...Introduction Genetically modified, by definition, is a term denoting or derived from an organism whose DNA has been altered for the purpose of improvement or correction of defects. (dictionary.com) Genetically modified foods are foods that have been altered to enhance certain traits for the purpose of making them more desirable to consumers. Since the development of this process, modified foods have become more common throughout the years, and with their increase in production there has also been great controversy. History of Genetically Modified Foods In 1994, the first genetically modified food the Food and Drug Administration deemed safe enough for human consumption was a tomato called the “Flavr Savr,” produced in California. The purpose of altering the tomato was for it to be resistant to rotting and decaying as quickly as tomatoes usually do. They were not labeled as being genetically modified and they were between two and five time more expensive than ordinary tomatoes, but consumers still purchased them. However, due to competition, brought on by a tomato made conventionally and with a longer shelf life, the Flavr Savr tomatoes were not profitable. Genetically modified tomatoes were then made into a tomato puree and sold in Europe in the mid-1990s, but a couple years later controversy arose over the concept of genetically modifying food. In 1998, a doctor from Aberdeen, in Scotland, published results from a research study he conducted suggesting that genetically modified...
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...Can genetically engineering crops be helpful or harmful to human life? Over the years we have seen a steady rise in the production of genetically modified foods. This has caused a swelling of opinions from people on the GMOs. There are advantages and concerns about this process of enhancing food. Controversy about the thought of modifying food has spread worldwide. People are wary about the idea because they want to know exactly what is in the food that they are eating and because we are swaying away from naturally growing crops. However growing these modified crops could possibly put an end to some of the world’s challenges, such as food security for families. A GMO or genetically modified organism is a crop that is made for consumption by humans and animals. These crops are made in a laboratory by using the latest molecular biology techniques. The reason for making genetically modified plants and organisms is to enhance desired traits. This way is much easier and quicker than the alternative, breeding, which is not always accurate. Some traits that scientists want these plants to have are better resistance to herbicides, increase in nutritional value, and being able to stay ripe longer. Some of the most common modified plants are corn, soybeans, canola, rice, and cotton seed oil. Since the approval to sell genetically modified foods they have become significantly more available. The approval of GMOs has affected us in ways that we might not even know about. Some foods that...
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...| |GMOs: Genetically Modified Organisms | |EN1420 | | | | | | | | | GMOs: Genetically Modified Organisms What is a GMO, also known as genetically modified organisms? Genetically modified organisms (GMO) are any organism that has had its genetic material doctored using genetic engineering techniques. Genetically modified foods find their origin in GMOs as well as many other goods available today. For those of you unaware, uninformed, or even misinformed here are the basics of your everyday GMO. The rather primitive process engineers volatile compounds of plants, animals, bacteria’s and viral genes that would not otherwise occur naturally or through long established methods. GMOs currently make up close to 80% of our daily processed foods. Essentially...
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...for the development of specific goals such as control pests and increase production rates. Monsanto produces and markets 90% of genetically modified seeds that have helped farmers around the world. Through its products from seeds or genes used by other companies have the monopoly of Monsanto arrived in some crops in 70-100 of the market share of the foregoing became Monsanto's supporters and anti-where the point of view of the supporters was that Monsanto since reached technology that can contribute to solving the problem of food shortages in the world, including availability of high-yield products and resistance to pests. The opinion of the owners and your monopoly may make Monsanto multinational giant requisition food supplies in the world modified seeds genetically its health effects and the environment and biodiversity with all this division between the pro and anti-Monsanto this giant did not stop from becoming the largest and most govern in crops. All this controversy makes us look into the history of Monsanto where beginnings were in the production of chemicals that make us more wary of Monsanto products, modified Rathian the safety of individuals and the environment violin that Monsanto record third parties free of moral ethical issues makes us more wary. In 1901 in St. Louis it was established Monsanto for the production of synthetic food additives and with the outbreak of the First World War Leaders soon realizes the growth opportunities in the chemical industry and...
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...A great deal of controversy has arisen over Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and Genetically Modified Food, especially surrounding the production, sale, and consumption of genetically modified foods. Many people are concerned that the consumption of GMO foods may pose serious health risks. The concern is centered around the notion that there could potentially be various different unforeseen consequences due to the consumption of GMO foods. Even though there is a large controversy over GMOs not many people know what and how dangerous GMO’s are. GMO’s are organisms produced from crops whose genetic makeup has been altered through a process called recombinant DNA, or gene splicing, to give the crop a desirable trait (Bren). Genetic engineering is also defined as the copying of a gene from one plant or animal and adding it to another plant or animal. Monsanto is one of the large producers of GMO seeds. Monsanto offers farmers a wide range of GMO corn, soybean, cotton, wheat, canola, sorghum and sugar cane seeds. Theses seeds have been genetically altered to produce a pesticide, yields more per seed, and withstand harsher weather conditions. Some of these plants are now, what is called, roundup ready (Monsanto). Roundup ready plants can be sprayed with roundup and not be effected by it. Due to the use of Roundup ready plants farmers are not having to be as careful when spraying these plants and more often then not they spray more roundup on them then needed. Roundup...
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... 2013). Genetically modified organisms are living organisms whose genetic material has been artificially changed in a laboratory through genetic engineering ("Non-Gmo Project", 2015). In recent news, there has been controversy over the use of GMOs. Since the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of Flavr Savr tomato for sale on grocery store shelves in 1994, more GMOs has since came on the market (GMOinside, n.d.). Does GMOs have inherent value? INHERENT VALUE Inherent value is a quality attributes to every creature that has a life that matters to it (Regan, 2004). According to DesJardins (2013), inherent value is to have value in and of oneself. Objects with inherent value are ends in themselves, not merely means to some other end (DesJardins, 2013). CONTROVERSY REGARDING GMOs There are two main problems that concern GMOs. GMOs have no boundaries and do not have labels. Once a genetically modified organism is planted they are in risk of contaminating any regular crops planted nearby (The Non-GMO Report, 2005). A survey reports that in the Midwest, where there are millions of acres of GM corn and soybean crops, up to 80% of organic farmers reported direct costs or damages resulting from genetic trespass (The Non-GMO Report, 2005). Unlike the organic food, there is not a GMO-free label on food products. In fact, products are not required by law to state whether or not they contain GMOs. In a world where 92% of the soybean crop is genetically modified and many...
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...Genetically Modified Organisms Capitalism: The Soil Where Food Grows Foods we consume can be looked upon as somewhat vastly different than the foods consumed by our predecessors. Technology and scientific innovation progresses at a staggering and nearly exponentially greater rate from each year to the next, and its reach leaves little industry untouched. Most mass-produced foods we eat today contain some level of preservatives, alterations or other biological modifications. In a sense, it is almost as if we should redefine the simple name of what we eat. Is a carrot still a carrot? What gives the food we eat a name? The debate on genetically modified foods is one that continues to carry stronger and stronger throughout the years. Some crops are modified to prevent insects from eating them, other foods are altered bio-mechanically to provide additional resources or to grow larger. Even so far as farm animals are given treatments that dramatically increase their body size, yielding more meat. To preface the argument food or against genetically modified foods: there is simply no easy solution. The overall scenario of genetically modified foods has many different parameters. These parameters include ethical, religious, legal and environmental ramifications. It would be equally as irrational to say that genetically modified foods were more or less dangerous than they were beneficial. The perspective to the scenario should be taken on both micro and macro levels, and to perceive...
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...Genetically Modified Foods: The Social Considerations Genetically modified foods are quicker and easier to grow which is why most producers think this is the more efficient way to produce food. This issue is being researched because consumers opinions are not coming into play as much as they should be within genetically modified foods corporations. This is important because consumers are what make or break the product. By not listening to the consumers and answering their needs, how will the producers know how to make their product better and more consumer friendly? Consumers everywhere all hear about genetically modified products and have lots of questions. Sometimes questions can be answered, but sometimes they can be ignored. It can be hard...
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...as grading elements. Also, at present, WritePoint cannot detect quotations or block-quotes, so comments in those areas should be ignored. Please see the other helpful writing resources in the Tutorials and Guides section of the Center for Writing Excellence. Thank you for using WritePoint. Pros & Cons of Gmos Throughout history, scientific research and the exploration of new technologies always have been areas of extreme controversy and heated debate. This is attributed that they touch upon and affect many aspects of people’s lives, not to mention their direct interference with political, social, and religious matters. One of the latest and most ferociously debated technologies the scientific community has offered humanity, is the technology of Genetically Modified Organisms and in particular genetically modified foods. A Genetically Modified food is crop plant modified in a laboratory using molecular biology techniques - the goal of producing an organism with specific traits for various reasons. Therefore only logical, given its nature...
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...Genetically Modified Food: The Need to Feed Currently, the use of genetically modified food is a subject of enormous global controversy. The main disagreement being, whether or not genetically modified food should be allowed to be a main staple of our diets. Genetic engineering, or as it is also called genetic modification, is the manipulation of an organism's genetic material in a way that does not occur under natural conditions. The most common form of genetic engineering involves the insertion of new genetic material, containing desirable traits, into the genome of a host to induce expression of these traits. The resulting organisms produced by this genetic modification technique are called genetically modified organism (GMOs). Despite common belief genetically modified organisms have been around for decades. The first genetically modified organism was the simple bacterium E. coli in 1973 by Herb Boyer and Stanley Cohen. Their work set in motion a new era of genetic engineering. A year later the first animal was genetically modified. The technology continued to advance exponentially up till 1984 where genetically modified bacteria were commercialized for the production of Insulin. The first commercially grown genetically modified crop was the tomato called Flavr Savr, named for its more resistant nature to rotting. Unknown to most is that genetically modified food has been sold since 1994 and that most supermarket processed food items now test positive for...
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...Biocentric Ethics Analysis Katherine Nagle SCI 362 Environmental Issues and Ethics Juliet Knowles December 23, 2013 Genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) are mankind’s solution to how the world supplies food. The effects are controversial, to all species. This paper will discuss inherent value, GMO’s the controversy, and insight into the difference between natural and GMO’s life, and how they are different. Inherent Value is the value that an entity has on itself, for what it is, or as an end. Many people value what they consume, some might say genetically modified organisms have made it harder for mankind to cure itself form deceases, as repercussion are unknown. GMO’s have been an ongoing debate for decades. While farmers fight to keep going they have been given an option to plant genetically modified seeds that might grow longer and more ample crops. World hunger and the pressure to produce a more ample harvest can not only cost farmers more, but can lead to lawsuits and accusations of mistrust between the producer of these seeds and the consumers. In 1986 genetically engineered tomatoes reduced many of the normal methods of preparation needed in preparing the growth of crops and made the tomatoes more resilient to many herbicides. The Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency did not seem too concerned over this new innovative technology. Eventually Bacillus thuringiensis was used in plants, an insect killer. This prevented...
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...grocery store and fill the cart with food items from a list. Go home and make dinner or eat a snack with one of the items purchased. Chances are that you, as a consumer, just ate or fed your family a GMO food. And you most likely had no idea. Dr. Michael Wald defines a GMO, or Genetically Modified Organism (or Food), as “a term used to describe foods produced by seeds that have been genetically modified in a laboratory” (ix). These foods, or an ingredient in one of the these foods, has been altered from its natural state. As of today, our federal government does not require any GM (genetically modified) food to be labeled as such, leaving consumers in the dark as to what exactly is in the food we are eating. Putting labels on GM foods is a right American consumers should demand, regardless of what side of science or politics one stands on. The debate over requiring labels on GM foods comes down to two very basic issues: those in favor say that without the information labels would provide, consumers have no way of making informed decisions regarding what they are feeding their families. Those opposed to labeling, mainly the corporate biotech companies that produce the seeds, say that labeling is an unnecessary precaution that will only cause confusion to consumers. According to Nina Fedoroff, professor emerita at Penn State University, “Requiring companies to label genetically modified foods is a terrible idea. It will make food more expensive but provide no useful...
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...Genetically modified foods (GM foods) are foods from genetically modified organisms, such as genetically modified crops, plants and other foods. It is widely scientifical argue that food form GM crops through genetic engineering is methods. However, opponents have objected to GM foods including food safety issues and customers’ economics concerns. This essay will discuss the extent to which GM foods influence how people and what types of GM food exist in daily food. Ever now, some developing countries still have famine and malnutrition. One of the most significant problems facing poor countries currently is the rapid climb in population. In the last two decades, the population of the world is doubled. As the population of the world is increased, which becoming a global issue, the most important problem is that the shortage of food. Most worryingly, over 800 million people still have too much poverty to eat. Meanwhile, there is a slowly increased in yield-enhancing crop (Lipton, 2001). According to Bouis (2007), the authors suggest, ‘one way that biotechnology can help to improve the nutrition and health of consumers in developing countries is by increasing the vitamin and mineral content and their bioavailability in staple foods’. Bouis suggested that the supply of food adapted to the population, and the only way to solve this problem is that biotechnology can grow the crops’ output and adaptive capacity, which it through genetic engineering to change hereditary character of...
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...de la Rosa Ms. Stone ENGL 101/M18 31 July 2014 Food of the Future When was the last time that you checked how your food was produced? Are you sure that everything that is offered in supermarkets won’t harm your health? Food Industries can do terrible things to generate profit. For example, advertising junk food, causing health issues, and raising food prices. However, the most atrocious thing that foods industries are doing today is the implementation of genetically modified organism in agriculture. According to Behrokh Maghari and Ali M. Ardekani in their article titled “Genetically Modified Food and Social concerns” which was published in 2011 in the Avicenna Journal of Medical Biotechnology, “Genetically modified organisms are being made by inserting a gene from an external source such as viruses, bacteria, animals or plants into usually unrelated species. Genetically modified food (GMF) means any food containing or derived from a genetically engineered organism” (119). Nowadays, genetically modified food can be founded everywhere in supermarkets, restaurants, and grocery stores (Guthrie 1). Its production has been a dilemma in our society since the 90s. Many people claim that the production of genetically modified food will cause improvements in our society. In the other hand, many studies have claim that it wont. The goal of this paper is to find out if our society really needs genetically modified food by explaining what are the benefits and consequences that...
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...Abstract The use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has become a chief topic of controversy through out the global world. Many countries around the world have stringent laws about genetically modified organisms and their use, but the U.S. does not, why is that? The majority of countries believe that genetically engineered foods are not safe for human consumption or the environment. Yet, the USDA or the FDA has not proved genetically modified organisms harmful or dangerous nor have any major studies conducted in the United States found them to be dangerous or harmful. However, there are studies that have shown that genetically modified organisms are producing “super” weeds and “super” bugs. The major advantage to using these genetically modified foods though, is they could possibly end world hunger in the future by the assumption that they increase crop yields. Although the long term health, environmental, and economical effects of genetically modified organisms is not fully understood, the majority of people from around the world are leery and therefore opposed to the use of genetically modified organisms. This research paper will attempt to analyze the health, environmental and economical issues surrounding genetically modified organisms. According to Dictionary.com, “A GMO is an organism whose genome has been altered by the techniques of genetic engineering so that its DNA contains one or more genes not normally found there.” Genetically Modified Organisms are most...
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