genetically modified organism
TRANSCRIPT
By: Marc Clifford Asis
What is GMO?
is a genetically modified organism (also called"genetically engineered"): a plant, animal, ormicroorganism that is created by means thatovercome natural boundaries. Geneticengineering involves crossing species thatcould not breed in nature. For example, genesfrom a fish have been placed in strawberriesand tomatoes.
GMO means the genetic material has been alteredwith genetic-engineering processes. Theseprocesses use DNA molecules from differentsources, which are combined into one molecule tocreate a new set of genes.
What Are the Concerns About GMOs?
The proponents of GMOs say their use makeagricultural products safer and more affordable;however, there is concern that they create cropsthat have not been proven safe for humanconsumption. Modified crops can becomeresistant to herbicides which have led to anincrease in herbicide use.
Should You Avoid GMO Foods?
GMO foods raise many potential health concerns,including allergic reactions, decreased nutritionalvalue, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, no long-termsafety testing, ecological damage, increasedherbicide use and more pesticides in foodproduction.
Soy and GMO
It's estimated that 62 percent to 89 percent of all soycrops in the United States are from GMO stock. Soyand its related products (soy oil, soy lecithin [used asan emulsifier in chocolate, ice cream, margarine andbaked goods] soy flour, etc.) are in a large percentageof the processed foods many Americans regularlyconsume.
History
GMOs are created in the laboratory whenscientists isolate genes that are responsible forcertain traits in one plant and insert the gene intoanother plant, or add genes from non-plantorganisms to a plant.
Types
One of the most common non-plant organismsthat is inserted into plants is the bacteriumBacillus thuringiensis, or B.t. B.t. creates crystalsthat are toxic to insect larvae.
Function
Corn crops that have been modified by adding B.t.form pesticide within the plant to fight off pestssuch as the European corn borer.
Effects
· Other GMOs work to improve droughttolerance, disease resistance, coldtolerance, increased nutrition, and even to growvaccines inside vegetables.
Potential
The use of GMOs in food is very controversial, butmany researchers believe that it is necessary toimprove crops genetically in order to feed agrowing world population. Forexample, improving the nutritional value of a croplike rice could help fight malnutrition in ThirdWorld countries
The creation of GMOs can lead to negativeenvironmental impacts which might not beforeseeable when the GMO is created. Forinstance, an alteration to a certain plant mightmake it inedible or harmful to another organismsuch as an insect that relies on it for food. In somecases this can be a benefit, to protect the plantagainst pests, but it may also be a drawback if itharms organisms that are desirable or upsets thebalance of the food chain. According to theHuman Genome Project Informationwebsite, GMOs can result in unintended transferof genes through cross-pollination, leading tounknown effects on other organisms.
Health
Another danger of GMOs is their potential to harmhuman health. Altering the genetic makeup of anorganism could potentially introduce newallergenic properties to it. Some plants, such aspeanuts, have powerful allergens that can killhumans. If a gene of a peanut were used toenhance a more common food crop, such as corn,it might introduce a similar allergen which couldhave a severe health impact.
Since GMOs have the potential to replace standardcrops, the companies that produce them and thefarmers who are able to use them stand to profitgreatly. This could reduce the amount ofcompetition between farmers and give thecompanies that create GMOs great power in theagricultural industry. Companies may even try topatent the genetic code of GMOs that they produce.This could create situations where a corporationessentially owns exclusive rights to produce and sella certain organism. Technologically advancedcountries would likely benefit the most economicallyfrom increasing GMO production. The HumanGenome Project Information website states thatGMOs may lead to increasing dependence onindustrialized nations by developing countries.
Critics of GMOs sometimes make argumentsagainst genetic engineering on ethical grounds.For instance, some people feel it is unnatural orwrong to introduce the genes of animals intoplants or from one plant to another, which may belikened to "playing God." In addition, animals usedin genetic engineering procedures may besubjected to pain and stress.
Insect and Disease Resistance
One of the most important benefits of GMOs is theirpotential for adding to the healthiness and naturalresistances of organisms. GMOs can potentially be createdthat have greater resistance to insect infestation and plantdiseases. For instance, a certain strain of corn mightproduce a large amount of food tonnage, but be susceptibleto insects, while another might repel the insects butproduce a low amount of raw food tonnage. If the insectresistance of the lower yield plant were combined with thehigher yield plant, a new GMO could be made thatprovides a large amount of food and resistance to insects.Another benefit of increased plant resistance is that it hasthe potential to reduce the amount of chemicals used onplants to protect against insects and disease, which canreduce pollution introduces to the environment.
Chemical Resistance
Some plants are susceptible to being overrun orchoked out by weeds that compete for the samenutrients. Another benefit of GMOs is thepotential to increase the chemical resistance offood crops, allowing herbicides to be used that willharm any weeds, while leaving the desirable croprelatively unaffected. This, in turn, can increasecrop yields.
· GMOs are especially important for developingcountries where simple nutrition is of utmostconcern. GMOs provide a potential for increasingthe nutritional value of plants. For example, aregion might rely heavily on a certain crop such asrice or corn, which may not have all the variousvitamins and minerals necessary for propernutrition. A plant that normally offers little or novitamin A might be combined with the genes ofanother plant that is high in vitamin A. GMOs canintroduce new sources of essential nutrients whichcan fight health problems caused by nutrientdeficiencies.
Profitability
The benefits of GMOs can have an additionalaffect of increasing the profitability of farming.Having plants that are better able to resist variousmaladies can increase crop yields while reducingthe amount of money spent on efforts to protectthe plants. According to Monsanto.com, farmersmade an additional $10 billion in 2007 fromplanting GMOs, which is due to increased yieldsand reduced production costs.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
In response to the question: "Do humans need GMOs?", the results of oursimulation indicate that they do. The adoption of GMO productiontechnology in relation to corn and soybeans could increase the quantitytraded and reduce the upward pressure on food prices, although the majortrading countries would stand to benefit the most from adopting a GMOproduction technology. There are some limitations to this research. Thefirst is to assume that all exporting countries fully adopt (i.e. adopt 100%)the GMO production technology, while the importing countrieNs do notadopt such technology. If the importing countries were also to adopt theGMO production technology, the scale of the impact would be larger thanthat suggested by the above simulation results. The second restrictionrelates to the percentage change in the crop yield or the crop productioncost when the GMO production technology is adopted. A 3.2% increase inthe corn yield and a $3.2 per hectare reduction in the production cost ofsoybeans may underestimate what would happen in the future if the GMOproduction technology were to be promoted. Therefore, the abovesimulation results are underestimated. Finally, the external effects ofadopting GMOs are not considered in this study. This will surely become avery important GMO-related research topic in the near future.