The most infamous GMO based company is Monsanto. For those who haven’t seen Food Inc. Monsanto is a company that specializes in GMOs and their applications and the patents that insure lots of money. Monsanto forces farmers into their agreements of use and if they should deny and end up using Monsanto’s patented seeds they find themselves with an excessive lawsuit so unreasonable it is impossible for the farmers to have any other option but agree to their terms. Yves Bertheau and John Davison wrote a case study called Genetically Modified and non-Genetically Modified Food Supply Chains examines the interaction between these seeds, “the simulation model presented...permits an analysis of mechanisms for detecting adventitious transfer of GM material…
Genetically modified crops are plants used in agriculture in which the DNA has been modified using genetic engineering techniques. In other words, genetically modified organisms have specific changes in their genetic information, by the process of introducing foreign genes into the cells. Genetically Modified Crops have had a gene extracted from a living thing placed into a different food by a scientist. This technology can be used to produce new varieties of plants more quickly than conventional breeding methods. Genetically Modified Crops are created for many different reasons. The two main types of GM crops that are in commercial use around the world are either crops…
A genetically modified organism (GMO) is an organism which has had its genome modified by the addition of genetic material from another species (Steynen, 2012). There are many debates surrounding genetically modified organisms on both personal levels, global levels and anywhere in between. There are issues on whether food produced with GMOs is safe, if it is ethical and if and how theses food products should be labeled. There are also several issues involving patent rights and intellectual property, which span the world from Canada to Brazil to India. Monsanto Canada Inc. v. Schmeiser is just one recent example in 2004. Monsanto, an agricultural biotechnology company sued a farmer for patent infringement when refused to pay a licencing fee when the seed he harvested was found to Roundup-resistant. The round-up resistant gene was both developed and patented by Monsanto.…
Mostly, GMOs are done with agricultural crops and animals that are consumed for food. Food, most needed by humans, whom are the consumers. But because of the non-stop increase of the population, source of food became a problem. So they came up with these, genetically engineered crops. They can noticeably increase crop yields and also, reduce the use of chemical pesticides. The costs for food and drug production are reduced, the quality and the organisms’ composition are improved and it has greater food security for the growing population.…
Let the companies that they have to disclose everything they use to make their products and let the consumers decide if they want to continue to use the products. Conclusion GMO are any organism, genes or genetic material of which have been modified in a way that does not occur naturally through mating or natural recombination or both. Plants can be modified to increase their resistance to insects, diseases and other pests that are capable of destroying or seriously damaging crops. This not only results in an increase in the yield of these crops, but also reduces the need for using pesticides. Reduced pesticide use implies decreased pollution and increased safety for farm-workers and those living nearby, as well as less harm to animal life.…
GMO crops are identical to traditional crops except, the GMOs have had a small amount of DNA added. This small change in a crop’s DNA causes the expression of a trait that scientist believe to be advantageous. Common genetic modifications are herbicide resistance, pesticide production, and virus resistance.…
A Nebraska cornhusker frets as he surveys his drought-stunted crop. A Nigerian yam farmer digs up shrunken tubers. A Costa Rican coffee baron lays off hundreds of workers because a fungus has spoiled his harvest. A poor Indian cotton farmer discovers his crop infested with insects. Such dilemmas are becoming more and more prevalent in our world plighted with drought, climate change, and other natural devastations to plants. However, the rapid population growth of humans makes overcoming these challenges increasingly urgent. Ramez Naam discusses the solution to these problems in his article Why GMOs Matter. I strongly agree with Ramez Naam that GMOs should continue to be used because they increase food production which proves a necessity in order to feed our growing population and avoid hunger, GMOs enable farmers to be better stewards of the environment by allowing them to grow more crops on less land while using fewer pesticides and less water, and contrary to popular belief, there are no proven health hazards.…
Genetically modified organisms, otherwise known as GMOs, are engineered by humans to enhance plants by introducing DNA from different organisms into other plants (Latham). Scientists originally designed GMOs to help combat world hunger and make the world a healthier place. Nevertheless, the opposite has occurred. GMOs have contributed to an increase in allergies, diseases, and uncontrollable side effects, as well as making the environment unsafe for humans, animals, and the agriculture industry.…
Regarding the claim that GMO’s are still “new” and thus impossible to deem safe, GMOs first appeared in labs about 30 years ago and 1,700 safety studies have been published since then. GMO’s by themselves cannot solve the world’s food problems, but they can boost crop output. With population growth and climate change, GMOs can ensure the world is food-prepared when the world’s population is estimated to increase by two million more people by 2050. The claim that all research done on GMOs are done by Big Ag is a blatant lie. There have been hundreds of independent research over the decade that support the safety of GMOs, and at least a dozen of scientific and medical groups, like the American Association for the Advancement of Science, have stated that GMOs approved for market are safe.…
GMO stands for genetically modified organisms, and they’ve been around longer than you think. Basically, they alter a part of the DNA structure, either literally modifying the chromosome or adding some. The chromosome is the component of the cell that contains the genetic information: instructions for inherited characteristics. For example, a tomato’s chromosome contains information regarding it’s color: red. Therefore every tomato that will be grown from it will inherit this characteristic: red.…
A genetically modified organism (GMO) is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. These techniques, generally known as recombinant DNA technology, use DNA molecules from different sources and combine them into one molecule, creating a new set of genes. This DNA is then transferred into…
What exactly are GMOs? Genetically modified foods are organisms manipulated in a laboratory setting, so their genetic make-up can be modified. Many supporters choose GMOs to prevent the use of herbicides, pesticides, greenhouse emissions, and for the reduced costs of food. They argue that a variety of potatoes, cotton, and maize, carry many genes from Bacillus thuringiensis which successfully control insect population worldwide during its use, especially in the U.S where they are currently being sold commercially. Also, they stand by their point of the use of these products will greatly decrease pesticide use. Progress has been in the GMO industry with oilseed grape,…
Many businesses have switched to non-GMO foods to gain popularity and consumers. Though the companies seem to be making a good, even stoic, decision, the effect on farmers in the country is devastating. The effects of GMOs are often thrown under extreme scrutiny, and rightly so, as more than 70 percent of all processed foods contain GMOs and more than 80 percent of the country’s crops.Many more businesses will take their GMO products off the market if they are forced to label them.As companies take GMOs off the market, farmers are left with a field of GMO crops and few companies willing to buy them.…
Crops can produce higher yields on smaller plots of land. Also GM crops can be grown in areas where the land is not normally suitable for growing crops. While well fed politicians, activists, scientists, and others are fighting over whether GMO should be used, thousands are dying daily in areas of Africa. Feeding starving people is more important than unproven safety concerns regarding GMO…
Before I go into the different sides of GMO’s I want to note a bit of background information. GMO stands for genetically modified organism. The concept of genetically modified (GM) crops is isolating the DNA of plants…