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The Pros And Cons Of Genetically Modified Organisms

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Challenges for growing food are vast and ever emerging in this day and age. Between the influx in population, climate change, and the increase of urbanization, it is becoming increasingly difficult to grow enough food to feed the world. Alternatively, with the evolution of plant cultivation, such as Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s), practices have grown immensely to help offset the different challenges that have risen, but horticulturalists are also faced with the difficulty of resistance to the idea of plant modifications. This essay will explore why GMO’s are the best route to counteract the increasing challenges. Currently the cultivation of foods is a hot topic, especially in regards to GMO’s. The USA is at the forefront of modifications, …show more content…

By growing crops with a higher yield and of better quality, land usage can be optimized therefore the decreasing acreage allotted for farming will have a larger impact. GMO’s alterations can allow the plant to outcompete the weeds or have resistance to insects, thereby depleting the amount of other herbicides or pesticides needed, which corresponds to a lower environmental impact. By modifying plants, this enables the genes for desired traits, such as increased minerals (i.e. iron, calcium), to be implemented into the organism you’re growing, therefore enhancing the nutrition of the plant. It is also interesting to note that although GMO’s are modifications, they do not increase …show more content…

Although I am a strong believer in sustainability and other naturalistic approaches, so long as humans continue to degrade the earth and increase the effects of global climate change, sustainable crops will not be enough to meet the growing populations. In already warm climates, a small rise in temperature can reduce crop yields significantly. Also in more temperate zones, the longer growing seasons and milder winters that are expected to occur will increase the likelihood of disease and pests, as the long winter months were a form of natural pest

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In the future, it may be equipped with genetically modified plants with mechanisms designed to prevent gene flow. This is important for the co-existence of GM and traditional crops, especially that medical and industrial use of genetically modified plants. Environmental indirect effects of genetically modified crops include changes in agricultural or environmental practices associated with new varieties. Whether the net effect of these changes had to be positive or negative on the environment is still controversial, calling for a more comparative analysis of new technologies and agricultural practices.

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For thousands of years, farmers have carefully bred their crops and livestock in order to gain benefits such as increased yield and resistance to pests. Traditionally, the process (known as artificial selection) is time-consuming because it takes generations before any noticeable changes can be observed. Additionally, artificial selection is confined to organisms which are closely related to each other. This limits the possibilities for new traits to be introduced into organisms. Presently, because of major advancements in agricultural technology, scientists are now able to ‘breed’ on a much higher level.

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Did you know that October is Non GMO Month? What if I asked you “If you could save lives by producing vaccines in transgenic bananas, would you”? Yes, many would agree to do so or ask what exactly what is a transgenic banana? Transgenic organisms are organisms that have been genetically modified or engineered to contain a gene from another species is also called a living modified organism. This development of GMOs is the alternative of natural selection, a theory introduced by Charles Darwin in 1859 providing a scientific explanation for the origin and development of living forms.

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Utopia and reality mark the coexistence of countries at different levels, such as political, economic social. The reality tends to dominate in times of war and crisis, while in times of peace, utopian ideals arise. Likewise, people's lives are naturally marked by decisions and choices sometimes guided by idealism, sometimes by rationality. The debate on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) is a typical case of the relation between the utopian universe and the plane of reality. A strong ideology is present regarding the issue of the African government and genetically modified crops because the GMOs are being rejecting, even that the Africa leaders are facing famine.

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This only promotes the use of more herbicide which increases the harm to the environment. There are also problems because GM crops have toxins in them. While they are meant to deter pests, they can end up hurting good insects and birds as well. Besides this, there will ultimately be pests that emerge which will be able to resist the toxins. Rendering that benefit of the GM crop useless.

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How Soybeans Affect Us in Different Ways Research has shown that GMO’s or “Genetically Modified Organisms” is an organism that has had its DNA altered or modified in some way through genetic engineering. (Lallanilla, 2016). According to the National Library of Medicine, genetically modified foods have had genes from other plants or animal inserted into their genetic codes. One of the biggest genetically modified organisms are crops. Research was also found by the Council of Biotechnology

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If the population of a nation is nourished, the amount of people working or in school increases, the amount of money needed to combat food related diseases in hospitals will decrease, the countries productivity will increase and essentially this would have the potential to raise the GDP of a particular country. However in practise GMO’s are essentially more complicated. Farmers in developing countries often depend on large GM seed companies that have the intellectual property rights to their particular GM seed which allows them to dominate and dictate the market. Since one company can dominate the market, that company could raise the price of seeds extensively that small farmers and third world countries will not be able to afford seeds for GM crops, thus widening the gap between the wealthy and the poor more than there already is in many developing nations. This would force more developing countries to become dependant on food aid.

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The Encyclopedia Britannica defines Genetically Modified Organisms as an “organism whose genome has been engineered in the laboratory in order to favour the expression of desired physiological traits or the production of desired biological products.” (Fridovich-Keil & Diaz, 2018, para. 1). Genetically Modified Organisms or GMO’s, can refer to the genetic modification in animals or agricultural purposes. The long held practice of modifying the genotypic traits can be traced back to prehistoric times, in which farmers would select the most fruitful crops. For instance, teosinte was domesticated over 10,000 years by humans from a small grass to form modern maize (Genetic Science Learning Center, 2013).

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For several years and different trials, crops which are supposed to be fresh and produced by nature are being put through this modification process in different way in order for their genes to be altered. Ronald, in Plant Genetics, Ecologically based Farming and the Future of Food explains some of this plant modification methods which include “grafting or forced pollinations between different species”. Ronald also discusses how chemicals and radiation are used to “induce random mutation in the seed.” Unbelievably, people the food ingest today is either altered in these procedures previously mention or in its genetic system there are alterations of some sorts. Genetic engineering can be done not only in plants but also it can be done in animals or microorganisms.

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Biology Topics of Evolution, Genetically Modified Organisms, and Vaccinations Evolution Evolution is the scientific theory that organisms change over time because of changes in heritable, physical, or behavioral traits. Evolution is one of the most controversial and heavily debated topics in Biology today. Over the years scientists have clashed with different views and arguments in favor of and against this highly controversial subject.

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In economics class students are taught that the supply of land is completely inelastic. Because of the inelastic supply of land, the agriculture industry has to create ways to increase the yields of crops on single plots of land. Organic farming produces smaller quantities of food on a single section of land. This does not seem to be an issue with the genetically modified crops used today. The population is growing more and more, this requires the industry to increase yields on the land already

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It makes the plant more stronger and able to withstand heat and bugs. The plant is still the same just better. It makes it more resistant to disease, bugs, or drought. During the current California drought many crops will start to die do to the lack of water, but genetically modifying these crops can lead to making these crops need less water. Already 80% of the processed foods in the U.S are genetically modified, we depend on genetically modified foods, regulating them can cause many problems especially in our “armpit of society” People will lose many ag related jobs if plants begin to

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As Thomas Jefferson once said, “Agriculture is our wisest pursuit because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals, and happiness.”. Advancements in technology help farmers increase profitability and stay competitive. With the introduction of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, production agriculturists are able to produce more than ever. Since the approval of the very first GMO, in 1982, farmers have been able to sustain the growing population. The introduction of genetic modification has brought long lasting benefits that have forever changed agricultural methods.

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With the population growing at a fast rate land for farming is quickly disappearing and the need for more food is quickly rising. This is when the new technologies are coming into play and helping conventional farmers meet the demand. One technology that is making a huge difference in farming today is Genetically Modified Organisms(GMO’s) which is a technology that has been around for years but is always changing to adapt to the ever changing environment. As the food demand is increasing the yields have to increase as well because low yields will not produce the amount the world needs. This high yielding process is helping the world because as Joel Bourne states "High-yield agriculture is already saving 10 million square miles per year of global wildlands" that solves a problem of deforestry.

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The advent of technology in the scientific community can bring hope to the pressing challenges that the global community is facing. Unfortunately, progress can often be faced with opposition from those who may feel threatened from the technological advancement or may simply fail to understand the logic at hand. Genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) exemplify this scenario perfectly: the adoption of genetically-modified crops has the potential to address global food security while reducing the environmental impact of intensive agriculture, improving the nutritional content of food, and decreasing the amount of fertilizer applied to crops, yet, the adoption of these crops has been met with strong opposition. Those who are raising red flags against GMOs and who have successfully influenced the debate are resorting to cultural and political factors, rather than science, to make their argument. Therefore, to have a fair and productive debate on genetically-modified organisms, those who endorse the “precautionary principle,” even if precaution is well-deserved, should put forth the effort to make an argument based on science to avoid misinforming the public.

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