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Genetically Modified Organisms. Emily Walls Zach Witherspoon. GM is a special set of technologies that alter the genetic makeup of organisms such as animals, plants, or bacteria. Uses recombinant DNA technology
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Genetically Modified Organisms Emily Walls Zach Witherspoon
GM is a special set of technologies that alter the genetic makeup of organisms such as animals, plants, or bacteria. • Uses recombinant DNA technology • Basically, genetic modification takes a gene containing a desired trait from one organism and sequences the gene into a new organism. What is a GMO?
We eat genetically modified organisms on a daily basis! • They are right on the shelves of our grocery stores • We bake them into casseroles and stir them into soups • We feed them to our children and our animals How does this apply to us?
The first GM food to be made available to the consumer was a tomato called FlavrSavr in 1994. • Producers wanted a tomato that would last longer, staying fresher and firmer once it was picked. • These tomatoes contain less of the substance which causes tomatoes to rot. The GM Tomato
Because the GM tomatoes can remain fresh longer they can be allowed to ripen in the sun before picking - resulting in a better tasting tomato. • GM tomatoes can tolerate a lengthier transport time. This means that market gardens can avoid picking tomatoes while they are green in order that they will tolerate the transport. • The producers also have the advantage that all the tomatoes can be harvested simultaneously. What are the advantages over a regular tomato?
At first, these tomatoes were antibiotic resistant • Antibiotics are important for fighting disease, so it would have been a problem if these genes had made it into humans or animals • Now we can grow GM tomatoes which are no longer resistant to antibiotics Disadvantages?
Food can stay fresher longer • Crops can be engineered to be pest resistant without the use of pesticides • GM crops have the potential to be grown in impoverished areas which don’t naturally grow food very well or where nutrient deficiencies are prevalent • Enhanced taste and quality • Increased crop yields and nutrients What are the advantages of GM foods on a larger scale?
Increased income for farmers • Reduced need for tillage/plowing, leading to decreased soil erosion Advantages cont.
We have only been eating GM foods for a relatively short time, so we don’t know what the long-term side affects might be • Is there a chance that the GM plant could breed with other plants and create something new/unwanted? • Could a gene be inserted into a GM food which people were allergic to, and might eat unknowingly? What are the dangers/potential dangers of GM foods?
Objections to consuming animal genes in a vegetable form • A few corporations dominating world food production • Having to continually create new crops when pests grew immune to pesticidal crop strains • Losing the original naturally growing seed of a crop • The public not knowing what they are eating when labeling is not mandatory Dangers cont.
Golden Rice • “Biofortified rice as a contribution to the alleviation of life-threatening micronutrient deficiencies in developing countries” • Vitamin A Deficiency causes 250,000 to 500,000 children to go blind every year • Vitamin A is taken from the green part of the rice and put into the seed • So why not put Vitamin A in the rice they eat? A good idea for the use of a GM crop
Greenpeace presents strong opposition to Golden Rice • They say it does not address the underlying issues of poverty • And that Golden Rice still provides ineffective amounts of Vitamin A • Some scientists oppose it on the grounds that it is not being tested on animals before tested with humans What are the problems with Golden Rice?
Monsanto is one of the forerunners in the field of Genetically Modified Organism research. They also produce many seeds for farming purposes. Ironically, the company also produces the herbicide Roundup. • The company was begun in 1901, and in 1981 biotechnology was established as their main focus. • In 1982 their scientists became the first to genetically modify a plant cell. Who is looking at GM foods?
Americans have been eating GM foods without necessarily realizing it for about 15 years now • Europe has much more stringent policies concerning GM foods than the US does • All GM foods in Europe must be labeled, as well as their GM steps traced and documented • The US does not require GM foods to be labeled What are restrictions on GM foods?
The FDA has strict requirements that a GM food must meet before becoming available for public consumption. • For example, any new gene being introduced into a food must be already approved by the FDA as safe How does a GM food become “safe” for consumption?
Honey • Cotton • Rice • Soybean • Sugar cane • Tomatoes • Corn • Sweet corn • Tobacco • Meat • Vegetable oil • Squash • Dairy products • Peas • Sugar beets • Canola • Potatoes • Vitamins Common examples of GM organisms
http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/gmfood.shtmlhttp://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/gmfood.shtml • http://www.bionetonline.org/English/Content/ff_cont3.htm • http://www.goldenrice.org/ • http://www.disabled-world.com/fitness/gm-foods.php • http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Testimony/ucm115032.htm Sources
