often used in food products)” (About Genetically Modified Foods). What does it mean when a food is Genetically Modified? To understand what Genetically Modified Organisms are, there needs to be an understanding of what DNA is. “Within the tissues of a plant are cells. Within the cell is the nucleus. Within that are chromosomes composed of the DNA molecule, which in turn is made up of a sequence of base pairs. A simplistic description is that sequence of the genes in the DNA determine the sequence in the RNA, which then determines the sequence of the building blocks of proteins, called amino acids. These proteins can determine a particular trait or characteristic” (Latham). Using genetic engineering, scientists take genes from bacteria, viruses, or other sources and force them into the DNA of a plant.

There is much controversy surrounding genetically engineered (GE) foods and the use of biotechnology. However, they offer many scientifically proven advantages that could have a dramatic impact on world hunger and our environment in the near future. At the same time, the public is asking many good questions and raising concerns about what long term negative effects genetically engineered foods may have on the population’s health and the environment. Never the less, based on the following list, the advantages biotechnology currently provides, seems to out way the potential disadvantages they could impose on our future.

The genetic engineering of foods has, in one sense, been in existence for hundreds of years. The first time Gregor Mendel bred different varieties of pea plants to observe the various traits present in their offspring, the concept was born. Today, genetic engineering has developed into one of the most complex and advanced fields of scientific thinking, all the while provoking many questions and acquiring many opponents along the way. While there are compelling arguments presented for each side of the issue, the simple fact is that genetically modified (GM) foods are a reality, especially in the United States, as they are already present in many products that are consumed on a daily

“Today we use the term ‘genetically modified’ to refer to food produced from plants or animals which have had their genes changed by scientists in the laboratory rather than farmers in the field,” said by Nick Middleton (51). Genetically modified foods have become a hot topic in the world. People have still not been able to label it as a “Frankenstein food or a weapon against starvation” (Middleton 51). Genetically modified foods should be allowed for public consumption because it helps deal with the issue of world hunger, it improves overall quality of food, and it helps the environment.

One of the biggest controversies in today’s grocery stores is whether products contain genetically modified foods. Many people are suspicious of these foods due to their genetic alteration and mysterious nature. Essentially, biotechnology is a relatively new discipline that modifies plants on the molecular level. DNA provides the building blocks for the body’s genes and each gene regulates a specific trait. Scientists are able to clip a gene from the DNA of one plant and splice it into the DNA of another plant. Without altering plants, humans would have not been able to survive and today’s huge world population would not be supported. Scientists believe that some alterations are as safe as the traditional method of slow plant breeding to improve crops. However, some people wonder about the unintended consequences that GM foods might have on the human body. For example, critics ask whether a rise in allergies is linked to these crops.

Genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, were introduced to the food industry in 1994. These advanced inventions are created “by injecting genetic material from plants, animals, or bacteria into a crop in hope of creating a new and beneficial trait” (Text 1, Lines 2-3). One of the most well-known GMO is a breed of corn plant that can produce its own pesticide, that helps be resistant to insects and the damage they bring. GMOs have been a heavy topic for discussion in the food industry lately, some say that GMOs are healthy and safe, while others disagree. The opposers of GMOs utilize evidence to state their case. They assert that there is enough food in the world, that they did not perform enough testing, and that there is evident health risks

Genetically modified foods have been an issue in the United States ever since the invention of genetically modified objects. Over time, agriculturalists have domesticated plants and animals that suit the needs of the population in terms of improved production, resistance to diseases and pests, and human preferences (Chassy 169). In doing this, desirable traits were selected in each crop generation that led to an improved crop from an anthropocentric viewpoint. This has escalated even further after the industrial revolution where we began to have machinery and improved techniques from which to farm. At the same time as this was occurring and we were modernizing our agricultural system, scientific methods began to develop that drew heavily from genetics.

There have been ongoing debates about the adoption of GMOs over natural food growth. Out of these discussions, there is a rising need to do research on genetically modified food verses naturally grown food. According to (Mary Colson., 2017), Genetically Modified food can be defined as a growing plant or animal that is modified and grows not a normal, natural way. The growth of this plant, animal or microorganism is triggered by altering its genetic material. The genetic material is usually changed in a way that makes the food not to occur naturally through natural recombination or mating in this particular case. Genetic modification of food has its pros and cones. In this discussion, the advantages and the disadvantages are discussed as

As human beings, we rely on food every day, and without it we wouldn’t be able to function properly. Over the decades, with our fast pace advances in production and new technology we are able to produce large quantities of food with Genetically Modified Organisms. GM foods are produced because of the idea that consumers and producers both have an advantage to obtaining these products. For Example, GM products hold many benefits, from nutritional value to durability against environment. GM productions were concentrated mostly on producers to benefit the farmers in their products by aiming to increase the crop protection and resistance to plant diseases or viruses. Considering these new advances; consumers, farmers and policymakers worldwide are challenged to reach consent with a clear vision for the future of the world’s food supply. The contemporary GMO food debate illustrates the serious conflict between two groups: Biological Recombinant DNA investors and affiliated scientists who consider this technology a solution to food shortages; and independent scientists, environmentalists, farmers and consumers that suggest these advances increase risk to environmental and health issues.

As genetically modified (GM) food has entered the marketplace, these ethical questions have fallen not just to scientists but to the public at large, and the issue has grown into a massive, polarized debate with no signs of resolution in the immediate future. The influence of consumers is not to be underestimated, and as it has so many times in history, what is “possible” has become a question of what is socially allowable rather than one of technological limitations.

In the present time GM foods are obtained from crop plants but in the future it may be obtained from microorganisms and animals. These plants are modified to create plants which have the desired traits for example creating a plant resistant to pests. These plants can be created by taking plants whose genes are resistant to pests and then inserting it into the other plant thus making the plant resistant to pests (Whitman, 2000).