The Pros And Cons Of Genetically Modified Corn

Genetically Modified Organism or GMO is an organism that has been altered genetically. There are many possibilities for altering an organism such as growing conditions, quantity, or even scientific breakthroughs. Many choose a side over this heated debate, whether GMOs are safe or if they are harmful to humans. Currently about two-thirds of all items in the supermarket is GMO(Corn The Miracle Crop). GMO promise increase crop yields, lower costs, and less herbicides and pesticides. Altering the organisms genetics could negatively affect the organism resulting in an unstable product. Researchers have found that an unstable product can result in poor crop production, decrease in nutritional value, toxic and

The history of corn can be dated back to the beginning of time, but the use and value of corn had been unnoticed until it was introduce by the Native Americans. Where corn had seemed to be a big part of their everyday life from, being in myths, legends, and for a huge portion of their diet corn was an essential component. "when the Europeans had touched base to the New World during the late fifteenth century, the Native Americans had introduced corn what they had called maize to the Europeans .This crop was then later on grown and adapted from Canada to southern South America very quickly, which then began to form the new basis of the New World civilization" (Leventin & McManhon, 2012). The way corn has been changing and revolutionizing throughout time has been both fascinating and drastic. Rather than conventional corn being grown, it is genetically modified corn that have been dominating today 's crop industry and farming but the question remains as to how the various types of GMO corn has influenced the way it is grown and used and what its ramification are.

The idea of changing natural processes to produce an “ideal” crop raises concern amongst environmentalists. Extracting bacteria from soil and inserting it into an entirely different species may appear unethical because of the changing of natural processes. Genetic engineering promotes producing a type of crop that is not susceptible to pests, but carries the risk of decreasing genetic variation (Green Peace). Once a crop is perfected, farmers then mass produce that specific crop, and the different variations of the crop are lost (Green Peace). Another concern regarding the use of the Bt protein is the increased risk of allergies (Smith). The transgenic protein comes from bacteria in the soil, and thus raises the concern of allergic reactions to the corn. Consumers are worried that the cry protein injected into Bt corn could have allergies unknown to them because of the cry protein’s characteristic of an extended digestion time. Consumers are also skeptical that genes of this antibiotic resistance could somehow be introduced to other bacteria in the soil, and possibly infect consumers with this bacteria. A major ethical concern of genetically modified crops, specifically Bt corn, is the lack of knowledge of the long term effects these crops have on humans and other organisms. Consumers are uninformed about the

People oppose the use of any genetically modified crops because they are harmful and unatural. According to Northwest Resistance Against Genetic Engineering, Genetic engineering can make foods that were once safe to eat a threat to people with allergies. Because this process is unpredictable, new substances can develop in engineered foods. The FDA knows this and does some testing, but there are no guarantees. Besides the new allergies, inserting genes into plants and animals can cause existing genes to react in unknown ways, including reduced nutritional values and changes in organism quality. Some people argue that they do not want their food treated, they want natural food! Another thing that they are saying is that by engineering plants

Bt-corn is an example of a genetically modified organism, or in other terms a GMO. A GMO is an organism that has been genetically altered through molecular techniques alerting small parts of its genetic material. The main purposes for the use of GMO products is to increase its protection to pest, pesticides, or to just improve the overall quality. They have even come so far to resist the crops to drought and/or frost. The process of GMO’s has been done to many organisms, such as potatoes, corn, sweet corn, soybeans, and many more. The FDA is the organization that regulates GMOs, and considers the products resulted from GMOs is equivalent in nutrition than that of traditional crops. In the 1980’s, we discovered that pieces of an organism could

In his article “No, You Shouldn’t Fear GMO Corn” published at Slate.com in 2012, Jon Entine argues that genetically engineered crops pose no harm to health or environment, and the conclusion Caitlin Shetterly made is absurd and holds no water.

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.

Genetically modified crops, GM crops, are plants with modified DNA by using genetically engineered methods. GM crops have been commonplace across the globe since 1996. “Over a billion acres of genetically modified corn and cotton have mostly been planted in the United States” (Akpan 2013). The ideal genes are then placed from plant to another. There are two main techniques used to transfer genes from one plant to another. The first method is using a device called a “gene gun”. First, the DNA is covered in tiny particles of gold then it is shot into the other plant cells with the gene gun (James, 2014). Once the DNA is placed into the plant cells, it combines with the other DNA of the receiving plant’s DNA (Whitehouse 2003).

It’s been debated many times about GMO’s negative impact on the environment. The introduction of GMO’s has been exposed to many ecosystems throughout world, bringing a wide concern towards the impact of it. “GM crops are commercially available and planted on more than 40 million hectares across six continents” (FAO). “Activists, worried about GMOs being released into the biosphere, have destroyed test plots in at least four continents. (FAO). Another big concern about GMO’s negative impact upon the environment is that the pollen from GM crops, and trees can contaminate nearby crops and wild plants. Varieties of corn in Mexico have been found to have some contamination with in it, along with many others. This can cause many major changes to varieties types of crops out there, not just corn itself. It alters the DNA within the crop causing them to grow differently.

This is where the word genetically modified food comes into place. Genetically modified food or more commonly known as GMOs, is where small amounts of hereditary material (DNA) from different organisms have been added to the original crop or plant which is to be modified through the new addition. The overall topic of GMOs is very hot, there are many individuals who believe in them and there are those who do not support the idea and believe that ramifications are a great risk for the future and should be put a stop to immediately. As of now, the GMOs that are available today have been given hereditary qualities to aim to preserve from bugs, resilience to pesticides, or enhance the crops quality. Practically every food item that can be found in our local grocery store, such as apples, corn and tomatoes are all

Michelle Schoffro cook, PhD, DNM, Clinical Nutritionist. Michelle states that “according to research published in the Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, Scientists found that the genetically-modified corn was linked to liver and kidney damage in animal” (Schoffro). In other words what Michelle is saying is that there is proof that GMOs could cause some damage to the animal’s organs. These so called GMOs are modified genetically so that they can produce their own pesticides and therefore they are immune to any plague. Studies show that some of those pesticides are toxic to humans. Some of those toxins are the Bt-toxin and Roundup Ready which are now found in corn, cotton and soybeans. These two pesticides have been linked to severe health risks. Studies conducted on animal have shown that GMOs can cause damage to their liver, kidney, and the male’s reproductive organ damage and spleen damage. This should make us wonder, if these modifications on the food have a drastic effect on animals, then we must assume the same thing could happen to us. In the same matter, now that these pesticides and toxins are built in the plants they cannot be washed off, which means that they are being consumed. This leads us to the conclusion that we are eating a food that could kill

Because there is such an abundance of food in this country (the USA), one can find GMOs almost everywhere, from a cob of corn in the produce aisle to a fast-food quarter pounder. Consequently, if a person is concerned about what food they are putting into their mouth, the topic is GMOs is likely to show up at some point. Growing crops that have been changed on a genetic level to achieve a specific characteristic is now a commonplace practice by many commercial and non-commercial farmers alike. These enhanced species of plants have a variety of advantages over unmodified species. Genetically modified organisms can benefit farmers and consumers because of their increased durability and

For thousands of years, humans have transformed their surroundings and neighboring organisms to suit their needs. The transformation first took place when humans spread seeds onto the earth to grow their own food, and continued when humans reached out to provide food and shelter to other animals in exchange for labor, companionship and sustenance. When early agriculture proved successful, the best and strongest animals and crops were chosen for the next generation. This was the dawn of genetic modification, and it is as old as agriculture itself.

The development of genetically engineered foods began in the 1900s, and has been in United State markets since 1995 (Bredahl 18). The most widespread genetically modified foods are oil, maize, cotton, and soybeans (Cunningham 11). Transgenic foods were products created to increase benefit and lower prices (Whitman 2). Genetically modified foods are essential to enrichments of crops (Tan 3). It helps reduce the use of herbicides and pesticides in plants, enhances taste and quality, lower maturation time,

The genetically modified corn, also known as BT corn has been washing into rivers and Streams and is producing byproducts and other harmful things. The BT corn was mainly planted to kill off some of the Corn Borer bugs, but in the process, it also started to kill Caddisfly’s. It started to kill them because it got clogged in the rivers and either polluted it or it destroyed the eggs. The adult Caddisfly’s died from eating the GT corn pollen that had a lot of different kinds of bug poisons. The Gt corn was later removed and tested for thoughts on better use and safety in the future.