A fresh new report from the World Resources Institute notes that GMOs and genetically modified food are going to be an important tool for feeding a global population that is expected to reach 10 billion people by 2050.
One specific concern is the possibility for GMOs to negatively affect human health. This could result from differences in nutritional content, allergic response, or undesired side effects such as toxicity, organ damage, or gene transfer.
Biodiversity Loss: The use of some GM crops can have negative impacts on non-target organisms and on soil and water ecosystems. For example, the expansion of GM herbicide-tolerant corn and soy, which are twinned with herbicides, has destroyed much of the habitat of the monarch butterfly in North America.
Cons
- Allergic reactions. Some people believe that GMO foods have more potential to trigger allergic reactions.
- Cancer. Some researchers believe that eating GMO foods can contribute to the development of cancer.
- Antibacterial resistance.
- Outcrossing.
GMO crops don't cause infertility, systematic evidence review finds.
One of the main benefits of genetic engineering is that it can help cure diseases and illnesses in unborn children. All children would be able to be born healthy and strong, with no diseases or illnesses present at birth.
Genetically-engineered crops are as safe to eat as their non-GE counterparts, they have no adverse environmental impacts, and they have reduced the use of pesticides.
What GMO crops are grown and sold in the United States?
- Corn: Corn is the most commonly grown crop in the United States, and most of it is GMO.
- Soybean: Most soy grown in the United States is GMO soy.
- Cotton:
- Potato:
- Papaya:
- Summer Squash:
- Canola:
- Alfalfa:
Some benefits of genetic engineering in agriculture are increased crop yields, reduced costs for food or drug production, reduced need for pesticides, enhanced nutrient composition and food quality, resistance to pests and disease, greater food security, and medical benefits to the world's growing population.
During the development of the CCAC guidelines on: genetically- engineered animals used in science, some key ethical issues, including animal welfare concerns, were identified: 1) invasiveness of procedures; 2) large numbers of animals required; 3) unanticipated welfare concerns; and 4) how to establish ethical limits
Domestic bananas have long since lost the seeds that allowed their wild ancestors to reproduce – if you eat a banana today, you're eating a clone. Each banana plant is a genetic clone of a previous generation.
The pros of GMO crops are that they may contain more nutrients, are grown with fewer pesticides, and are usually cheaper than their non-GMO counterparts. The cons of GMO foods are that they may cause allergic reactions because of their altered DNA and they may increase antibiotic resistance.
Help us grow the food movement and reclaim our food.It has been estimated that upwards of 75% of processed foods on supermarket shelves – from soda to soup, crackers to condiments – contain genetically engineered ingredients.
Genetic engineering has been applied in numerous fields including research, medicine, industrial biotechnology and agriculture. In research GMOs are used to study gene function and expression through loss of function, gain of function, tracking and expression experiments.
What animals are being genetically engineered? In research studies, animals that have been safely genetically engineered (GE) include cattle, pigs, chickens, goats, sheep, dogs, cats, fish, rats, and mice.
Genetic modification is a technique to change the characteristics of a plant, animal or micro-organism by transferring a piece of DNA from one organism to a different organism. This is done through targeted removal of the desired genes from the DNA of one organism and adding them to the other organism.
10 successful examples of genetic modification
- Mouse-ear cress.
- Western corn rootworm, European corn borer.
- Bananas.
- Abiotic stress.
- Onions that do not make you cry.
- Golden rice.
- Purple tomatoes.
- Carrots that help prevent osteoporosis.
For animals, the gene is typically inserted into embryonic stem cells, while in plants it can be inserted into any tissue that can be cultured into a fully developed plant. Common techniques include microinjection, virus-mediated, Agrobacterium-mediated or biolistics.
