Bartrom 1 Genetically Modified Organisms A child dies every two seconds from hunger.

Genetically modified organisms, commonly referred to as GMOs, are a part of every grocery store. If one was to go to the store, most of the products such as nuts, seeds, vegetables and other such foods one would find are mostly genetically modified, whether it be for flavor, production costs, or production amount. GMOs can resist catastrophes that most plants cant handle, such as flooding, droughts, tornadoes, and other natural disasters. There is a rise in awareness in GMOs labeling in the more recent years, though. Many people are against GMOs because protesters believe there are health risks and the environmental factors. They also worry about inadvertently eating GMOs because of a mix up in the modification step. Protesters would like to see labeling on all of the genetically modified foods in every grocery store so they can avoid eating any foods that have been modified. It is said that it will be in 2018 that stores will have a good handle on having all the GMOs labeled. Main differences in conventional and genetically modified foods is that GMOs have the possibility of being crossed with genes from close related species, distant species, or even bacteria and viruses, while conventional crops are sped within the species or with closely related species. Although there are cons to GMOs, there are also pros, as there is a good and bad side to everything. There are many pros to GMOs. As stated before, they can withstand many natural disasters. Foods that are genetically modified have a longer shelf life, which becomes a gift if there is ever a storm such as the ones the US was struck with at the beginning of the year and just the past week, where there is a travel advisory and anyone seen driving would get a ticket. If a family had GMOs in their pantry, they have a longer chance of not running out of food so quickly compared to a family that is antiGMOs. Other pros of these genetically changed foods are that they will eliminate the slash-and-burn method, scientists say. Scientists also believe they GMOs will lower the amount of pesticides and

Bartrom 2 herbicides. Going off of the first statement in this paper, a child dies every two seconds from hunger. With the production rate that GMOs have, that can change. World hunger would decrease until hopefully one day there isnt any starvation anywhere in the world. Although many people are convinced that the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) allows up to 5% of contamination in GMOs, the process of genetic modification is easy to understand. When GMOs are created, the genes of a crop or better organism with good breeding traits are taken from that organism and inserted directly into the nucleus of one of the cells of the crop being genetically enhanced. That implanted gene makes its way into the DNA of the plant and slowly becomes part of it. When that process is complete, the protein synthesis cycle proceeds to take place. As many people know, proteins give us energy. DNA gets turned into RNA through transcription, and then that RNA is turned into proteins. RNA is a disposable copy of DNA, since the DNA cannot leave the nucleus, so it has to be copied. Three main differences between DNA and RNA is that the sugar is ribose in RNA and not deoxyribose, it is single stranded, and it contains the nucleobase uracil in placement of thymine. The four bases in DNA are adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine. Adenine pairs with thymine in DNA, but pairs with uracil in RNA, while guanine always pairs with cytosine. If given the example of a codon (a string of bases together) ACT/TGC/GCC/ATG, the resulting RNA would be UGA/ACG/CGG/UAC. The RNA codon is sent to the ribosomes through mRNA, also called the messenger RNA, to be formed into proteins. Changing DNA into mRNA is called transcription. The process of RNA changing into proteins is called translation. Along the protein synthesis cycle, there are amino acids after the RNA is created. Going off the example earlier, the amino acids for each codon would be as follows: Stop/Threonine/Arginine/Tyrosine. Amino acids are then transported through tRNA to the ribosomes. GMOs are going to have a bittersweet impact on human health in the near future, though.

Bartrom 3 People believe that biotechnology will help the environment, as stated before, by eliminating the slash-and-burn method, and by lowering pesticide amounts. They can resist natural disasters far better than the conventional crop, and the possibility of new allergens, increased toxicity, decreased nutrition, and antibiotic resistance. There have been legal issues with GMOs. Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Dakota, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Oklahoma, Arizona, and West Virginia have laws strictly forbidding GMOs in their state. California also had a voting on Proposition 37 in November of 2012, which was a law requiring labels on all GMO products. GMs in nuts and seeds should be allowed, because within the amount of seeds America produces, we could have more seeds to grow more crops to feed the hungry. But GM foods should be labeled in the department of nuts and seeds, because people should know if theyre growing GM crops or not, just in case they are against modified crops. Awareness of GMOs should also be raised, because not many citizens know about them. Farmers know about them because they grow them, or are against them because in time, GMOs may ruin the soil and the ground will become infertile. Farmers are worried about the infertile soil, but they also believe that genetically modified foods are a good idea because then they can produce more crops per acre, and help feed more of the world. All in all, even with the cons of GMOs, it can be thought that more foods in the near future will be products of modification for a desirable trait, but the world should also be looking for labels on all genetically enhanced foods in their nearest grocery store. GMOs may have some downsides, but with time, technology will become better and it will lower the risks that they pose as of now. There will be more states with laws that say all genetically modified foods have to be labeled for awareness for those people that are against them. But it is also strongly believed that people should be aware that theyre eating modified foods because most people dont know what GMOs are, let alone that they are consuming them.

Bartrom 4 Denlinger, Elizabeth. Problems and Questions. What is all the controversy about? Web. January 2014. http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/spring01/denlinger/problems.html

Sakko, Kerryn. The Debate Over Genetically Modified Foods. Web. January 2014. http://www.actionbioscience.org/biotech/sakko.html

Vaesa, Janelle. Genetically Modified Organisms: Pros and Cons of GMO Food. 5 January 2013. Web. January 2014. http://www.decodedscience.com/gmo-food-pro-and-con/23179

Whitman, Deborah B. Genetically Modified Foods: Harmful or Helpful? Web. January 2014. http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/gmfood/overview.php

Whole Foods Market. California Transparency in Supply Chains Act Disclosure. Web. January 2014. http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/gmo-your-right-know

n.p., Genetically Modified Foods http://classes.soe.ucsc.edu/cmpe080e/Spring05/projects/gmo/benefits.htm. Web. January 2014.

n.p., Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). Web. January 2014. http://enhs.umn.edu/current/5103/gm/harmful.html