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GeneticallyModifiedOrganisms

MicahOttolini
English12
Whedon
15March2016

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Didyouknowthat70%ofprocessedfoodsweeathaveatleastoneGMO
ingredientinit,andabouthalfoftheagriculturallandintheUSyieldsGMcrops
(AJ+)
?
Thenumbersandstatisticsarejawdroppingtomostduetothelackofknowledgeinthe
fieldofgeneticengineering.Geneticsisbecomingoneofthelargestfieldsofstudyin
ourcurrentera,sincetinkeringwithDNAhasproducedmultiplescientific
breakthroughs."Whereastraditionalpharmaceuticaldrugshaveatransienteffect,

gene
editingcouldpossiblyprovideapermanentcureforalotofdifferentdiseases
(Hubbard)
.Anotherlargefocuspoint,whichlurkswithintheregionofgenetic
engineering,isgeneticallymodifiedfoods(abbreviatedasGMOs).Geneticallymodified
foodsarethefuturefortheagricultureindustry,andthistechnologyhasimpacted
societyenormouslywhetheritbeworkingtowardseradicatingworldhunger,destroying
biodiversitywithnegativeenvironmentalinfluences,orevencorruptingtheeconomy
withprofitthirstycompanies.
DNAwasdiscoveredin1935byaRussianscientistnamedAndreiNikolaevitch
Belozersky
(Rosebud)
.In1972,scientistdiscoveredamethodtospliceandcutDNA
whichhasledtotheabilityofinsertinggenesfromoneorganismtoanother
(Bailey)
.
ModifyingorganismsbycuttingandpastingDNAcanreorganize,delete,addandalter
thenucleotideswithinchainsofcodetogivetheorganismdifferenttraitsor
characteristics.ThefirstGMOpatentedwasabacteriumthatgobbledupoilwhichwas
in1980.TheFDAapprovestheGMOHumulin,whichproducedinsulin,twoyearslater.
GMOsfinallyreachedthegrocerystoresin1994,whentheFlavrSavrtomatowas
releasedforpurchase
(Rosebud)
.Geneticallymodifiedorganismsstartedexplodingin

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thefoodindustryafterthesaleoftheFlavrSavrtomato,whichdelayedripeningand
allowedittostaystockedonshelveslonger.EvenwiththepositiveeffectsGMOs
displayed,peoplewerestillscepticalofthesealteredproducts.Thistechnologyhas
scaredsocietywhenusedonthefoodweconsume,andfurthermore,hascreateda
largedebatewhetherornotGMOsshouldbeutilizedorevenproduced.Only37%of
thepopulationapprovetheuseandconsumptionofgeneticallymodifiedfoods,eventho
88%ofscientistsproclaimthatthereisnothingtoworryabout
(AJ+)
.
ThosewhoargueagainstGMshavemanysolidpointsandstudiesbackingup
theirstatements.notonlyhasthisevidencesupportedtheantiGMparty,butmythsand
rumorscluttertheinternetandhaveproliferatedintothemindsofsociety,whichhasled
largequantitiesofpeopletocometotheconclusionthatGMOsarebad.Environmental
concernsareprobablyoneofthelargestargumentsthatdrivegeneticallymodified
foodsreputationintothedirt.AccordingtoUSDAsresearch,GMcropsresultedinthe
usageof527millionmorepoundsofpesticidesthanconventionalcrops
(AJ+)
.
Glyphosate,themainingredientpresentinRoundup(Monsantospromotedpesticide),
hasbeendeclareddangerousfortheenvironmentbytheEuropeanUnion
(Mercola)
.
Withthismuchpesticidebeingused,Roundupresistantweedswillspring,causinga
needformoreandstrongerpesticides,thusharmingthesoilandenvironmenteven
more.GMOshavebeenproventoaffectbiodiversityaswell,suchasstudiesproving
thedecreaseoftheMonarchButterflypopulation.GMOseedshavealsobeen
describedasinvasiveandharmful:...theseedsmaybeblownfromrailcarriagesduring
theirtransportationandthusmayaffectanddisruptthebiodiversityofMexican

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Agriculture
(SIRC)
.AnotherlargeproblemwithGMOsincorporatestheeconomy.
Largebiotechcompanies,suchasMonsanto,controltheindustryofGMcropsand
pesticides.Thisultimatelyleadstoamonopoly,andthesecompanieswillmakeloadsof
moneybysellingmorepesticidestofarmersandcontrollingthepricesofGMseeds.
Also,thepublicrefusestheideaofunnaturalproducts,andprefersorganicsubstances.
Thefearoftheunknownstrikessociety,asscientistcannotpredictthelongruneffects
GMOsplayinourworldwhichleadstodoubtanddisbeliefofthistechnology.
Ontheotherhand,GMOshaveproventobepositiveinjustaboutallsituations.
Geneticallymodifiedorganismshaveproventooutperformconventionalplantsand
breedingmethods.TinkeringwithDNAwithinfoodproductscanresultinenhancedand
newcharacteristicsfortheplantwhicharemostbeneficial,suchas:increasein
resistanceofpests,droughtanddiseases,alargercropyieldperacre,lesswater
requiredtoproduce,andeventheabilitytogrowinextremeclimates.Notonlydothese
plantsgainthesetraits,butitdoesnttakenearlyaslongasselectivebreedingorother
methodsofcreatingsupercrops.Forexample,theHawaiianpapayawasstruggling
withringdiseaseinthelate1900s,whichwasdestroyingalargepercentageofthe
crops.Scientistsinsertedageneintothefruitthatmadeitresistanttoringdisease,and
startedplantingthenewlycreatedseeds.Thealteredversionsproduced25xmore
papayasthantheoriginalplantandtookonly7yearstofix
(GMOAnswers)
.Oneofthe
largestpositivesofGMOsishelpingthirdworldcountriesandboostingthe
impoverished.Thistechnologycan,andhasbeensuperhelpfultostrugglingcountries
aroundtheglobe.Theyhavegeneticallyalteredwhitericesothatitwouldhavemore

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vitamincontent,andwasabigdealincountrieswherericewasafoodstaple
(Rissi)
.
Thisrice,knownasgoldenrice,fixedaworldhealthissueinlowereconomicalcountries
thatconsistedofavitamindeficientpopulation.
Lastbutnotleast,theworldpopulationisgrowingexponentially,andfarmlandis
diminishingascitiesarebeingbuiltorexpandedandurbanizationoccurs.Withthis
beingsaid,theadvancedGMcropswilloffermorefoodperacre,theabilitytogrowfood
inharsherclimates,andamorestablefoodsourcewherediseasesandpestproblems
begintodissolve.Astheworldpopulationincreasesandthefoodsupplyrunsout,the
onlyoptionsforsurvivalwillbeconsumingGMcropsorstarvation.
TheUnitedStatesandCanadaaretheonlyremainingcountrieswhohaveyetto
requirethelabelingofgeneticallymodifiedproducts
(ProsandCons)
.Manypeople
complainthattheUnitedStatesdoesnotlabelgeneticallyalteredfoods,whichleadsto
suspicionandrevoltwithinsociety.AsolutiontomakeGMOsmoreacceptedwouldbe
topassalawrequiringthelabelingofGMcropsandalteredproducts.Anotherlarge
issueisworldhunger.Somearguethatthereasonofpovertyandimpoverishedregions
oftheworldispoorlyallocatedresources,butifGMOtechnologywasgiventothese
locations,worldhungerwasstarttodiminish.Withplantsthatcangrowinharsher
environments,suchasAfrica,thesethirdworldcountriescansetastablefoundationto
growon.Impoverishednationsfocusononethingdaytoday,andthatisfindingameal
toeat.Withastablefoodsource,thesepoorregionscanbegintodevelopandfocuson
advancing,whichultimatelybenefitstheworldecosystem.

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Whilelawscanbemadetolabelfoods,anddistributingtechnologytoboost
starvingcountriescansolvethesesocialissues,controllingprivatecompanieswhoown
GMOtechnologyandpesticideswillbethelargestissue.Withthepowertosetprices
forGMseedsandpesticides,thesebiotechcompanieswillfocusonproducingthe
largestprofitwithoutcaringaboutworldissuesortheadvancementofoursociety.To
solvethisissue,thegovernmentneedstointerveneandtakecontroloftheagriculture
business.Anothersolutionmaybetoaddmorecompetitiontothefreemarkettolower
pricesandreducethemonopolizationofgeneticallymodifiedorganisms.
Geneticengineeringisthefutureofoursocietyandwillbethefocalpointof
studiesandresearching.ThediscoveriesofGMcropsandchangingsDNAwithin
humanstoinherentbenefitsiscrucialtothesurvivalourrace.Withanevergrowing
populationandalackoffarmland,anewtechnologyorfoodsystemmustarise,and
geneticallymodifiedorganismsisthesourcethatmostscientistarepointingtowards.In
ordertobenefitfromthesplendidcharacteristicsofGMcrops,negativeeffectsmustbe
consideredalongtheway,andsacrificesmustbemadetosupplythehumanracewith
enoughfoodtosurvive.GovernmentorFederalpowershouldstepintothepictureto
controltheagriculturebusinesstoensureeconomicbalanceandeliminateprofithungry
organizations.Attheendofitall,thedecisionwhetherornottousethistechnology
remains.SocietyneedstodecideifGMOsshouldbeusedtosolveworldhungereven
withthenegativeeffectstheydealontheenvironmentandeconomy.

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WorksCited
AJ+.
"ToGMOOrNotToGMO?"
YouTube
.YouTube,n.d.Web.08Mar.2016.
Baily,Pat.
"BackgrounderonGeneticModificationofCropsandAnimals."
UCDavis
.
N.p.,10Dec.1999.Web.08Mar.2016.
GMOAnswers.
"HowAreGMOsCreated?"
YouTube
.YouTube,n.d.Web.08Mar.
2016.
Hubbard
,Basil."EngineeringaPermanentSolutiontoGeneticDiseases."
Engineering
aPermanentSolutiontoGeneticDiseases
.N.p.,n.d.Web.15Mar.2016.

Mercola.
"GeneticallyModifiedOrganism."
YouTube
.YouTube,n.d.Web.08Mar.2016.
"ProsandCons
ofGeneticallyModifiedFoodsHRFnd."
HRFnd
.N.p.,04Dec.2013.
Web.08Mar.2016.

Rissi,James.
"GeneticallyModifiedOrganisms."Personalinterview.23Feb.2016.
Rosebud
."GMOTimeline:AHistoryofGeneticallyModifiedFoodsGMOInside."
GMO
Inside
.N.p.,10Mar.2013.Web.15Mar.2016.

SIRC.
"GeneticallyModifiedFood."
GMFood
.N.p.,n.d.Web.08Mar.2016.

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