GENETICALLY

MODIFIED CROPS

Andrew ShirdonCheVon Cooper

Mark Rose Caitlin Cecil

Chinyere McKoyAndrew Brickey

Harry EarlyMatt AlbrechtNivel Felicien

Genetically Modified Crop (GMC)

What is a GMC?A crop whose genetic characteristics

have been altered by the insertion of a modified gene or a gene from another organism using the techniques of genetic engineering.

GMC

Why were GMC’s introduced?GMC’s were introduced to create desired

characteristics, or traits for crops, such as resistance to pests, herbicides, or harsh environmental conditions, improved product shelf life, increased nutritional value, or production of valuable goods such as pharmaceutical drugs. Genetically modified organisms are the source of genetically modified foods and crops, and are also widely used in scientific research and to produce goods other than food.

GMC IMPACT

The direct and indirect effects of genetically modified crops interact with the scale at which they are grown to determine the difficulty of predicting, testing, and monitoring their potential impacts.

History of GMC1900European plant scientists begin using Gregor Mendel's genetic theory to manipulate and improve plant species. This is called "classic selection." A plant of one variety is crossed with a related plant to produce desired characteristics.1953James Watson and Francis Crick publish their discovery of the three-dimensional double helix structure of DNA. This discovery will eventually lead to the ability of scientists to identify and "splice" genes from one kind of organism into the DNA of another.1973Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen combine their research to create the first successful recombinant DNA organism.1982The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves the first genetically engineered drug, Genentech's Humulin, a form of human insulin produced by bacteria. This is the first consumer product developed through modern bioengineering.

History Continued…1987The first field tests of genetically engineered crops (tobacco and tomato) are conducted in the United States.

1992Calgene's Favr Savr tomato, engineered to remain firm for a longer period of time, is approved for commercial production by the US Department of Agriculture.

1992The FDA declares that genetically engineered foods are "not inherently dangerous" and do not require special regulation.

2000International Biosafety Protocol is approved by 130 countries at the Convention on Biological Diversity in Montréal, Canada. The protocol agrees upon labeling of genetically engineered crops, but still needs to be ratified by 50 nations before it goes into effect.

Process of Genetic Engineering

Benefits

Genetically modified crops offer many benefits to the farmers, society and lands their grown on. Some of these benefits include:

Pest Resistance - Growing GM foods such as Bt corn can help eliminate the application of chemical pesticides and reduce the cost of bringing a crop to market.Herbicide tolerance - Farmers will often spray large quantities of different herbicides (weed-killer) to destroy weeds, a time-consuming and expensive process. Crop plants genetically-engineered to be resistant to one very powerful herbicide could help prevent environmental damage by reducing the amount of herbicides needed. For example, Monsanto has created a strain of soybeans genetically modified to be not affected by their herbicide product Roundup.Disease resistance - There are many viruses, fungi and bacteria that cause plant diseases. Plant biologists are working to create plants with genetically-engineered resistance to these diseasesPhytoremediation - Not all GM plants are grown as crops. Soil and groundwater pollution continues to be a problem in all parts of the world. Plants such as poplar trees have been genetically engineered to clean up heavy metal pollution from contaminated soil

BenefitsCold tolerance - Unexpected frost can destroy sensitive

seedlings. An antifreeze gene has been introduced into plants such as tobacco and potato. With this antifreeze gene, these plants are able to tolerate cold temperatures that normally would kill unmodified seedlings.Drought tolerance/Salinity tolerance - As the world population grows and more land is utilized for housing instead of food production, farmers will need to grow crops in locations previously unsuited for plant cultivation. Creating plants that can withstand long periods of drought or high salt content in soil and groundwater will help people to grow crops in formerly inhospitable places.Nutrition - Malnutrition is common in third world countries where impoverished peoples rely on a single crop such as rice for the main staple of their diet. (ex. Golden Rice, high content of beta-carotene (vitamin A).Pharmaceuticals - Medicines and vaccines often are costly to produce and sometimes require special storage conditions not readily available in third world countries. Researchers are working to develop edible vaccines in tomatoes and potatoes. These vaccines will be much easier to ship, store and administer than traditional injectable vaccines.

Benefits

These potential benefits of GM introduced crops can help farmers reduce cost year round to maintain their land with weed and pest management. In return this reduces the amount of tillage and soil erosion caused by farmers.

Also this can lead to increased and maximized yields for farmers that don’t lose crops due to drought, pests, weeds or disease.

Thirteen countries grew genetically-engineered crops commercially in 2000, and of these, the U.S. produced the majority. In 2000, 68% of all GM crops were grown by U.S. farmers.

Risk & DangersMost concerns about GM foods fall into three categories:

environmental hazards, human health risks, and economic concerns.

Unintended harm to other organisms. B.t. toxins in corn kill many species of insect larvae indiscriminately; it is not possible to design a B.t. toxin that would only kill crop-damaging pests and remain harmless to all other insects. The potential risk of harm to non-target organisms will need to be evaluated further.Reduced effectiveness of pesticides. Just as some populations of mosquitoes developed resistance to the now-banned pesticide DDT, many people are concerned that insects will become resistant to B.t. or other crops that have been genetically-modified to produce their own pesticides.Gene transfer to non-target species. Another concern is that crop plants engineered for herbicide tolerance and weeds will cross-breed, resulting in the transfer of the herbicide resistance genes from the crops into the weeds. These "superweeds" would then be herbicide tolerant as well. Other introduced genes may cross over into non-modified crops planted next to GM crops. This would ultimately affect the surrounding environment an flora an fauna biodiversity,

Risk & DangersHuman Health Risk:

Allergens - Many children in the US and Europe have developed life-threatening allergies to peanuts and other foods. There is a possibility that introducing a gene into a plant may create a new allergen or cause an allergic reaction in susceptible individuals.Unknown effects on human health - There is a growing concern that introducing foreign genes into food plants may have an unexpected and negative impact on human health. Antibiotic Resisting Genes

Economic Concerns:

Patenting these new plant varieties will raise the price of seeds so high that small farmers and third world countries will not be able to afford seeds for GM crops, instead they need to offer their products at reduced cost to impoverished nations. Also patent infringement is of a concern with cross pollination of plants. Introduction of “suicide genes” that die off each year so you would have to purchase new seeds every year could be very costly and out of the question for third world countries.

Risk & DangerIn the United States, the regulatory process is confused because there are three different government agencies that have jurisdiction over GM foods. To put it very simply, the EPA(Environmental Protection Agency) evaluates GM plants for environmental safety, the USDA evaluates whether the plant is safe to grow, and the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) evaluates whether the plant is safe to eat.

There is NO required labeling of GM crops in the United States.

The FDA's stance is that GM foods are substantially equivalent to unmodified, "natural" foods, and therefore not subject to FDA regulation.

A GM plant does not require a permit if it meets these 6 criteria: 1) the plant is not a noxious weed; 2) the genetic material introduced into the GM plant is stably integrated into the plant's own genome; 3) the function of the introduced gene is known and does not cause plant disease; 4) the GM plant is not toxic to non-target organisms; 5) the introduced gene will not cause the creation of new plant viruses; and 6) the GM plant cannot contain genetic material from animal or human pathogens

ConclusionGenetically-modified foods have the potential to solve

many of the world's hunger and malnutrition problems, and to help protect and preserve the environment by increasing yield and reducing reliance upon chemical pesticides and herbicides. Yet there are many challenges ahead, especially in the areas of safety testing, regulation, international policy and food labeling. Many people feel that genetic engineering is the inevitable wave of the future and that we cannot afford to ignore a technology that has such enormous potential benefits. However, we must proceed with caution to avoid causing unintended harm to human health and the environment.

References

http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/gmfood/overview.php

http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol4/iss1/art13/

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2005/pr29/en/index.html

http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.0000008

http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/gmfood.shtml

http://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/biotech/20questions/en/